Kgale Hill Hike

Climibing Kgale hill, as they call it, was a daunting task. My confidence swelled as soon as our combis arrived at the scene. "This is easy," I thought to myself as I began my hike and snapped this picture. My director, Batsi, told us that an earlier group reached the top in 25 minutes! Whereas, another group took two hours! Obviously, we wanted to beat the 25 minute mark. The skies were clear and the weather was perfect. I couldn't ask for more. There were a total of 3 tracks to the top. But the trail we choose was full of surprises and challenges. About quarter of the way to the top, our trail just disappeared, and we were left with nothing but thorny trees and sharp rocks all around us. Instead of going back, we moved on, fighting our way through thickets and forming our own trail. It was an inhospitable environment. For others, the sharp tree leaves would stick to their clothing as they brushed against them. At the half-way point, we were able to outline Gaborone.  We reached a point where there was nothing but boulders forming deep narrow ditches. It wouldn't be a pleasant experience to get your limbs stuck in one of those. We had no other choice but to scale the rocks.

After about 20 minutes, we got to the top...actually we thought we reached the top as we saw the radio towers in front of us. We settled on the boulders and munched on our snacks waiting for Batsi, who was trailing us. As I sat down, I saw three tiny splinters on my fingers! Whaoooo! I was grossed out at first to see them just protruding out of my skin. I was quick to pluck them out, hoping I didn't catch any infection. I immediately did a quick check of myself. There was nothing but a yellow bug crawling on my head, which my friend flicked it off. Now came the best part, viewing the beautiful landscape. It was Africa at its finest.  The view was exhilarating. My bonding with Africa was suddenly interrupted with Batsi's presence. We still didn't reach the top yet!! We had to go around the radio cables and make our way to the top.

The view from up above was breathtaking. My bonding with Africa rejuvenated. With the right breeze hitting my face, I took everything the view had to offer. The horizon seemed endless. Spending a half hour on top, we made our way down, this time on a newer trail. The path down had its own surprises. People who climbed the hill before saw baboons and other wildlife. Surely, on our way down the trail that seemed like a dried up stream, we saw baboons and deer.  Finally! what I was waiting for all along - witnessing Africa's wildlife in its natural habitat. There were 6 of them! It was heart-stirring!

Check out the pictures in "Photos" section of the blog.