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BOTSWANA
'Life is a great big canvas and you should throw all the paint on it that you can.'
Danny Kaye
10th July
We crossed the border into Botswana at Mohembo today and spent our first night camping at the excellent riverside Drotsky's Cabins near Shakawe. A type of portacabin on our site provided a bed, shower and toilet, kitchen sink, plenty of hot water and even our own coffee and tea making facilities! The river was running high and the crocodiles were mostly submerged but we were told to carry a powerful torch at night, as the hippos come wandering up the banks into the camping areas. Two males were posing a particular problem at the moment, challenging each other over territory. Food also had to be watched as the numerous monkeys in the surrounding trees were quick to snatch things away! Everything here centred around the river.....bird watching, fishing, boat trips and even the resaurant had river caught tiger fish and bream on its menu.
11th July
We decided to visit the Tsodilo Hills, famous as one of Africa's greatest sites for Bushman rock art. The reasonable track took us to the 4 hills known as the Male, Female, Child and Grandchild. Sadly, the few remaining people in the village rely heavily on passing tourists and when we finally found the deserted campsite, we were followed by thin, starving dogs with sad eyes. We opened a tin of meat balls and spaghetti for them and decided to move on. These were the first, really emaciated dogs that we had seen. Most village dogs, although lean, are well cared for and will loyally follow their owners, trotting along for miles in the heat alongside donkey carts or accompanying cattle and goat herders.
Back on the main road again, we decided to try and find Guma Lagoon Camp on the edge of the Delta. We took a side track and ploughed through soft, deep sand for about 12 kilometres, only to discover floodwater stretching ahead of us. Trees and bushes closed in as we tried to find a way through, the water became deeper and we decided to turn back. We learned later from other people that you could no longer reach the camp from this track so we didn't feel so bad!
The next campsite shown on our map at Makwena we discovered, had closed down, which meant that there were no more until we reached Maun, nearly 250 kilometres away. We tried to find a place to pull off the road to wild camp for the night but the bush and grass were so dense and without a break, except for tracks leading to villages. As darkness fell, we decided the only choice was to continue to Maun. Driving at night in Africa is never recommended but our two big lights at the front, helped to pick out the cattle and donkeys that grazed close to the edges of the road and therefore posed the most dangerous hazard, especially when they decided to cross or just stood dozing in the middle. Nothing would make them move quickly!
We arrived in Maun about 9.30 p.m. and found Audi Camp, a very popular and busy site but with the restaurant still open so that we could get a snack after our long journey.
12th - 13th July
Maun is the gateway to the Delta and has been transformed due to the tourists that stop off there before heading into the Delta regions, either in their own vehicles, by light planes or by organised safaris.
Today in Maun you will still see herds of goats and donkeys wandering along the road and sitting in the shade of buildings but now they have to compete with the many 4x4's and safari vehicles on the streets. The local market stalls at the side of the street have been joined by bars, Internet cafes, shopping centres and a small airport. Modern buildings have been built next to mud and thatch huts on the outskirts of town. There was a choice of excellent supermarkets and some lovely craft and book shops, lots of lodges, hotels and campsites.
We reserved places on campsites in the Delta and in Deception Valley in the Central Kalahari at the tourist information office, as this was still a busy holiday time for South Africans. We had to struggle to get dates at all but had our doubts when we were continually told everything was full. We will see!
14th July
We drove to the southern entrance of the Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta and obtained our permit and a camping space at Xakanaxa campsite, which, as we had suspected, was by no means full on arrival, and remained that way!
It was certainly in a lovely position, right by the waterways and papyrus swamps but no running water so you had to be self sufficient. There was plenty of space for a braai, a beautiful sunset each night, a sky full of stars and the wonderful sound of hippos grunting and splashing nearby.
15th July
A troop of baboons, some with babies clinging tightly to their backs, ran out of the swamp and down the track in front of us, as we were having breakfast this morning.
We set off to drive the many tracks in this unique environment. Moremi is lush and varied, a patchwork of lagoons, reed-beds, shallow flooded pans, plains and forests. Some of the tracks were impassable due to recent flooding, in fact we were told that this area of the Park had been closed during the first few months of this year following the heavy rains.
