Botswana waiting for me
Susie flew back to Amsterdam, and it was time for me to get the bike back together and hit the road…. Destination Botswana. But first I needed to change the tires on Tiggy Moon Dust. I had ordered tires and they had arrived. I picked them up at Rolling Wheels Africa and got them fitted at Yamaha Windhoek. They were really good, took great care and replaced a bolt in my front mudguard. I am amazed at and happy with the care and the quality of the workmanship by the technicians here in Africa. Not only did they change the tires, but they cleaned the wheels. They also checked the bearings and the brakes. They even cleaned the brake calipers as well. I was also moving to another apartment, not too far away but in a quieter area. It was also a lot cheaper, and it had really good Wi-Fi. I had a lot to do. The biggest task was making the photo albums. We now had 3 cameras and an amazing amount of photos. The blog was easy, I just use my daily notes and my memories. Still, it all came together and I also had time to wander into town for tea and cake.
Yamaha Windhoek getting to work on Tiggy moon dust
Balancing the wheel by hand
Botswana or the Republic of Botswana is a landlocked land in Southern Africa. 70% of the country is made up of the Kalahari desert. Like Namibia it is also one of the least populated countries in the world. Its population is just 2.3 million people who boast to be the world’s fastest growing economy. A dramatic rise since the late 60s when it was a poor country. It is also a Wild Game paradise with the largest population of Elephants in the world. The big cats and the wild dogs roam freely around along with the rhinos and antelopes. It is home to the Okavango delta and the Kalahari desert interspersed with vast stretches of wilderness. This has to be Africa at its best. But the downside. Most of the prices for the lodges and safaris are way up there in the high-end sector. Botswana caters for the rich safari crowd and if you can pay the prices, you are guaranteed a fantastic experience. But there are still some really good payable experiences to be had. Botswana is a wild animal sanctuary. Animals are allowed to roam freely. If it can be proven that a farmer’s livestock has been killed by a wild animal, then the government will compensate the farmer. The government is promoting wildlife as a source of income for the country and to secure its future. The mining industry will eventually run out and Botswana wants to be up there in the safari market, thus guaranteeing income and jobs for the people. Agriculture land is fenced off, in some areas, from the surrounding bush. Riding down the roads is an experience. No fences and the wild animals roam free. I saw mostly a lot of elephants and loads of impala. It is an amazing sight to see a herd of elephants crossing the road in front of the bike.
Animals are allowed to roam freely
The border crossing was painless. Just a lot of form filling again. For Botswana I first got the stamp in my passport then went to customs and got the bike stamped in and paid the border cross over fee about 24 euro. Then I was in Botswana. It was really green and fertile, roads were asphalt, but the turn offs were sand. The road was empty… no towns and villages or petrol pumps until I came to a town called Ghanzi. I stayed in a really nice little guest house called Gantsi Grand Guesthouse. It was really old style but nice. Couldn’t find anywhere to eat that I liked so went to the supermarket and bought two cheese and tomatoes sandwiches and some fresh salad. On the way back to the guest house I bought a bag of chips from a woman making them fresh on the side of the road. It was a feast. Then on to Maun.
Maun is a sprawling town with an airport. It is the main hub for trips into the Okavango Delta. Had a really difficult time finding the place where I wanted to stay, “Old Bridge Backpackers”. No signs, Google maps led me to a pedestrian bridge across the river. It wasn’t in Holly, my onboard navigation. After riding around in circles, I managed to find it. It is a really nice spot, in part of the delta. Two crocodiles and a Hippo live in the water by the open-air restaurant. I checked out their chalets but decided on a camping spot.
