BOTSWANA

UPDATED SEPT 23

To Africa

Air France Flight to Johannesburg began boarding right on time. The are three class's of services. One called Sky Priority, this is us and it gets you a lot of privileges at check-in, custom’s and security. And those people that ride in the trunk. For boarding here in Paris on the double decker Airbus 380 Sky Priority is broken into three classes, First, Business, and Premium Economy with little roped areas for each. When we bordered we caught the escalator to the upper level and walked right on. Air Frances' promises about Premium economy are met much better on this plane. The seat was excellent, except the cushion, there was plenty of storage space, and the two promised bottles of water were there. The staff was extremely attentive and passed through the cabin several times offering assistance, even a round of offering water. The Chief Pursuer came through and introduced himself. All this and still at the gate. This was what I was promised in the ad's. But alas, not all was well. The Captain announced a delay in loading baggage which, in Paris, is a separate concession from the airline. Just about a hour into the delay the Captain announced that the baggage was not coming, but we were leaving. This did not set well with our fellow travelers but the staff handled it very well.

In flight the attendants still continued to be very attentive and though I did not have the meal, Vicki reported it to be good. I am sure the champagne and the cognac helped in that decision. On the ground we all stood and wishfully watched the baggage conveyor belt go round and round hoping to be one of the luck 30% who's bags made it on the plane. Alas, we were not lucky, so off we went to stand in line.

To be honest the procedure was not to painful. From there we hit the ATM got a taxi and headed for Michael's house only to once again get stuck in traffic due to construction. Luck is not running with us on this trip. The critical problem with no luggage other than body odor, is it is about 52 degrees and we have no warm clothes. Ann the house keeper very kindly got us a portable gas heater and Vic buried, under blankets, is warming up. Ann also brought us tea to warm us up.



Michael came home from his office around 4, he broke out a fine bottle of Brunello from his cellar, and we had a toast to reunion. We did something very unusual for Johannesburg, we walk to the restaurant.
Crime is a problem here, but hiding in a car is not what Michael does. He lives a free life and goes places most white people dare not go and has a great time and meets wonderful people. He only has great things to say about his people and the people he met when rode his scooter alone from South Africa to France. Today was the day he left a family in Ethiopia last year and they emailed him a picture of the going away coffee ceremony they had for him. It is amazing what his open attitude has done for his life.

Anyway, we walked to dinner at a great restaurant, had a wonderful meal, more wine and walked home back to a night cap of wine.
Sept 5 

This morning we slept in some. Several calls to the airport handler of lost luggage led us to a decision that I would go to the airport to do a face to face to get the bag before they threw it on a truck with one hundred and fifty other bags to be delivered in Johannesburg and Vicki and Michael would go shopping for lunch and dinner food. The man only keeps vitamins and healthy stuff in the house and lots of wine.

Michael arranged a Uber ride for me to the airport. I have been sitting on the fence about whether I thought Uber was a good thing or not. I have insurance concerns and concerns for those who have invested in taxi companies. I know this shocks many of you, that I, being a communist, do not immediately side with the workers. But don't forget, I am setting Africa because I was a very successful capitalist. Just not a greedy bastard like many. Anyway, I am now a believer in Uber. The whole thing is so transparent. It is less expensive than the cab we took yesterday, but the technology of it is what sold me.

At the airport I got the usual shaking of heads, and no's, but I like to think I charmed them with my good looks when it was in fact Mary who took pity on me because I reminded her of her grandfather. I mention for context I was just white. She took me downstairs where she disappeared into the hinterlands and came back smiling with my grandfatherly luggage. I thanked her and was on my way.

Back in the Uber vehicle with Thabang we speed off home for lunch. Thabang is a very interesting man. Coming from a three room house in Sawato, were several families lived with a total of twelve children alone and where he still lives, he managed to raise himself above the rest. Trained as a actor and mainly a dancer he traveled the world with a national dance troop until he hurt his leg.

When internet permits I will load a video of his life statement here.

