Today we left Namibia. Ann and Mark helped us with maps giving clear directions to the Botswana border crossing, a few Botswana Pula to enable us to pay its road tax, a suggested detour around Mahango park to get our first glimpse of the Okavango Delta and importantly where to fill up with fuel before we left for the 500 km journey today, which we estimated would take around 5 hours. Leaving at 07.30 this would allow us an easy journey to the town of Maun, the gateway to the Okavango Delta for tourists.
With the 2WD on a sandy track we could only take a mini tour around Mahango game park which followed the course of the river with green lush trees and reeds along its banks. The river was teeming with birdlife, crocodiles, hippos and water buffalo and on dry land we spotted another antelope which we hadn’t seen before, currently to be identified. On turning a bend we were startled by a lone bull elephant who likewise was startled by us and each of us ran or drove in opposite directions at quite a pace. The final leg of the drive took us directly to the border control and we swiftly left Namibia with our passports stamped and entered Botswana with friendly and efficient immigration, customs and road tax staff making it our easiest border crossing for a long while.
Botswana roads have many animals wandering across them: donkeys, goats, cows and horses freely roam alongside the single carriageway and these, along with the return of the dreaded potholes, meant having to weave around, slow down and be alert. This journey was going to be wearing.
The many villages along the way were typically mud huts with reeded roofs and fencing made from tree branches or reeds with many people selling bundles of reeds, which were neatly gathered in very tidy bunches and lined the roadside. Along the whole route young children were walking along the road with containers of all colours, shapes and sizes to fetch and carry home water from communal water tanks. This was all very different to Namibia.
The main road had road improvements for short sections, where we drove on quite new tarmac, but just as we thought this would continue for the rest of the journey we would be disappointed as it turned back to pothole ridden and cracked road surfaces again. Our timings to the town of Maun would turn out to be around 2 hours longer than planned but also accounted for a one hour time difference.
Audi tours in Maun was easy for us to find and we checked in with them for a two night stay in a tent with outside en suite before we leave on Monday for our 6 night camping safari. On arrival Glenn met TT the lady he has had numerous email communications with over the past few weeks whilst trying to organise and pay for this safari, not least hindered by his credit card being blocked by the fraud dept and trying to find a reliable internet connection in Namibia over the past three weeks to sort it all out. TT and Glenn were happy to meet each other and she suggested to him we should take a Mokoro canoe trip around the Delta tomorrow to immerse ourselves with the river landscape before we go off on safari. Glenn struck a good deal with her and we prepared ourselves for an early start tomorrow.
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| Inside the Shmvura camp bar |
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| Mark and Ann |
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| Preening monkeys in Mahango |
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| The river Okavango |
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| Giant Baobab tree |
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| The start of the delta |
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