So, a couple of days ago now, we crossed over from Botswana into Zimbabwe, everything changed drastically once again. More on Zim at a later date, let's talk about Botswana!
You will recall that when last we spoke, we had all intentions of making Botswana a fleeting visit and be in and out within a week. Well, that didn't happen and we left there with no time left on the visas that had been given to us. This happened for one reason; Botswana was magical!
We expected nothing and we got so much more. It is a wild place, all animals roam free and elephants and hippoes walk into your camps frequently. Days on the bike are spent constantly watching for elephants, lions and extremely large kudus which if we were to collide with any of these, well we would definitely be the worst off for sure. Walking out of your house and coming face to face (literally) with a large tusker is extremely daunting/exciting. Especially so when there are no boundaries and nothing to prevent him from simply doing whatever he wants. Botswana in short was all about the wildlife and the beautiful people.
It was however also, a country where I think for the first time ever, we realised just how wild animals here are and what can happen if precautions are not taken. Sometimes people get hurt and this happened several times in the last few weeks! It's quite interesting, you don't normally hear about these things and this is definitely the case when you are actually in the country where it has happened. I can only assume it's because they don't want tourists frightened as it's what everyone is here for really. I won't elaborate on the specifics of these incidents simply because that's not what I remember this magical place for.
It seems like ages ago when we first entered Botswana. The last stretch leaving Namibia up to Rundu and Divundu was when we first felt like we were actually in Africa proper. Namibia and South Africa still have that European feel to them but it was in those northern parts, when the huts started appearing, when things got exciting for us. While Namibia was all about sand, crossing the border into BOtswana introduced us straight away to green grass and well fed cattle. Strange really how an official line can do that, the change is so instant and obvious. Our first night in Botswana saw us decide against taking a late ferry when we spoke to some super friendly locals and they told us that the road across from the ferry was fraught with wild animals and to "watch ourselves", especially as it was dusk. So watch ourselves we did, we backed into a little town and decided on a place called Drotsky's as some local folk had mentioned the name to us. 3km's down a sandy bush track in the dark had us a bit on edge. It is amazing what your imagination conjures up after the sun has set in an unknown country. We imagined we were on route to a Russian mafia getaway or something similiar, and after seeing all the chefs sitting around the fire with the sillouettes of their hats flickering in the the firelight, Karla was convinced that we had stumbled upon a KKK retreat! When we asked how much a room was and were informed $100 USD each, we decided a late night tent pitch would be best. The kind folk there told us they would give us camp site 11 - the nicest one. Down we went, through thick bush on our trusty steed, with the odd fire flickering here and there where other campers had pitched their tents. When we arrived it looked nice enough in the bike's headlights, although too dark to see futher afield. As we were pitching our tent an enormous sausage like thing fell from above, and we exclaimed "what on earth was that?" or something along those lines, just as we heard the unmistakable grunt of a hippo, probably about 10 metres from our tent. A short wander with our head torches showed us that the river was right behind us! The path down to the water was approximately 2 to 3 metres but I figured there was no way that an animal of that size and weight would be able to clamber up that river bank. We decided that we would chance it and confirm this up at the bar, after all it was Karla's birthday and a cold beer was definitely in order. The lovely staff at Drotsky's bar promptly told us that there were some local hippoes that clambered into camp in search of the fruit of the 'sausage tree' but not too worry, that we'd likely be sleeping and would not see them. Fantastic!! As we proceeded to drink many beers, yes, the likelihood of seeing any hippoes by our tent that night decreased! In the morning when we awoke there the hippo tracks were. And so Janice, we certainly 'watched out for hippoes' on Karla's birthday!!
The next morning we decided that a late breakfast here at Drotsky's was in order. It is amazing what daylight does to a place!! It was a lush paradise built on the delta; bird spotting, tiger fishing, wildlife viewing, this place was a little oasis of heaven. We sat on an open roofed veranda and gorged on a cooked breakfast and fruit while watching the Okavango river in full flow beneath our feet. It turns out that the place is famous for river activities with the upper echelons of society, it's not cheap, but then not much in Botswana is really. So that really set the tone for us and Botswana. This is a country whose tourism policy has been aimed at lower numbers, higher yield. Most places are luxury and you get pampered. So we decided that when in Rome...
We flew into the inner delta and pampered ourselves in total luxury, sipped G and T's while watching hippoes chase elephants while crocodiles sauntered past, floated on traditional mekoros and cruised along the Chobe river front. We also spent time camping in villages in rural regions off the main tourist trails, we chatted with locals, ate their fabulous bread, played with their children,listened to their stories, marvelled at their friendliness, dodged elephants and kudus appearing out of bushes while riding at 90km's per hour and crashed on their sandy roads.
