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North-West Travel Blogs

Background: Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon independence in 1966. Four decades of uninterrupted civilian leadership, progressive social policies, and significant capital investment have created one of the most dynamic economies in Africa. Mineral extraction, principally diamond mining, dominates economic activity, though tourism is a growing sector due to the country's conservation practices and extensive nature preserves. Botswana has one of the world's highest known rates of HIV/AIDS infection, but also one of Africa's most progressive and comprehensive programs for dealing with the disease.

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By j s r j
November 29th 2008

Day 18

Africa » Botswana » North-West » Chobe National Park

Injured Cobra
Saw this poor thing on the side of the road...it had just been hit but hopefully it would have survived

Day 18 We left Livingstone quite late in the morning, spending our last hours there desperately trying to find a bank that would take our cards so that we could get out some money to buy some Botswana Pula…we didn’t find one so in the end we had to change some of our precious dollars. After you cross into Botswana there are few places you can exchange money or get money out until Maun and we didn’t want to get stuck with no currency. The drive the border town of Kazungula took roughly an hour…we stopped on the side of the [View Full Entry]

By j s r j
November 29th 2008

Day 19

Africa » Botswana » North-West » Chobe National Park

Wild dogs on the road in Chobe

Day 19 (Disaster Day) Day 19 started so well, only to develop into a nightmare of huge proportions. We left our campsite at about 5:30 and drove to the Mababe Park Gate that leads onto the outskirts of the Okavango Delta and supposedly to a road that takes you through to Maun. On our way we saw a pack of 8 wild dogs, an incredible sighting. They appeared out of nowhere onto to the road, and one came a metre away from the driver’s side of the car to drink from a puddle the car was sitting in, then after allowing [View Full Entry]

By j s r j
November 29th 2008

Day 20

Africa » Botswana » North-West » Maun

Buffalowon outskirts of Moremi

Day 20 We left our makeshift camp at about 8 and headed towards Moremi Gate, after thanking the gate warden for his kindness. The drive was stunning, as the area around Moremi and the park itself is really part of the Okavango Delta. Great swathes of grassland, marsh, woodland and lakes and hundreds of birds. The boys were excited to spot a Crimson Breasted Bush Shrike, Migrating Steppe Eagles and a Black Heron…Rob said he could have happily spent several days camping in that bordering area to the northern gate of Moremi because it was one of the best birding areas [View Full Entry]

By Dorn
November 28th 2008

Kasane Excursion!

Africa » Botswana » North-West » Kasane

We arrived in Francistown around 6 on the morning of Sunday, October 5th, where we were met by a bus to take us up to Kasane, another four hours on a badly potholed road. We got within half an hour of Kasane when the bus broke down outside cell service, so our driver hitched a ride into town, leaving us to bake in the bush for a couple hours until he returned with two khombis. Around 4 in the afternoon, after approximately 32 hours of traveling, we arrived at Toro Lodge, our home base for the week. We set up our [View Full Entry]

By Eryn
November 17th 2008

Starting the Overland

Africa » Botswana » North-West » Okavango Delta

So I met my group on Tuesday evening, got a quick tour of the truck, had a group dinner, and went to bed. The next morning we left early for Botswana! We got to Chobe in the afternoon and went for a river safari. Lots of elephants, hippos, and crocs. At one point a whole herd of elephants came down to the river to drink water. There were about 25 of them, some of them little babies. We also saw a dead elephant covered in vultures. And we had some excitement. Our motor decided to die partway through. Luckily our driver [View Full Entry]

By The Mosquito Magnet
November 17th 2008

Day 6: Elephant Sands to Kasane

Africa » Botswana » North-West » Kasane

Elephants!

Although breakfast was at 8, I awoke at 6.15 and heard everyone else moving around. I got up and by 6.45 we had the tents down and packed away. I sat to write my diary overlooking the watering hole. Saw the squirrel/chipmunk thing that I saw yesterday in the eaves of the bar (we also saw a big mouse/small rat scuttling along the beams at dinner). I also watched the yellow weavers building and some brown ones (social weavers) building hairier nests, all tweeting away at a fantastic rate. Saw many brown francolins walking around - like a big brown sandpiper [View Full Entry]

By Zhan
November 3rd 2008

Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park

Africa » Botswana » North-West

Internet Cafe

It's day 17 (out of 25) of my overland tour and we are currently in Kasane, Botswana (on the border of Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbawe). I'm in a tin shed with internet written on the front, from the outside it doesn't even look like there's electricity inside. We left Winhoek on 29/10 and crossed the border to Botswana. We camped at the Trailblazers camp site in Ghanzi. There we took a bush walk with the local San people, learnt about their lifestyle and culture, and how it's rapidly disappearing. The walk was interesting, but I can't help think that it [View Full Entry]

By Zhan
November 3rd 2008

Cruising down the Chobe river

Africa » Botswana » North-West » Chobe National Park

Buffalos

Just after my last blog entry on 3rd November we set off on a sunset cruise of the Chobe River. After the excellent game drive in the morning, things continued to get better and we saw lots of buffalos (possibly hundreds), hippos, crocodiles and a group of elephants, all quite close up. Then, all of a sudden, the thunder clouds closed in, the winds picked up and the rain started to pelt down. It felt like chaos. The next thing I knew, our boat had been blown aground next to one of the islands in the middle of the river. And [View Full Entry]

By Bex35
October 17th 2008

Neverending Journey

Africa » Botswana » North-West » Maun

Hi Everyone! Forgive me for writing this now I'm home, but internet in the African countryside is hard to come by. Right, longest journey ever! 11hours on a plane to Johanesburg and then 2 full days driving through South Africa and Botswana. We stopped in Palapye on our first night and were supposed to camp, but due to it being dark and none of us knowing how to put the tents up we all bunked on the floor in one room. A superb way to get to know everyone! We had a traditional African Braai (bbq) with delicious Botswana sausages. They [View Full Entry]

By Shons
October 7th 2008

Botswana - wild camping in the Okavango Delta

Africa » Botswana » North-West » Maun

3 Oct - oh dear god, I wanna die. Worst hangover of the travels to date with a v long drive and border crossings ahead, urgh. Say farewell to Ulf and the others before curling up on the bus. I get picked on all day...and most of that night...but somehow manage to leave Namibia and get into Botswana in a hungover haze. We arrive in Ghanzi...and...THANKFULLY, we get the option to 'upgrade' to a San Bushman grass shelter so don't need to wrestle with the tent, PHEW. James volunteers to be my new roomie, poor guy ;) Can't face dinner so [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Africa » Botswana » North-West