Toward Botswana (north of Pretoria)!

Makgadikgadi salt pan, Kalahari Basin

Makgadikgadi salt pan

In the Makgadikgadi area in the Kalahari desert, Botswana

Mopipi village, near Makgadikgadi Pan. Imagine living here! At least sunny weather

Mopipi village

Our first real safari, an late evening-early night drive along Boteti River in the Makgadikgadi National Park. Boteti River was dry in 2004 when I visited, but water came back in 2009. Here with three Greater Kudu

Along the dry Boteti River. We were not allowed to drive ourselves, so I had to buy a game drive from the Leroo la Tau Lodge (50 Pula). Later (in 2007), they closed the Xwaraga campsite altogether, as they wanted to keep out budget travelers/campers from the wildlife-rich Boteti Riverbed

Waiting for dinner, second evening (Xwaraga Campsite 1). With the guide, the French family, me and the Dutch lady

We passed through Maun twice, both on our way to Moremi Game Reserve, and back heading to the western side of Okavango

Maun street

Maqwee Gate, Moremi Game Reserve

Khwai campsite, Moremi Game Reserve

Moremi Game Reserve

The Moremi Game Reserve is situated in the eastern part of the Okavango Delta

Impala, the animal you most often encounter on African safari

Akasia trees in Moremi Game Reserve

"The bridge over river Khwai", Moremi Game Reserve 2004

The 2004 version of Khwai River Bridge in the Moremi Game Reserve. Crude work!

Papyrus, Okavango Delta

Okavango Delta

Look out! Hippos seen from the mokoro canoe, Okavango Delta

Crocodile, Okavango Delta

Hugging a baobab tree in the Okavango Delta. They are massive!

Baobab (Adansonia digitata) and Makalani palm (Hyphaene petersiana) trees in Okavango

Okavango Delta

Catch of the day. Okavango Delta fish

Okavango swamp island with palms

Guma Lagoon Camp boat trip

Navigating the Okavango Delta papyrus canals at full speed

Guma Lagoon Camp, Okavango

The tourists relaxing at Guma Lagoon Camp, Okavango

Tsodilo Hills. Sacred for the bushmen (San) people in Botswana

View from Tsodilo Hills

Old San rock art, Tsodilo Hills

San rock art, Tsodilo Hills

Giant bug (Armoured bush cricket - Acanthoplus discoidalis), Tsodilo Hills

Old bushman paintings, Tsodilo Hills

Local San guide

History of the Tsodilo Hills area in Botswana. The oldest San paintings stem from 3000 years before present

A coffee on the go

Campsite at Drotsky's Cabin

Okavango River

Okavango River landscape

Drotsky's Cabin along the Okavango River

A drink in the bar at Drotsky's Cabin, Okavango Delta

Sunset at Drotsky's Cabin

Shopping in Namibia's Caprivi Strip (Ndhovu values stores), just north of the Botswana border

Yay! Say no more

Tsetse fly trap

Mudumu National Park, view from the Nambwa campsite

Rescued! We got stuck in the sand 4 times on our way to the Nambwa campsite. We needed help towing the trailer in both directions

Namibia's Caprivi Strip

During the trip we spent two days in Namibia north of Botswana, in an area called the Caprivi Strip. This is a narrow finger of Namibian territory that juts deeply eastward into central Africa. The corridor divides Angola and Zambia from Botswana and runs all the way to the Zambezi River just upstream of Victoria Falls.

One night was spent at Nambwa campsite next to the the Kwando River in Mudumu National Park and the other night at Kalizo Lodge situated next to the one of the largest rivers in Africa, the Zambezi River. The first place we got stuck in the sand, and lost the game drive to my growing irritation. At Kalizo Lodge we spent an afternoon on a sundowner cruise on the Zambezi River, observing annoyed hippos and birds like African skimmers, cormorants and egrets. We also managed to get ashore in Zambia on the opposite riverside, without any visa, to be able to brag about having been also to that country.

 

Gas station near Katima Mulilo (I think), Caprivi Strip, Namibia

Caprivi strip gas station

Kalizo Lodge next to Zambezi River, Namibia

Zambezi riverbank camping, Kalizo Lodge

On shore in Zambia, illegal...

Egrets at sunset, Zambezi River sundowner cruise

Sunset, Zambezi River

Road in Chobe National Park. Chobe River in the background, with the far side situated in Namibia

Chobe National Park

Elephants in the Chobe River. Botswana is home to some 150,000 elephants, more than in any other country in Africa

Hippos in Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park

Crossing the border from Namibia to Botswana, we immediately arrived in the Chobe National Park. This 11,700 square kilometers park in the northeastern corner of Botswana is famous for its rich wildlife. With tens of thousands of elephants, this is the best place in Africa to view huge herds of the largest land-living creature on earth. We were driving the 15 km stretch of Chobe River from Kasane town to the Serondela campsite several times. The Chobe River area contains an interesting variety of habitats and is rich in plant life, with mopane woodland, mixed combretum, sandveld, floodplain, grasslands and riverine woodland. Many trees have suffered considerable damage from the high numbers of elephants, who push them over and rip off the bark - and some woods have been totally denuded.