Thabang's story is coming


I came home about one to a grand spread. In memory of Parma, Italy, where we first met, there were two parma hams, fine salami's, excellent cheese's, salad, fresh baked bread and of course, a fine Brunello. It was a grand afternoon of three or four excellent wines and great conversation. Before we knew it, it was five in the afternoon. I can not remember that last time I had such a great lunch. Since no one was really interested in dinner, we opened another bottle of wine and carried on. Michael is such a intense and passionate person about his life, especially about his Africa. It is rare and I consider a great pleasure to meet a person with such passion. We discussed travels past and future, politics a little, and general life wishes. It is wonderful to share experiences. Most of what we discussed others would be polite to but not really understand. You had to be there and though we had mutual scooter experiences, he had more extreme than I on a scooter, but I had similar events in life. The frustration of going to every gas station in Aswan looking for 3 gallons of gas and being turned back at each one, no matter what you offered and only wanting gas and getting out of the place in 100 degree plus heat I have done in other places. There were many frustrations that push you to the edge of panic or murder or situations you just want to end but there is no out but play it through or die. In one incident, he was pushed to such extreme with heat, fatigue and frustration that he lost every bit of his decorum in a hotel lobby and let them all “hold it” as we would say. To his immense credit, he came back downstairs, asked the manger to call everyone together that he had interacted with. He could see the fear in the faces, which rapidly changed when he apologized and begged their forgiveness. Who would do that? Not many of us. After that they could not do enough for him and he, in fact, extended his stay.




When he came home he actually suffered a form of PTSD after his six month trip and for a month did not go out of his house. Adventure is like a drug and you just seek more. I have done this much of my life though they are much milder now than in the years past. Michael is now planning a trip up western Africa. This one is serious. There are many more challenges that could be life or death on this route from guns to disease. Not that the eastern route did not have some of the same.

Day 3
Sunday we parted ways. Uber took us to the airport to get our trusty truck and Victoria took Michael to Pretoria to a new Porsche garage grand opening.

Thrifty rental at the airport was fun. Latati just kept giggling and laughing and the whole crew joined in to prepare out paper work. We needed contracts, cross border permits, etc., etc.. We had to do two contracts since we were keeping the truck for so long. One for the first thirty days and one for the next twenty three and dividing the charge to meet my contract price, what with tax, airport fee's, garage fee's, etc. was a challenge. It took time but it was fun. We got a complete checkout on the vehicle from lights to spare and tools. Last thing you want is to be in backass Botswana with a flat tire and find out the lug wrench is for a '44 Ford. We did encounter one problem. Michael had insisted that we forsake Botswana and visit Zambia. Several guide books had recommended this if you were concerned about the high prices of Botswana. We were concerned and with Michael s descriptions we decided we would transit Botswana slowly but mainly head to Zambia. However, Thrifty would only let us take the car across the border to Livingston and no further, so that idea quickly died. 

Leaving the airport was easy and quickly we were on the expressway. North of Pretoria, where we would be out of the city, we moved to the old parallel road Route 101. Long straight roads with agriculture fields on both sides. When we turned left on R33 and now each side of the road had tall fences and were mostly game farms. We climbed over a small mountain range and down the other side.






 We rolled into Lephalale and were headed for a guest house but did not know which one, when we saw Ocean Breeze restaurant at the Palm Park Hotel. The Palm Park Hotel is a three star hotel, very nice, not what we were looking for, but after a week of fine French gourmet food, we wanted some fried, unhealthy, fish. We had dined at a Ocean Breeze before, and though it is a chain, it met what we wanted. So, we did a U-turn, and checked in.
 not the garlic toast we expected but good
 dinner for two and we left some
 the kitchen staff
our waiter

