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18. Stuck!
2/17/2019
As time went by on our safari and we put more miles on our truck, we became fairly comfortable about adventuring into places requiring four-wheel drive—perhaps a bit too comfortable.
One of the many mud-holes we encountered
in the Moremi Reserve.
On our third night, we stayed in the Moremi Game Reserve along the Okavango River Delta in Botswana. The area is pretty amazing—an example of an inland delta where the ultimate fate of the river water is evaporation rather than entering the ocean.
In the morning we had some time to explore the dirt and sand roads of the reserve. I use the term "roads" loosely as these pathways were pretty rudimentary. Think lots of deep sand, giant potholes, many filled with water, and, as we discovered, plenty of mud-holes.
But hey, no worries about the "roads"—we had four-wheel drive, a shovel, an axe, an air compressor, what could possibly go wrong?
As the road deteriorated, we found ourselves
in another "elephant alley."
Before long, we found ourselves in an "elephant alley" similar to the one described in another post. At this point the road included more than its fair share of potholes, standing water, and mud-holes. Given that driving through some water was inevitable—and that we had learned that getting through some standing water was pretty easy—we decided to avoid the elephants (no regrets about that!) and drive through a pool of water.
Well, that was the plan anyway.
We got in easily enough—it was the getting out part that became a problem.
Much to our dismay, the truck didn't climb right out like it had done in the other pools we had driven through.
Our trusty vehicle, stuck, in a mud-hole . . .
No worries, we'll just backup a bit and try again . . . No luck.
Ok, we'll put it into four-wheel drive, low—that should do the trick. Result: spinning wheels, no progress.
Ok, we'll engage the handy "power switch" on the dash board. No noticeable effect.
Even though we were in a reserve where the rules were "stay in your vehicle" due to all sorts of dangerous and aggressive creatures like cape buffalo, rhinos, lions, and elephants (which had us partially surrounded and were less than fifty meters from our vehicle), we had little choice but to get out and try to get un-stuck. Another option was to wait and get help from another vehicle, but we hadn't seen anyone in over an hour and had no idea how long it would be before someone came our way.
A sign from a different reserve clearly indicating that
it's not a good idea to get out of your vehicle!
So, we took off our shoes, stepped barefoot out into the mud, and, as advised during our vehicle training, collected branches to wedge under the wheels in order to try to get some traction. Well, two of us collected while one of us kept a careful eye on the elephants for any signs of aggression. We were certainly ready for a mad dash to the truck to yield ground to the elephants if necessary. After all, it was still morning and we weren't in any particular hurry.
As it turned out, being in an area with elephant activity had its advantages. Elephants have quite a large impact on trees as they habitually knock them over, or, break the trunks a meter to two above the ground. This meant that there was a readily available supply of branches in the form of small tree tops that we could use to put under our wheels to try to get some traction.
An example of a tree broken by an elephant. Fortunately
for us, this leaves a handy supply of broken branches.
After placing some branches under each of the four wheels, we tried once again to climb out of the hole. No luck. Actually, not that surprising given the super-fine gray clay which made a particularly "greasy" mud. In fact, the mud was so slippery that it was quite tricky to walk without falling.
It was rapidly dawning on us that this was not going to be a quick and easy extraction.
This mud was super-slippery.
Our first attempt at getting traction by
placing branches under our wheels.
Fortunately, we were well equipped with axe and shovel. So, we fetched our tools from the back of the vehicle, and took turns chopping more and better branches, digging out the tires, and keeping an eye on the elephants.
Chopping and digging. (And un-seen, keeping an eye
on the elephants, and, taking pictures.)
Our main challenge was that three of our four wheels were pretty well sunk in the mud. The good news was that the front left wheel was not so deeply buried. It was here we placed much of our attention. We were able to dig and divert much of the water surrounding that wheel. We then wedged branches under all four tires, using the axe head as a hammer to get wood under each wheel as far as possible.
Our front left wheel - the least buried.
This time, with our vehicle in four-wheel drive low (and with the "power button" engaged), we were able to slowly climb out of the hole. I wish we had videoed the extraction—three of the wheels were spinning, but, the front left wheel held firm and finally pulled us out. A video would be a good feature for a Toyota Hilux advertisement. We most definitely were grateful for the performance of the truck!
Once the truck was on solid ground, we did our best to clean off our feet and the tools, first in the standing muddy water from the mud-hole, then with the supply of water from the water tank in the back of the truck. As we were cleaning, a safari vehicle with several tourists in the back drove by. It was fun to see the expressions of the tourists who looked at us in partial shock and horror as their guide stopped to check that everything was ok, which by then it was. And it was somewhat reassuring to know that help would have arrived if we had failed to rescue ourselves.
Jordan, after the successful extraction.
Trying to wash the mud off of shoes, feet, etc.
Once we got back on the road (well, a mud and pothole filled sand-path might be a better description than "road"), we passed a herd of cape buffalo just a kilometer away. We felt fortunate that we didn't get stuck near them as buffalo have a reputation for being particularly aggressive. Phew!
A herd of cape buffalo was only about one kilometer
up the road from where we got stuck.
Definitely best to stay in your vehicle when near one of these guys!
Given the way it all turned out, getting stuck was one of the highlights of the two weeks. And, as our Zambian friends Emmanuel and Everisto told us jokingly, "you really haven't been to Africa unless you get stuck."