A Wild Meerkat Crawled Onto Our Boys Head!! The Bucket List Family Travels To Botswana.

If it sounds like we're in the middle of a desert storm, we are in fact. Morning. Ok, ok, ok, again, again, again. The Makati Kati Pans. Peace sign. Good job Callie. All of a sudden we pull in to like the coolest looking airport I've ever seen in my life. This guy is exactly who I wanted to be in my life. Coolest airport in the world goes to these guys. Guys, we have arrived. Proper vintage. You got to go and dig those holes. With broken hands and withered souls. Emancipated from all you know. You got to go and dig those holes. Whoa. This is for sure mom and dad's room. Wow, they do have exercise stuff. Hey, careful, careful. Careful, careful. Wow, it's big, huh? What is that? No way. Are you serious? Is it comfortable? Is there toilet paper in here? Yep. Wow. This is the strangest, nicest toilet I've ever seen. It's like a throne. You feel like a king now? My turn. Oh, that'll be cool, huh? Let's check it out. Oh, wow. This is cool. Oh, look at this rug. Wow. Guys, this is a cool room. What a cool room. Good morning from Botswana. Actually Botswana. Let's see what's in here. Be careful, be careful. Can I see what's in here? Oh, bug spray and an air horn. Do not play with that, okay? If you need help, just yell for mom and dad. Why can't we horn it? Because it's so, so loud. It'll burst your eardrums. If you need help, just yell for mom and dad. We're just right over there. What if it's a predator? Then yell for mom and dad. I'll come save you. What? You look a little sunburnt and windburnt. I just hope that we can do a good job of explaining the experience that is the Makati Kati Pan. It's incredible here. We are here at Sam's Camp in Makati Kati Pan in Botswana. First of all, we need to talk about what's a pan. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like a pan is just a forever-ago dried-up lake because it's deeper and then it slopes up on the sides and there's zero water now. So it's just forever perfectly flat desert. Noah, can we ride on the top? What do you say? Let's go, mom. We're ready. Look at us on top. Once it gets dark, are we still going to stay? No, once it gets dark, we'll go down into the deep. Ready, Mina? You found a stick? We're in the middle of the town. Where's Callie? Oh, there he is. Look at that sunbeam right there. Mommy, you have the sun. There it is. Okay, Mina, last question. Are you okay or do you want to stop? Thank you, buddy. It's beautiful, huh? And then look at the shape of his head. Uh-huh. You see how it's kind of like a slope? Yeah. And the girls are a little more square heads. Oh. Ready? Big bite. You see the reason why we don't have a lot of young palm trees? Yeah. If you look at all these very tall palm trees here, there's no middle-sized ones here. And all these young ones, all these are palm trees that are still growing around us here. They're so coordinated with their trunk. Uh-huh. There are males and... One big male, one big ostrich, and the rest are savannas. Oh, there it is. This is cool. This is going to make a fire. All right, hold up. We thought the day was over, but then... That was nuts. Right? All right, so... Busted. You didn't say thank you. Oh, okay. Busted. Okay. All right. So, we thought the day was over, and then Sands Camp surprised us with a special meeting. Bushman walk. They said bushman, and I thought it was bushman. That's what they call it. I mean, that experience was much more. It needs to just be called the best cultural experience possible here in Botswana. I can't even explain it. I can't remember the words because they speak in, like, clicks. And they taught us all these words, and it was awesome. Kelly, everyone shake your hand. What's the name of your village? We're now 200. Hey, Dorothy, I want you to try that throw part, okay? Hold it and put it in there. So, when you scoop, they can't see it. You put it. See, I'm doing it. That's good. Oh, yeah, you want to try? So, we're walking around. They're teaching us about, you know, booping stuff and sticks. And then... Hi. That happened. Did you like the bushman? Yeah. What did they teach you how to do? Make fire. Wow. Oh, make fire. Wow. You want to go next, Dorothy? All right, put your hands out, Dorothy. Go. Nice. Kelly, do you want to do one, or just one? Okay. Kelly, put your hands out to go next. Can you nail that, Kelly? Go for it. Nice. And do you use this? A little bit. So, now he makes kind of a ball with it. And then, Mano, do you want to hold it once they pour it in? Yeah. There you go. Hold it like a