My spot on Old Bridge Backpackers camping
Crocodile swimming just across from my tent
Botswanan women Maun, Okavango Delta
Me and the termite hill
There was one other tent there it belonged to Kristal, an English backpacker on a world travel. We had a good chat and compared notes. We both wanted to do the same things, so we teamed up. First on the list was a traditional canoe, “Mokoro”, trip in the delta. The prices from the tourist agencies were crazy. We found the Okavango Kopano Mokoro Community Trust. This is an agency that looks after the settlements on the delta and the needs of the people. All proceeds go to the locals living in the delta. We arranged a local in a 4×4 to drive us there. It was impossible to do it on the bike. These were sand tracks leading crisscross through the delta with water crossings. We got a 4×4 and it turned out to be a really fantastic choice. The man worked for the community trust and was a conservation agent. He was also on the anti-poaching side of things. He gave us a running commentary on the birds that we saw on the way. We reached Daunara Mokoro station, our starting point.
Road to the Okavango Delta
The polers…the people who paddle the canoes, work on a roster system. Everyone gets their turn to ensure everyone gets to earn money. Our guy was called Oscar. We opted for the day excursion, but they also do overnight and multiple night excursions. The overnight ones can either be self-catering where you take your tent and food, or all in, where everything is laid on. Yep, you pay your money and make your choices. The mokoro or dugout canoes have been changed for fiberglass ones. This to conserve the trees, the traditional ones were made from long, thick straight ebony trees and the African sausage tree. They are propelled forward by a person standing in the back and pushing the boat forward with a long pole, a bit like punting. The mokoro was and is the traditional way of traveling in the delta for the inhabitants of this region. The Okavango Delta is the only place in Africa to offer mokoro safaris.
Traditional mokoro canoes
Oscar the poler
Mokoro canoe in action with Kristal and Oscar
We set off through a maze of little waterlily filled channels, through high reed filled wetlands. It was really serene and beautiful. We met another boat, and our poler was busy chatting to the other guy, and no one saw the hippo until it jumped up in front of us and started to run. Both polers paddled backwards like anything whilst yelling at it. It was a narrow miss and caused a lot of excitement. It was a credit to the polar that we didn’t capsize. Then we stopped for lunch. We had made sandwiches and had brought water and fruit. Then we did a one-and-a-half-hour hike or game walk, but we saw nothing. Then we started off with the canoe again and an elephant crossed our path, walking through the reeds. Our polar followed him and we beached on another island. Got out and were treated to a lot of elephants, some giraffes, and hippos. All in a tremendous experience.
Waterlily
Hippo
Giraffe… see how well he blends in
Bird drying its wings
Elephant and zebra in the Delta
Next on our agenda was an airplane flight over the delta. These were really expensive, so we tried to team up with some other people, the more people on the plane the cheaper it was. We were in contact with two companies, Mack Air and Major Blue. Mack Air were not interested in forming a group, but Major Blue was. Eventually we had four other people and we were off. The delta was dry to a large extent. They were waiting for the rains, but still it was an incredible sight and one not to be missed.
The Okavango Delta from above
The Delta from above
Sunset from the plane
Very serious photographer at work
Yep we made it
Crocodile at old bridge backpackers
Next on our combined list was a village called Gweta. This is an old village and it got its name from the countless bullfrogs who bury themselves in the sands waiting for the rainy season when they emerge to mate. It is also the gateway to the Makgadikgadi Pans. This was once a river fed lake but now is an empty saline filled wasteland, littered with ancient artifacts and stone age tools dating back 2,000 to 500,000 years. It covers an area bigger than Switzerland. In the rainy season it is home to the largest zebra and wildebeest migration in Africa and the second largest in the world. Thousands of flamingos also appear and stay as long as the water lasts. The pans are also a permanent home to the meerkat and the elusive brown hyena. Around the pans are a large number of Baobab trees. So definitely it was worth a visit. There are two lodges in Gweta, Gweta lodge and Planet Baobab. Both are pretty much upmarket, but Planet Baobab offered camping, so that is where we ended up, camping under a large baobab tree.
