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Diary - Botswana (18th Nov to 2nd Dec)
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Crossing into Botswana after the small ferry was like entering a ghost town making the whole experience a little surreal. The normal crossings involve large bundles of money being wafted in the air whilst a harmony of “I give you good price”, whilst kids try and flog nuts and sweets. In Botswana it would seem that nobody wants to either enter or leave or even make some money. Even the officials you need go walk about and we were sent out to look for a “blue shed”, only to walk everywhere aimlessly seeing no sign of anything blue. Though when we reappeared in the office the man we needed was stood there! A little confusing, but in no time we were through, washing our feet and giving Gweneveer a bath in a sheep dip to make sure we were contamination free.
Our first day in Botswana turned quickly into frustration as when we went to the National Parks Office we found out that they had sold all but one campsite in each of their parks, throughout the country. Not only that but the private company now in ownership increased the price from $4 to $50, for exactly the same camp. Ruining all our plans we quickly went to the drawing board to work out wild camping options. Thinking our problems were all sorted was also short sighted as we went in search of a camp for the night, only to realise the guide book yet again lies and camping facilities in Kasane are pretty disappointing. One claimed to have “your own private ablutions”, only to turn up to find a dusty rectangle scattered with a couple of dozen concrete wash blocks about ten metres apart. Making you basically camp surrounded by toilets and not really the river view, with grassy surrounds we had pictured. Instead the best of the bunch was one the author didn’t rate at all.
After a day of getting hammered by heavy rains, whilst looking at the inspiring images that litter the tourist brochures we had picked up, we headed into Chobe National Park. Much like the day before the previous week had been full of rainy days and this led to most of the animals, elephants especially, had moved away from the river. Of course to rub salt in the wound this part is not accessible to punters. Safe to say that the days game driving was a bit disappointing, with highlights coming infrequently and then it would be a single Giraffe or Roan Antelope behind some bushes. The saving grace being that the rains had brought with them the new offspring, which like all new born animals were adorable, especially the little Jackals.
Chobe is split into two areas that have a several hours sandy drive to get between and it is now in this second area, Savuti, that there is no cheap camping. Therefore after having an afternoon in the park we returned to the gate to find a wild camp spot just outside. Now we thought Zambia was empty of people, but Botswana has miles and miles of roads that rarely see anybody for days, especially not walking. So after a short drive around we found a peaceful spot no more than 500 meters from the gate, but hidden away from any passing traffic. With the wine flowing thanks to Bob and Jackie we spent a relaxed evening deep in the African wild bush near our own private waterhole.
Thankfully the Savuti area was better with many Elephants and a large herd of Giraffe. With limited animals it also forced us to sit and watch those we found for longer giving us a better appreciation of them. Though at times it is difficult to know who is more interested in whom. As we sat and watched a group of Giraffes drink, some of them did not divert their gaze away from us. Whilst others our appearing to dislocate their legs in an attempt to lower their heads far enough and the young being shakey just standing still, one just stood and stared. Even as they walked towards and past us they would lower their necks to peer into the car. The highlight though was watching Elephants have a bath, spraying water all over them and anything close by. This simple soaking wasn’t enough for one elephant, who he must have had a date that night and required a full body scrub. After all the splashing he gently moved so that his front feet were in a hole and started kicking water up onto his belly, then moved his back feet in another nearby hole, he then proceeded to grinded his underneath across the muddy bank between his legs. Acting as a natural scrubbing brush for those places a trunk just can’t reach!
To gain some more excitement out of the park we decided to leave the park via the trickier route, the ‘Marsh Road’. As the name suggest it was muddy and the recent rains that had ruined the game viewing had made for a great afternoon of fun in the mud. It actually paid off as when Katie wasn’t driving Gweneveer through the deepest mud she could find, we saw lots and lots of Elephants spread across the plain. At times it seemed we were risking getting stuck but managed to scrape through just as Bob and Jackie got bogged down, needing to make use of their sand ladders. At times we worried how bad it was going to get but our persistence paid off and we got to the gate with massive smiles.
Our next step was to drive towards Moremi National Park and camp on route ready for the next day. Even this track proved to be a mini adventure with lots of water crossings and even more mud making the car seem a very different colour. We had decided to camp at Khwai Community Camp, which is half way between the two national parks. When we arrived and looked about, other than a sign there was no facilities to show it was a campsite. Having stayed at numerous community campsites we were not expecting luxury but at least a long drop loo.