Day 5
We had a slow start today. A long casual breakfast with more offerings than you could count. Fortunately I restrained myself. We shopped at the Pic and Pay for stables and booze and headed for Botswana. .  Now that we were “cruising” I drove at 90 kmh even thought the speed limit was 120. Since we seemed to be the only vehicle on the road this posed no problem We crossed out of South Africa at Gobblers Bridge. You pull into a check point and a guard at a gate gives you a piece of paper. There are no instructions and you just wing it. You go around all the trucks, following the car in front, and it pulls into a parking space in front of a building. You get your documentation and follow him to the building and get in line that runs along the outside of the building with teller like windows. Fairly quickly you hand your passport over to a official behind the  glass, they do not care about all the paperwork for your car, they stamp your passport and the little piece of paper the guy at the gate gave you and you leave. Back in you care you pull up to another check point and hand that gentleman the piece of paper and proceed on your way out of South Africa.
We cross the one lane bridge and pull into another fenced in area, bypassing the trucks. We get our paperwork and go into a more modern building. We stand in line. When our turn comes, a gentleman behind the glass processes our paperwork, hands us some paperwork to fill out, stamps our passport and we move to the cashier. Here we learn we have to pay for what later we find out is a road permit. They take Visa but the machine is not working and otherwise only take Paula the local currency of Botswana. Rand, dollars, and euro's won't work. I leave Vicki in line and I walk across the parking lot, exit the fence and go to a shipping container that is a “bureau the exchange” were I change Rand for Paula and head back for the line which has not moved since I left. We pass the time talking to South Africans who come here all the time as technicians but have no idea what exactly what we are paying for. We get to the front of the line pay up and and discover it is a road permit. We are off but first we have to give a piece of paper to the guy at the exit gate.
the one lane bridge

follow that guy to the next checkpoint
Stevensford Game Reserve
About ten kilometers down the road we turn off the tarmac and head east on a dirt road for thirteen kilometers where we come to the main gate of the Stevensford Game Ranch. "Stevensford is a 3500 hector private nature conservancy situated on the Limpopo River in Botswana’s Tuli Block. The Reserve, which is also a working game farm, is home to many species, including giraffe, zebra, eland, gemsbok, waterbuck, kudu, blue wildebeest, bushbuck, red hartebeest, impala, steenbok, duiker, aardwolf, aardvark, brown hyena, warthog, crocodile and hippopotamus. There have been rare sightings of cheetah, leopard, bat-eared foxes and bushpig. Birdlife is abundant and diverse, and includes megatick opportunities such as the Pels Fishing Owl and the secretive African Finfoot." 

It is eight kilometers to the reception and this is just one half of the ranch. On the way in we have the pleasure to meet Linda and Neal the owners. They are going back to their home in Gaborone. They have been here this weekend for a giraffe round up. Their neighbor “down the road”, here that could be a couple of hundred kilometers, had bought three females and a bull for her husband for his birthday. Continuing to the reception we come across a big bull giraffe. Here, unlike all the national parks, we can get out if we wish but he lopes away.



Linda and Neal owners of the ranch
Marisa meets us and settles into our chalet, the Treefrog, and we are off to spot animals.



Setting on the front porch early I saw Hornbills setting on the truck window on the drivers side. I thought that to be interesting until I had a flashback to years ago when I saw clip of birds pulling the rubber out of the windows on a car. Sure enough the little bastards were trying to be video stars. I had to stand guard for the next hour or so until they moved on.




We have seen giraffe, zebras, the recorded largest eland, wildebeests, and lots of bac in the bush here. No pictures as these guys are skittish and bolt when they see you. That is probably because, unlike the parks, they are not used to seeing people and the fact that they had just had the giraffe roundup. In the camp we have had a family of warthogs and baboons stroll through.

Our 4 days, 3 nights at Stevensford Game Reserve were just what we needed. We did long walks through the bush, laid around and read and did nothing, had a “romantic dinner for two” overlooking the water and were going to have bush BBQ but canceled out on that one and had a lovely meal in the chalet. Ranch manager Wessel and Marisa and their staff are wonderful hosts. In the morning Buti or Tsephang would come early and build me a fire to drink my coffee and read by. Rebecca and Kel would come a clean the dishes from the meal the night before or anything outside in the kitchen. This all happened at or before 7 which was great for me, but made Vicki roll over. We had three great dinners prepared by Marisa, one just at our chalet, one romantic one overlooking the water with a fire, and we were supposed to do a bush BBQ but Vicki was not going to eat and it is usually for a minimum of four anyway, so we canceled. However, when we came back from our evening bush drive with Edward they had set us a table under the stars lite by lanterns. If your track ever takes you this way, stop in. They are great people.

