Well, Emily and I are back home and missing Africa.  The 30+ hr return trip home was uneventful (meaning uncomfortable and long).  We have finally slipped back into our regular schedule.  I had to laugh at myself — I as pulled my car out of the garage I killed the engine with clumsy clutch action.  A low-geared LandCruiser in 4H on a dirt path has a decidedly different touch than an Audi on a paved road. However, I’m getting ahead of myself.  There is the matter of the end of our trip…. Our unique exit from Moremi.

Emily and I decided some sunset photos would be great way to end the trip.  We stopped about 10km from South Gate, and as the sun fell we climbed atop the truck with the sat gear and posted about the baboons.  With the sun hovering just above the trees the tan grasses of the savanna turned orange and I thanked God for his blessings — this unique beauty of Africa and a daughter who felt comfortable doing so many things:  on Safari in Africa, singing praise songs and hugging school kids in Maun, calculating logarithms for chemistry class, or writing poems or python programs.

Our roof-top picnic felt like a gourmet banquet.  We cut up our fresh pineapple, snacked on green chili cashews, and had granola bars.  We soaked in the sounds and smells of Africa one last time.  We knew that after the sunset, darkness would rapidly fall.  We would break park rules driving back to South Gate after dark.  To protect park visitors, night travel is prohibited. We figured 10km would not be so bad, and it had been days since the unseasonable rains had flooded parts of the road.  Most of the bad sections were now just puddles.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get as many good silhouette shots as we had hoped.  One issue was the sky was not so colorful this time, the other were the sounds of nearby animals.  We were in the grass, 100 yards from the forest line.  As I set up the tripod we heard loud raucous growling and snorting from the woods.  In the dimming light of dusk I suddenly felt a bit vulnerable standing in the grass 50 feet from the car.  I dashed over to the truck and climbed on the roof.  Emily and I discussed what could be in the woods.  Emily pledged to watch for movement as I walked back to the tripod and set the timer for a couple pictures.

After we packed up, we bounced along the 4×4 path with the truck’s hi-beams on.  I sang “in the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight” in a horrendous falsetto.  Emily pleaded with me to stop.  We plowed through muddy tracks and splashed through sections…. Then it happened.

For the first time in my 4×4 career I beached a truck.  A LandCruiser is designed to handle most any muddy, rocky, or sandy condition.  However the surest way to thwart its combination of excellent engineering and mighty power is to beach it’s belly on a mound of mud.  That’s exactly what I did… 8.5km from the park exit.  The water was only 1 or 2 feet deep, and we had driven through some sections that were much higher.  However when the truck’s tires are not touching the mud, there is little more to be done.  I kept playing over and over what I should have done… had I gone left or right we would have been fine, but I tried shooting for the spot that looked shallower.

I took off my shoes and asked Emily to keep watch while I donned a headlight and begin planning our escape.  Using the shovel (every good safari vehicle comes with a shovel) I tried digging the muck out from under the truck.  I spent quite a bit of time trying that and finally gave up.  If only we had a winch.  Emily later told me “I didn’t think digging under the truck would work, but it seemed you needed to try for a while anyway”.  I laughed and complimented her understanding of men.

I worked on plans to use the hi-jack to create a system that could use the nylon tow straps to winch us out of the mud.  However I decided that the kinetic energy I could generate tightening a nylon tow strap with approximately 3 feet of hi-jack ratcheting could be deadly.  I pondered turning one of the wheels into a winch.  Finally I had to admit defeat.  Something that I find tremendously difficult to do.  I apologized to Emily, who found my frustration with the situation somewhat amusing.  “People think you are this laid back guy, but I know better” she commented.

At about midnight we finally gave up sleeping in the cold car, and I unfolded the tent atop the truck.  Since the car was stuck in the mud, pitched by about 10 to 15 degrees, it was a strange arrangement, but Emily and I crawled out of the windows and clamored up to the tent for about 5 1/2 hrs of sleep.  I tossed and turned, my brain continuing to race all night.  I’ll let you use your imagination for how we managed bathroom breaks.

In the morning, Emily’s nightmare came true.  A truck full of tourists were the first on the scene.  They all got out and started taking pictures of Emily and I in the mud as the driver tried to pull us out to no avail.

We used the sat phone to call the rental company and let them know we might need more serious help.  About an hour later two South African safari SUVs pulled up.  The two familes got out and greeted us.  They assured us they could pull us out.  They then huddled and worked out their plan in Afrikaans. Using my “kinetic” (stretchy) strap, they hooked up and gave us a tug.  The first attempt failed.  They added slack and gave it a running start.  I was pretty worried.  A kinetic “snatch strap” is a weapon.  If one component fails a deadly bungee slingshot is created.  I asked Emily to bend down below the dashboard.  I ducked my head into the truck.  On the count of three we both gunned our engines and the South Africans snapped the nylon strap tight.  The truck lurched and suddenly was free from the mud.  Yipee!!!!

I tried to convince Emily that we needed to go through the puddle to prove we had defeated it, but she would  have none of it, and we took a small detour around the bog and headed toward the South Gate.  There we showered and headed back to Maun.

Once in town we visited Ray and the Checkers one last time before returning the vehicle and hopping on the flight to Jo-Burg.

It was a fantastic trip.  We made new friends and hopefully provided some help to the OneWay mission in Botswana.  We thank everyone for their prayers.

-Pete