With no one around we set up camp and decided that maybe the camp had not yet been built. We had cooked, cleaned and washed as darkness fell around us with a beautiful red sky and our feet up, drinking some wine when a car arrived and four men appeared. We were quickly asked for a camping permit and when we told them we had nothing (we should have booked in advance apparently) they then said we would have to pay them. This all sounded reasonable until they told us the price, 136 Pula (£13) per person. Bearing in mind camping in a national park is 30 Pula, you can see how disgusted we were. After a long debate over the lack of facilities they refused another price. So with no other option we packed up and set of to no mans land. In Botswana a lot of the land is sold as concessions so the community owned all the surrounding land that we had to get off. We ended up getting followed through the darkness and lots of water to the edge of the boundary. Even then they sat watching as we decided our next option, after all one way we had come from, the other side of the road was a national park we couldn’t enter either. We ended up parked on the side of the road that separated the areas and spent our first night of the trip sleeping in the front seats! Surprisingly we didn’t sleep well but we still had money in our pockets.
As with most camping we woke up with the sunrise, which also gave us plenty of time to get to Moremi early. Or at least that is what we thought until we realised even with the GPS we couldn’t work out the route we needed from all the tracks. Because of the rains a lot of the tracks were now covered in impassable amounts of water, leaving us scratching our heads over the next course to take. We spent ages driving forward and backwards through bonnet height water and deep sticky mud only to find the next section was a dead end. The first few hours were great fun, taking photos and enjoying the off roading, but eventually the worry started to set in with whether we would be able to find our way out. Luckily we stumbled across what looked like a well used track and decided to give it one more go before trying to find our way back. After a couple of kilometres we saw a 4x4 coming the other way giving us a massive relief and when they confirmed we w |
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Relieved we were not stuck in the middle of nowhere, we quickly went on the hunt for animals, only to have the same reaction as Chobe. The rains had also sent the animals elsewhere and covered more tracks in water. Now we knew in advance that there was one tricky section of track to cross that has deep water and we knew instantly when we found it as Bob and Jackie had just winched a car out of the water. The two guys were soaking wet and stripped to their pants looked mortified, especially as the hire car would not start and everything was soaked from the seats to inches of water in the storage draws. Of course then came the time for us to cross and see if we would have any problems. Not really knowing the line through was worrying and as Gweneveer suddenly dropped a foot into a hole the water level rose dramatically coming completely across the bonnet and leaking into the foot wells. But she likes a good wash and she easily reached the other side with two laughing passengers. Of course the one mistake was not fully shutting the air flaps under the window so Katie was covered as the water surged in.
Moremi is a diverse place with thick bush, forests, open plains and boggy marsh areas. All the tracks are sandy making game viewing a little more tricky as the driver has to only look at the road. After a relaxing evening we woke early to start our morning at 5:30am to give us a good chance of seeing some animals. With coffee in our thermos mugs and classical music playing, as we have decided this helps with game spotting, we crept out of camp before anyone else was awake. After a short drive and frantic scanning of the bushes we were rewarded for our efforts as Katie spotted a male lion resting on a mound. Having not seen a lion for some time the excitement was electrifying. We slowly approached him and sat patiently for him to move. It ended up that he fancied a walk and we followed him for over a kilometre and more than an hour. Like most domestic cats they can only do so much before needing to stop for a sit down, but this just gave us chance to get ahead for some great photos with him only metres from the car.
Keen to get value for money we headed of early evening to see more. After a lot of driving through barren surroundings and only seeing some Elephants we stumbled upon our morning Lion again. This time he was on the hunt and again we tracked him as he strolled around. All of a sudden his walk changed, lowering his head and extending it forward as he went into a stalk. In the distance we could see some Impala and thought we had hit the jackpot. We saw him make a charge but seemed to withdraw early, only to return a few minutes later to have another sprint. Apparently the technique was to tire out the young Impalas to make it even easier with little effort from his part. Unfortunately the final attack was straight into thick bush preventing us from seeing anything. Typically when we did find him led down he was too far to see if he had a kill. Feeling like we had managed value for money we returned to camp only to get delayed by a massive herd of Elephants. Every time we thought they had cleared the road and we moved on a little more would appear keeping us sat where we were.