We stopped by a large area of water where the bird life was exceptional, various wading birds and kingfishers were plentiful and we were rewarded by the haunting cries of two fish eagles circling above us. One landed on a high branch of a tall, bleached, dead tree, such a majestic bird framed against the blue sky with huge talons gripping the branch, a strong yellow beak and white and brown plumage, his feathers ruffling in the breeze as he called to his mate. Just wonderful!
Moving on to another expanse of reeded water we found hippos surfacing and snorting, just their eyes and ears above the water, watching us carefully as we sat and watched them! After some time, one slowly climbed out of the water and we were totally in awe at its sheer size and powerful shape.
Three elephants wandered slowly down for a drink and a dust bath, these giants that move as if in slow motion, so carefully and quietly. I never tire of watching them.
We saw many antelope and a wild dog, quite large and most attractive with yellow and black markings.
Baboons came to sit and to play at the edge of the water in the late afternoon sun, so entertaining to watch.
We had a heart stopping moment on the way back to camp when suddenly the track ended in a stretch of water that we decided, or hoped, would not be too deep. However, on reaching the middle, water was washing well over the bonnet. Moby climbed out slowly and apart from us having to dry out the carpets later, everything seemed fine with the electrics.
That evening as we sat round our fire, a hippo splashed out from the reeds and began grazing at the side of the track, we kept a careful eye on him until he returned to the water!
Because of the rain earlier this year, Third Bridge had been washed away and we were therefore unable to get there to hire a mokoro (a dug-out canoe) and a guide to go through the waterways. We felt very satisfied however with what we had seen, although it would have been good to have had a sighting of the pride of lions that we were told were roaming the area.
16th July
We sadly had to leave today but not before we had the amazing luck of seeing our first leopard, after we had taken a wrong track to get back to the South Gate and found ourselves amongst the thick bush. The sun picked out his wonderful, spotted coat, his long tail curling at the end to show a white tip. We barely had time to snatch a photo but it certainly made our day. Such a beautiful animal!
We returned to Maun but changed our campsite to the very pleasant Island Safari Lodge. The helpful people at reception informed us that they had another campsite on the road that we will be taking tomorrow for the Kalahari.
17th July
A monkey helped himself to a whole new packet of biscuits from the back of the Land Rover this morning and sat up in a tree eating them! He had been so quick and we had only turned our backs for a second!
We left for the campsite at Leroo-La-Tau Lodge on our way down to the Central Kalahari. There were only 6 camping places spread out along the Betiti River that was now almost dry, except for a few pools. This place ended up being another of the many highlights of our trip! Migrating zebra we were told, had started to arrive here in their hundreds to drink at a pool just in front of where we were camping, separated only by a few trees, bushes and a narrow track. Other campers however, warned us of the two crocodiles that inhabited the pool. As they had caught a zebra recently however, they hardly seemed to move from basking in the sun outside a cave in the riverbank. We couldn't believe their size!
In the middle of the afternoon we heard the barking of zebra in the distance and then saw them collecting on the opposite ridge before pouring down the bank in a cloud of dust. They were very much aware of our presence and kicking, fighting and squealing to get to the pool, thirst obviously overcame their fear. An amazing sight and we sat quietly and watched them for some time.
That evening elephants wandered through the camp. Branches began swaying and snapping just the other side of Moby, we could hear them eating and their heavy footsteps but it was hard to pick out their huge, grey hulks even though they were so close. In the still of the night, we heard another elephant trumpeting further away, a fantastic sound!
18th July
We were woken in the early hours by lions roaring. This really is like camping completely wild with animals all around. When we got up, vultures were circling the top of the ridge and we guessed the lions had made a kill in the night.
The crocodile was laying further down the bank this morning and we could now see his 'smile' and some teeth, his head alone was massive. What a SIZE! It was hard to believe that they could move so fast.
Zebra came in their hundreds to drink again today but a little later, when the light was fading.