We also made a sundowner trip on the river and saw lots of hippos, crocodiles and buffalo's. Both hippos and elephants epitomize this park more than any other animals and are often featured on the cover of brochures to the area. The only subject more photographed in Chobe is the exquisite sanguine sunsets sinking slowly over the water. All in all, Chobe was a great experience.

 

Victoria Falls and Zimbabwe

The border crossing on our way to Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls from Kasane in Botswana went surprisingly smooth, and it took less than one hour for all six of us to fill in all the forms and to pay for visas. A one-day visa (valid for 90 days) to Zimbabwe cost $30. From the border it was about one hour drive to the falls. There we had to pay an additional $20 to get into the Victoria Falls National Park surrounding the famous waterfall. Vic Falls is today considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world. A network of tracks in the park leads through lush vegetation. We went to the Danger Point, and saw straight into the gorge. And got wet, of course, as cascades of spray is thrown into the air where the water hits the bottom of the gorge.

Victoria Falls, or Vic falls as it is called, is 1.7 km wide and 108 meters high. And having seen both falls, I must say that Vic Falls beats Niagara Falls on the USA - Canada border by a good margin. Both places are dazzling, but it is more the huge amounts of water than the height in itself that is impressive. The famous Dr. Livingstone was very impressed by the falls, and he has now got his own statue there.

Zimbabwe is becoming more and more dangerous the more missteps president Mugabe does. Expelling white farmers is one thing, but tearing up and destroying farms that is responsible for most of the country's income creates more poor people and increases crime. The planned stop at Motobo National Park in Zimbabwe therefore had to be canceled. We had to drive through Botswana to get back to South Africa instead.

Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls

Zambezi River upstream of the falls seen from the helicopter

Victoria Falls seen from the helicopter

Victoria Falls

A spray zone plant, Lobelia kirkii, Victoria Falls

Dinner at The Boma Restaurant in Zimbabwe with some drumming

We had several kinds of wild meat at the Boma Restaurant (main course: buffalo and warthog meat!)

Zambezi National Park chalet, accommodation in Zimbabwe

Limpopo River near Kokomori Birder's Lodge, South Africa

Kokomori Birder's Lodge, the last night we finally stayed in a proper lodge

Route 66 Southern Africa

Starting the safari we drove north from Johannesburg through Pretoria up highway N1 before heading toward the Botswana border along N11, and crossed into Botswana over the Limpopo River. And then continuing along A14 into Botswana before arriving at Khama Rhino Sanctuary at the first camp site. It was freezing cold the first night, with subzero temperatures. We saw the white rhino there, but not close-up. The second day we drove A14 across the Kalahari Salt Pans and to the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, where we stayed overnight at the Xwaraga Campsite. Here I paid extra for a nice night safari game drive at Boteti River. The third day we continued along A14 and A3 to Maun, before heading north to Moremi Game Reserve and the Khwai campsite, where we spent 2 nights. After Moremi, we returned south to Maun, and headed north toward the western part of the Okavango Delta.

We spent 2 days in campsites at Guma Lagoon Camp and 2 days at Drotsky's Cabin. We then crossed into Namibia and the Caprivi Strip, where we first visited Mudumu National Park. Due to poor road conditions and flooding, we had to cancel the visit to Mamili National Park. At Kalizo Lodge the next day we had a nice sundowner cruise on the Zambezi River. We actually went ashore on the Zambian side for a brief stopover and Kodak moment in another country. Thereafter we crossed back from Namibia into Botswana and Kasane, and the impressive Chobe National Park. Chobe National Park was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. In Kasane we stayed two nights at the Toro Lodge campsite some 7 km outside town.

The next day we crossed into Zimbabwe, and went to Victoria Falls. Here I went for an expensive extravagance helicopter flight above the falls, well worth the money. Sadly, our last scheduled stop in the Motobo National Park in Zimbabwe had to be canceled. The maniac and truly crazy dictator Mugabe managed to mess up a country blessed from nature with rich natural resources. The last night we spent at a nice lodge, the Kokomori Birder's Lodge, next to the Limpopo River on the Botswana-South Africa border, The last day we drove back to Johannesburg. Below is an overview of the itinerary. Unfortunately, many of the planned wildlife viewing activities (marked in red) were canceled due to delays (yeah, that would be "stuck in the sand" issues!).