The travels of Tim and Megan: Africa Safari: Botswana

Day 38: Chobe National Park, Botswana

After an early night (8pm!) and a massive sleep, we were raring to go at 6am on Monday. Today we were leaving Zimbabwe and heading west into Botswana. We packed up our things and said goodbye to our old crew (Mwangi, Mwai and Nick) who were heading back up to Kenya with another truck. We also bid farewell to a number of our tour group, some of whom were homeward bound, while others were taking a different truck south to Johannesburg. We, of course, were heading to Cape Town on a shiny new orange truck.

We had breakfast with our new crew and met some new tour group members, who seemed like good fun. We left Victoria Falls at about 9am and we drove west for around an hour to the Botswana border, where we were treated to a speedy border crossing.

Botswana is a flat, desert covered, landlocked country in southern Africa, with a population of around 2 million. Unlike its neighbours it was never formally colonised, although it was once a British protectorate before achieving independence in 1966. We had been intrigued by Botswana for a while as it is a proper success story - rising from poverty at the time of independence to become one of the fastest growing economies in the world (its GDP leapt from US$70 t0 US$14,000, largely due to diamond mining). Impressively, Botswana has managed to remain relatively stable and democratic post-independence and we were looking forward to seeing it after witnessing so much poverty throughout other parts of Africa.

Things started well, with a successful supermarket visit for supplies at the town of Kasane, just across the border. People there looked a lot wealthier than in other parts of Africa and the shops were really good - a welcome change from some poorly-stocked shops in Malawi and Zimbabwe.

After a short drive, we arrived at our camp and got ourselves set up. We had lunch and a talk from our new tour leader, Darlington. He seemed really nice and a bit of a hard case. He, like Mwangi, was an Arsenal fan. Smart man. After lunch we chilled out in the bar next to the swimming pool. Most of us had chosen to do an optional overnight camp in Chobe National Park. We couldn't resist the opportunity to sleep out in the wild with the animals! Chobe, in northern Botswana, has one of the largest concentrations of game in Africa and it is particularly known for its concentration of elephants (numbering over 50,000)!

Later in the afternoon, we got into our special 4x4 game viewing vehicle and set off for a two-hour game drive through Chobe. It wasn't long before we were at Chobe River and watching elephants play and wash in the water - happy times. We also saw plenty of giraffes, sables, impala, mongooses, crocodiles, hippos, monkeys and loads of baboons, before stopping riverside to watch another gorgeous African sunset.

We got to our camping spot, which had been set up for us earlier. The camp was in the middle of Chobe National Park and had no fences or security against the animals. The camp looked beautiful, with chairs, tables, lanterns and tents, which contained mattresses and pillows. Luxury! We went through a few ground rules since we were camping wild - no visiting the toilet on your own after dark, no leaving fruit in your tent (as elephants will smell it and tear the tent down to get at it) and no leaving your tent if you hear animals outside.

Then it was time for a few drinks around the camp fire and a meal that none of us had to cook or clean up afterwards, bonus! The food was fantastic - soup, beef stroganoff, pumpkin, potatoes, green salad and fruit with custard. However, eating was a challenge with hundreds of giant flying beetles, moths, flies, mosquitoes and other creepy crawlies dive-bombing our heads and trying to share in our food.

Several of the group were also unnerved by the large, white spiders that scuttled across the ground at high speed and seemed inclined to follow us wherever we moved. Our guide nicknamed the spiders the "Kalahari Ferraris" due to their speed. He was pretty relaxed about these spiders, as apparently they are not deadly (although if they bite you it will really hurt!). We weren't so fond of them and we were getting monstered by insects, so after dinner we retired to bed fairly early. Plus those mattresses and pillows looked mighty comfy. We got a great sleep, only interrupted by some odd grunting in the night...