Suddenly we heard angry trumpeting from an elephant further up the dry riverbed to our right. He was obviously heading for the waterhole and very annoyed at finding all the zebra there. His trumpeting continued, an incredible sound and the next thing we knew he was there, in the riverbed, running at amazing speed, trunk and tail out and huge ears flapping, with the zebra stampeding everywhere barking excitedly! Other elephants arrived behind the first to drink but his angry trumpeting continued for most of the evening. A sound and sight that we will never forget!
19th July
A quiet night after the excitement of yesterday evening, apart from lions roaring some distance away. We left this amazing place to buy a few things from the store at Rakops and then took the deep, sand track to the Central Kalahari.
Larger than Denmark or Switzerland, the 52,800 sq. kilometre Central Kalahari Game Reserve, which was set up in 1961, is the largest game reserve in the world. Situated in the centre of Botswana, it is characterised by vast, open plains, saltpans, ancient riverbeds and sand dunes, with many species of trees and shrubs. Rainfall is sparse and can vary from 170 - 700mm per year. The Bushmen, or San people of the Kalahari, have been resident there for probably thousands of years. Originally nomadic hunters and gatherers, the lifestyle of these people has gradually changed with the times and now they live in settlements, some of which are situated within the southern half of the game reserve.
We camped at Deception Valley, the name 'Deception' coming from a nearby pan, of which the dry surface at times appeared to be full of water, until one got much closer.
We had a clearing in the bush all to ourselves, a braai area, a bucket shower and a pit latrine but no running water. Driving here you have to be sure you have plenty of fuel, food and water.
We ate early today amongst the tame, Yellow-billed Hornbills and Red-beaked Francolins and were up in our tent immediately after dark!
20th July
We decided to drive toward the Letiahau waterhole but discovered it to be dry, in fact all the waterholes shown on the map provided, turned out to be dry, which was quite worrying. We came to a large area of open grassland and saw three heads above the grass... three lions, a mother with two younger females. Their attention was focused on a herd of gemsbok that were slowly approaching with some young, all grazing and quite relaxed and unaware of the danger ahead. The leading bull however, soon became suspicious of our presence and began to advance very cautiously in front of the herd, staring straight at us. The lions flattened themselves in the grass and crept forward slowly.
Suddenly the gemsbok also spotted the lions and after a few minutes he took off back to his herd, all of which by now, were also watching intently. The lions lost interest and wandered over to a tree and sat in the shade where they were far less conspicuous.
21st - 23rd July
We had such good luck again this morning as we left our campsite, with a sighting of five cheetahs in the long grass. We took a side track and met them as they crossed in front and to the side of the Land Rover. They were so close and so beautiful - a wonderful sight!
We hope the repairs to the borehole at Letiahau are soon fixed. The remoteness of the Kalahari certainly left us with the feeling that we would love to see more of this wilderness another time and perhaps be fortunate in spotting the black maned, male lions that can be found there.
After leaving the Reserve, we followed the sand track alongside the vet fence for nearly 100 kilometres before reaching the tarred road back to Maun. We once again stayed at Audi Camp for a few days to catch up on numerous jobs and where we enjoyed the company of Markus and Gisela from Switzerland. We hope you both enjoy the rest of your journey through Namibia and travel safely. It was very strange though, to be back amongst so many people, music and noise after the Kalahari wilderness!
24th July
We are due to be at the Linyanti campsite tomorrow and so began the drive north into Chobe National Park, where we stayed at the Savuti Campsite on a remote stretch of the now dry, Savuti Channel.
Savuti is one of Africa's most famous, big-game areas due to the mysterious Savuti Channel that has been known to flow from the Linyanti's waterways and into the heart of Chobe Park, flooding the Savuti Marsh. However this Channel's flow has been unpredictable and has appeared and then dried up again, several times over the last few centuries. Since 1981 the marsh has remained dry, forming a vast, open grassland, dotted with the skeletons of drowned trees. The campsite was large but only one toilet was working and the showers looked well used.
