Stuck on the salt pans

You go to Nata for the salt plains but we didn't see them.  Our accommodation was in a lovely spot.  Just tents again but there was a nice cold swimming pool next to a bar that was at least 10 degrees cooler inside than the rest of the camp.  I think it's something to do with the thatched roof.  Mum and I got their early enough to get loungers and that's where we spent most of the day.

Our safari trucks arrived in the late afternoon to take us on our game drive and sunset on the salt pans.  Three separate groups again.  We saw lots of animals but the guides approach seemed to be to drive as fast as he could at the animals so we could get close.  This, of course, meant that they ran away. There were several plants that mum made me take photos of.  One was a type of aloe that women use to put on their nipples when they're weaning babies.   The second was a prickly cucumber which will apparently keep you alive if you're wandering the desert for weeks on end.  I'll skip that thanks.

We got very excited when we saw a group of hippos in the mud.  This excitement didn't last long.   The water level is dropping and there's no where else they can go - all of the water is too far away.   So they're basically dying.  There were 15 a few weeks ago and there's about 7-8 there now.  I think the trucks all got way too close and further stressed them out.  It was pretty sobering. 

On our way to the salt pans we crossed a river bed.  A very sandy river bed.  Which we did not make our way across.  In an attempt to free us our driver reversed and then went forward, reversed and went forward.  The result was predictable.  Even more stuck.  The jack didn't work properly so lifting it to put logs underneath was not easy.  Eventually another truck full of Germans brought out their better jack.  But no one had ropes to pull it out or anything particularly useful.  My suggestions to get a spade to dig us out and to let some air out of the tyres were ignored (but later taken up when one of the chaps from a different truck suggested it). 

The attempts to get us out were quite dodgy.  They put bits of wood under the tyres to get better traction and then had people standing behind to push.  I told them several times that this was too dangerous as people could get hit with flying debris but was ignored.   The German tourists helping us also ignored me, and one of them yelled at us for not helping push (we were to run into that group on many occasions over the next few days and she ignored my cheerful 'good mornings' every time.  We eventually got moving after dark and went back to camp with a great story to tell, but no visit to the salt pans.