BOTSWANA

15.06.08 - Thankfully I woke feeling ok, but Troy was suffering a good hangover, needless to say we were not up that early and did very little all morning.  Late afternoon Chris & Angela took us out for a game drive to some pans about 30km away, we saw the usual animals as we were driving in, then saw a group of bat eared foxes which are so cute.  Just as the sun was going down we parked up got the chairs out and sat having a few drinks.  We saw a few things running around in the distance, then we heard something very close that appeared to be watching us, then it disappeared.  Once we had finished our drinks we packed up and got into the car, as we drove out Chris turned around to where the animal had last been and shone the headlights, it turned out to be a jackal that was just sat there the whole time and didn’t seem worried at all with the light, we watched him for a while and then drove back to camp.  As no one was really up to another heavy night, we had a lovely meal in the restaurant, a couple more drinks then to bed.

16.06.08 - Very sorry to leave we set off around lunchtime for the short journey to Elephant Sands Camp which is about 140km of what starts out as good tar and then turns into potholes again, although they were being filled in and so were not too bad.  The camp is right next to a water hole where Elephants come daily to drink which was our main reason for wanting to stop here.  After setting up we then went and sat at the bar which overlooks the waterhole.  Sure enough just before it got dark two elephants turned up for a drink, we watched them for a while until they walked off then went to our campfire to cook.  The evening and night was spent listening to the elephants coming and going to the waterhole.

17.06.08 - Decided to spend another day at Elephant Sands to see what else would turn up at the waterhole.  Mid afternoon five elephants appeared in the bush around the camp and walked to the waterhole, unfortunately we were in the middle of baking bread which ended up a little burnt by the time the elephants had gone and we were back at the car.  An hour or so later another two elephants arrived followed by a small herd of Kudu.  The rest of the day was very relaxed, spent a couple of hours in the bar chatting to a couple of South African guys who were heading north and planning on sleeping next to their car without a tent.  Once it started to get too cold it was back around the campfire, we could hear the elephants around the waterhole, then around 11pm we suddenly saw a couple of elephants in the camp by the swimming pool.  They then proceeded to walk through the camp heading straight for the guys sleeping around their fire, we watched quietly as they walked past us and then stood rather confused looking at the sleeping men who were in the path they wanted to take.  By now there were about 8 elephants on two sides of us, the two at the front decided not to walk past the men and turned around and walked right past us as we were playing hide and seek with them around the car. The rest were not so brave and walked back around the other side of the waterhole.  The whole thing was absolutely amazing being that close to them, eventually when all was quiet we made our way to bed.

18.06.08 - The potholed road soon improved and we made it to Francistown by lunchtime, stopped off at the bank and then shopping.  Reached Marang campsite late afternoon, the night was cold so we were soon in bed after eating.

19.06.08 - We were advised to go to Kubu Island which is basically an island of baobab trees in the middle of a huge salt pan.  Once we were off the main road we ended up driving along tracks through long grass, and then onto the pans.  The sight is absolutely amazing when you can see nothing around for miles, not even a horizon and you are just driving through following other peoples tire tracks.  After stopping several times to take photos and to just gaze at the vastness, we finally made it to Kubu Island late afternoon.  Had a drive around the island which has many, often scary looking baobab trees, before setting up camp.  There are several camping areas with a long drop toilet at each and the staff can provide you with fire wood.  As there is nothing around for miles it gives a surreal tranquillity.

20.06.08 - Spent the day driving through pans, stopped at Chapman’s Baobab which is probably the biggest tree I have ever seen in my life.  Did not quite make it as far as hoped, so ended up having to find a place to bush camp for the night.

21.06.08 - Back on the track again early trying to make it to the Central Kalahari, the drive out was mainly along a track with long grass either side.  Reached Rakops around lunchtime, filled our tanks and jerry cans with fuel and headed into the Kalahari.  The drive to the gate took about an hour where we filled up with water and drove in towards Deception Pan.  The first part of the drive was pretty uneventful as we again were driving down a track with long grass either side.  Reached the Deception campsite late afternoon, the facilities were surprisingly good with long drop toilets and showers (although you do have to bring your own water) and a fire pit at each camp.  The camp is in a wooded area with plenty of birds but nothing much else.