 Vicki with the very rare Ranger
 I know we left the damn truck around here somewhere

 the large and dangerous velvet mite


 a glimpse of the rare Nissan son of Bob
 rolling down the interstate
 The romantic dinner on the water.  They put lanterns out on the path for us find our way
 the rare American elephant
 My morning coffee buddies
 entering the other half of the reserve
 This is what they set up for us instead of the bush bbq





Sept  10
Khama Rhino Sanctuary

We said our goodbyes and hit the road for Khama Rhino Sanctuary. A three hour drive turned into 5 and we rolled in by mid-afternoon. "The Khama Rhino Sanctuary (KRS) is a community based wildlife project, established in 1992 to assist in saving the vanishing rhinoceros, restore an area formerly teeming with wildlife to its previous natural state and provide economic benefits to the local Botswana community through tourism and the sustainable use of natural resources.
Covering approximately, 8585 hectares of Kalahari Sandveld, the sanctuary provides prime habitat for white and black rhino as well as over 30 other animal species and more than 230 species of birds."

We got a chalet for four, as that was all that was available, and had to pay for four. It came to $100 a night. We spent two nights and had some great animal sightings. I have a video I will post of us in a blind next to the water hole. A black rhino came and put on a great show. He did a mud wallow and then came up and rubbed his face on the blind making it rock and role a little bit. Vicki was thrilled.
 exiting stevensford

 we had roads like this......

 ....and this with lots and lots of goats

a fine dinner of spam.   when is the last time you saw a key on a can?
What we saw today....... 




Sept 12

At Stevensford when we drove the 8km road out all the animals came out to see us though they had all run to hide when we were looking for.  Zebras, Giraffe, Elan, all of them.  As we were loading the truck to leave after two nights in the Khama a large black rhino came walking through. As he passed our chalet we marked his territory and moseyed his way to the swimming pool for a drink.  Unfortunately it was covered and he moved on. We shared the experience with our neighbors a family of four.  The picture would have been of them coming out to see the rhino.   They just came out of the Kalahari Desert camping for a month were they had seen lots of everything, but were still super excited to see the rhino so close.



 can you see him?

 how about now?

 Why do people in uniforms and guns always show up when I travel?  And the big guns where in the truck.

after seeing the kitchen I should have known better than to try a second meal.


As slow and lumbering as they are they are very dangerous. One of the park directors here was killed by one.

Maun

We hit the road for Maun. Miss Daisy drove most of it as I was little under the weather from the meal last night. We rolled into to town and headed for the Sedia Hotel.  Asked the rate and they said 850 P or $85.  I said that was nice but what could I really get the room for and she immediately said 550 P or $55.  You always have to ask.

Maun is the fifth largest town in Botswana. As of 2011, it had a population of 55,784. Maun is the "tourism capital" of Botswana and the administrative centre of Ngamiland district. It is also the headquarters of numerous safari and air-charter operations who run trips into the Okavango Delta. Although officially still a village, Maun has developed rapidly from a rural frontier town and has spread along the Thamalakane River. It now has shopping centres, hotels and lodges as well as car hire, although it retains a rural atmosphere and local tribesmen continue to bring their cattle to Maun to sell. The community is distributed along the wide banks of the Thamalakane River where red lechwe can still be seen grazing next to local donkeys, goats and cattle


 when we turned for Maun we saw almost no traffic

 Miss Daisy driving me. She  has both hands on the wheel because if you do not Son of Bob will buck you off the road.

 this my friends is the great Kalahari desert

 residents of the north Kalahari. the visibility was much worse than the picture from blowing dust


Sedia hotel

 doing your own underwear as they will not do it here due to tribal beliefs and I belief with them



 like most of botswana a little worn around the edges but clean and friendly

 someone requested a selfie with the giraffe

 the local welding shop. they are looking for a partner.




I was supposed to have the day off, but got bored and went for a walk where I visited the welding shop above. Nice guys. they were building a step for the rear of the truck. Then we went into town and went shopping. I am now ready for the Okvango Delta and beyond. I got my shovel, my fix a flat, my planks and not showing my air compressor. Like a boy scoot, I hope I am prepared for the
all adventures.



Sep 14

In Casablanca people are waiting, and waiting, and waiting......” As we are in Maun. As I failed to book ahead, our desired next lodging is not available until Wednesday, so here we set waiting. The Okavango Delta is divided into private concessions. These are the places that cost $500 to $3000 per person per day and I ain't paying. The area open to the rest of the mortals is the Moremi and we going there, though our lodging is just out side of the park, but at $340 a night it is the cheapest around. Maun sets on the edge of the Okavango Delta and invokes all the images of a border town. Hot, dusty, lots of small supply stores run by people who's ethnic background is probably Indian or from that region. There are backpacker places and overpriced places. The main roads are paved but the rest are sand. The small airport, that has maybe 6 commercial flights a day, mostly commuter type aircraft, and private planes back and forth to the delta is building a tower that would make JFK airport proud built by the Chinese.

