16th SEPT - We drove 520km to Botswana today and got our Botswana stamp! Said goodbye to Sophie as she is going on to work with lions. Very sad. Already i could feel the heat difference - Botswana is much much hotter. Despite Africa being hot however, the evenings can get very very cold. Also I havent got any tan or slight colour as no sunbathing opportunities but they will be to come so im not bothered!

17th SEPT - A 300km drive towards Maun for which I slept most of the way in the most comfortable position i could find - not easy on Shangani.At Sitatunga campsite we celebrated Cathy's birthday in the evening with cake, drinks and balloons and settled in for the night.

18th SEPT - This morning we set off early to the Okavango Delta where we were to camp in a bushcamp for the evening. We got to the island we were staying at via Mokoro - a small but suprisingly sturdy canoe/boat made from the trunk of the native Sausage Tree. We were fearing capsizing at first however our 'poler' was very good and got us their safe. I read my book and laid back to enjoy the ride among water lillies and such on the calm waters of the delta. So relaxing. We came across elephants along the way which im sure were about to charge at us. They are dangerous creatures. We went on a wild bush/wildife walk on the island with one of the polers/guides. We came across fresh lion prints which was pretty scary. We were basically walking among the wildlife without the comfort of a safari vehicle. I was looking over my shoulder every second for potential lions! We stumbles across the remains of an elephant which was pretty cool, did a bit of weight lifting with the various body parts as you do. Very heavy. The guides gave us a traditonal performance singing and dancing as we ate our meals.

19th SEPT - Some of the group got charged by lions this morning. If you come across a lion you are supposed to stay still and try to look as 'big' as possible. Under no circumstances should you run - you would definitely not outrun the lion! We cruised back via mokoro again and i have to say i have never been as gross and dirty in my whol elife. No showers and a random dusty/muddy island had taken its toll. I even had a few baby wipe showers (!) but to no avail :( my feet looked tanned however this was actaully layers of dirt/dust/suncream/deet/sweat mmmmmmmm. Had a much needed shower and chill by the pool and then we celebrated Clara's birthday with an American theme in the evening. Played volleyball against another Acacia truck - i am pretty pants at volleyball i have decided.

20th SEPT - a 610km drive (ouch) up to Chobe National Park today. In Botswana there are check points for foot & mouth everywhere and we had to stop and walk through special disinfectant with our shoes - mission in the heat. Youre not allowed to bring any livestock through the check points or anything. We travelled along the craziest road ever today - pothole central and we couldn't go more than 10miles an hour, took rather a while. To say Botswana is one of the most well off african country (its currency is even stronger than the SA Rand due to its diamond supply) you would think they could invest in a decent road here. We stayed along the banks of the Zambezi River tonight amongst the hippos and crocs. At many of these campsites we've stayed at the animals can easiuly roam around the site which is pretty scary sometiems.

21st SEPT - We went on a sunset cruise along the Zambezi this evening and spotted hippos, crocs, buffalo, baboons. A herd of 100 plus elephants crossed the river at one point straight in front of the boat which was pretty special. They weren't aware of us at all.

Sorry Botswana has been more brief but im running out of internet time!!