ball. Okay. Lizzie, hold it. Keep holding it. Look out, Dorothy. Okay, keep holding it, Mano. We'll see. It's working. Is it? Keep holding it. And then, don't drop it, Mano. If it starts to light on fire, just slowly set it down on the dirt. Oh, it's going. Is it? It's coming. Keep going. Nice. Good, buddy. We have a short game. A game called non-contact martial arts. Okay. What was it, the game? I think it is... We have to confuse our opponent. Yeah. No one will know. And the arms have to relax at the same time. Keep going. I think it is... Honestly, there's this game right now where you, like, point up, down, across, or whatever, and it depends what they do. I think I was kind of like that with singing and dancing. It looked awesome. It looked like a really fun time. I'd love to be a part of it sometime. Just really special to see a completely different culture. Completely different culture. And how happy they are. So, I mean, that's... So happy and so welcoming to let us just kind of, like, join in their fun. Hang out with them for an hour or two. That was great. Super lovely people. We're super grateful. Thanks, guys. How do you say good morning? What do you say? How do you say? We're here in wintertime. Can you hear it? Can you hear the wind? We're here in wintertime, and it's... It's cold. It's freezing. And it's, like, windy cold. Like, piercing freezing cold. I mean, it's cold at night. It's cold during the day. It's cold in the winter. Wow. But, I mean, like, we make do. And the best part is all five of us find a row in the safari jeep and just snuggle up and get it done. We call it the cuddle cave. We take our ponchos that are kind of windbreakers, and we make something of a shelter. And then we all crawl inside, and we use each other for warmth. Kind of like meerkats. Yeah. Like meerkats. Everyone in the cuddle cave? Mom, you here? I can't see you. Oh, there she is. Cuddle cave. Bungalow's family roll call. Daddy, here. Mommy. Here. Jordie. Here. What do you want to do? Here. Callie? Here. I know. Pearl. Back in the cuddle cave. Pearl. A few times in this video, I'm going to give our kids just the props that they deserve. They're incredible kids. Sometimes we're like, ah, kids are just average kids. Not this week. They were... What's the word? Troopers? All-stars? Troopers, to the max. Exactly. It was so cold, and I don't know if I heard them complain about the cold once. Callie would be like frostbitten cheeks, just so red, borderline purple. Callie's just numb to the cold. I know. So much energy. Yes. You're singing along now. And I'm looking at him, waiting for him to complain. We're even suggesting, do you want to cover your face? Do you want to put on your adventure band? Do you want to put on a beanie? I think the phrase that will always stick with our family now is, last night I was so cold. And so whiny. No, I wasn't whiny at all. You asked me how I was doing. And I said, I'm all right. And I said, is anybody else as cold? Like, is anybody else freezing? Pause. Because you're making it sound like you weren't complaining. I wasn't complaining! Instant replay. You asked me how, you asked me. Ask me, you're me. How are you doing? I'm all right. What did you want me to do? So he's not whining, but like. What did you want me to do? I'm just saying, the kids were being troopers. I'm great! And then there's mom. Okay, when Dorothy says the quote of the trip, which I was like, is anybody else cold? And then Dorothy goes, we're all cold mom. We're just doing a better job of keeping it together. Dorothy said that too? I loved it and I support it 100%. You burst out laughing. We all thought it was so funny. Oh no, it was so funny. We're all cold mom. We're just keeping it together. The whole family, honestly, the whole way, everybody kept it together. That's going to be forever, a bucket list quote. We're just keeping it together. Keeping it together. Show me the bush baby. Right there. I got a shirt. I got brains. I got. Bush baby. And I got no, I got no undies. You know what I'm struggling with? Like, would you recommend this place to other people? Because the easy answer is like, absolutely yes. We loved it, but is it for everyone? This is for the adventurer. This is one of those like bucket list experiences that you got to be game. Basically, I'm challenging you guys. If this video scares you, this place is not for you. It's pretty rough and tough. But if you're willing to step outside your comfort zone and be adventurous, the moments are worth it. A top 10 place for us, for sure. So one afternoon, we got together with the