Agony and Ecstasy

Toothache at 1a.m. is awful.  Toothache at 1a.m. when an elephant is snacking on the trees between you and your painkillers is agony.

Bum Hill campsite platform

 View from my campsite loo

I spent a night at Bum Hill campsite, one of the Namibia Community Based Tourism sites (you might have read my blog about Nacobta in The Question).  Bum Hill is situated on the Kwando River and each campsite has an east-facing lookout platform with individual site ablutions underneath.  I had a particularly lovely view (not as obscured by as many trees as the others) so decided to sleep on my stretcher under the stars.  I set my camera up to take a star-trails pic, but kept falling asleep waiting for the moon to set behind me as there was so much light and then, of course, there weren’t many bright stars in the focus area when I needed them and my picture wasn’t successful.  I had to keep setting my phone alarm to wake me up for each stage of the picture.

Excruciating toothache woke me at 1a.m.  I was about to leap off the stretcher and dash down to my toiletry bag in my LSP when I heard the ominous sounds of branches being ripped off a tree, very close by.  An elephant.  I waited for it to move on and then I’d make my dash.  Lo and behold as the sound seemed to get a little further away, another elephant made itself heard.  Shit!  My pain was becoming unbearable.  I waited.  Now one of them was drinking from the water next to my platform.  I waited.  And I waited.  Now I was on the verge of tears.  I waited.  I could now only hear one elephant browsing on the trees.  I was desperate.

Fuck, it’s now or never.

I leapt off the stretcher and the floorboards creaked so damn loudly, it could have woken the dead.  I waited an eternity (probably half a second), I heard a branch and almost vaulted down the wooden ladder, reached the car rear door, opened it, grabbed the toiletry bag and closed the door.  Shit, shit, shit, it wasn’t closed properly and the inside light stayed on.  I heard nothing. I raced around and opened the driver’s door and hopped in, without closing the door fully.  I switched off the interior light and then remembered I had emergency antibiotics in my medical kit.  Best I start them now in case this toothache is going somewhere serious as I’m almost at the furtherest point away from Joburg on my adventure.  I jumped out the car, trying to close the door as quietly as possible and raced up the ladder back onto my stretcher.  I popped the pills and lay down, heart racing.  I didn’t give a damn about warnings of ulcers by not taking antibiotics on a full stomach.  I’d try to make up for it before the next tablets. 

The elephant was still browsing away nearby, seemingly unperturbed.

My racing heart slowed down and slowly, very slowly, the painkillers began working. Finally I fell asleep.

I woke as day was breaking, my toothache now down to a very dull ache.  I heard water being splashed around.  Very noisy hippos.  No, the noise lasted too long. 

I got up and was treated to elephants swimming across the Kwando River as the sun was trying to make its way up to the horizon. I attempted some pics (light too low) and then got back into bed to rather savour it all. In ecstasy and back to sleep.

 When I woke from dozing - sunrise

I dozed off and was finally woken by raining fruit seeds, which birds were scoffing in the tree above me.

Val, thanks for recommending I try Bum Hill.  Well worth it all.

Sable and Zebra on my way through Bwabwata Game Reserve, Caprivi

on my way to Drotsky's and Ngepi

Till next time . . .