Africa » Botswana » North-West » Okavango Delta
August 17th 2008

Published: November 14th 2009

Kruger National Park, ZAR

Trying to get caught up on blog entries from 2008's trip to Africa.

Short version: spent only a week in Botswana mainly to visit the Okavango Delta but getting there was half the adventure.

Long version: I crossed from Mozambique to Nelspruit, South Africa (ZAR) with a South African ex-pat named Henrietta who ran a backpackers in Tofo, Mozambique. Tofo is a really nice place, very laid back, with a beautiful beach and purportedly excellent scuba diving which I tried to experience but August is a bad time due to ocean currents that stir up the bottom limiting visibility. Many South Africans have grown roots in Tofo and are permitted to stay in Mozambique for one month visa free. There is a scam among the ex-pats so that only one of them crosses back to ZAR with all the others' passports to get them stamped out of Mozambique and back in supposedly hassle free. And just how do they pull this off? Naturally there is a Mozambique border official who has agreed to illegally stamp their passports for a fee. Henrietta was not the "mule" for this trip but I nevertheless became a little concerned when the canopy on

Another Day, Another Solitary Male Lion

Kruger National Park, ZAR

Bakkie (pronounced bucky, and yes, with a capital B), or pickup truck, blew off the back at 4:30 a.m., an hour or so after we left Tofo under a pitch black sky. Fortunately no one was driving behind us at that hour. Unlike me, she seemed unfazed by the mishap and we turned around to retrieve the detached and free flowing cover. It was quick work to reattach the canopy and by early morning we were in the highway town of Xai-Xai ("Shy-Shy") enjoying breakfast of coffee and prego ni pão, a delicious albeit small, Portuguese steak sandwich. After topping off with petrol and motor oil (another red flag) we were soon passing by the capital Maputo. Bakkie then overheated a bit and needed a rest before the ZAR border crossing at Ressano Garcia. Things got interesting at the surprisingly orderly border post. Henrietta gave me her passport to get stamped out so she could guard Bakkie. My passport was quickly stamped but the official seemed to be taking a long time with Henrietta's. I was finally informed that Henrietta had to pay a fine for overstaying her entry. That was when the ex-pats' scam was abruptly terminated. Apparently, the

Pair of Male Lions

Kruger National Park, ZAR

border guard who was stamping all the passports neglected to put exit and entry stamps in Henrietta's passport during her co-conspirator's previous border run. So in essence, she had been in Mozambique illegally for approximately one month. Given the reputation of African officials, this seemed like the perfect opportunity for someone to extract something of a briberous nature in order to fix her problem. But she would have none of that. She called the disreputable border official who neglected to stamp her passport and he soon appeared on the scene much to his shock and chagrin. His cover blown, I'm not exactly sure how he weaseled out of the situation. This production took a couple of hours during which time I contemplated squeezing into a minivan for the remainder of the journey to Nelspruit. Glad I didn't as there was another surprise in store. We stopped at a small shopping plaza before she dropped me off at Nelspruit's Funky Monkey Backpackers. Bakkie was parked at a slight incline and it was then that the emergency brake gave out. Normally not a problem except when the car won't start, it's not the battery, and Henrietta can't take her foot off the

Yellow Hornbill

Kruger National Park, ZAR

brake for fear off smashing adjacent parked cars. It must have looked comical with me under the hood trying to follow Henrietta's instructions for fixing Bakkie while she leaned out the driver's side door with one foot on the brake pedal. Bakkie eventually started and Henrietta and I parted ways at the hostel. I picked up my Opel economy rental car equipped with the powerful 1.3L 3 cylinder engine that would somehow transport me 3000 miles from Nelspruit to Kruger National Park, then across most of Botswana and Namibia, and finally to Cape Town from where I returned to the US after 3½ months in Africa.

The drive to Maun from Kruger was long, hot, and nerve racking owing to the free range cattle wandering all over the 2 lane highways. Driving at night is dangerous because of the cattle and would be death defying. It took 2 days of almost nonstop driving with a night at the border after a brief stop at Polokawane for a hearty steak dinner. South Africans love their steaks and braais, or BBQs. Once I finally got to Maun I made the mistake of heading to Audi Camp where their budget tours to

Yellow Hornbill

Kruger National Park, ZAR

the Okavango Delta had been highly touted for years in numerous guidebooks. I would never obtain any tour information as their office was closed and I could not bear another day dealing with their lackadaisical staff. On the way out in the morning I met 4 Americans who thought the same. I told them about Old Bridge Backpackers that I stumbled across the previous evening while searching for a place to unwind. We convoyed over, settled in, and soon arranged a one hour bush flight over the delta. The small Cessena seated 6 including the pilot and the cost was divvied up by the number of passengers. The $75 per person price tag was about the cheapest in Botswana which has never been much of a budget conscious backpacker friendly destination.

After returning to the camp I was able to set up a mokoro trip leaving the next day. Mokoro are dugout canoes which look totally unstable and unnavigable. 2 Korean backpackers and I left in the morning by speedboat to the launch point where we met our guides and got a glimpse of life in the remote village. We had time for one late afternoon walk once the

Hippo Pool

Kruger National Park, ZAR

heat had dissipated. Got really close to lots of zebra, wildebeest, impala, and a small herd of elephants which did not please the guides. The elephants were upwind and inadvertently followed us for a while after we saw them, forcing us in the opposite direction. The grass was high and we could not see them until they lifted their trunks to sniff us out. Unfortunately, there was not time to snap many pictures as the guides wanted to hightail it away from the elephants. It can be quite dangerous to encounter elephants in close quarters because they have personal space issues and are unpredictable. There were more bush walks and a mokoro trip to the hippo pools where we saw a hippopotamus pop its head above the surface every few minutes. The last bush walk was when we came across a herd of buffalo which can also be dangerous. Seeing 2 of the Big 5 on foot is definitely more exhilarating than seeing them from the confines of a safari vehicle. The Big 5 are elephant, buffalo, lion, rhinoceros, and leopard and the prize of hunters back in the colonial days. The modern Big 9 include zebra, giraffe, cheetah, and

At the Controls Over the Okavango Delta

hippopotamus. Even though they are vegetarian, hippos actually kill more people in Africa than any other animal because they are extremely territorial, ornery, weigh about a ton, and can run surprisingly fast so you are in big trouble if one decides to tap dance on your head.

