Botswana

So far it seems that Botswana has some bad roads – I’ll never complain about potholes on Victoria’s roads again! To add to the challenge there are many many donkeys on the roads as well as cows and the occasional goat. Our truck has also developed a hole in its diesel tank so we are losing fuel at an increasing rate and have made multiple stops to patch it. Pulled in late at Maun which it the gateway to the Okavango Delta and ate at the lodge’s Boma restaurant. 

On Tuesday morning we arose early for a 45 minute scenic flight over the magnificent Okavango Delta from Maun Airport.

We then left our truck for a 4×4 safari vehicle for a 4-5 hour drive with our guide Matsaudi to our tented camp in the delta.  Arriving as it was getting dark we were escorted to our tents for safety as we are in amongst lots of wildlife inc elephants hippos lions hyena and crocodiles. The camp was amazing – the best food we have had so far in africa (the bar isn’t high…. but ‘no moaning on the yacht’) a campfire facing the water where hippos wander past. Only down side was the huntsmen-like spiders living in our outdoor bathroom.  This was 3 days with no wifi or phone coverage which was amazingly therapeutic!

Wednesday was incredible. Another 6am start for an early game drive that rewarded us with discovering a pride of 6 lions (2 adult females, a couple of juvenile females and 2 x cubs) just inside Moremi National Park. We spotted lots of zebra, elephant, impala, giraffe, mongoose, baboons, hippo to name but a few.  The ground is wet in places with the delta still rising through water flowing down from Angola and only seconds after i said “At least we’re not getting bogged” we did, and needed to radio for help to get towed out. 

Back to camp for lunch and a much needed rest before an afternoon Mokoro ride gliding us through the waters of the delta. Our guides name was Green and he could name and describe every animal bird insect frog and plant we saw as well as keeping us from flipping the canoe when we saw elephants, water buffalo and hippo. It was so peaceful and beautiful.

On our evening drive we saw vultures as they gathered to feast on something that had died nearby. we didn’t see what it was but it stank!  

Thursday was a long drive back to Maun for a coffee and wifi catch up then an even longer drive to Elephant Sands – our last stop in Botswana.  Had a couple of stops today for Foot and Mouth Disease control where we all had to disembark and walk through a disinfectant tray while the truck drove through the solution. 

Next stop was Kasane which is a border town with Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia and also gateway to Chobe National Park. Our optional early morning game drive on Saturday was fffreeezing! Wearing 5 layers of clothes each and a blanket did not seem to help! Fortunately we spotted 3 lions lazing around after about an hour. we drove a long way into the park without any excitement until we noticed some impala that seemed frozen to the spot. Suspecting that a predator may be nearby we investigated more closely and Steffen noticed some yellow fur hiding within a dense bush. It was a leopard and he wasn’t happy with us as he lay in wait for his breakfast! We watched as he exited the bush and started to creep up on the impala, but once they noticed him, and he lost the element of surprise, he decided to wander off and try his luck later on!