Day 39: Chobe National Park

On Tuesday we woke at 5.45am and had an amazing breakfast at the campsite - porridge followed be French toast, bacon and baked beans. Delicious! Our guide informed us that the strange grunting noise we had heard in the night was a leopard, who had wandered right through the middle of our campsite and past our tents. Leopards make a grunting noise as a way to mark their territory and scare off any other leopards or hyenas etc who might be lurking in the region.

We left the camp at 7am and started a morning game drive through Chobe. It was a slow start, as there were not many animals about. However, before long we came across a big pride of lions, gathered by the edge of the river. They were looking hungrily at a dead buffalo lying in the river, just far enough into the water to make it out of reach for the lions. Out of reach due to the crocodiles circling the buffalo, almost willing the lions in to the water so they could pounce!

Once the lions realised they would not be eating this morning, they walked away from the river towards the bush. They passed our 4x4 vehicle literally 2-3 metres away from us. Those of us sitting on the left side of the vehicle felt very vulnerable, as there were no doors, windows or sides to the jeep - we were completely exposed and had nowhere to go if one of the lions pounced. They actually looked right at us as they passed - it was quite scary. But it was also brilliant to see lions so close!

During the rest of the morning we saw a variety of bird life, squirrels, impala, some kudu (a large type of antelope), elephants, giraffes, zebras, sable, buffaloes, baboons, hippos and a massive monitor lizard (this thing was well over a metre long)! When we stopped for a short toilet break, we saw some cheeky monkeys scuttling around on the ground. Tim accidentally dropped a piece of biscuit on the ground and one of the monkeys snaffled it and ate it up. It was pretty cute. The lions were definitely the highlight of the morning.

We left Chobe and returned to our proper camp near Kasane at 11am. We had showers and chilled out there for a while. After lunch we left the camp and headed back into Kasane for some more supplies. We then had an afternoon outing in the form of a boat cruise on the beautiful Chobe River. The cruise was spectacular. The scenery was amazing and we saw lots of wild animals up close.

There were loads of hippos in the river, some massive crocs chilling on the river bank, elephants grazing on the huge island in the middle of the river and some baboons scrapping around for some food. But the real highlight was an amazing fish eagle, perched in a tree, clutching a fish in one of its claws (photo below). Tim got to skipper the boat for a short while, which was pretty cool - again, photo below.

It was another "booze cruise" and some of the tour group dominated. Mike (aka Little Anzac) demolished most of a bottle of brandy in a touch over two hours and he stumbled off the boat at the end of the trip. One of his jandals (aka thongs over the ditch and flip-flops in the motherland) fell off and he was struggling big time to get his foot back into it. Tim asked him if he was OK and he slurred "I lost my shoe" and then laughed hysterically. Always good value, Little Anzac. Back at camp we had a good solid dinner and then went to bed nice and early. We were knackered after a big couple of days!

Day 40: Travel to Maun

On Wednesday we left camp at 6.40am. We had a long day of driving from Kasane (in the north-east tip of Botswana) south-west down to Maun in central Botswana. The landscape was very dry and barren - lots of red soil and prickly looking trees and not much else. We passed by a national park at one point and saw some zebras and a few antelopes but nothing too exciting.

We arrived in Maun around 3pm and we had some time to do a bit of shopping and internet before heading to our camp. There was no hassle from the locals in Botswana - it was very noticeable that people living there were much better off than those in Zimbabwe and some other countries, where there was severe poverty. It made it much easier for us to get around town.

Our camp was pretty nice - it had a small swimming pool and a decent bar, which was covered in NZ flags and All Blacks posters! We pitched our tents and had a couple of drinks in the bar before dinner. Our new chef, Freddie, made us spag bol for dinner and it was amazing.

There was a wicked thunder storm in the evening - the thunder and lightning rolled on for over an hour before any rain actually fell. Luckily we had gone to bed by the time the rain came - because it absolutely chucked it down. There were a few leaks in the tent. The noises were unreal - there was a real electric-sounding crackle from the lightning and an insanely loud boom from the thunder, like a bomb going off. We had never heard a storm like that before. It was scary.

