Botswana 2004

Day 6: Saturday March 20th 2004. Woke up in good time to pack and sort my bill. I caught my lift to Botswana with people on their way to go on Safari. Once actually at Kasane in Botswana I went to change some money, only to find I'd left my travellers cheques in Zimbabwe! At this point the driver recalled that he had a message for me to tell me that I'd left my cheques back at Vic Falls backpackers. So I found myself in Botswana with very little usable currency waiting for someone to (hopefully) bring my cheques over with them on the next Safari to Chobe national park. This is the first major f**kup. At one point I am left stranded in an expensive lodge with no other guests, wondering if anyone is coming over with my money the next day or not...

My travellers cheques did eventually turn up after I'd been back to Kalahari Safari and met Yvonne, who kindly took me to the border to meet the guy from Vic Falls backpackers, who was dropping people at the border. We had a good conversation, discussing aspects of African life, with me having a view to living and working there one day. Botswana would be a fairly safe, affluent place to work... By the time we reached the border, the office called to let us know someone had taken my travellers cheques right to Kalahari Safari.

In the end, all of my cheques turned up, and I gratefully signed a piece of paper confirming that they were all there. Afterwards I went for a haircut, and was amused to find that people all around Kasane had heard about my errant cheques, including the hairdresser!

Since talking to Mike and Tanya about Malaria (they both work in medicine) I have developed what can only be described as Malarianoia! The worst symptom being an overwhelming desire to lock myself away in my air-con room for the evening. I hope these local Malarial Prophylaxis kick in very quickly!

Day 7: Sunday March 21st 2004. After a good night's sleep and a full English breakfast I caught a minibus taxi to get to Nata and then on to Gweta. In Gweta there is a backpackers lodge called Planet Baobab, where it is apparently possible to go quad biking over the salt flats - cool! It's good to travel outside the tourist traps in the meantime, on the open road, the only white face in sight!

I completed my journey to Planet Baobab by hitching a lift with some off duty soldiers from Jo'burg out for a weekend with their girlfriends. On talking to the staff, it appears that once again, rain has stopped play, and the quad biking is off. Bugger. I'm getting fed up with rain, and I think I'm going to head for Namibia and it's deserts very soon! 360 days of sunshine a year they get there... It would be a shame to skip Botswana, but I will always come back. So tomorrow it's off to Maun, and maybe a Malaria test, followed by a coach trip to Windhoek. For this evening, it's a night in a San bushman hut set amongst the Baobab trees (aka upside down trees).

Day 8: Monday March 22nd 2004. I caught a lift with an overland truck full of British gap year students doing a tour of Southern Africa having helped build a school in Tanzania. I was headed for a camp called 'Audi' in Maun, but having met Gary, a mate of the driver's, I was persuaded to stay at Sitatunga camp run by Gary and two other Kiwi's. After a whole afternoon's drinking I got into some good conversations about Malaria (I should be fine with Deltaprim) and life in Africa in general. I also got talking to Rob and Jennie, the supervisors for the overlanders. All very interesting.

I have decided to stick around in Botswana after all, as I have an offer of hooking up with a small overland tour to do the Okavango Safari, starting the day after tomorrow.

Day 9: Tuesday March 23rd 2004. Just chilled for the day, went into Maun, did some shopping. Met the rest of my Safari group: Dave and John, the Sheffield lads, Adelelle and Kath. Our tour guide is a slightly surly Afrikaans called Francoise.

Day 10: Wednesday March 24th 2004. First day of the Okavango Delta trip. We set off early, with myself again thrown in with the gap year overlanders, which was harsh, since they had totally caned me at cards the night before, and got a lot of fun out of reminding me! I must remember not to play for beers, as it got rather expensive in the end. We set off on the two and a half hour journey into the Delta. There had been some very heavy rain, and Gary got the 4x4 stuck en-route. We all pitched in, pushing the truck, digging away the mud with our hands and jacking it up, all to no avail. It took an hour before Graham, Gary's cousin came from Sitatunga with another truck to pull us out. There were a few red faces, most of all from Gary, who claimed it was the first time he'd got stuck for 7 years.

We arrived at the Mokoro departure point to find the rest of my tour group had gone on ahead, so I was ferried up the river in my own Mokoro. Once I got to the campsite, Dave and I put up my tent before sitting down to some cold pasta and Boerwors sausage. It was then time for the first bush walk. Our guide was a local (Yei tribe) called Nicolas. He was clearly very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna, stopping frequently to explain things like how the Wild Sage growing everywhere could be rubbed on the skin to keep the mozzies away, and how termite mounds always point east. I was slightly grossed out by his habit of picking up various animal droppings and breaking them apart to show us what the animal in question had been eating. He also went to great lengths explaining the differences between male a female Giraffe droppings. We saw no big game, bar a couple of Giraffe in the distance. We did see a multitude of birdlife, and right from the beginning I took it upon myself to start learning the different animal tracks, as these were all pointed out along the way.


Flooded	Stuck		Mokoros

Termite mound	Sketches		Birds

Sunset		Bush spider

The one hour bush walk was on African time, and thus took nearer two and a half hours. When we got back to camp, Francoise had dug a pit, filled it with embers from the fire, and cooked a fantastic chicken and jacket spud dinner for us all, which went down a treat with a few glasses of wine.

