Blogs from Botswana, Africa
Sunrise, sunset, hippos and stranded boats.
Published: May 19th 2012Africa » Botswana » North-West » Chobe National Park
May 15th 2012
Sad after leaving the Okavango Delta behind we continued east to a small town called Gweta. This was just a stop to break up the 600km drive to Chobe National Park. After 3 nights back in the tent and being so encased in dirt we made the extremely difficult decision to upgrade again to a lodge room for a minimal amount-- I know, I know being uncomfortable is all part of the experience blah blah blah!! After a few water related issues we were upgraded to a family room which thrilled us even more. It was at this lodge where the expression T.I.A (This Is Africa) truly began to take on its meaning. The hot water was run off a gas bottle so therefore it would scorch you, then freeze you until you had had enough ... read more
May 11th 2012
Prior to beginning this blog I have a couple of corrections from previous blogs and status updates: My apologies, it is the buffalo which is found in Africa, the water buffalo is in Asia. Sorry Worthingtons!As previously updated we camped by the banks of the Ovkavango river. I feel I should confess that we didn’t actually camp that night. In Etosha I was beginning to get sick and grumpy so we made the tough decision to upgrade to a lodge room for $25 for a good shower and good nights sleep required to maintain our sanity -- this may not have been the last time we took the comfy option either, more on that later! I would also ... read more
March 19th 2012
In the largest inland delta in the world, the Okavango Delta was the last place we would think to be seeing more bushfires than wildlife. The islands that surrounded our camp were burning for the duration of our stay and it was only a 15 meter channel that spared our island from the same fate. The animals were escaping from the delta sunburned bushes which were coughing by fire with the wind speed and maybe why we were lucky seeing more wildlife than it is normally possible in the off-season. Well the Okavango Delta was still incredible (especially in the sunset) and worth to visit but unbelievably hot (in the day time above 40-45 degrees in the sun). We didn’t expect to have a possibility to swim in the delta as it is home for many ... read more
March 16th 2012
Landlocked Botswana offers extremes in environment and diversity of landscape, which is like nothing else in Africa. The size of this interesting country is roughly the same size as France, 70% of the diverse area is desert and the number of population just reaching two millions. After our crossing Zimbabwe/Botswana border we were dropped in middle of the desert at Chobe National Park with the wild animals around us. Just few hundred meters in front of us a self-confident elephant was crossing the sandy desert road, some odd noise in the savanna grassland made us nervous, few antelopes were hiding from the afternoon extreme heat etc. When we crossed the non touristic border it seemed that we got lost as we felt on our own. Now we understood why all the guide books and nice locals ... read more
Overland Part 1 - Livingstone to Windhoek (08 - 16 February 2012)
Published: February 17th 2012Africa » Botswana
February 17th 2012
After over a week in quaint Livingstone with all our laundry done and everything to be seen and done completed (ok, not the bungi jumping off the bridge but there is no way I was gonna do that), we were champing at the bit to get on the road again. For this leg we are traveling on a overland truck with 15 other people, our CEO (Chief Experience Officer - guide, fixer, cook, nursemaid) Chris from RSA, driver Lawrence from RSA and our big-assed truck (see pic). Our first leg took us through a bit of a reapeat of our Botswana trip (Chobe, Okavango, Maun) and on through to Windhoek, Namibia, but it was much quicker and there were sights, overnight stays and activities unique to both trips and any repetition was more than welcome as ... read more
February 12th 2012
Today we saw our first ELEPHANT. In Ontario, we worry mostly about deer crossing the road while you are driving. (I know my Dad hit a cow in the Florida keys once....??????) Here in Africa,, the worries are a tad bigger! As we were driving along the road, there he was- our first elephant! There are no fences and the elephants roam free- actually- we did see one fence- which the elephant calmly stepped over....... There is nothing quite so intimidating as looking at an elephant close up- beside you or even beside your vehicle! They are BIG BIG BIG!!! This area of Botswana has the highest population of elephants in Africa- approximately 120,000. We stayed at a place called Elephant Sands- aptly named! This was another bush camp type resort, with the power shutting down ... read more
February 8th 2012
Just so you check, this blog site is having technical difficulties with sending out email notifications of new entries. So you might want to check previous entries, in case there is one there that you missed hearing about! Our next adventure is a nights camping in the Okavango Delta. The tour we are on features three highlights- The Dunes, the Delta and Victoria Falls. The Delta is “ a labyrinth of lagoons, lakes and hidden channels covering an area of over 17,000 sq km and it is the largest inland delta in the world. Travel to the campsite is by local boats- called Mokoros. These boats are much like canoes, with a local guide- called a “poler”, as they use poles to push the mokoros through the shallow water. The trip takes about 1 ½ hours. ... read more
Surviving a Sandstorm On the Makgadikgadi Pans and Other Botswana Tales
Published: February 6th 2012Africa » Botswana
February 6th 2012
Ok, so it was actually on the Ntwetwe Pan (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nwetwe_Pan), not quite like a desert sandstorm and was shortly quashed by a driving rainstorm but . . . you get the picture (if not see pics below). We last left our intrepid travellers relaxing in Lusaka and taking in the local sights. Wednesday (25 January 2012) we boarded a comfy coach bus for the trip to the home of Victoria Falls, Livingstone and arrived 6 and a half hours later in the mid afternoon at our backpackers hostel, a local institution named Jollyboys. But this stop was a quick one. Immediately the next morning (26 January 2012) we were picked up for our 7 day camping tour of Botswana. Here we met our amiable and good humoured travelling companion Lucas from Switzerland. The three of ... read more
February 6th 2012
On the road again for our typical 450 km drive ,taking about 5 hrs to Windhoek the largest City in Namibia. Eight hundred thousand people. We treated ourselves by going to the Movie theater at the mall across the road from our Hotel. Very different customs here for the movie theatre. People talked all the time, without anyone asking them not to, and cell phones were used randomly throughout. Weird! The next day we crossed the border into Botswana, through the Kalahari desert and it was back to the wilds. Numerous times, the bus had to slow down for cows in the road. Botswana is the largest beef producer for Europe. Some farms have as many as 500,000 head of cattle! Sure wouldn't want to be walking through those fields........ That night, we stayed in San/Bushman ... read more
February 3rd 2012
I will let Barbe tell you about the things we saw and did in Botswana this past week (January 26 - February 1, 2012). I want to focus on how we got there and back (to Livingstone, Zambia), as well as our most interesting accommodations so far. We booked a week long sojourn with Acacia Tours back in Canada (although a British company), and their driver picked us up at the hostel where we were staying. This driver lives immediately across the border (across "the falls", really) in Zimbabwe, and he drove us to the ferry which gets you across the border into Botswana from Zambia. He explained that there are 2 ferries, the one run by Zambians and of somewhat doubtful quality (but more popular with the locals because cheaper) and the one run by ... read more
