On the move

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Journey to Francistown
Another Godfrey’s special
“The plan” was that we would all travel to Francistown together in Godfrey’s combi with a trailer at the back with all the kit and luggage BUT! like all best plans and despite Will’s best effort, Godfrey let us down one more time. As a result, Mike R, Veronika and I ended up making the journey in the combi loaded to the brim and the rest of the team in a coach . Godfrey tried to kill us on numerous occasions, we nearly ran out of petrol and yet he still managed to smile and amuse us with his infectious laughter .
The 5 ½ hour journey on the coach was not unlike a Wells Fargo stage coach: Indians and many other tribes, attacking bus at each stop with water, chocolate and a national dish of chicken and chips. Without a rest break, some people were found with crossed legs in cramp spaces in unbearable heat. Of the 5 ½ hours, the bus played Rod Stewart 2 hours and 46 minutes, a journey to be remembered, not easily forgotten.
On the way to Francistown, we passed the tropic of Capricorn, 152km from Gaborone. We also went through the towns of Malahapye and Palapye. Palapye is the crossroads to Serowe, the birthplace of the country’s first president Sir Seretse Khama, and is considered the powerhouse of Botswana as it is home to the Morupule power station. We also passed the turn-off to the mining town of Selebi-Phikwe, originally two tiny places called Selebi and Pikwe which straddled a large undiscovered deposit of copper and nickel in the area. When the mineral wealth of the area was discovered in the 1960s, a mine and township was built in the woodland between the places with the combined name of Selebi-Phikwe.
And finally we arrived to Francistown, one of the oldest towns in Botswana and site of the Southern Africa’s first gold rush. The town was named after Daniel Francis who came to Tati in the 1860’s and organised the establishment of the town through the sale of freehold stands to the public.
Veronique

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