rest of the camp and we all went out on four wheelers. Yo, you guys are looking awesome. Let me see, Callie. Who helped you do that? Our guide? I got to get mine. Good, there you go. Alright. You doing good? You want to drive for a little bit? Hey, don't go too fast, okay? You can drive if you go medium. Woohoo! Keep going. You got it. Push harder, okay? All the way. Yeah, keep going. You know what song I'm going to use for this? Morgan, my best friend from Utah, sent me this song and just said, I heard this song and it made me think of you. It was the greatest compliment when you hear this song and it's going to work perfect for this moment. We're going to go a little bit faster, you okay? Okay, hold on, okay? I feel like this is what it would be like to walk on the moon. Can you hear that? Alright mom, you got a little side luggage here. You good? I'm proud of you. We're walking on the moon and we have stayed the night in some pretty cool places. But, never before have we seen a place like this. Look at this. Wow. Look at this, wow. Alright, so this is such a random place. What is it that brought us here to the Makatikati pen? About two years ago when we were in Africa, we had some friends who have traveled extensively in Africa and they told us, you have to go to Sam's camp, to the Makatikati desert to see the meerkats. Meerkats you say? This is our summer semester on safari. This week we're talking about meerkats. Gotta do it faster. Good morning. Wait. Good morning. This week we're talking about meerkats. Occasionally in wildlife there are those experiences that you can have where the wildlife breaks down that barrier that should always exist between humans and wildlife. Occasionally that barrier is broken down and this is one of those cases when the meerkats are used to the humans and they use them as an asset in their day. The meerkats wake up every morning, bright and early and they peek out of their holes and they look around and if there's visitors there that are quietly sitting nearby they will come perch themselves on top of them to get a better vantage point. What is it? They're so cute. Hi guys. Don't be scared. I'll never forget the first time we were driving in the safari truck and then we spotted off in the distance the meerkats. The kids were so excited but we still didn't know what to expect. We didn't really know what to expect. They were running around foraging for food and Manila just kind of went to a soft spot laid down and one just slowly, slowly walked right up to him climbed on his back and then onto his head. And it was... It was so special. I mean it just made Manila feel so special because we were all trying to interact with the meerkats but they chose Manila. He was thrilled. And the rest of the day he was like they chose me. I think as like middle kid when you feel seen it goes a long way. So thank you to that meerkat. I really appreciate you. One at a time You can't rush a moment So don't even try Don't even try There's a symphony you're missing If you only listen You'll find Big magic in the mundane A big picture in a small frame Everything is sacred when you take time to notice Big love happens in the small moments A big picture in a small frame Everything is sacred when you take time to notice Big love happens in the small moments Manila did that hurt? Are you okay? You okay bud? The kids really loved it. Dorothy loved it. Manila felt so special when one climbed up on his head. What a special experience when then Dorothy asked to share Manila's meerkat. And so Dorothy kind of put her forehead against Manila's, but slightly higher and it transferred from Manila's head up onto Dorothy's. My favorite part is when it's like on Manila's head but then it's like hands are perched on Dorothy's head. There's no use in chasing Nickels and dimes Riches all around you Open your eyes, open your eyes You can't buy the peace you're after So don't even try Cause you'll find Big magic in the mundane A big picture in a small frame Everything is sacred when you take time to notice Big love happens in the small moments So when you hold still the meerkats will climb on your back and then jump off your shoes onto your head. That's what happened to you. Maybe it happens to everyone. And then when you hold still they climb on your head and then you stand on top of their head like this. Those aren't sitting down. And they would look for lions. They look for lions because they're scared of them. They look for them so they can run away. Okay Callie, what do meerkats eat? Frogs, lizards, mostly, so we're safe, eat poisonous