25th - 26th July
We decided that as we were up early and there was only about 40 kilometres before Linyanti, we had time to drive around the Savuti Marshes for 2 to 3 hours. We had noticed a number of rocky hills yesterday just before the campsite and we took the track to the first one of these to look at some rock paintings. We left Moby parked on the track and climbed a short distance to an open, cave-like shelter, with massive boulders resting on top of each other. We were looking at the paintings, when I heard branches breaking close by and saw the head of a large elephant amongst the trees, a little further down the track. We decided that it would be wise to return quietly to Moby as he was parked in the middle of the narrow track, along which the elephant would presumably make his way. Once safely back inside Moby, we could see him quite happily eating just in front of us, breaking huge branches as if they were small twigs! Suddenly, he decided he had had enough, came out onto the track and began to walk slowly towards us. This sudden change of tactics left us no time to start up and back out, so we did what we had once been told to do, to just sit there and keep very still and quiet. My hands were shaking as I took a quick photograph of him coming towards us! His footsteps didn't waver and there was only just enough room for him to pass the Land Rover. He was so close that Bill could have put his hand out and touched him!
It took a while for us to recover from this far too close an encounter, knowing how lucky we had been and how unpredictable lone, bull elephants can be! We drove to the waterhole at the Rhino Vlei, where we found three, female lions sitting under some trees in the shade. We were able to get very close for photographs and then they all got up one at a time to have a drink - more wonderful photographs! We had this amazing spectacle all to ourselves and sat and watched them for some time. The Savuti Marshes has provided us with some unforgettable experiences!
We later took the track for Linyanti but the sand was so deep, that we wondered if we had chosen the the correct route. We later learned that this track was rarely used now because of the sand and the chances of meeting anyone, apart from another lone, bull elephant, would have been very slim had we broken down and needed help!
Arriving at Linyanti was magical, the remote and deserted campsite areas being situated by the beautiful Linyanti River and marshes. We could see the heads of many hippos and knew we would be experiencing a noisy night, as a flat area of grass just in front of Moby led down to the waters edge.
A couple of large elephant stood in the tall, reed beds, slowly flapping their ears. We could also hear branches breaking not far from us, so knew that more were close by.
The grunts and roars from the hippos became louder as evening approached and as soon as it was dark and we were safely in our tent, we could hear them splashing out of the water, right in front of us.
This was another remote and wonderful campsite where you could be at one with nature, with only the sound of birds, hippos calling to each other and the cry of fish eagles.....just magical!
27th July
We were woken many times in the night by the hippos and in the morning, when they had returned to the water, we counted 15 heads, just lazing far enough out to keep an eye on us. There were large piles of fresh elephant dung near Moby but we hadn't heard the elephants after we had fallen asleep.
The sun soon began to clear an early morning mist, change the colour of the reeds to a golden glow and to tinge the river blue from its early morning grey. We had breakfast watching and listening to the hippos and then left this amazing place out on a sandy track through the Linyanti Gate. More sand took us past the boundary of the Chobe Forest Reserve and at Kavimba village, we sighted the beautiful blue of the Chobe River. Our last campsite in Chobe was at Ihaha, situated right next to the river, that meandered like a blue ribbon through flat, marshy ground and bush.
Herds of zebra and antelope were grazing and as we were finishing our meal that evening, a large herd of elephants went down to the river to drink. Just as we were getting into our tent, we heard a noise in the tree above us and our torch picked out a large owl finishing off a meal!
All quiet tonight except for the odd bird and a large number of baboons squealing and grunting in another tree close by.
28th July
A beautiful red sunrise between the trees, encouraged the baboons to gradually come down from their branches and sit in the patches of early morning sun to get warm. Judging by the feathers on the ground, the owl last night must have been eating a bird.
As we slowly took various tracks before heading out of the Park, we saw crocodiles laying at the water's edge and found a large number of hippos by a pool, basking in the sun or enjoying the water. Keeping our distance, we sat and watched them for a while.
We left through the Sidudu Gate and made our way to the excellent (but crowded) Chobe Safari Lodge for camping for a few days, before leaving for Zambia and the famous Victoria Falls.
Botswana has been a wonderful country to see wildlife and we have heard some magical sounds and experienced some exciting encounters that we will always remember!
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