Botswana has been very interesting. Crossing the border was a long and process, but it was alright. Customs took a while, and we had to cross a river to get from Zambia to Botswana, and there was only one ferry running between the two countries. The ferry fit about 4 regular sized SUVs in a row, but it only fit one or two big trucks, and the line was long so we had to wait over an hour before getting the truck on board the ferry. Our campsite wasn't too far from the border, and we arrived around 2 to set up the tents, but we didn't fully unpack wince we were immediately leaving to go into town. In town I tried to exchange my Zambian Kwacha into Botswana Pula, but they said that the only place to exchange it was at the border. It was a frustrating position to be in because I had about $50 USD left over in Kwacha, and I wouldn't even be able to exchange it back once I got home because Zambian currency is circulated so narrowly. Luckily the next night at our campsite we ran into another G truck and their CEO was so so kind and exchanged my money for me into ZAR (South African Rand). While I was in town during the whole exchange affair I also picked up an extra jacket and pair of sweat pants, because we have begun our decent into Southern Africa where the nights drop below freezing - a difficult challenge for camping (at least for a Texas girl). I also had a moment to log onto the internet to catch up on some of the world news and the latests on the terrorism in Kenya. Unfortunately the attacks seem to be growing in frequency, and conflict is arising both internally and externally in the country in response to them.
When we got back to our first campsite in Botswana most of our group had gone on a sunset cruise so the remainder of us (pretty much the old crew that had started in Nairobi) were left to unpack everything and do all the cooking. Our new guide isn't as fluid and well prepared as our last one, so the amount of energy it has taken to get things done has increased greatly. The next morning was a similar story - most of the crew left for a morning game drive in Chobe National Park, and left the remaining 6 of us to break down everyones tents and get the breakfast going. I had hoped that by forgoing some of the activities that I would save some money and gain some rest, but instead I just got a lot of extra work on my plate. The day didn't really stop there with exciting work. Botswana is divided into a grid of sorts where they try and separate the domestic and agricultural areas from the wildlife areas. The country is very strong in its conservation of natural wildlife, but the government has set up a lot of checkpoints and regulations in order to adequately protect the civilizations. Botswana has also suffered from cases of Foot and Mouth disease, which has heightened the need for control measures between areas. On our way to our next campsite we stopped at one of the many veterinary checkpoints. We all had to get off the truck and step through this water basin that is full of salt and other chemicals to kill any of the bacteria we may have picked up in "the wild." At the same time a woman inspected our truck for any meat from the wild, and found instead our grocery store bought steaks. She said that she would have to confiscate them, and when our tour guide refused she said that the only way we could pass through was if we cooked the meat. So, we did. We set up camp on the side of the road, pulling out the tables, the stove, the propane gas, all of the dish washing bins and our knives and cutting boards to get to work. We chopped up the beautiful steaks so that we could boil it for a stew, and got the veggies out to do the same. Curiously, however, the woman said that we only had to cook the steaks, which made us a little suspicious of their intentions. It could have been the case that they had just hoped to confiscate them for themselves, but whether that had been true I will never know. While we were cooking we took a soccer ball out and kicked it around and everyone had a strange energy that came from such a bizarre occurrence. All in all I thought that the event was just hilarious. That day we stopped for a prepared lunch at one of the campgrounds (giving us a break from cooking), and then made it to our campgrounds at Planet Baobalb, a beautiful campsite that was originally set up as a missionary. The site had so many Baobalb trees that were all beautifully lit, and the stars were shining bright that night. Our dinner ran pretty late because of the mishap on the road with the steaks, but we eventually got to sleep and didn't have to wake up terribly early the next morning.
The most exciting part of my time in Botswana was at the Okovango Delta. We traveled from Planet Baobalb to a campsite called Island Safair Lodge that was located on one of the many river chanels of the delta. At four O'Clock, after we set up our tents and made camp, we departed again to head to the airport for an optional scenic flight over the delta in little 5-7 seater planes. We had a bit of a delay because our CEO forgot to mention that we needed our passports and the girl that held the second key to the safe had stayed at camp, but once we were in the air it was one of the most exceptional experiences of my life. The view was just incredible - and for as far as I could see there were absolutely no marks of human settlement except for an occasional small fence. The water seeped over everything so that it appeared that everything was enshrouded in it except for a couple of rare islands of dry land. From the air I saw many elephants trekking across the shallow waters, breaking all of the reeds in its path so that it created a trail behind it. The first elephant I saw was a single bull, and it was a majestic sight. Throughout the flight I saw families, herds, and more. I also saw massive crocodiles sitting on the river banks, as well as birds in flight parallel with our plane and herds of antelopes grazing through the grasses. The plane was flying pretty low so the air was rather turbulent. I thought that the bumps and drops were really fun at first, but by the time we landed everyone in the plane was suffering from motion sickness. It was totally worth it though. I would say that that experience probably sits as one of the top 5 coolest things I have ever done.