22.06.08 - Had a long drive to Piper Pan which is about 100km away so up and away early.  Drove for a while seeing many Oryx and Springbok then suddenly in the trees we saw two cheetah who looked like they were trying to stalk a buck but think we may have put them off, we watched them until they disappeared into the long grass.  Drove on a bit further seeing more jackal and honey badgers when suddenly stood in the road in front of us was a big male lion.  We stopped and watched him for a while and also a couple of females that were sat the opposite side of the road.  Drove on again through long grass for quite a while until we reached piper pan where it opened out again into a huge plain.  We drove around the first and second loop and headed for the campsite, however on arriving we found it already occupied with three big male lions.  Thinking this may not be the best place to camp after all we watched them for a while and then headed for camp two to check that there was no unwanted guests already there.  Found camp two (which is about 1km away) empty, unpacked our tables and chairs to mark the camp, had a quick shower and set out as the sun was going down to see what the lions were up to.  Found them still sat at camp one just about ready to move off, they chased a group of birds as they set off down the track towards our camp.  We waited for a while in the hopes that they may have moved off the track and were stalking some springbok or wildebeest instead, however after driving round the corner we found them sat in the middle of the track.  We stopped again and waited for them to move on, by now it was completely dark and we wanted to get back to camp to set up our tent.  Two of the lions moved off the road and sat down in the grass, however the one that was in front decided he was going to sit in the road.  We approached slowly and he didn’t move so we drove onto the grass to pass around him, as the front drivers window got level with him he suddenly reared up and went for the car, Troy put his foot down and we raced off with the lion left in our dust.  We waited for Alan & Taryn to follow behind, they flashed their camera at the lion to scare it before they attempted their drive past after seeing what he had just done to us.  Got back to camp feeling a little nervous, made a fire, cooked, ate and early to bed in case the lions were coming our way.

23.06.08 - Our drive around the park was a little disappointing after everything we saw yesterday, we did not see the lions again on the way out of Piper Pan and saw no sign of anything else apart from Oryx and Springbok all day.  We were heading for Passarge Pan where we were going to camp, however about mid-afternoon we arrived at Tau Pan and the campsite which is right on the edge of the open plains which was full of game, all the other campsites we had seen so far were away from the plains with long grass and trees all around, the view from this campsite was so amazing we decided to set up camp there.  Obviously with there being so much game around and it being so open, once it was dark we did regular checks around with the torch to make sure nothing was creeping up on us, however all we saw were a few Jackal.  As we went to bed the Jackal started making their funny crying noises, which seemed to get louder and louder until we fell asleep.

24.06.08 - We had planned to be up early to go for a game drive before breakfast, just as we were going to get out the tent we heard lions roaring not too far away.  We decided to stay put and listen for a few minutes but heard nothing more.  We got up, checked around and started to pack up, and then the roars came again, this time a little closer, although still we could not see anything.  When we were packed we headed out of the pan, we were a little less than 2km away along a small track with long grass either side when in front of us appeared the cause of the roaring.  Walking in the middle of the track was the fattest male lion we have ever seen along with a female and two cubs.  Looking at the way they were waddling we think they must be on their way back from the plains after tucking into a hearty breakfast!!  We stopped while they struggled up the path refusing to get off for another 20 yards before finally dragging his belly up the verge and slumping down next to the road.  We very cautiously drove past and waited for the female and cubs to also move off the road then we were away to Passarge Pan where we stopped for breakfast.  Again the rest of the day we saw nothing much else apart from the usual game, made it back to Deception Pan where we again camped for the night.

25.06.08 - Did the long drive back out of the Central Kalahari after a very enjoyable few days, the place is really worth visiting, there are plenty of animals, good campsites and very few people, we only saw five other cars the whole time we were in there.  We stopped again to stock up on food and water and drove on the good tarmac road to the Makgadikgadi Pans.  For here and the Central Kalahari you are supposed to have booked and paid your entry fee in one of several towns before arriving, however we had not reached any of the places yet so pleaded ignorance of this and were allowed to enter without a booking.  Went for a drive around the park before setting up camp, stopped by the Hippo pool where we watched the sun go down having a few drinks while the Hippos were making their slow way out of the water for the night to graze.  By the time we got back to camp it was dark, we lit a fire and set about making roast beef, roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy for dinner which was absolutely gorgeous.  During the night we heard Hyena and Lion not too far away and a few Elephant that strayed into the camp.

26.06.08 - We had intended on going to Nxai Pan and spending a night at Baines Baobab, but after driving out of Makgadikgadi and part way through the sand into Nxai we decided that we had had enough of pans and animals for the moment, so we turned around and headed straight for Maun instead.  The road there was again good tar and we arrived mid-afternoon, checked out a few places to stay but opted for Sedia Hotel camp in the end.

27.06 to 01.07.08 - Spent the last few days unloading the car and giving it a thorough spring clean inside to get rid of all the dust and dirt that was building up again.  Troy spent a couple of days changing the oil and greasing the car.  The rest of the time was spent shopping and chilling out and preparing for our mokoro trip into the Okavango Delta.

