By Roxanne Reid
For 12 years Warona (Wax) Kebabope worked as a ranger and environmental education officer at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, a community-based wildlife project near Serowe in Botswana. Then he got married and he and his wife began looking around for somewhere they could work together.
For 12 years Warona (Wax) Kebabope worked as a ranger and environmental education officer at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, a community-based wildlife project near Serowe in Botswana. Then he got married and he and his wife began looking around for somewhere they could work together.
Two years ago they both got jobs at Wilderness Safaris Banoka Bush Camp in the Khwai Reserve, Okavango Delta. I met him when he was filling in on the management team at Xigera Camp for a few months. His wife was head housekeeper there, but off on maternity leave. They would soon be moving together to Gomoti Camp further east.
Solar panels at Xigera Camp
He showed us around Xigera’s solar plant, an impressive 135 panels producing 30kW of renewable energy, enough to power all the camp’s lights, fridges and freezers, sewage and water pumps. The energy is stored in huge batteries for use at night.
Solar energy has obvious environmental benefits, which is what drove Wilderness Safaris to make the change in 2011. ‘It’s also better because bringing fuel to run a generator in this remote area is a mission,’ said Wax.
Solar energy has obvious environmental benefits, which is what drove Wilderness Safaris to make the change in 2011. ‘It’s also better because bringing fuel to run a generator in this remote area is a mission,’ said Wax.
Xigera's battery bank
The Okavango Delta is pristine and special enough to have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, so it’s important that waste water from the camp doesn’t contaminate the environment. All grey water is treated by anaerobic aeration in an above-ground treatment plant before it’s allowed back into the environment.
Crazy guests
Since many of the eco-camps in Botswana are unfenced in areas where there are wild animals, I wondered if there were ever problems. ‘There was an incident when I was by the pool and an elephant came there, standing between me and some guests who came to take pictures,’ Wax replied. ‘The people got too close so it mock charged. I shouted at them to move but they just stood there.’
Crazy guests
Since many of the eco-camps in Botswana are unfenced in areas where there are wild animals, I wondered if there were ever problems. ‘There was an incident when I was by the pool and an elephant came there, standing between me and some guests who came to take pictures,’ Wax replied. ‘The people got too close so it mock charged. I shouted at them to move but they just stood there.’
Wax Kebabope
When they finally moved the elephant was w-a-ay too close, the charge no longer so ‘mock’. ‘I asked them afterwards why they didn’t move when I told them to. They said they’d read that you must stand still, not run.’ He shook his head. ‘I told them, “When your manager is telling you to move you don’t worry about what you’ve read, you just listen to what he’s telling you.”’
Wax’s winning mantra for dealing with fussy guests is to kill them with kindness. ‘I’m a kind person and sometimes that’s all you need to make people feel better,’ he said.
And when they feel better, they start to enjoy themselves. Clever man.
* This is part of a series called Voices of Botswana, which shares the stories of some of the people we met on our Botswana adventure. You can find them all in the people category of this blog.
You may also enjoy
Okavango: where the mokoro is king
Okavango: the best game drive of our lives
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
Wax’s winning mantra for dealing with fussy guests is to kill them with kindness. ‘I’m a kind person and sometimes that’s all you need to make people feel better,’ he said.
And when they feel better, they start to enjoy themselves. Clever man.
* This is part of a series called Voices of Botswana, which shares the stories of some of the people we met on our Botswana adventure. You can find them all in the people category of this blog.
You may also enjoy
Okavango: where the mokoro is king
Okavango: the best game drive of our lives
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za