 |
On board our flight over the delta - Sorry I didn't rotate the picture before uploading it.  |
The next morning after the flight we departed the campsite to embark into the delta for a night of bush camping on one of the islands. Bush camping means that there are absolutely no facilities, and that everything you bring into the delta you must bring out. We loaded up a speedboat with all of our tents, our "mattresses," our kitchenware, and food for dinner and breakfast. After all of our necessities were secured we split ourselves between two speedboats and brought with us on board our daypacks, a 5L water bottle, and our sleeping bags. The boats took us through the main channels of the Delta. At times the channels made sharp turns and wide bends, and I was itching to be able to drive the boat through them - it looked like so much fun. Along the way we say fish eagles and other birds, and after about 30 minutes we docked the boats, unloaded all of our stuff, then met the leaders for the next part of our journey. The speedboats could only traverse the main channels, so to get to the island where we were going to camp we needed to board small canoe-like boats called makuros. We placed two people from our group to a makuro and then one local who was called a Pole who was responsible for powering and steering the vessel. They propelled the makuro forward using a stick that was about 15 feet in length. They placed the stick in the water besides them until it touched the floor of the waterbed, the pushed down and backwards so that the boat propelled forward and the stick angled down behind the makuro as it advanced forward. The Poles took us an hour and a half through the narrow channels of the delta. It was an incredibly peaceful experience. We heard nothing but the sound of moving water, buzzing bugs, and the rustling of reeds as we glided past. I fell asleep one or two times, and before long we arrived at the island where we unloaded all of our stuff and set up camp. The local guide showed us the holes he had dug for us to use as toilets, and we lit a fire immediately to burn through the night so as to warn off predators. Our tents were set up in a circular formation as well to enclose our little settlement. We had the afternoon free, which was great. I read a little bit, tried by hand at poling (that was fun! I can't really keep it that straight but after a while I got the hang of it), and played mafia as a group. At 4 o'clock we boarded the mukuros again to go further down the island for a nature walk. On the walk we learned about all sorts of plants and natural resources used by the delta people for survival, and we saw many birds and even some hippos. As we returned to the makuros the sun was setting the light highlighted all of the spiderwebs that ran between the long grasses, creating a shimmering gleam under the sun. Dinner that night was pretty bland, but I suppose we can't expect much from a bush camp - and everything had to be cooked over the fire and without stove. The beautiful part of the night, however, were the stars and the entertainment put on by our Poles. The stars were unbelievable - the Milky Way was as bright as I have ever seen it, and the stars reached the horizon because of how little light pollution there was. It was truly beautiful. The entertainment was wonderful as well, as the men and woman who took us into the delta sang group songs in their local language, Setswana. After the songs were over, a man came forth and recited a poem from memory. It recalled times of old and was my first time interacting with a community that used oral histories in this way. The night wasn't too cold, so sleep was nice. We had an early morning to break down tents and load the makuros with all of our gear and selves, and we made it back to the power boats by 9 a.m. On our way back to the the Island Safari Lodge we saw two baby crocodiles on the shore, and our boat driver shared with us how humans eat crocodiles' tails, but cut the head off and bury it because of the poisonous nature of the brain. He shared with us how many rival tribes will take the croc brain, dry it in the sun, then take a small bit of it in powder form to put in enemies drinks to poison them. Apparently it is rather lethal, as it takes only 30 minutes to achieve its full effect. I will be weary around crocodile from now on... I'm glad that I tried it before hearing about the brain. We made it back to Island Safari by 10:30 for lunch before a long drive towards the desert.
Last night we slept in the Ghanzi Desert. The campsite had hot showers, which was so welcome after the bush camping. We had a great dinner prepared by the woman from the campsite, and all shared jokes and stories around the campfire before heading to bed. Although it was really hot during the day, the night was absolutely freezing and I slept in two layers of pants and two jackets over my shirt. This morning we woke up at 5:30 while the stars were still bright and the air still crisp. It was a hard task breaking down the tent when the cold stung our fingers and the sleep still clouded our heads. We're now on the truck heading to the border of Namibia. I'll be sad to depart this country, but I'm excited for the next! Savannah ends her trip tomorrow and will head back home to Dallas, so we're going to have a fun night in town tonight before sending her off. I'm so glad that she came, it was so nice to have a friend from home on a part of this journey, and her kindness and positivity made camp a better place for all.
Written on July 19, 2014 and posted when internet is available.