Later that evening, Francoise opened up a bit and regaled us with stories of his strict Afrikaans upbringing at boarding school. Although he had only left school around five years ago, capital punishment was very much part of everyday school life. He told us how they would compare caning welts in the shower of an evening: one stripe for sergeant, two for major, etc, and of strange rugby-playeresque initiation ceremonies at the start of each new school year. All very Victorian! He was very proud of his upbringing, and felt it had given him a healthy respect for his elders.

Day 11: Thursday March 25th 2004. Day two on the Okavango. We arose early for a brief breakfast, before heading out on a three hour (four and a half African hour) game walk. The first couple of hours followed the same pattern as the previous afternoons walk, with various trees pointed out (Amarula, as in the beverage and Sausage trees from which the Mokoros were made from). Towards the end of the walk we happened on a small herd of Giraffe. A short while later we came across a large troop of Baboons. It was cool!

The final part of the walk was pretty gruelling, as the sun was getting really hot by then, and we were tired from all the walking. Mental note to self - must get more fit! We returned to camp exhausted, much to the amusement of the 2nd guide, who had done nothing but quietly walk behind us all the way, just for safety. Lunch was followed by an afternoon's chatting about Photoshop tricks with Francoise, swimming in the river and taking turns to try poling the Mokoros. I gained a new found appreciation for the Mokoro polers skill!


Giraffe	Baboons

At some point during the afternoon, we climbed back into the Mokoros and headed upstream to see the Hippos. We weren't informed about the one hour walk from the Mokoros to the Hippo pool, and so I ended up bush walking in my sandals, trying not to think about spiders, scorpions and snakes! As it was, my feet and ankles came away with just a few scratches from the undergrowth.

Once at the Hippo pools, we had to wade through the reed clogged, knee high water to get to the pool's edge. A couple of times I sank right into the mud, right up to the top of my legs, which was nice whilst carrying my camera and worrying about leeches! The Hippos were in the water, and so I only got shots of the tops of their heads protruding from the water's surface. As we walked back to the Mokoros, we stopped to take pictures of the sunset. It was at this point we realised we were in for an unplanned night time bush walk - whoops. An uneasiness settled over the group as the bush, like a coral reef, came alive at night. We pretty much just hoped not to walk into any poisonous spiders or scorpions. Back at the Mokoros, our guides nervousness at the situation was evident by the speed at which they propelled us back to camp! After a tuna and pasta dinner I sat up chatting with the girls, drinking red wine until late.


Hippo	Intrepid!	Sunset

Day 12: Friday March 26th 2004. Day three on the Okavango. Another early rising proceeded our final bush walk, where we saw possibly the same herd of Giraffe, only this time getting much closer. Although much of the grass was over 6 feet tall, we were still able to make out a herd of Zebra intermingled with the Giraffe - safety in numbers. Once back at camp, we packed up, got back into the Mokoros (wet bums all round - they leak!) and headed back out of the Delta. The whole safari was wonderful!

After a (comparatively) uneventful trip back to Sitatunga, the evening was spent playing cards (not for beer or money) with the gap-year students and playing drinking games with the Okavango tour group. The social butterfly in me wasn't well received at first, but the two groups were mixing by the end! I got horribly drunk, losing (truly accidentally) drinking games, cards and even ping pong. Damned whippersnappers! Later on, I saw the biggest bug I've seen yet.

Day 13: Saturday March 27th 2004. An evil JD & coke hangover meant that I did not get underway until late morning. As a result, the bus I had planned to catch to Ghanzi had already left. I had to wait until 4pm for the next bus. Whilst nursing a coke in Maun Nandos the two Norwegian trainee doctors I had met on the bus from Kasane appeared, along with a couple of girls who were so friendly I was tempted to back to Vic Falls with them!

The bus trip was a little stressful, due to three young Batswana (i.e. people of Botswana) at the back of the bus who refused to pay the 22 Pula, paying only 20 Pula each and insisting that they had already paid. It all got very heated. It's funny how just a little trouble can make you, as the only white face for miles, feel quite nervous. Especially at night.

I arrived at Ghanzi bus station around 9pm to find the whole area full of drunk locals. After checking the prices of the nearest hotel (50 - 60 quid a night) I decided to call the cheapest Lonely Planet option. But, the bus station phones had been vandalised. Bugger - tired, late at night, with nowhere to go. It was my fate to be rescued by two teenage girls who translated my directions to the hostel to a taxi driver!

Day 14: Sunday March 28th 2004. The guest house was clean and friendly, with a great breakfast. After a trip to the shops with one of the staff to hit an ATM, I was walked to the best hitching spot for Namibia by an extremely pleasant old boy who was visiting his relatives at the guest house. He normally lived in Namibia, and so had much to tell me about the country.

The first lift I got was in the back of a Bukkie (i.e. pickup truck) all the way down the side of the Kalahari during the heat of the day. Even with a hat and factor 30 suncream on, I burnt! The guy took me right through to the border, asking only for a few Pula for his trouble.


San bushman huts	inside	Baobab tree


Dave & John	Zebra en-route	Biggest bug