http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Botswana en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:04:25 BST Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:04:25 BST I joined another group on the morning that we left Livingstone as I had chosen to go to the Okavango Delta and unfortunately the girls had not. The group I was to join was a smaller vehicle but ironically a larger group. They are a mix of Irish and Aussies and a lovely German lady. Our guide was Wessel from Blomfontein. We crossed the border into Botswana over the river. I have to say the landscap http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Okavango-Delta/blog-303180.html Midmorning we departed from Johannesburg to Kang in Botswana with a Pajero and two Landies. Kang is a small village along the TransKalahari Highway. Due to donkeys and cattle on the road it is not advisable to drive at night. We decided to stay over at the Kang UltraStop Filling Station 267 6517294 S23 40.921 E22 45.999 that offers a range of diffrent types of accommodation at a range of http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/Kgalagadi/Trans-Kalahari-Highway/Kang/blog-300189.html Ok people so technically I'm home now but I had to blog on MaunMoremi Game Reserve and the Okavango Delta experience. SOrry for the delay...Botswana isn't great about having internet connection. I did want to blog this specific experience because it was CRAZY Yes I made it home safely...thanks This was from my diaryjournal...minus a few details. The trip to Maun began Saturday af http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Moremi-Game-Reserve/blog-299862.html Just a quick update to say that we are now in Botswana. We are preparing for a camping trip into the Okavango Delta. I am really looking forward to sleeping among the animalsYesterday was our last day in Namibia the highlight of which was meeting a tribe of Bushmen. They were so incredibly friendlyI should go before the tour bus leaves without me but again I hope everything is going well at http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Maun/blog-299674.html Pictures from the DeltaFinally getting a chance to get some of our pictures on the blog for all to see. Following are some pictures of our trip into the Delta in Botswana. 2 nights with no facilities. But a really nice hole I might add. Everything including ourselves had to be taken out by Mokoro. Small hand dug out canoes. Chester and Kirsten even made an attempt at becoming the first Amer http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Okavango-Delta/blog-298471.html We have been very busy since the last blog. Unfortunately Anna and Amy were ill last weekend so werenrsquot able do much but there is still a lot to update you on. Last Saturday we went on a sponsored 10km walk in a place called Tachila. It is going to be a nature reserve when it opens officially and the walk was to raise money to be able to fence the land in so that they can introduce a variety http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/blog-296548.html Everything but the LionTrying to pass along the best pictures and as the highlight of our trip was seeing all of the animals. We saw every animal that we had hoped and some we didn't even know existed except the elusive Lion. But if we were not so lazy and had gotten up at 4AM we could have seen the lion at the watering hole in Etosha Namibia. But it was too cold and sleep sounded pretty good a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Chobe-National-Park/blog-295623.html Crossing borders is my favorite there is nothing like watching the crossroads of 3rd world life bureacracy ferries produce products businessmen truckers and the odd little face of a tourist or two toting backpacks and looking out of place. Some scared some harrassed looking and some barely noticing that they aren't in Kansas anymore. There is always ample time to observe these myriad http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Chobe-National-Park/blog-294077.html Well this weekend was boring yet fun. We had such a full week that when Friday finally came around it was TIME TO DROP. A run down of the week Monday first day of work. It was great and draining and I think I blogged on it...but the week got progressively more interesting. Tuesday Second day of work bonded with SAPSSI staff and students. We had made reservations at this restaurant Khwes http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/South-East/Gaborone/blog-293310.html Animals they're everywhere they're everywhereSo after 3 days in the Delta with no immenities i.e. water toilets showers etc we headed to Chobeo National Park in Botswana for our last night in Botswana. By this time in the trip patience is running a bit short and a few meltdowns happened Kirsten and Chester. 3 weeks of putting up and taking down tents repacking and sitting on a bus can ge http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/blog-293225.html A birthday to rememberWe're writing this retrospectively now Over a month has passed since I celebrated my 31st birthday in Botswana.After going on our fantastic safari to Savuti we came back to Maun to spend a couple of days with Mr James Gifford. It was great to see Giff in his element out in Botswana and we got to meet lots of the expat community. We also managed to go on a mokoro trip in http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Maun/blog-293148.html The Botswanan people are some of the most genuinely friendly and helpful people I've met recently. They have glowing smiles easy laughs and seem to feel quite at home accepting cultural differences. There is also a mild reservedness which I think comes from not wanting to be at odds with anyone.Though the current government has made great economic and peacetime strides for the country and t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Chobe-National-Park/blog-292491.html It doesn't get much better than this. Sort of a welcome back to true Africa. It took us 5 hours to get onto the ferry to cross the river into Zambia. Too bad we couldn't drive through Zimbabwe and use the bridge instead. Some of the transport trucks have been waiting up to 10 days before they can cross. Total carnage. