Day 84, Djxokwe Campsite, Bushmanland, Namibia

Another long drive expected.  Ian drove through the deep sand this morning - much faster than me I admit - then 70 km back the way we had come yesterday.  The road to the border was reportedly dreadful but luckily had recently been graded so was only bad in a few places.  The border crossing was ace - the office on the Botswana side was literally a shed and we were the first vehicle of the day to cross. The office on the other side was a bit bigger but the whole border crossing took less than 30 minutes - a record.

Into Namibia and the road definitely improved.  We headed to Tsumkwe where we paid our Nyae Nyae Conservancy fees and were directed to a campsite. Arriving at the campsite we were a little disappointed as it looked like a car park but we said it was only for a night so would do.  We were just working out where to park when the guys from the local bushman village arrived to collect their camping fees.  To our amusement we soon learnt that this was not the campsite and we actually needed to drive another 2 km to find a large boabab tree.  Once we found it we were delighted as we were camped below a huge baobab tree with our own viewing platform.  Amazingly an elephant appeared a few hundred yards away - there is still not a reserve that we haven't seen one!

Namibia revisited

Having visited Namibia twice in the last five years, we are really looking forward to having the chance to revisit some of the places we have seen before, such as Swakopmund, Soussevlei and the NamibRand.  But we are also excited to see some new places in particular Purros in Kaokaland and Spitzkoppe.

Day 84: Bushmanland
Days 85-87: Etosha National Park
Days 88-89: Damaraland
Days 90-93: Kaokaland
Day 94: Twyfelfontein and Spitzkoppe
Days 97-98: Swakopmund
Days 99-102: Sesrium and NamibRand
Days 103-105: Aus

Reflections on Botswana

Botswana is very big and very flat, and we have only just scratched the surface seeing a tiny fraction of it on this trip. Despite its scarcity in places, at the end of the dry season, the wildlife has still been truly stunning and we can only guess at how many more elephants, lions and leopard you might be able to see in the wetter seasons of the year.

It is one of the friendliest countries we’ve been to, both baboons and snakes have taken a fancy to Jane. The “Batswana” people we have met have been very welcoming and are immensely proud of   being “Batswana” and of their country and whilst there are still problems to be solved it is truly an African success story with stable government, an educated population and a growing economy.

Whilst our time here is at an end we look forward to coming back again and wish Botswana all the best for its 50^th anniversary of independence next year.

Day 83 Guma Lagoon Campsite

Restocked in Maun (having remembered to buy beer yesterday as today is a Sunday) and then set off for a 5 hour drive around the periphery of the Okavango to reach Guma Lagoon.  The road was mostly tarred so we made good time despite the road being a bit / a lot potholed in places. 

We had been warned that the last 15 km from the road to the lagoon would be very sandy and it certainly is!  But as ever our Landrover proved its worth and with Jane at the wheel we slowly made it through the Guma Lagooon camp site.  We were impressed to see a couple of motorcyclists camping when we arrived – we would have loved to have watched them cycle through the deep sand.

The camp is a favourite haunt for the South African fishing crowd and there seem to be quite a few here.  We opted for a quiet beer people watching in the bar before heading back to camp to cook chicken kebabs for tea.

Day 82 Royal Tree Lodge, Maun

Amusing scene on the river this morning as the farmers were gathering their cows along the river bank.  The majority were obedient but ten decided the grass looked much nicer on the other side of the river in the park and so swam across the river.  We told one of the guides at the lodge who went across in his boat to persuade the cows that they didn’t want to be lion lunch! However, no sooner had the guide turned his back (having got them to return to the correct bank), than they set off swimming back to the park and had to be shoo'ed back again by the boat.

Short drive back to Maun for a bit of shopping and cake stop, then on to the Royal Tree Lodge.  The lodge is very swish set in a private reserve and caused us a few problems finding the entrance gate. We followed the signed which took us to a large padlocked gate so we assumed that we had gone to the wrong entrance.  After another 30 minutes of driving down sandy tracks we decided that the padlocked gate must be correct so headed back.  Luckily there was a phone number for the lodge and they provided us with the code for the padlock - they told us they are keen to stop unscheduled guests but it nearly stopped the scheduled ones too!

Having seen two snakes yesterday, I was rather hoping not to see any more but instead I had a very close encounter with one!!  I was walking along a path and suddenly felt something round my legs.  It all happened very quickly but I realised that I actually had a snake wrapped around both legs, managed to step out of its coil and leg it down the path without any harm being done – not sure who was more shocked me or the snake as it disappeared rapidly into the undergrowth.