Travel related details

ZAR-Botswana border crossing at Groblersberg-Martin's Drift continuing to Maun via Serowe

Not much to say about this crossing except that it is very remote and hassle free. A few kms before the ZAR side of the border is a rest camp where you can spend the night camping or in basic rooms (~$10-20 pp) if it is getting late (border is not open 24 hours) or you need to resupply. If you are driving your own vehicle, you need to pay a 60 pula road tax upon entry to Botswana. I was able to pay with a credit card but you cannot rely on that because communication service is intermittent at best. There are money changers at the border post however. About 20 minutes after the border crossing is the small town of Palapye where there are proper banks with ATMs, service stations, and supermarkets. From there a good

Okavango Delta

Inland delta that vanishes in the vast aridness of Botswana. The Okavango River starts as a spring in Angola but never reaches the sea much to the dismay of Robert Plant.

road leads to Serowe through the center of the country and ultimately to Maun. But do not stay on the road to the mining town of Orapa where the road becomes private necessitating a permit. Take the turn off for Mopipi several kms before Orapa. Fuel up in Rakops where there is also a small restaurant at the station. Maun is still a couple of hours from Rakops.

Maun

Accommodation and food First night I stayed at Audi Camp which had been heavily promoted for years in Lonely Planet. This place was yet another bad recommendation by the formerly spot on, now practically useless, travelers' guide. The camp has clearly been resting on its laurels and reputation in LP. The "driveway" was almost inaccessible with 2WD and was basically a sand track. The staff was inattentive and unconcerned with the self catering kitchen that had 2 operable gas burners for the entire camp. I wanted to set up a trip to the Okavango Delta but the tour office was not open. The camp had no central place to interact with other travelers and was teeming with overland trucks. Never a good sign. Next day I switched to Old

Elephant Herd in the Delta

As seen from 500 feet.

Bridge Backpackers where I had gone the night before for a beer after the long drive from the border and the disappointment of Audi Camp. Old Bridge was run by a British ex-pat couple and was fantastic: great bar with music, pool table, swimming pool, shady campsites by the river, no overland trucks, sociable and extremely knowledgeable hosts... an overall good vibe. They also run a minivan to the center of town a couple of times a day for guests without their own transport. Adjacent to one of the supermarkets is a good pastry shop doubling as an internet cafe.

Transportation There are public minivans running locally down the main road near the camp and also to Nata from where further transport continues to Kasane (for Chobe NP) and Francistown (for the train to Gaborone). There was a 2-3x weekly private shuttle between Maun/Windhoek, Namibia but all I remember is that it was really expensive. There was also a public bus to Ghanzi from where you would have to hitchhike to the border and possibly a bit into Namibia to catch a bus/minivan to Windhoek.

In hindsight, I probably should have skipped Kruger, taken the bus from Nelspruit

Shoving Off

Leaving the motorboats behind with our guides Smooth and Freddy.

to Jo'burg continuing to Windhoek, Namibia and gotten the car there. Then driven to Maun, looped through the panhandle to Rundu, and toured Namibia before dropping the car back in Windhoek and taken a bus to Cape Town. That would have been much less driving, fewer days paid for the car, and no one way rental fee. Even though Fish River Canyon was a major letdown (nearly impossible to get a permit for hiking and Ais-Ais was closed for renovations), I did want to see it which is only possible with private transport or a tour. From there it was close enough to the ZAR border to warrant keeping the car and dropping it in Cape Town after a few days in Stellenbosch wine country which was really nice.

Okavango Delta tour Possibly the major tourist draw for Botswana and it did not disappoint. Set up the trip at Old Bridge Backpackers. Not totally sure but I paid somewhere in the vicinity of $50-60 for the 3d/2n trip not including food which I provided for myself. 2d/1n would have been enough as the extra day is a repeat of the first day and the trip to the hippo pools

Water level view

Average water depth is only a few feet in winter.

was underwhelming and time consuming. The one day trip is definitely not worth it as too much time is spent in transit to the mokoro launch point leaving very little time for bush walking.

Botswana-Namibia border crossing at Mohembo continuing to Rundu

Another remote and straightforward border crossing. It is a long drive from Maun and petrol is almost non-existent. Maybe there is fuel at Sehithwa. There is definitely a liquor store. There is another road tax to be paid upon entering Namibia, the equivalent of ~$20 payable in $N or ZAR rand and there are no money exchange facilities at the border. Last opportunity to change money is at the turnoff several kms before the border. Don't think you can bring meat across the border. Namibia is one hour behind Botswana. It is a couple of hours from the border to Rundu where there is petrol, banks with ATMs, a supermarket, and accommodation. I camped at Ngandu Lodge. They also have bungalows and a decent restaurant where I devoured an ostrich steak. The kitchen staff were friendly and let me leave beer in their fridge which was no small deal. Cold beer is a necessity after the long,