Day 41: Maun

Thursday signalled the beginning of a three-day optional activity in the Okavango Delta. The Okavango Delta (or Okavango Swamp), is the world's largest inland delta. It is formed where the Okavango River empties onto a swamp in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert, where most of the water is lost to evaporation rather than draining out to sea. Needless to say, the water attracts an abundance of wildlife!

The optional excursion involved a canoe ride and lots of bush walking. Megan and Tim decided not to do this activity, as it sounded a little dull to us and we were also looking forward to a couple of days to chill out on our own. While we got on famously with most of our tour group, there were one or two of the newbies that we picked up in Zimbabwe who were already rubbing us up the wrong way! Some time out was ideal! We were not missing out on much anyway, as we had booked in for a flight over the Okavango Delta in a Cessna on Saturday afternoon.

But Thursday and Friday were all about relaxing! After the others headed off on their Okavango Delta trip, we showered, had breakfast and did a bit of washing, before retiring to the pool area, where we lazed in the sun, had a couple of swims and chilled out in the bar. The camping ground was super quiet - there was only a few other people roaming around all day. It was really quiet. Just what we wanted.

Darlington cooked us an amazing dinner (Freddie, our chef, had gone with the rest of the team to cook for them in the Delta). We had battered chicken drumsticks, which Darlington called "DFC" - Darlington Fried Chicken. Very funny. Then we had pasta and sauce with spicy sausages. Delicious. While we were chatting to Darlington after dinner a couple of huge bulls walked through the middle of the camp. Very odd.

Day 42: Maun

Tim woke in the middle of the night thinking there was someone lurking outside our tent, but it was just a cow. We felt refreshed when we woke on Friday morning. We had a solid breakfast of scrambled eggs and bread and then caught a lift into town with another tour company's truck. We had a look around the shops and spent a fair chunk of time catching up with the outside world over the power of the internet. We even managed to fax our voting papers for the general election back to New Zealand.

We caught a taxi back to the camp and had pasta salad and tuna for lunch. We did some more washing and hung out by the pool in the afternoon. Another bonus of staying at the camp was that the truck bound for Johannesburg rolled back into camp, with many of our former tour mates on board! Even though we'd only spent a few days apart, it was great to have a reunion. They had just returned from their trip to the Delta and were not overly enthused about it - apparently it was insanely hot and there was not much to do there.

We had a few drinks with the old team and then dinner in the camp restaurant - roast chicken, scalloped potatoes and coleslaw. After dinner there were more drinks and shenanigans with the old crew. It was a late night by African standards!

Day 43: Maun and Okavango Delta

Saturday started slowly - we were pretty tired. After breakfast we spent a productive morning doing our hand washing and repacking our things. Then it was time to welcome our fellow travellers back from the Delta (feedback was generally positive but it was not a trip highlight) and get ready for our Cessna flight over the Okavango Delta. Those of us who had chosen to do the flight drove to the Maun Airport after lunch.

Our plane was a seven-seat Cessna, it felt small on the airstrip and even more so once we were airborne! It was a windy day and we got blown sideways during take-off! The Delta from the air was mesmerising. We were amazed at the contrast in scenery in the Delta - the landscape seemed to change so fast. There were huge patches of water, grassy areas, palm trees and patches of dry land, as well as little streams that ran across the countryside like veins.

We were captivated by the stunning views and we even spotted some game - hippos, elephants, giraffes, zebras and antelopes. The flight lasted over an hour and we covered a big area. It was a really wicked experience.

We got back to camp late in the afternoon in time to see a wart hog ripping through our rubbish bags! We then caught up with some English football in the bar before enjoying pasta, bacon and veges for dinner and settling in for our last night in Maun. Megs saw a little brown owl in the tree next to our tent, which was very cute! We hit the hay at 9.45pm - late! Tomorrow we were leaving Botswana and entering Namibia.