Hoping for less of an adrenaline rush for the rest of the day by lazing by the pool and drinking beer.

Day 81 Meno A Kwena

Decided for once to chill for the day and not do any of the activities on offer.  The view from our tent was so superb we just sat around reading and watching the river bank. So far we have seen an elephant in every park we have visited so we were delighted when a lone elephant came down to the river for a drink and then wandered across the river to this shore.  

The other entertainment for the day were the vultures.  Before we arrived a cow had strayed across the river and been attacked by the lions, and the remains of its carcass was lying on the other bank.  The farmers came down to inspect it in the morning presumably to get the tag from its ear in the hope of getting some compensation (unlikely as the cow had strayed into the park not the lion straying out of the park).  By about 11 am one vulture had landed and was viewing the scene but within half an hour the bush radio was in full swing and dozens of vultures were flying in for lunch. 

The start of the rains also mean that snakes become more active and just to prove this point we saw our first snake of our trip by the plunge pool in the morning – it was a small, thin snake with a green head.  We later saw it again and managed to get one of the staff to identify it as a spotted bush snake – very beautiful and harmless.  Our encounters with snakes were still not over though as one of the staff found another one after dinner but was unable to identify it – it was another small, thin snake with a crisscross pattern all over.

The evening was interesting with quite different conversation to a lot of places we have stayed as the majority of the guests tonight were from Maun up for the weekend.

Day 80 Mena A Kwena tented camp, Makgadikgadi National Park

Drove across the salt pan to see the baobab trees at close hand

Then headed off to Meno A Kwena which was not really very far but we couldn’t drive through the park instead we had to drive half way back to Maun.  Arrived at the camp just as the sky was darkening and the first rolls of thunder could be heard.  We opted to leave our bags in the car and have a coffee whilst watching the storm.  This was a good plan!  Within minutes the wind got up and another colossal storm raged around us with huge claps of thunder directly overhead, winds whipping through the camp and torrential rain.  Everything was soaked including our tent so it was as well we hadn’t brought all our kit in.

The camp is set on an embankment above the Bobeti river so has superb views.  In June-August it is famed for the views of zebras coming down from the Makgadikgadi National Park to drink on the opposite side of the river.  However, with the torrential rain it is very unlikely that we will see much as the animals will be able to drink from pools now in the park and the start of the rains also mean a lot of animals will immediately start their migration deep into the salt pans.  We did however get to see a three hippos in the river, and lioness and her three cubs in the torch light after dinner.

Day 79 Baines Baobab Campsite, Nxai Pan

Decamped and at the waterhole by 7am to watch herds of zebra, springbock, impala, wilderbeest and kudu coming down to drink.  The lions had moved away but not very far as we saw the two male lions a few hundred yards away.

Finally decided to risk taking the meds for prophylactic treatment for bilhazia that we had got from the pharmacist in Malawi so most of day spent feeling a bit dodgy but hopefully the slight inconvenience will ensure we avoid other more nasty things.

Drove south to Baines Baobabs which are 7 baobab trees made famous by the artist Thomas Baines (and apparently Prince Charles also painted them). Our camp site is set on the opposite side of a salt pan with a great view of the trees turning red in the sunset.

After sunset the silence was broken by three extremely noisy owls – we managed to spot one in the torch light and we think it was probably a barn owl.

Day 78 South Campsite, Nxai Pan National Park

Woke to find it was a very grey, thundery day.  Had a really odd breakfast.  Ian had the Delta (bacon, eggs and minced beef) and I had Mokoro (Bacon, eggs and fried onions).  Drove to Maun to buy more water, beer, petrol and managed to get Ian a pair of shorts to replace the pair he ripped in Tanzania.  Even spoiled ourselves with sausage rolls and choccie donuts for lunch.

Road to Nxai Pan entrance was 150 km of tar so only took a couple of hours.  The road from the entrance immediately turned into deep, deep sand – v glad of our landy!

Arrived at camp at 4pm but headed straight out to the only wet waterhole, everywhere else is very dry and extremely flat.  The area is famed for large herds of zebra and ostriches and although we haven’t seen as many as we had expected we have still seen lots of both.  The waterhole at first appeared quiet until we realised there was a lioness and her two cubs guarding a kudu kill on one side of the track and 2 male lions on the other side.  

We spent a fascinating hour watching their antics as first they had a stand off with a rather large elephant and then a couple of jackals tried to muscle in on tea.  Later a giraffe plus herd of elephants descended on the waterhole but they were all very wary of the pride of lions.