Planet Baobab, camped under a large Baobab tree
Once again, we were teamed up with Kristal and a safari to the pans and the meerkat was organized. The safari began at 6 in the morning, first we all met at the bar for coffee, then onto the safari truck and out into the bush. It was really cold at that hour of the morning. First stop was the meerkat colony. These are fantastic little animals. They live in burrows and get all their water from the food that they eat, they don’t drink water, so they are well suited to desert conditions. They are social and they all take turns at babysitting and doing lookout duty. The lookout duty consists of a number of meerkats standing on their hindlegs preferably on a highpoint. They then are on the lookout for predators. If they spot something they warn the group who then all scatter and disappear down their respective burrows. If you sit still for a period of time one will climb up onto you to get a better view. This meerkat colony was used to humans. The salt pan was still a bit wet, so our driver was reluctant to go too deep into it. But he did treat us to a history lesson about its formation. The morning trip was rounded off with a visit to a large baobab tree.
Breakfast at early morning Safari
Our two rangers
African Fish Eagle, Gweta Safari
Wattled crane, Greta safari
Southern Ostrich, Gweta safari
Meerkat, Gweta safari
Meerkats, Gweta safari
Meerkat perching on Kristal’s shoulder
Baobab tree, Greta
The Pan
Next on the agenda was a place called Elephant Sands. But I was late leaving Gweta and it was hot. Got as far as a place called Nata and decided to stop. Ended up at a brilliant little backpackers place called Eselbe Camp Backpackers. It was situated just outside of Nata on a river. It was owned and run by a really nice guy called Rupert. He lived there with 3 dogs, a chicken called Gloria and two colonies of bushbabies. He also has volunteers working for him.
Bush babies Eselbe Backpackers
Bush babies Eselbe Backpackers
My tent Eselbe Backpackers
Kristal was also here, she didn’t get too far either. That night we heard some singing, chanting and drumbeats floating up the river. It was a full moon, so it was really surreal. Then Rupert said let’s all get the canoes and go see what’s happening.
Tiggy Moondust and the canoe
So, 6 of us and 1 dog all piled into 3 canoes and paddled out onto the moonlit river and drifted down to the source of the chanting. Eventually we saw a group of people holding a religious ceremony, in among the trees. I was in a canoe being paddled by Kristal up front and Matilda, a French Australian girl, on the back. Matilda started softly singing and she had a tremendous voice. The first song she sang in English all about Mother Earth and the second song was in Spanish and was a song that she had learned from tribal people in Ecuador, also about Pacha Mama or Mother Earth. In the setting of drifting down a moonlit river in the African bush, under a starry sky, it was a terrific experience and one that will stay with me forever. We decided to stay two nights and just chill by the river.
River at Eselbe Backpackers
Night peddle on the river Eselbe
Then we had to tear ourselves away because Elephant Sands was waiting for us. It was a short run the next day.
The road to Elephant Sands
Elephant Sands is a privately owned elephant conservation project. It is a fresh waterhole on privately owned land. On one side of the waterhole there are a number of chalets available to rent. But the main area is a bush camping site. There are no fences and the elephants are free to roam where and whenever they want. I was camping and believe me it was a fantastic experience to sleep out in the bush in the middle of Elephants. Like everything in Botswana, it as upmarket. But by camping and cooking your own food it is payable.
Arrived at Elephant Sands
Elephant Sands
My sight from my tent waking up from an afternoon nap
Spot the Elephant:-)
Elephant Sands
Again Elephant Sands
There is a bar and restaurant on site. The restaurant serves a set meal in the evening and a set breakfast in the morning, both are really expensive. I once again joined forces with Kristal, and we cooked our own food. Our neighbours, 3 families that were friends, kept offering us food and water. The water at Elephant Sands is salty and you can’t really drink it or make tea or coffee. So, we gladly accepted their offer of water. You could only buy small bottles of water at the bar, and we couldn’t carry enough to last with us.
Cooked our own food, Elephant Sands
We stayed 2 nights just watching the elephants. The track leading to Elephant Sands is sand, some deep in places. I took it slow on the way in, but the way out was really good. I knew the road and could speed up. It was fun. Coming into Elephant Sands take the left hand track if you are riding a bike, it’s easier.
Night at Elephant Sands
Evening at Elephant Sands
I finally had to tear myself away from the elephants and head up to Kasane on the Chobe river.