The Okavango Delta in Botswana is a very large inland delta formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough in the central part of the endorheic basin of the Kalahari. All the water reaching the Delta is ultimately evaporated and transpired, and does not flow into any sea or ocean. Each year approximately 11 cubic kilometers of water spreads over the 6,000-15,000 km² area. Some flood-waters drain into Lake Ngami. The Moremi Game Reserve, a National Park, is on the eastern side of the Delta. The scale and magnificence of the Okavango Delta helped it secure a position as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, which were officially declared on February 11, 2013 in Arusha, Tanzania. On 22 June 2014, the Okavango Delta became the 1000th site to be officially inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.



 A typical city house on a much larger plot than normal. Behind the car is the kitchen with a open flame fire.
 the dancing cousins

 a two seater outhouse with satellite tv
 a road block that went from this.....
 ...to this.....

 ....to this.


the new control tower at the airport

tire shop


hair solon

So while we are waiting I would like to introduce you to the Vlogbrothers, Hank and John Green. John is the second highest grossing author in America, but most of you have not heard of him. We are not his target audience. But they Vlog each other every week. One on Tuesday and one on Friday. They have some very enlighting conversations. So, since these seem relevant to my travels I will share these two.



SEPT 15


Being basically lazy, waiting does not bother me but I was afraid of losing my 5 star TripAdvisor Guide rating so I went off to find some exciting things to do. First to the airport and booked a scenic flight over the Okavango Delta, then I found a place to walk a little on the river. While we were walking on the river at the old bridge, I saw river boats parked in front of the Old Bridge Backbackers so we walked over to esquire. They had a trip going tomorrow for six so we signed on. That took care of tomorrow as it left and 8 and returned at 5. Now I had to fill in some more time so why not shopping.

The shopping area in downtown Maun is a series of strip malls and a KFC. We went to the large one, about a block or two in area with numerous shops in a almost closed U shape with parking in the middle. Parking was a small challenge as it was full and even maneuvering a small truck was tight but I pulled it off. It looked like the rest of town, dusty, dirty, trash blowing around, a few sidewalk vendors. The shops were mainly clothing shops with a couple of cellphone shops and a Spar grocery. Vicki was in search of a cover up for the boat trip or a excuse to shop, not sure which. She is not a big shopper but when she does it is painful for me as she is not a lady to make snap decisions. Hell, she dated me for years before making up her mind and asked me to marry her. A search of all the shops did not bring anything in her price range...under $10, so we headed for the grocery. This was no fun either but we were just after water so it went quick. It was small and in disarray with lots of shoppers. It was about the size of Trader Joes but in no way brought to mind Trader Joe's. We grabbed the water and road around town a little and headed for a siesta before the scenic plane ride.

Back at the airport we met our flying partners another retired couple from South Africa. He had been in banking but like me got tired of work and left early. Our captain for today is Olly who looks a lot like Tiger Woods. We had to go through security where they took Vicki's water and the other passengers small, and I mean real small scissors away. Our handler took them and gave them back on the other side of security. A quick brief by our pilot and we were in the air over the Okavango Delta. It gives you the big picture of the Delta at 800 feet.  We saw elephants, giraffes, zebras, etc..

That done, we went to dinner at Airport Pizza and Curry shop across the dirt street from the terminal. Excellent choice. However, as you age brain cells die off and you have to relearn what was stored in them. The very attentive and nice waiter came from the kitchen after we ordered and informed me it would take awhile to for the beef curry, but Vicki's chicken would be out shortly. In the dead brain cells I had stored that part that had learned when a waiter tells you something like this it is a polite way of saying, “order something else dude”. But no, those cells were dead and I said “how long?” and he said “about 20 minutes”. Well, close to a hour later out came the beef curry. Also stored on the edge of those dead cells was the part about sharing, but that came back quickly when Vicki's came out and was more than enough for the two of us. So, by the time the beef got there I did not need it after all.