We had our wrists slapped by the ranger as we had backed off the main track to get out of the way but this is clearly not allowed.  We actually think it was due to the other vehicle by the waterhole that had driven all around the lions to get a good view but the ranger didn’t feel he could just tell them off. 

Luckily we had planned a quick pasta tea because we ended up eating it in the dark to avoid being inundated with large buzzing bugs!

Day 77 Thamalakane Lodge

Decided to do a long game drive around the Third Bridge area and then down to Black Pools – we were originally supposed to have another day in the park but there has been a bit of confusion and we are booked into a lodge near Maun tonight so have to be out of the park by 4 pm latest. One of the most interesting parts of the drive to Third Bridge was actually the bridges – there are actually 4 timber bridges in total and they are brilliantly made. We also got to see a wild tortoise  but we wee really cross that a lady in another vehicle stopped and picked it up to get a photo with it!

The area around Black Pools had much more variety of wildlife with dozens of zebra, tessebe, elephants, kudu, impala.  Just about to turn to drive to the gate when we spotted another leopard asleep in a sausage tree – another stunning view of a leopard.

Drive to lodge took a couple of hours and we were greeted by a rather rude receptionist – not quite the welcome we have come to expect but we had a lovely dinner by the riverside.

Day 76 Xakanaka Campsite

Two hour boat safari on the channels and lagoons of the Okavanga delta around Xakanaka. Beautiful scenery with tall reeds towering above us. On the way out we sat inside the boat but on the way back we sat on the roof – much more exciting and a better view!

Rest of morning spent reading and cooking early dinner of Indonesian beef curry to use up the rest of the meat as we have a vet fence to go through tomorrow. Also watching the 10 x SAs on the next campsite who are here doing a promo video for Avis and test driving their vehicles for a website review.

Headed out at 2 pm for afternoon game drive negotiating more tricky Botswana sandy roads.  The roads around Xakanaka are a complete maze and bear no resemblance to the map as they are mostly seasonal tracks.  Ended up at two deep water crossings but opted not to cross as it was a bit late in the day to be getting stuck.  Drove out to dead tree island which has lots of dead trees!

Lots of zebra and waterbuck but Ian was determined to get a photo of a squirrel.

Day 75 Xakanaka Camp, Moremi Game Reserve

Morning game drive into Moremi Game Reserve. We had been warned that the density of game was less in the reserve than in the Khwei concession so we weren’t surprised that it was pretty quiet.  Denis, our guide was expert at tracking and he soon found cheetah tracks but we didn’t managed to spot one instead we saw two leopards!!  The first one was hunting baby tessebe but failed to get his dinner whereas the second was sitting in the branches of a tree – absolutely stunning!

After lunch we drove ourselves back into Moremi having first done some shopping in Khwei village for wood, water and beer.  We saw very little on the way to the campsite except another huge herd of elephants.  Amusingly though when we checked in, the staff were really excited as there were 3 male lions sleeping under the old ticket office!  A storm was brewing on the horizon so the rains are not too far off here too.

Day 74 Sango Tented Camp

A long morning game drive for 5.5 hours (usually they last for 3-4 hours max).  The area is packed with wildlife and we managed to get a fab sighting of a giant eagle owl plus close encounters with hyenas and zebras.  We spent some time following a group of four lionesses and a male lion on a hunt for impala but the impala got away for now.

Afternoon lazing in the plunge pool whilst watching elephants, hippo, impala and warthogs in the river.  We chose to go for a trip in a mokoro canoe on the khwai river rather than another game drive.  It was extremely peaceful and beautiful drifting through the water lilies listening to the birds and hippos.

Day 73 Sango Tented Camp, Khwei Concession

On the road by 6.30 am with the aim of doing a game drive before the heat of the day, however, there was even less to see and the one pride of lions in the area had apparently killed a buffalo in an area that we couldn’t self-drive in.  We headed south towards Moremi.  Savute is beautiful and is oddly very green even though there is no water as the trees have all come into leaf as the rains are overdue.  Further south there was definitely more game and just before the gate we finally spotted a pride of lions with a couple of cubs – Savute is famous for its lions so we were glad to have seen some.

Stopped for lunch outside the reserve.  Quite odd eating beef curry in forty plus degree heat by the side of the road. 

