Angela | Delta Close Calls, Wild Dogs & Campfire Legends
Who’s on the Podcast
Ange Morgan – BHS Safari Consultant and Conservation Enthusiast
With years spent living and working in Selinda, Linyanti, and the Okavango Delta. From wild dogs through camp to after-dark lion and hippo encounters, Angela’s stories capture life where animals set the rules.
In this episode of Sundowner Sessions, Brett shifts the fireside conversation to Angela’s years in Botswana, a vivid run through Selinda, Linyanti, and the Okavango Delta, where living in the bush means fully accepting that the wild sets the rules.
Angela reflects on her time monitoring wildlife in northern Botswana, living not alongside animals but squarely in their space. Packs of wild dogs regularly cut straight through camp, impala bolting ahead of them, forcing you to stand still and trust that everyone misses you as they thunder past.
One of her most memorable moments comes quietly. Photographing wild dogs from her porch in perfect morning light, Angela becomes so focused on composition that she doesn’t notice one dog has circled back. Only when she feels something wet on her arm does she realise what’s happening, the dog calmly sniffing her, curious rather than aggressive.
“I suddenly felt something wet on my arm… and realised a wild dog was sniffing me.”
The conversation turns darker after sunset with a story that captures just how quickly things can change in the Delta. Assisting a filming crew documenting lions hunting hippo, Angela lies down to rest in the back of her vehicle, only to be jolted awake as a hippo, pursued by lionesses, slams into the side of the car. The vehicle spins, the lions scatter, and for a moment the line between observer and participant disappears completely.
“If the lionesses had still been on her, I’m pretty sure I’d have ended up with company inside the vehicle.”
Angela closes with classic Mombo camp legends: buffalo sleeping beneath tents, chefs narrowly missing disaster, hyenas relentlessly testing kitchen defences, and one unforgettable chase where a massive hyena steals a full bin and sprints off, pursued by camp management, only for guests to be watching the whole scene from their game-drive vehicles.
Short, honest, and unmistakably wild, Angela’s stories capture the magic, madness, and privilege of life in the Okavango.
Interesting Facts from the Episode
- Wild dogs are highly curious and may approach humans without aggression when habituated.
- Night work in the Delta carries real risk, especially around water where hippo and lions overlap.
- Mombo Camp sits in extraordinary game density, where animals frequently move through staff and guest areas.
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Kate | Growing Up a Bush Kid
Who’s on the Podcast
Kate Horley – A bush-raised childhood and the stories that stay with her
This episode offers a softer, more personal perspective, a look at bush life through a child’s eyes, where wildlife wasn’t something you visited, but simply part of home.
Recorded as a special Sundowner Session for kids (and the kids at heart), Brett is joined by his daughter Kate for a conversation filled with laughter and honest reflection.
She shares memories from growing up in Timbavati and Klaserie, including a moment that still stands out. A game drive suddenly halted when the vehicle wouldn’t start, while hyenas gathered nearby.
With adults pushing the car, others trying to keep the hyenas at bay, and a baby crying in the background, calm quickly turned to chaos.
“I remember everyone pushing the car… and the hyenas just standing there watching us.”
It’s a reminder that life in the bush isn’t always polished or predictable, sometimes it’s messy, noisy, and a little frightening, but those are the moments that become the stories you carry.
The episode closes with another family memory near the Kruger gate: wild dogs nearby, a stubborn Land Rover that wouldn’t start, and that familiar, quiet tension of the bush.
“That was just normal for us.”
Simple, warm, and full of character, Kate’s story offers a rare glimpse into what it means to grow up in the bush.
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