 Walking the old bridge



 I am not a selfie guy at all, but more and more it is requested by the young

 On my morning drive I passed this couple walking on the side of the road in the bush. When I came back by they were still walking and i picked them up.  They were headed for the local clinic about a five mile walk. Notice how the dressed.  The best they have to go here.....
they were extremely grateful

 EVERY commercial building has one of these?
 Capt Olly and crew flight planning

 safety briefing
Capt Olly in deep concentration as he lifts the big plane in the air




One thing I have learned over the years of boating and traveling and working in far off places, you want to see YAMAHA written in big letters on the engine. That was not there. It said Mercury and I new that was a bad omen. We met our fellow travelers, a couple from South Africa who's daughter just graduated from Franics Marion College in South Carolina and son was teaching tennis up and down the east coast of the U.S. The other couple were newly weds from Pittsburgh but she was from New Orleans and had had the wedding there at Brossards, one of the most famous and oldest restaurants in the city. Her brother is a musician so they had the parade and music all night. I wish I had been there.

With KK the guide/captain we are off on a African Queen experience (my description). And sure enough, it was not long before KK was calling for a backup boat. The Mercury had crapped out. Henry showed up with a replacement quickly and we transferred all the gear and were on our way. On our return journey we encountered another tourist boat with a Mercury engine, almost new looking, and it too was crapped out and waiting for a tow. The day went quickly, spotting lots of birds, elephants, zebras, more of those damn boc and giraffes. It had adventure also. We took a side channel were we encountered local bush man fishing nets strung across the channel. This took a group effort to maneuver, trying to go over, which we did with difficulty, to just passing the net over the top of the boat which worked much better. Lunch was on Chief's Island. The temperatures were mild for here, in the upper 80's which made for a pleasant experience.


captain KK

 Henry brings us the YAMAHA to replace the Mercury


 checking in before we enter the concession 

 African 






 just like the African Queen our boat floated away



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sept 16 Maun to Moremi

" It rests on the eastern side of the Okavango Delta and was named after Chief Moremi of the BaTawana tribe. Moremi was designated as a Game Reserve, and not a National Park, when it was created. This designation meant local people, the BaSarwa or Bushmen that lived there were allowed to stay in the reserve. The Moremi Game Reserve covers much of the eastern side of the Okavango Delta and combines permanent water with drier areas, which create some startling and unexpected contrasts. Some prominent geographical features of the Reserve are Chiefs Island and the Moremi Tongue. In the Moremi Reserve one can experience excellent views of Savannah game as well as bird-watching on the lagoons. There are also thickly wooded areas, which are home to the rare African wild dog and leopard. To the northeast lies the Chobe National Park which borders the Moremi Game Reserve.
Although just under 5,000 square kilometres (1,900 sq mi) in extent, it is a surprisingly diverse Reserve, combining mopane woodland and acacia forests, floodplains and lagoons. Only about 30% of the Reserve is mainland, with the bulk being within the Okavango Delta itself.
The Moremi Game Reserve, although not one of the largest parks, presents insights and views even for the most experienced of travelers. It is home to nearly 500 species of bird (from water birds to forest dwellers), and a vast array of other species of wildlife, including buffalo, giraffe, lion, leopard, cheetah, hyaena, jackal, impala, and red lechwe. African wild dog, Lycaon pictus, is resident[2] and has been the subject of a project run in the area since 1989; thus this species is often seen wearing collars emplaced by researchers. The Moremi area contains one of the most significant extant habitat areas for L.yacon pitus"

The waiting is over and we are off to Moremi Game Reserve. The first 20 km are on a nice smooth road. The next 6 hours were butt shaking. It started on a washboard, often sand pit road. The  shock our teeth traveling at a whopping 50 kmh. Next was rolling road. Not small little hills in the road, but deep vallies about 3 to 4 feet deep in about a 10 foot span. After three hours we arrived at the gate. Taking care of entry requirements and payment was easy and the staff was friendly. We put our info in three different books and they filled out our entry permit in a book with 4 copies. I did not even know they still made carbon paper. That done and the $87 for three day pass paid, we were in the park and on our way to see wild game. The first road was bad, the second road was worse and not a damn animal in sight. In two hours we encountered 2 squirrels and 5 birds. We finally came upon some elephant and made our way down to the river. Thankfully things got much better. Birds starting to appear and more and more bac, elan, elephants, lots of birds and hippo's.

