Being Self Sufficient for 5 Days

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Geo: -23.5741, 24.104

Last night Paul and I finished packing our bags and made a large pile on one side of the room of things we needed for our trip. I then enjoyed a long hot shower (it would be 6 days until I had another).

This morning we got up at 5:30am and packed the ute (or bakkie as they say here). It took us hour to drive through the game reserve to get to gate we wanted to use- Abjaterskop. On the drive we didn't see any animals at all- it better be a different story at Khutse Game Reserve!

Another half an hour later and we reached the Botswana border. We used the Tlokweng border gate to enter. Here we changed £ and € that Paul has received as tips into the local currency- Pula. It was a very quick border crossing and before I knew it, I was in a new country. It was a 20km drive to the capital Gaborone. We were stopping here to get our fuel, water and food for the next 5 nights, as there was nothing at all available at the game reserve. We had not booked campsites yet as no-one responded to our emails so we went to an office and booked our accommodation. Luckily it wasn't a problem and we easily booked the campsites.

We were then on the road again with our car full of supplies. It would be a three hour drive to the reserve. We drove in a north west direction. The roads were fantastic- tarred and not a pothole in sight. Once we reached Molepolole the roads weren't as good. Then we arrived in Lethlakeng. This was our last chance to buy items. We filled up with petrol again and then began the 110km drive to the game reserve. The road was now gravel and then turned to sand as we came closer to the reserve which is part of the Kalahari.

Along the way we passed a few small villages. The villages had both traditional round huts and small brick houses. Everyone seemed to have some animals. There were many cows and donkeys along the road. We saw a few families travelling with their donkeys and carts.

It was getting late and we finally arrived at the gate at 5.30pm. Sunset was approaching. Here we checked in, filled up our solar shower bag with water and bought some firewood. There are 5 campsites in the reserve and the one that we were booked into was too far to get to tonight. Night driving was not permitted, so we drove to the closest campsite- Khutse Pan which is between 2 pans (billabong- temporary waterhole).

As soon as we entered the gate I saw a black backed jackal run across the road. A few minutes later we saw an abandoned 4x4. Hope that won't be us in the next few days! There weren't roads in the reserve- just sandy tracks for us to drive on. The grass was very long and dry. We also drove past a few Red Hartebeest. Then from the right hand side of the road a leopard appeared and crossed over. It was collared to monitor its movements. We followed it for 15 minutes as it ran along the road and crossed over sides. It was such a close sighting, very exciting!

We then arrived at the campsite. There were ten sites and only one was occupied. We looked at a few of them, took their left over wood and choose number five. It was now dark and I was uneasy because I couldn't see my surroundings. The campsites are unfenced- so lions, leopards and hyenas could walk right through! There were many animal prints in the sand. The first and most important thing to do was start a fire- to keep animals away.

Then we put up the tent. It was pretty cold so I layered up and tried not to think about it. Paul frequently used the spotlight to scan the bush, luckily he didn't see anything. The campsites were either undeveloped or developed with long drop toilets and a bucket on a pulley for a shower. We cooked our dinner on the coals- a great change from the food cooked for us at work. A useful piece of advice I received before this trip was to bring a hot water bottle. So after dinner I put the kettle on the coals. We went to bed early because of the cold. The tent was freezing and I was not happy. We thought we were prepared for the cold. We had a doona, two sleeping bags and two blankets. The water bottle wasn't that effective because we didn't wait for the water to boil. Tomorrow night the kettle was going next to the fire as soon as it is lit.

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Photos

01 Travelling
The preferred mode of travelling in this part of the country was by donkey.

02 Huts
Traditional thatched mud huts.

03 Donkeys
More local people using donkeys to travel around.

04 The Road to Khutse
We are now on the last stretch of sandy 'road' that will lead us to the game reserve.

05 Entrance
The entrance to Khutse Game Reserve.

06 Unexpected
This leopard appeared out of nowhere and was an unexpected but exciting sighting.

07 Walking Along
We followed the leopard as it walked along the road.

08 Gorgeous
The gorgeous female leopard left the road and went among the tall dry grass.