As we headed out of the park and towards Maun still with the classical music playing, we suddenly saw a Leopard cross the road ahead of us. He was really stocky but by the time we got there his camouflage had worked wonders and he miraculously vanished into the undergrowth.
Within hours of arriving in Maun we were being whisked up into the air for an hours scenic flight over the Okavango Delta. As the little six seater plane sped over the delta we caught glimpses of several different animals, including Elephant. Seeing animals from above was a novel experience, if not tricky to photograph, however the scenery of the water ways and marsh land of the surroundings was fascinating. It is always interesting to see that even though animals can walk anywhere they keep to tracks that zigzag throughout the landscape. Katie was sat next to the pilot and did worry all the passengers as she tried to convince him to let her have a go. Just as we thought the adventure was coming to an end the plain suddenly dropped in height, making us all fly out our seats, colliding our heads with the roof and turning our faces white with fear. Luckily that was the only moment and we stepped out onto the runway with our jelly legs.
Our first nights in one camp in Maun, Audi Camp, was one of the worst nights of the entire journey. We were staying with the Dutch and English again and all woke suddenly in the early hours of the night to a load crash. As Steve looked from the tent he could see a guy making for the fence with some bags. Quickly jumping out the tent, but after the guy had cleared the fence he realised the guy had smashed the passenger window on the Dutch’s car and escaped with two bags containing all their cameras, glasses and phones. After ages trying to find the security man, who turned out to be asleep in a corner somewhere, we called the police. As Katie was trying to explain to the emergency operator the problem and where we were he claimed he didn’t know where that was and he wasn’t sure what to do! The next few hours was spent with police officers turning up and statements being taken. They even returned with a guy wearing a CSI jacket to take finger prints. Thankfully they were really good and even found some of the stuff by the road, unlike the useless staff of the campsite that didn’t even come and acknowledge the issue in the morning.
We ended up spending another five nights in Maun at a couple of different campsites because Steve had got himself a cold (or rather Man Flu). We decided it would be easier to sit it out and make it better. During which time we completely rearranged our plans because of the weather and impact it has on both the wildlife and the salt pans. It would seem we will have to return to Botswana to see it at a better time of year.
With our new plans made we headed up the west of the Okavango Delta towards Namibia. Although we had planned almost a week at several camps, this also ended up changing to only two nights as not only were the prices ridiculous but the camps were nothing special. We did break up the flat, straight, tree lined journey to make a stop at the Tsodilo Hills. As we approached along the flat open ground it is strange to see these four spiritual hills rising up towards the sky. As we arrived the rains began to look menacing so we made camp in the middle of a patch of trees, sorted a fire and awaited the inevitable storm with the thunder dancing around us. As the storm cleared and the sun began to set it turned the rocky hills in to an array of magical colours, showing just why they are believed to hold spiritual power. With the morning being brighter and cooler we took a guided walk around the hills to see to various rock art, dating around 3000 years old and including the normal African wildlife but even a penguin and whale. It is amazing in our disposable culture that something made of little more than rock and animal fat can last so long whilst being open to the elements. Our local guide, Ollie, was really good and gave us plenty of information but even pointed out local plants and animal tracks. The best for Steve being a tiny little Owl (can’t remember the name!) that was sat oblivious to us.
As we headed for the border we couldn’t help wonder what a fantastic place Botswana could have been. We had hoped for so much from it, especially as we skipped National Parks further north because of Botswana. When travelling so long through so many different countries it is very difficult to get the timings perfect for every country. If anything it has got our minds thinking of how and when we can return! |
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| For more photos please see the Gallery. |
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| Sprinting Warthog |
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| Water Covered Track |
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| Reproducing Nature |
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| Muddy Track |
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| Us and Elephant |
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| Baby Impalas |
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| Tortoise Holding |
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| Muddy Escape |
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| No Mans Land Camping |
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| River Crossing |
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| Giraffes Drinking |
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| Elephant Cleaning |
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| Moremi River |
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| Botswana Sunset |
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| Male Lion |
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| Dirty Pair |
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| Scenic Flight |
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| Reading By The Pool |
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| Washing Stuff |
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| Tsodilo Hills |
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| Walking In The Hills |
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