After 5 hours of getting beat by the road, trying to get stuck in the sand, thank goodness for 4 wheel low range, we decided to head for the house. We had to stop and put our details in the book as we left the park and a few km's down the road we came to the Khawi Guest House. There are six chalets, a main gathering eating area and the staff quarters. Just opened in July it is clean and neat. The manger/guide is Dasho, a handsome young man, but things did not flow from him. Friendly and nice but you had to drag info out of him, like “where is the room”. We settled in and had a nice dinner.







signing the many sign in books






 elephants wreck havoc on the forest.  they push trees over to get the few leaves at the top


yep, at 340 a 

We where up early, early for Vicki that is, to enter the park while it was cool and the animals would still be moving. Dash had given me a tour of the guest house facility. It is mainly solar powered but they do you the generator during the evening meal hour. He showed me the whole solar and little noisy generator set up. The whole time we were talking and I realized that he was not comfortable in the manager roll but when we talked about guiding he was a different person. Over breakfast, I discussed with Vicki about using him for the day. Unlike most places he charges $45 person not a minimum for the vehicle. I was all over this. Not only were we going to get excellent guide info, I was not going to have to drive Miss Daisy all over the damn place and worry about getting stuck in the sand. This paid off handsomely right off the bat. “What do you want to see?” he asked. “Lions” we responded. Lions are elusive and you are lucky to spot them. We were not even in the park, just crossing the bridge, and he said “look, lions”. Well, guess we can go home now. The $85 price had just paid off as Dash knew the route they were taking. He was able to postpone park entry formalities to speed off to catch the lions, something we would not have been able to do. As he knew their track we were able to see them several times. They would cross in front of us and we would speed off to the next road they would cross. When they no longer appeared we went in search of other life. A elephant had died 6 days ago and the lions had eat off it for days and when they were done the heneas and the croc's worked on it. Dash had been to the spot yesterday and the elephant carcass was still there, but when we arrived, much to his amazement it was gone. There are a couple of bones in the Khwai river and a couple spread out into the marsh, but that was it. He was amazed, as we were disappointed, that it was all gone, bone and all.



Back at camp Vicki set Chi Vicki cafe and we took a rest before the afternoon adventure. While waiting I went to Vicki's Open Air and Free Salon. Fortunately she was not very experienced with equipment and instead of getting a cut with a #3 setting, I got a cut with a #1 setting, that one I have always wanted but she said is to short.



In the afternoon we went into NG-19 concession. All the game land outside the parks is leased out into private concessions and these areas are further cut into some private lodge areas. We were going to look for a Leopard and it's cub. The cub was easy to find by the three game vehicles parked around it but hard to see. The mother has been hunting for days. She killed a impala but the hienas took it away from her. The guides are all very worried about the family. From there we went looking for the mother and there were four game vehicles crisscrossing the area looking. Then the word went out that the African wild dogs, a endangered species, where on the hunt. Then it looked like a NASCAR event. There were at one time as many as ten vehicles following these dogs. Surging up to catch them, stopping for awhile and then racing off again. By dark the only action was watching all the vehicles and it had dwindled down to us, as they were headed our way, and vehicle of research people.

Nice dinner with conversations next to the fire with Dash and manager from the big office and off to bed.

Here is where I tell you once again how stupid I am. In the concession you are allowed to get out of your vehicle with a guide. Dash and I were standing outside the vehicle watching a bull elephant as it walked by the vehicle. It came within 6 feet of us and slowly passed by. I thought I was capturing this magic moment on video, but much to my disappoint I had pushed the wrong button....again




 see  the lions?
just  to the left of the trees in the middle. Are you kidding me?

 see the four of them now? Four?

 



 Dash was very proud of himself
 lions?
 bee catchers
 can you see the elephant




we saw lots of hippos










it starts getting crowd

the leopard cub

let the races begin

the target of chase


watching  the show

Day 3 Moremi to Maun


I was having my morning coffee when a little after 7 a very rare animal came walking across the compound. It was The Princess, wide awake and ready to go. Despite her being up early we still did not get away until almost 9. We said goodbye to the staff and started the teeth rattling trip back to Maun. The Khawi Guesthouse was very clean, the staff was excellent, but still overpriced. It is all about location. Dash is a great guide but not a very good resort manager.