02.07.08 - We had to be at Old Bridge Backpackers by 8am so it was up before it was light as we had to pack up and pack all our stuff for the trip as we were too lazy to do it the night before, we also had to drop everything off then Troy had to drive back into town with Alan to drop their car off into the mechanics.  To get to the mokoro station we were taken by powerboat which took about 45mins.  Once there the polers were waiting, they pack all the boats and then the ones who are going out that day go back to their village to get their things together.  While we were waiting for them to come back the mokoro that had been assigned to us started filling with water so our stuff was removed and put in another one which straight away also filled with water.  It was third time lucky however and with the polers back we were soon off.  The trip to our camp took about 2 hours, we had to stop once for Alan & Taryn’s poler to bail out their boat which was also starting to fill with water, our camp was just around the corner from the Hippo pool of which we had to cross to get there.  The hippos turned and watched us as we passed them which was a bit unnerving as we felt a little vulnerable in the tiny boat however they didn’t seem too bothered by us being there.  We reached the camp which was right near the water and was just for the four of us, we unpacked and put up our tents, thankfully Alan & Taryn had a spare one which we could borrow and then we could relax for a couple of hours.  Late afternoon we were told we were going on a safari walk with Johno one of our polers, this I was not prepared for and initially felt a little unsure after being told they have the Big 5 there, however once we set out we soon relaxed and almost forgot that there were lions living out there.  We walked for about an hour and a half in a loop out and back to camp, we saw some buck and a few elephants in the distance and a lion print not far from camp but that was about it apart from of course all the hippo and elephant dung all over the place.  The six of us spent the evening sat around the camp fire listening to the hippos crashing around near by and having a few drinks or in my case quite a few.  During the night Troy woke to the sounds of hippo nearby, he looked out the tent to see Johno and Matis our polers scrambling out of their beds which were made in the mokoro next to the fire and dashing with all abandonment between our tents as two very large hippos came stomping through our camp.  After the hippos were gone they returned to their beds after the fire had been tripled in size.

03.07.08 - We were told we had to be up at 6am to go for a walk at 6.30am however after the heavy night before we didn’t rise until gone 7am and by the time we had had coffee and breakfast we finally left for our walk about 8am which we thought was pretty good going.  The first thing we noticed was some Hyena prints over the top of our prints from the day before.  We again saw several different groups of elephant in the distance, plus prints from many different animals.  We arrived at a waterhole and saw a herd of zebra that were checking us out as we went by, we saw groups of Impala and of course Baboons who I was delighted to see!!  We walked in the end for about three and a half hours and got back to camp around lunchtime.  The rest of the day we had to relax until late afternoon when we went for a trip in the mokoro to the hippo pool to sit and watch them for a while.  They again suspiciously watched us the whole time we were there, we felt more relaxed with them this time although were still a little worried when they submerged themselves and did not appear again for a while.  Back at the camp we ate and sat around the fire which after the day before was made much bigger to detour any hippos that might wander into camp again.

04.07.08 - Woke to the sound of hyenas near by, after breakfast we again had a morning walk although this time even with less drink the night before we did not get going until 9am.  Did not see much for the first part apart from a zebra leg.  We started to see a few more animals and then on our way back we came across two elephants blocking the path in front of us, we watched them as they were shaking a palm tree so the coconuts would drop down.  After a while we left making a detour through the long grass to get around them.  Back at camp we had a couple of hours to relax before packing and heading back to the mokoro station.  The boat was meant to pick us up at 4pm and then Alan had to be back at the garage for 5pm, however the boat was late, although the driver was very nice and once we explained we had to be back he drove much faster than on the way out, this was helpful as we made good time but it also made the ride even better speeding over the water.  Troy and Alan headed straight off when we arrived back while Taryn and I unloaded our stuff from the boat and settled ourselves in the bar where we spent the rest of the evening.

05.07.08 - We spent one last day in Maun to get ourselves straight again with washing and shopping after the trip.

06.07.08 - The original plan was to head north from Maun and enter Namibia in the Caprivi however Troy was getting a bit concerned about a noise coming from the gearbox and after speaking to a couple of mechanics thought it would be best to head straight for Windhoek to get the car seen to before heading into the desert.  The roads to the border were good and both border crossings were very quick and easy once across we stopped at the East Gate rest camp just by the border for the night.


Final thoughts: All people we met seemed friendly and very helpful, absolutely loved the remoteness of the Central Kalahari especially our night at Tau Pan.  It is definitely a country set up for rugged camping and the outdoor life, there seems to be millions of South Africans taking advantage of this, on the whole we had a very good time and would highly recommend the country.