or not poisonous snakes. They eat not poisonous snakes and they also eat scorpions. Yeah, they also eat scorpions and when they eat those down their legs up their arms, it's black. Like over here on his belly it's black. Yeah, like they're scared. On the outside it's brown. Or they like soak up the sun and so they get warm cause it's really cold. Or they go in your pants. Are meerkats herbivores or carnivores? Carnivores. Yeah, because they eat. They eat meat and they also eat insects. What sounds do they make? Oh, they make yarr, yarr. Oh yeah, they make it inside their voice like Bebop, so they're just uh, uh. This is what they go like. It's kind of like a meowing. So meerkats have the same thing as cheetahs. They have little black spots on their eyes and it's like sunglasses and they also kind of look like sunglasses. Yeah. So it protects their eyes from the sun. It's my eye. So this is how they hug and sometimes they cuddle like this. Or sometimes they hug like this. Yeah, like this. Or sometimes they hug like this. No, oh, get up. Sometimes they hug like this and it's super cute. And sometimes they hug like this. And you know monkeys hold onto their chest like this. We're not talking about monkeys. We're not talking about monkeys, bro. So we went two times and the first time they climbed on me and Manila but then the second time... Mom's got breakfast muffins. Kid's already in the car. Being crazy. It's 6 a.m. As the sun rises. Why's he got so much energy? Oh, they got a meerkat dance. There's a meerkat dance? What's it look like? It's perfect. Okay, now, Callie, show us the meerkat dance. Okay, stand up. Shake it all, baby. Listen up. Live report from what's in the dirt. It's okay. So this... So we went two times and the first time they climbed on me and Manila but then the second time they climbed on all of us and they started snuggling us and I scratched Glenn's back. Oh yeah, and it fell on me. Big love happens in the small moments. In nature, there's something called a symbiotic relationship where two different creatures work together to benefit each other. We like to think that we have a symbiotic relationship with a meerkat where we were able to just really enjoy being in their presence and we hopefully provided them a little bit of a better vantage point. There was one point where all the meerkats were kind of scattering and starting to forage for food and then all of a sudden they all got spooked and where did they go? They ran to us for shelter and then they spent the next 15 minutes just kind of hiding in a little... They were using us to stay warm using us to look around for more danger. I loved being their safe place. We were their cuddle cave. We were their cuddle cave of meerkats. Feel the sun on your face Bare feet on the ground I know those same beautiful things If you look around, just look around Big magic in the mundane The big picture in a small frame Everything is sacred when you take time to notice Big magic in the mundane The big picture in a small frame Everything is sacred when you take time to notice Big love happens in the small moments Is that so special? Sometimes I lay under the moon I thank God I'm breathing And then I pray, don't take me soon I am here for a reason We gotta give special props to our kids for just being the most absolute special troopers in this experience because it was so important with these meerkats to be perfectly calm, quiet, still and above all, patient. It was so cold and the conditions were so rough and windy, yeah and we had to wait a while the meerkats, they don't like the wind and so they sat in their holes for a while before coming out we arrived, we woke up so early before the sun in the freezing cold we arrived at the meerkats at 7.30 they didn't actually climb up until after 9am until like 9.15 so we were waiting there in the freezing cold and the kids didn't complain a single time they kept it together just keeping it together like this Callie, what did the meerkats do to you? they did this you don't have to see, they went on this ship they climbed over it thank you to our wonderful guide such a cool guide, thank you so much thank you to the great meerkats everyone here at this camp was so good with our kids especially helping them stay warm thank you to the meerkats shout out to that meerkat that was a sweetie to Manila and we're going to put a link in the description to the property and we hope you check it out as well as to your book as well as to my book check that out as well until next time guys thank you for watching don't forget to like and subscribe bye