We arrived at Sango in time for the afternoon game drive.  The camp is set next to the Khwei river which has water all year due to the hippos digging deep channels in the sand.  There is loads of wildlife including a group of waterbuck on the opposite side of the river to our chalet – a fantastic setting.  The game drive proved highly entertaining as we sat and watched copulating lions for an hour.  Some frantic activity for 30 seconds followed by 15 minutes of sleep- this is repeated for several days.  It was certainly a first for us.  Sundowners were drank in the middle of the plain surrounded by lechwe antelopes.

Day 72 Savute campsite

Elephants descended on our campsite whilst we were doing the washing up and we found ourselves surrounded by a large herd.  We were enjoying watching them when the camp attendants appeared clapping and scared the entire herd off. 

Took a short game drive around the Linyanti area but soon found our way blocked by a very stubborn male elephant who definitely wasn’t going to move so we decided a stand off was not in order and headed towards Savute instead.  The road was very deep sand but I was determined to try driving as I hadn’t attempted deep sand driving before.  It actually wasn’t as bad as I anticipated and didn’t get stuck.  I did hand back to Ian though before worst section where the dutch couples had got stuck in their Toyota / Nissan– we sailed through.  One up from the Landy!

We had been warned that Savute was a bit dry and it certainly is.  All the water holes were dry and there was a distinct lack of game.  We headed for the campsite and spent the afternoon relaxing as there was definitely no point in driving around until it had cooled down.  We headed back out at 3.30 and headed for the one waterhole that was still damp – there were loads of elephants but little else in sight.  A number of safari vehicles were watching a dead impala up a tree in the hope that the leopard would come back (we later heard that a group of Japanese tourists were there for 3 hours – an easy life for their safari driver!).  Our highlight was spotting a family of bat-eared foxes in the distance plus some ostriches and a genu.

Day 71 Linyanti Campsite

Road from Ihaha out of the park was very deep sand in places but we made it without letting air out of the tyres.  Once outside the gate and back on tar we passed through a couple of villages and spotted a general store with a bar – happy Ian as we could buy beer! Botswana seems more affluent than its neighbours as even the smallest villages have block paved pavements and sign posted bus stops.  The tar road didn’t last long and soon we were back driving through deep sand for 70 km so it was a slow and very, very hot journey.  We don’t have a thermometer but we reckon it must be in the mid 40s in the shade – everything is getting cooked and our cooled drinks are warm within 5 mins and positively hot within 20 mins.

Tonight’s campsite is next to the Linyanti river with tall papyrus grass along the banks and lots of birdlife.  We arrived to find another troop of baboons on our site but thankfully they moved away!   Instead we found the campsite was surrounded by elephants.  Quite an interesting experience doing the washing up whilst watching a herd of very large elephants 10 yards away.

Soon after we arrived one of our Dutch neighbours came over and asked if we could give them some water – they had got stuck on the road from Savute and used all their water.  Not a problem, we gave them 3 litres.  A few hours later, our other neighbours came with a similar request, we managed to spare another 2 litres but are definitely at our limit now, and fingers crossed that we don't get stuck ourselves!

Day 70 Ihaha Campsite

Our game drive through the park was elephant heaven – the herds are vast.  

We also saw a pride of 9 lionesses (one with a large radio collar). Stopped for lunch at a picnic site but were soon forced back into the landy as a very naughty monkey was determined to steal our food and hissed and spat when we stopped him.

Back at camp for 3 pm to find squatters on our campsite.  A SA couple had decided to use our trees for shade as there site had none – in hindsight we should have offered to swap.  As we started to cook tea the troop of baboons appeared and one in particular proved very nasty.  Ian was chopping wood a few yards from the vehicle and I was getting stuff out of the back when I saw a large male baboon running straight for me at full speed.  I ducked around the corner and jumped into the landy.  The door was half shut when he launched himself at the door – luckily I managed to pull it shut.  He then decided to jump onto the front and started climbing the ladder to the tent.  Lots of shouting from both me and Ian scared him off but the rest of the evening was spent battling with him.  He kept his distance when we were both visible but as soon as Ian moved away from he would come racing back.  At one point I was standing next to the passenger door and Ian walked around the back of the car – I turned to see Ian racing back waving his arms madly and shouting.  I was not amused thinking he was playing a joke on me but turning the other way I saw Mr Nasty Baboon had crept around the front of the vehicle and was about a foot away from me.  Thinking he might be smelling the over ripe bananas in the car, Ian threw them into the “baboon-proof” bin.  It took precisely 30 seconds for the baboon to get into the bin and find the bananas but it did actually mean that he left us alone for a bit.

Managed finally to eat tea without being harassed and were really lucky to see a honey badger right next to our camp.