Finally had to tear myself away
Roadside view
I wanted to do a river boat trip there. The road there was really boring. Long straight stretches through the bush with nowhere to stop. A minibus pulling a trailer passed me going really fast. I saw that a wheel on the trailer was wobbling a bit. Debated about speeding up and trying to overtake him to warn him but decided against it…. He probably knew, plus I had seen a lot worse travelling down the road. About 100 Kms later I saw the bus and trailer parked on the side of the road… the trailer’s wheel had flown off, wrecking the hub. I stopped to offer assistance and was treated to an amazing sight. The passengers were Japanese tourists, and they were all grabbing their luggage out of the trailer and moving it into the bus whilst photographing themselves. Then then descended on to my bike and started taking pictures of themselves next to my bike. Then they wanted pictures next to me. Bear in mind that we were in the middle of the bush with wild animals roaming around and stopping was a real risk.
They would have taken selfies of themselves being eaten by a lion. I lent the driver a spanner so that he could take the hub off to get a replacement but there was no way that we could do it, he had no jack with him. I asked the driver where the wheel was, and he pointed into the tall grass on the other side of the road. He also immediately said that there was no way that he was gonna go in there to look for it. The bolts on the hub were sheared off, so fixing it was out of the question. He unhitched the trailer and left it there on the side of the road, planning to return for it the next day. I left them to it, there was nothing else that I could do. Much later they passed me on a petrol station.
Broken down bus with Japanese tourists
Kasane lies in a wooded ravine at the point where four countries meet, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe. It is also the meeting point of two large rivers… the Chobe and the Zambezi. It is a small settlement with hundreds of tour operators and lodges.
Sunset at Chobe river
I had arranged with Kristal to go to Elephant Trails Backpackers. But google maps was leading me a merry dance plus it was way too far out of town. I started looking for another spot. An upmarket lodge called Chobe Safari Lodge had camping spots for a reasonably price, so I headed there. I was behind a Toyota Hilux who stopped at the gate. The Gate attendant told the Hilux to back up, which he did without looking behind him and going fast. I got a real fright, so I pressed the horn and tried to get out of his path. He stopped with millimeters to spare. I pulled up alongside him and gave him a piece of my mind. He was also in shock, he was French. We started talking at the reception and shook hands and smiled at each other. He was before me and he was cancelling his camping spot because he had found another one, he didn’t like the spot he was given. They were not refunding him the money, but he didn’t care. Then my turn…. The camping was full… no spots left. She told me to ask the French guy for his spot and to pay him. I went after him and offered to pay his spot, but he just gave me the papers and refused to take any money from me. The spot was paid up for two days for two people. Meanwhile Kristal was apping me that the hostel had no camping and that she had booked one night in the dorm. She immediately decided to come down to the camping site.
Chobe Safari Lodge camping
Visitor to my camping spot
Kasana
Warthog and baboon roaming the streets of Kasana
We then teamed up and started looking for tours. Kristal wanted to do a Safari and a boat tour I just wanted to do a boat tour. I managed to book a boat for the sunset tour. It was fun. We went a short distance into Chobe national park. Saw elephants, crocodile, buffalo and loads of different bird species. Also, a really nice sunset.
Crocodile Choab River
Boat Trip Zambezi River
African Buffalo Zambezi River
Hippos Zambezi River
I spent a relaxing day researching Zimbabwe and planning a route. Then it was time to head off to Zimbabwe, the border was just down the road. I had a really good time with Kristal. It was interesting to compare notes and to learn about the different problems facing a backpacker and a biker. How we coped with planning and finding accommodation. It was fun.
If you would like to experience a small piece of Botswana, click on the like named photo album, if you have Facebook. Facebook Photo Album Botswana 28-3 to 12-4-2023
So, get yourselves a nice slice of cake and a nice big mug of tea, prop up the cushions in your favourite chair and join me on a journey through Botswana.
Thank you for following and commenting. Thank you for sharing my journey, I appreciate it. My real time location is Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Hasta la vista amigos