We drove through the village Khwai to the Moremi north gate. The have no electricity and no water but they do have a brand new fiber-optic cable.

From the north gate we took the straight line, 30 km, to the south gate. Sounds easy but it ain't. At the south gate we turned away from the gate and went into the southern part to see what we could see. All the same stuff except since it is more open you saw them better. Quite a few families of elephants and all those other things. We spent hours riding around and never saw in total the number of vehicles we saw last night chasing the dogs. We did come to a road block of three vehicles. The lead had been sitting there for over thirty minutes as a family of elephants was blocking the road. I looked it over and decided that we would be there all day as it was high noon, there was plenty of shade and food under some very large trees and the elephants were not going to move on their own. So, I went around all the vehicles and gently approached. A elephant would face me, shake his head left and right and raise his trunk. This means “hi dude, you are getting to close” and I would stop. It is a start and stop operation. Took about five minutes but the elephants parted and we went on. The trick is not to rush them. I did not get a video of this encounter, but I did of the next and when I can I will upload.

We checked out at the south gate and headed south on the 2 hour bone shaking, car rattling ride. When we pulled into the Sedia Hotel, Vicki said she was suffering from “shaken baby syndrome” . I was searching for my teeth on the floor. At the front desk they said “Welcome back Mr. Wilson”. It it is always nice to be recognized. Dinner was back at the Pizza and Curry shop.

 the very rare princess bird

 fiber opitic line






 getting the head shake





 we didn't
 the veterinary check point





SEPT 23

The last several days we have been working our way out of Botswana staying at a range of lodges from marginal to OK. In Gweta to see the Makgadikgadi pans game reserve, Elephant Sands to watch the elephants come right up and drink water, and Kasane to visit the Chobe National Park.The wind blew so hard at times that the sky was red with dust making for great sunsets and red moons.

When I worked I wore a watch because the law said I had too. When I came home I took the watch and my wedding ring off. When I retired I threw the watch away and wore my wedding ring all the time. Last year, when I visited Jet and Quaid. I told Ed I used to have a watch just like his. I left Big Red in their care and I flew home to be with my mother. When I returned they presented me with a watch like Ed's. I started wearing that watch 24/7 until the bear ran out in front of Big Red and I took a tumble over the top of the handle bars. I can tell you a Timex does not “take a lickin' and keep on tickin” any more. I missed having a watch and when I got home I had Amazon deliver one to my front door. Three days ago, the watch physically broke, but kept on tickin', it just was not on my arm. I was having withdrawal symptoms, so today I found a new watch for $2.50. I am now at peace again.

Makgadikgadi pans game reserve. Nhwetwe and sua pans

Nhwetwe pan. the largest salt pan in the world


We hired a local escort, “not a guide”, to help us make our way through the hour and a half maze of roads. All the same road, just different branches. The powder gray dust was so thick at times our own dust engulfed the car and we had to wait for it to pass.





Baobab trees store up to 26,000 gallons of water to endure the dry seasons and have been carbon dated to 1275 years old.

Baobab trees store up to 26,000 gallons of water to endure the dry seasons and have been carbon dated to 1275 years old.

The roots head off in the direction of a water hole.

 overlander vehicle that takes tourist around Africa





 to protect against hoof and mouth  from KFC








 sau pan








Elephant Sands is built around a waterhole that they fill form a well twelve kilometers away and haul in. Now setting up close and personal is great, however, when there a dozen that are tussling and trumpeting all night not so much.









From Maun to Kasane we saw not goats, donkeys or cows on or by the highway. We did see elephant, zebra, bac, giraffe, etc.




when we got close to the Zambezi river we came across fields that the rows were longer than you could see with the binoculars.


We stopped here for gas and lunch as this is a chain restaurant with a open kitchen so you can see what they are doing. It's is a chicken restaurant. At 12 o'clock we order chicken. “45 minutes”. You don't even ask except, “what can I get quicker”, “chicken sandwich”, “how long”, “seven minutes”,“give me two of those”.

dead people need shade too!


Finally we were able to get Son of Bucket of Bolts, SOB for short, a very good bath.


This is the face of Botswana

Chobe National Park


So the sun has set on Botswana for us.