麻豆约拍

By wildlife cinematographer Sets Nthomiwa

Getting to sleep out on top of a car in the Okavango Delta — now that's an opportunity known to just a handful of people in the whole world. Sleeping out in our vehicles helps us pick up on signs of the cats a lot quicker than if we slept in camp. We are able to look for tracks in the area where we last had the cats the evening before, and as we rest, we also listen out for any disturbances around us. It may be alarm calls from impala, some jackals howling, or contact calling from the cats themselves.

Settling in for the night usually entails parking not far from the cats that I may have been following that day. I give myself a distance of at least 500 meters from them for my safety. Then I find a tree to sleep under - usually one with big canopy coverage. If you don't have enough coverage over you, you wake up with morning dew on your blankets which doesn’t help with the cold in winter. In certain areas around the islands we operate in, I even have preferred trees that I gravitate towards in the evenings.

I also choose trees which don’t have any dead hanging branches that may fall on me while I sleep. That'd be very bad! I’m pretty particular about this because I have had a couple of close encounters of branches breaking and falling in the middle of the night near to me. The tree of choice should also not have any sage, tall grass or huge bushes around it as I need to be able to see any animals passing by. Once the tree is selected, I do a last security check of the branches for leopards or their stashed food.

In my first year in the Delta I learned a hard lesson on picking the safest place to sleep at night. I had chosen to set up under a cluster of jackalberry trees and I was sure I had hit the jackpot with the perfect canopy. But I had made one important error; the jackalberry trees were fruiting at that time of the year. As I was sleeping I was woken by my car shaking ever so slightly as if swaying in a strong wind. As I lifted my head I couldn’t feel any wind but when I looked beyond my feet there was a bull elephant scratching himself against the car’s spare tyres. He must have been enjoying it! In the faint moonlight, I saw his large size and froze. I did not want to make any sudden movements because scaring him could have cost me my life.

In silence I watched the elephant until he was done and as I looked around, I discovered he was accompanied by a whole herd, who were enjoying the jackalberry fruits that had fallen to the ground. Just as I was about to panic, I remembered one thing; that when I was asleep the elephants did not bother me, nor did they try to yank me from the top of the car (even though I was probably snoring loudly). So in order to keep the peace, I decided to go back to sleep and not bother the elephants and in turn the elephants would not bother me. And indeed I slept. I woke up in the morning to find myself alone again. The elephants had eaten their snack and left me in one piece.

With my car safely under a tree, I start preparing my dinner. If I didn't cook a big meal at lunch I will take out a frozen meal and I let it thaw out. Our frozen meals are precooked meals by our camp chefs - usually a stew, bolognaise, beef stroganoff, roasted vegetables or anything else we might have requested.

I love cooking so I often pretend I'm making my dinner from scratch. I set the single burner gas stove on the rail beside the footwell of my modified truck, ignite the flame and place the pot down. Next I add some oil, then my defrosted meal, accompanied by an array of spices and herbs; black pepper, rosemary and Worcestershire sauce are essential. Then I let it all simmer until I'm happy.

When I eat, I enjoy the meal while being mindful of the sounds around me. I keep the environment quiet enough to hear any animal calls.

When it’s bedtime I pack away all my utensils and get on top of the car. It’s a ritual of unzipping the bedroll canvas cover and jumping into bed. Before I close my eyes to say a short prayer, I usually look up and admire the night sky. I am reminded how unique and amazing this experience is.

It never gets old. I am always in awe as I look into the night sky seeing the countless stars shining and every now and then, if I look long enough, I see a couple of them moving at different speeds. My mind always thinks that they are stars moving about or alien spaceships, but I quickly remind myself that they're most probably satellites doing their usual orbit and I'll probably see them again tomorrow night.

It's taken me a couple years to perfect my night routine in a way that works for me. Every action has been considered not just to protect me from harm but also to not disturb the wildlife. It often sounds crazy when you hear about how we sleep, but there is an assurance that we are safe. And it is an experience I will not trade for anything in this world.