Southern
Africa 2004 - The safari |
|
|
|
The safari started 12th of July 2004 in Johannesburg, South Africa,
and ended at the same place 14 days later, the 26th of July. It was called
"Brush in the wild. Botswana, Namibia & Zimbabwe" by the safari
company African Getaway Tours & Safaris, which arranged the tour:"
This photographic camping safari introduces
you to an astonishing diversity of wildlife. An action packed adventure
with several activities exploring these comparatively unknown wilderness
area"
And an adventure it surely was, with both positive and negative aspects, luckily most of the first.
After about 5000 km on mainly good roads, we experienced spectacular areas like the
Kalahari bushweld and Makgadikgadi Pans, the Okavango Delta, Namibia's
Caprivi Strip, Chobe National Park and Victoria Falls between Zimbabwe
and Zambia. But we also had some less good experiences, like
getting stuck in the sand time and again and loosing out on several planned game drives. This page shows some photos from the trip and impressions of selected destinations.
|
|
Toward Botswana (north of Pretoria)! |
|
|
|
|

Limpopo River on the border between South Africa and Botswana (near Groblersbrug)
|

First campsite in Botswana, at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary (Campsite 9)
|
|

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 |
|

Oh no, don't say we are stuck in the Kalahari sand again !
|

Sand-stuck in Moremi...
|
|

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

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

Okavango outback with Mopane forest
|

Waterbuck, Moremi Game Reserve
|
The Okavango Delta, known as the Jewel
of the Kalahari, how was it like?
We spent six days in the delta, or more
precisely, two days in Moremi
Game Reserve, two days at Guma Lagoon
Camp and two days at Drotsky's Cabin. Moremi was a typical game reserve,
where we saw a lot of wildlife. And where the spotted hyenas were sniffing
on our tents just after we had gone to bed. And the hyena was screaming
through the night. Very exciting, in other words! But it was also
where we first got stuck, and had to dig the car out of the sand. Strangely, it
turned out the safari company didn't bring a spade. Overall, Moremi was a great experience. The next two days we spent
in a place called Guma Lagoon
Camp, next to one of the permanent lagoons
in the delta. We had to get towed into camp, as we got stuck in the
sand on our way to the campsite some 11 km from the highway. The trailer
simply was too heavy for the car, and the whole of Botswana is made up
of sand, a recipe for trouble...
The next day we spent on a very nice
mokoro trip in the delta. The mokoro is a shallow dugout canoe traditionally
hewn from an ebony or sausage tree, that is propelled by a poler who
stands at the back of the canoe with a ngashi - a pole made from the
mogonono tree. Each mokoro takes two passengers, and one manages to get
very close to the wildlife on this kind of trips. A nice experience indeed.
Drotsky's Cabin next to the Okavango River was a very pleasant campsite,
with a fine bar, but also with excellent possibilities for boat cruises
on the river. One of the days at Drotsky's we traveled to the Tsodilo
Hills, some 100 km away, to see the ancient bushmen (San) paintings, dating
back more than 1000 years. We hired a charming San woman as a guide,
who when asked suggested that the paintings were millions of years.
She obviously didn't have any conception of time.
|
|

Locals carrying firewood, next to the Guma Lagoon Camp
|

Sunset at Guma Lagoon
|
|

Mokoro boat trip in the Okavango Delta
|

The poler
|
|

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
|
|

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 |
|

Okavango water lily
|

Okavango water lily (Blue lotus - Nymphaea nouchali)
|
|

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
|
|

Poached crocodile in Mudumu National Park, Namibia. It was about 4.5 meters long - a nice beast
|

Close-up of poached crocodile in Mudumu National Park, Namibia
|
|

Yay! Say no more |

Tsetse fly trap |
|

The sunsets in southern Africa are spectacular! Here at the Nambwa campsite in Mudumu National Park
|

Vervet Monkey, Nambwa campsite, Namibia
|
|

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 |
|

Sundowner cruise on the Zambezi River
|

On shore in Zambia, illegal... |
|

Egrets at sunset, Zambezi River sundowner cruise |

Sunset, Zambezi River |
|

Baobab trees, On the border between Namibia and Botswana
|

Chobe riverfront with large herds of elephants
|
|

View from a boat trip on Chobe River
|

Nile Monitor in the Chobe 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 |
|

Kasane
|

Toro Lodge Campsite, Kasane
|
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 seen from the Zimbabwean side. Zambia on the far side
|

Dr. Livingstone and Dr. Olsvik...
|
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 |
|

Limpopo River, the border between South Africa and Botswana
|

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!).
|
|
Destination |
Accommodation |
Activities (included) |
Activities (own cost) |
|
1. Kalahari |
Khama Rhino Sanctuary campsite |
Game drive (short) |
|
|
2. Makgadikgadi Plains |
Xwaraga campsite |
Game walk |
Night drive |
|
3. Moremi |
Khwai campsite |
Game drive |
|
|
4. Moremi |
Khwai campsite |
Game drive |
|
|
5. Etsha-6 |
Guma Lagoon campsite |
Boat Trip |
|
|
6. Etsha-6 |
Guma Lagoon campsite |
Game walk + Mokoro trip |
|
|
7. Shakawe |
Drotsky's Cabin campsite |
Boat Trip |
|
|
8. Shakawe |
Drotsky's Cabin campsite |
Tsodilo Hills |
Sundowner cruise |
|
9. Mudumu |
Nambwa campsite |
Game Drive |
|
|
Nkasa Rupara (formerly Mamili) National Park |
Canceled due to poor roads |
Game Drive canceled |
|
|
10. Katima Mulilo |
Kalizo Lodge campsite |
Sundowner cruise |
|
|
11. Kasane |
Toro Lodge campsite |
Game drive |
Sundowner cruise |
|
12. Kasane |
Toro Lodge campsite |
Game drive (delayed) |
|
|
13. Vic Falls |
Zambezi National Park Chalet |
Sundowner cruise |
Heli trip |
|
14. Limpopo River |
Kokomori Birder's Lodge |
Birding walks along river |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|