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Published: December 18th 2007
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Black Rhino
Timmy the cuddly Rhino After the Pans we headed South in Botswana towards the South African border. But as already mentioned, Botswana is BIG and it was quickly obvious that this wasn't an afternoon pootle.
First we broke the journey at Khama Rhino Sanctuary. This was a small private reserve that served as a convenient overnight stop - but also (we hoped) would give us the chance to see the elusive black rhino. This was a member of the Big 5 that we couldn't really tick off yet - our guide in Ngorogoro claimed that some half hidden black lumps were black rhinos but they could have been rocks to be honest.
We drove towards the campsite without high hopes - the rains have started here in Botswana and the dense green bush makes it difficult to see much. There was a poster in the reception office saying that their only black rhino was hand reared and so was quite tame ("If he comes close, please don't stroke the Rhino"). But we came around a corner and there he was in the middle of the track. Very close, completely unconcerned by us. Ticked that one off the list after a 15 min spin
around the park.
At the campsite it was raining and there was no shelter so we opted for the 4 person chalet which was only a bit more expensive but very luxurious compared to our usual standards.
Next day we drove more. Passed Gaborone - visited a shopping mall there which is the first proper mall we have been in since the start of the trip. With a big Shoprite supermarket. Now let's be honest, this mall looked a bit like the old shopping area in Basingstoke, it had a lot less shops than Newbury's Kennet Centre (that's not many for those who don't come from Marianne's neck of the woods), and the supermarket ain't exactly Tesco's. But nevertheless we walked around it open-mouthed with awe, and were even excited to have lunch in a KFC! (Raz and Uzi were KFC virgins. Amazing I know)
We still didn't reach the border that day either. Our first choice campsite had closed so we just followed a sign to a campsite called "Lion Park". This turned out to be the freakiest campsite ever. It was right next to a defunct theme park. Roller coasters and tea cups and an
Black Rhino
This chap had been hand reared. A sign in reception said "Do not stroke the Rhino". Alrighty then! empty pool with half finished water slides. The proper campsite was not in use so we camped in the old playground - The "camp site" was a derelict playground complete with rusting swings, some monkey bars that could have inflicted all kinds of horrific injuries, and a climbing frame that could kill, complete with slides that could remove limbs. No facilities. Oh and the other attraction - two very large lions in a cage. One of those cages that have a double fence about 2 metres apart to stop you sticking your arm through - only the outer fence had very large lion sized holes at the bottom and the inner fence was old and rusty and not very high. The owner of a nearby horse ranch who gave us directions to the campsite told us "its down past the lions in the cage on the right, don't worry they don't get out that often" Hmm. Surprisingly, there were no other campers at this fantsastic attraction so we were on our own with the slightly mad park guard.
We did meet the manager of the theme park - he was renovating it apparently. He was a big hairy Afrikaans
guy in a vest who looked a bit like Rab C Nesbitt. But he was very friendly and did give us some useful advice about a small nature reserve we could camp at en route to Joburg, and a nearby border crossing that was a lot less busy than the one we were originally aiming for.
Despite initial expectations though the night passed uneventfully. No ghostly runaway rollercoaters or escaped lions or hairy Afrikaaners. Only thing of note was Marianne finding a small snake on the way to the "toilet", when she nearly trod on it. Marianne has found three snakes to date, all of them by this nearly-crushed-by-sandal method.
Next morning we finally crossed the border. Our last African Country! We have nearly made it! We arrived in South Africa at the world's smallest border crossing (some bloke commented when we were there that it was the first time he'd seen more than 3 people in the queue), and drove quite a way before we saw anything or anyone. Eventually we found a small town with cashpoints and (gasp!) a bottle shop where we could buy beer AND ice.
Our next stop was the small park
the hairy Afrikaaner had told us about - Kgaswane Mountain Reserve. It's only small, it's not a National Park and since SA is so big, it didn't even warrant a mention in our Lonely Planet guide. But it was lovely - quite mountainous with a beautiful green valley in the middle, full of various antelope (sable, big deery thing, small brown deery thing, medium deery thing, impala...). Great shadey campsite in the middle with the best toilet and shower block ever. It used to be a private hunting park and lodge back in the Apartheid days, hence the 5 star ameneties plonked right in the middle of some ecologically sensitive woodland, so its relatively unknown but also relatively unspoilt. Nice walks up on the hillside with unusual rocks, plants and good views, and a lovely waterfall. It was so nice we decided to stay an extra day.
Camped next to us were three volunteer park rangers - Haley, Nan and Phil. They told us loads of useful info, told us about the walks, took us to the waterfall... It was Haley's birthday so we joined them for some wine around the camp fire the next evening. We provided marshmallows.
Is it me...
...or is this like a scene from the beginning of a horror film... A couple of Afrikaans regulars provided the Molketeerje or something, a milk tart which was very nice.
Anyway the upshot of all this is that (as well as having a jolly nice time in Kgaswane) Haley, Nan and Phil have offered to drive back to Joburg (our next stop and their home) with us. Since Raz and Uzi are big scaredy cats about driving in cities - perhaps with good reason in Joburg - this is a Godsend. Next stop Joburg and civilisation (maybe).
Here is our travel map:
AdnMaz Travel Map
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