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Kasane/blog-292317.html Our second visit to Chobe National Park in Botswana was much like the first but with less water in the river and more people on the boats. We probably saw more wildlife on our first visit but we did see Sable antelope for the first time although not the best light for photos. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Chobe-National-Park/blog-292312.html Hi everyoneSorry for the delay in blogging. Turns out there's not a lot of computer cafe's in campsite and safari lodges. And where there is one they are invariably slow as molasses.I'm in Tanzania right now getting ready to climb Kilimanjaro wish me luck and this internet is not that fast either. Or reliable the power keeps cutting out. So you're going to get a rush entry for the next few http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/blog-292284.html Finally some pics we hope Just a cool pic to pass along. There are so many more if you want to see the slide show. We will get more uploaded once we get back to US with good connections. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/blog-291888.html Hippo SightingAfter a frigid final night in Namibia everyone woke up comparing how they had spent the night trying to form a breathing hole around their face because they couldn't expose skin to the air we crossed over into Botswana. This seems to be a much poorer and rural country than Namibia. Lots of traditional huts livestock roaming around freely roadside phone and haircut stalls. On http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/blog-291887.html We packed in our camp today first thing right at dawn. I've seen more sunrises in the past week then I have in a combined amount of years. The water lilies were still all shut in the early morning sun as we glided back out of the delta. It was chilly to say the least and the lilies had the right idea.We only had a limited day of planned activities and with the exception of running the bus http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Kasane/blog-291871.html Botswana http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/blog-291744.html Hey all. It's been a few days and I don't blog or journal nearly enough as I should but I'm tryin' There's so much to tell and I honestly don't think I have that much time to type.So again lots has been going on. First started my volunteer work at SAPSSI Salvation Army PsychoSocial Service Initiative and it's been really great. I enjoy interacting with the people and visiting schools a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/South-East/Gaborone/blog-291606.html Hello everyoneSorry it has been so long since we last wrote to you...time seems to have flown We are now feeling very at home in Francistown and even our room has become quite cosy. The hostel we are staying at is really lovely and the staff look after us loads They were worrying so much when we went away this weekend nice to know they are watching out for us Our routine now is arriving in http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-East/Francistown/blog-291548.html You might be noticing that my entries are waayyy shorter than usual. Some of you might even be happy about it. but seriously it is a task just getting to an internet connection here and they are running on tandy 1000s with a 1992 version of aol online and 10 computers sharing that connection. I'm actually missing the days of Windows Vista heaven forbid. So anyhow unless a miracl http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Okavango-Delta/blog-291209.html Getting into my mokoro with Kim a friend I've made on the trip it was the first time so far this trip that I've felt now this is what I'm here for. Seated in a reclining position amongst the bags and gear at first we sat very still the mokoro was exceedingly thin a slight movement right or left resulted in a much more exaggerated movement for the boat. The driver of the boat or poler http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Okavango-Delta/blog-291175.html Driving into Botswana from Namibia is long long and boring. The landscape is unvaried and by and large hardscrabble desert. I listened to an entire book on my ipod during the drive and I'm going to have 10 of these blog entries written in my notebook before I actually get to post them as all potential internet connections actually don't work when called upon. Today we arrived in Maun at a r http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Maun/blog-290816.html Headed into the BushHello all we are headed into the Bush of the Botswana Delta. This is going to be quite the adventure. Tomorrow we will canoe into the Delta with just our day backpacks and toilet paper. Charles our fearless leader has been holding back on some important information concerning our next two days in the bush. It has been cold in the morning but it heats up quickly during th http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/Ghanzi-District/Ghanzi/blog-290776.html Well it's been a few days since I've blogged and I have so much to say in so little time. lol...The internettechnology here isn't at all like it is in America quick DSL connections don't exist but we're making the best of it. Ok first things first. Two nights ago we went to a play Moj and the Antarctic...it was amazing. It was a one woman show about a woman's difficulty with slavery se http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/South-East/Gaborone/blog-290378.html Jess is still in full flight as a tourist.This guy is still in full flight as a nerd. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/Ghanzi-District/blog-290085.html We arrived last Saturday took a whopping 30 hours to get here but all in all it wasn't bad. Plane itenerary changed a bit from what we orginially thought but it was interesting We went from Columbus to Atlanta Atlanta to Dakar Senegal Senegal to Joburg South Africa and then JoBurg to Gaborone....landed at night which was cool... Palm trees dust stone and desolation. It's really stra http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/South-East/Gaborone/blog-288968.html