I think that a few photos are in order with a few words on each, the stories could go on for a long while yet. So, this country was our favourite thus far, perhaps because we didn't expect it? No way, it is a phenomenal place by anyone's standards. The people were amazing, so friendly, so well spoken, intelligent and indeed educated. I highly recommend a trip here to indulge in the luxuries that it offers.
This photo encapsulates for me my time in Botswana. This was our chalet in the inner delta at a place called Oddballs camp. The whole front of this chalet is open to the river, there is a rustic bed draped with a net for the mosquitoes, luxury duvet and gorgeous pillows. It is a thatched roof, there are bats in there too, they fly around your bed during the day and night, the place was luxurious while being so rustic at the same time. Also, a massive contrast to our usual sleeping arrangements. This big fella comes through on the odd occasion, twice while we were there for two days! He is almost the same size as our "honeymoon chalet" as it was called. He does whatever he pleases, if you are in the chalet when he comes, you are told to ignore him and he will eventually move on. No fruit in your home or he will have it. This is the delta, there are no fences, you might see this guy and his family, you might not, all part of it, blew me away!
These next shots too epitomise what made this such a special place, the people, the little kids. They were adorable...
This sign is quite interesting, apparently the Chinese are showing a special interest in Botswana, they think that anything made in China is extra special!
This is a shot of a local chap guiding his mekoro on the delta, the only real way to get around the delta's waterways.
This is Gripper, he was our guide for a day on a mekoro trip in a village called Seronga. He was an amazing man, he recently lost his wife who was out fishing on a mekoro when tipped over by a hippo, she couldn't swim and drowned.
This is us on the mekoro with Gripper.
This is Jeremy, he was our guide for three days in the inner delta, again a lovely man, didn't speak the best english but was very warm and sincere.
This lady is the only baker in Seronga. They only have white bread so you get pretty blocked up mostly but if you get there early in the morning you can buy the loaves steaming hot and they are delicious.
This is me eating said bread before hitting the road. This was needed as the road into this village was 100km's long and took us 7 hours to do it on the way in!
These ladies were blind drunk! They invited us in to chat... Entertaining!
A local street seller in Seronga.
A large baobab tree with a local lady walking down the road carrying shopping in the traditional way.
Karla, loving cruising along the delta in a mekoro.
Washing day in the delta for us, drying in the sun, ensuring not being taken by animals who seemed to find our clothes interesting.
Me waiting for the ferry.
Me trying to get through some of the sandy parts which are really tough with two on the bike.
This shot I really loved, these kids have never seen anything like this ever! When I fire her up, half of them bolt like cheetahs, very funny.
Mekoro on the delta, so peaceful.
Karla about to take a shower. How amazing was this? Solar powered hot water into a bucket that you hoist above your head and shower in the open while elephants are roaming about 10 metres from you.
This is one of our luxury cabins in the inner delta. You need to fly in to get here.
This is me with the cargo that we flew into the inner delta with. We did a really late last minute booking and I think this is the result of that.
This is us at another of the luxury camps we stayed at.
This is us having a sundowner at our camp, inner delta.
Mekoros in the water at our camp site, inner delta.
Traditional huts, local village, inner delta.
This lady is building her house. The women build the houses here and the men do the fencing and I am not sure what else really! Note those empty cans inserted into the wet clay for decoration.
Legend we thought she was.
Local girl with baby on her back.
Okavango delta from the air.
Elephant herd, Chobe National park. I have never seen so much wildlife in one place as we did on this three hour sunset cruise.
Chobe National Park, hippoes close by grazing.
Sunset, Chobe river
This is the first time we have actually taken a shot of both of us on the bike. Now you get an idea of the moving mass and what we look like.
They run out of fuel constantly in these parts, some had been stranded here for three or four days. This is what happens when it eventually arrives.
Finally, this chap is Kevin Brown. We first met him on the road in Namibia about a month ago. He is from Matlock, the same small English town where my dad resides in the UK. He is cycling from Cape Town all the way up to Cairo, 12000kms! John, Mal and Hamada, get your skates on and try this on for your next challenge. We keep bumping into him. We are going to bump into him again. It is quite concerning when someone is crossing a continent at the same pace as you are when they are on a bicycle. I know I know... He has different concerns when crossing some of the roads that we do, he has pedal his bum off as there are wild animals that have a much better chance of catching him than us. Legend! See you soon on the road somewhere pal...
So that's all for now, I had no idea that I would have so much to say about Botswana. Thanks for the comments about the blog thus far, glad you are finding our tales entertaining.
Until next time, be well, love to you all.
P and K (somewhere in Africa)
xxx
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