Blogs from Maun, North-West, Botswana, Africa - page 5

A birthday to remember We'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 the Eastern delta which isn't supposed to be as wildlife rich as other parts of the delta, but we still managed to see elephants and hippos. Give you are in this tiny canoe, about 1 inch out of the water, a bunch of hippos scrambling off the bank to protect their young was a little un-nerving. We also did ... read more

Planet Baobab From Vic Falls we did a big 6 hour drive to a place called Gweta in Botswana. We had to go back along the previously ill fated pot holed road, but a little less bravado on my part meant that we got there without crashing into any 4ft holes! We were staying at a place called Planet Baobab for a couple of nights to do a trip out to the Magkadikadi salt pans. This place was really cool and we stayed in a mud hut surrounded by the massive Baobab trees, which are thousands of years old. It is also a sister place to Jacks Camp, where Giff used to work, so they all knew him which was a bit strange. We ended up doing the trip out to the pans with an old ... read more

Another beautiful African morning dawned and I was up again at 06h45 in order to go and explore the local bush for signs of early morning wildlife. My fellow traveller had had the remarkable good fortune in capturing the moment a ground squirrel popped its head out of its burrow but I was having no such luck. Capturing the sunrise through the trees was a poor second best and so I headed off to a breakfast of yoghurt, cornflakes, coffee and eggs instead. After spending a great deal of time packing up my belongings (ok, I wrapped up my wash items in their carrier bag), I went out into the sun and put my bag into the back of the truck. Brian and Jill had more to pack than I did (let’s face it, I’ve seen ... read more

Early on Wednesday morning a small group set out from the wonderful Old Bridge Backpackers in Maun, Botswana. We were bound for the Okavango Delta, the world's largest inland delta. The Okavango River empties not into the sea, but instead into the Kalahari desert and is home to an amazing collection of wildlife including over 400 species of birds. We took a high-speed motor lauch to the edge of the protected area and there transferred to Mokoros. These traditional fishing boats can seat two people in relative comfort, while the boatman poles them through the reeds, much like an Oxford punt. In the past the boats have always been made from local woods, but recent conservation initiatives have resulted in a gradual switch to fibreglass. The tourist programme is run by local villagers, with all moneies ... read more

Revenge And so to Zimbabwe whose border we strolled across without incident. This was the second border where a visa for Tracey was TWICE the price of David’s. A little revenge against the old colonial masters! In fact David joked about this to the immigration guys (as only he would) and they all agreed that this was the case. Zimbabwe was fantastic and depressing all at the same time….… but all of this will be described in greater detail in our next blog, for this visit was little more than a short cut across the north western tip in order to reach Botswana and the world famous Okavango Delta. We're going to need an Ark After crossing the border we encountered the first example of why we have given this blog the title “The Kindness ... read more