After a 15 month wait our 4 week Botswana vacation finally arrived.

And, as most good and fun things, it was over in the blink of an eye!

Trip itinerary: - Total of 5555km

Saturday, July 29: Bloemfontein
Sunday, July 30: Zeerust
Monday, July 31: Khama Rhino Sanctuary #8
Tuesday, August 1: Khama Rhino Sanctuary #8
Wednesday, August 2: Kubu #6
Thursday, August 3: Nxai pans - South Gate NX3
Friday, August 4: Nxai pans - Baines Baobab BO1
Saturday, August 5: Maun, Audi Camp
Sunday, August 6: Maun, Audi Camp
Monday, August 7: Moremi - 3rd bridge MT6
Tuesday, August 8: Moremi - 3rd bridge MT6
Wednesday, August 9: Moremi - Xakanaxa XA1
Thursday, August 10: Moremi - Xakanaxa XA1
Friday, August 11: Dizhana
Saturday, August 12: Dizhana
Sunday, August 13: Chobe - Savuti CV1
Monday, August 14: Chobe - Savuti CV1
Tuesday, August 15: Chobe - Linyanti CL2
Wednesday, August 16: Chobe - Linyanti CL2
Thursday, August 17: Chobe - Ihaha CI4
Friday, August 18: Chobe - Ihaha CI4
Saturday, August 19: Kasane, Chobe river lodge
Sunday, August 20: Kasane, Chobe river lodge
Monday, August 21: Victoria Falls Rest Camp
Tuesday, August 22: Victoria Falls Rest Camp
Wednesday, August 23: Francistown, Woodlands Stopover
Thursday, August 24: Bloemfontein
Friday, August 25: Port Elizabeth
Day1, Saturday 29 July + Day2, Sunday 30 July: Bloemfontein + Zeerust
Keeping the boring parts short, we drove from Port Elizabeth via Bloemfontein to Zeerust. In Zeerust I realized my aftermarket shock absorber (rear right) was leaking oil.
That was the start of a bumpy 4 weeks…

Day3, Monday 31 July: Khama Rhino Sanctuary

We crossed the border at Kopfontein with no hassle. This was our first Botswana trip and we were very much green at this point. We didn’t want to take the chance taking
anything into Botswana that might be confiscated at the border, so our strategy was to buy our fresh food and liquor in Botswana. The only thing they asked us upon
entering was how much beer we had. At that stage I really only had 1 left in my fridge, which made the guards laugh out loud. They probably thought I’m either lying or
thinking "Poor soul, he’s going to need much more than 1 beer…" We bought fresh food at the Spar in Serowe. This was a bit of a culture shock, being the end of the month
and a Sunday, but also the difference in food. Pre-cut veggies or chicken wings don't exist there, and you’re lucky if you find 3 different kinds of cheese. We’re definitely
spoiled for choice in SA! We arrived at Khama Rhino Sanctuary and settled in at number 8, according to us the best site there. We did a quick game drive and saw quite a
few rhinos, the only time where we were lucky enough to see them in Botswana. It felt good to finally sit back and relax, soaking up the silence of the bush.
Day4, Tuesday 1 Aug: Khama Rhino Sanctuary
The day started slow and lazy. Made cappuccinos, took a million photos of birds, made brunch, showered. This would be our last day that we really had any sort of ‘winter’
in Botswana, the rest of the trip we lived in summer clothes and slops. Most of the day was spent reading, sleeping and taking photos of birds and critters around camp.
Later the afternoon we had a game drive again, seeing more animals than the previous day.
Southern White-faced Owl in the tree above
Day5, Wednesday 2 Aug: Kubu Island
Something I found very interesting was how much different the places looked like than I expected. Letlhakane was a good example of this, far from the little town I expected
it to be. Here we topped up on fuel and bought sim cards. Registration and activation was a feast, doubt that I’ll go through the trouble again. Luckily we were soon enough
on the road again, leaving the noise of civilization behind. The roads closer to the pans became really interesting, at times there were 4 roads running parallel and this was
quite a fun experience, felt a bit like driving "kaskar" again. Nothing could really prepare us for the magnificence and vastness of the pans, to finally see it for myself was
amazing. Kubu Island was in itself a magical place. The geology and vegetation wanted me to explore every inch of the island. Next time we will definitely spend more than
1 night here. We met up with forum member LanoDJ all the way from Italy. We took a walk around the island and found a few interesting historical sites across the island.
We were on site #6, right on the edge of the pan with amazing views.
Day6, Thursday 3 Aug: Nxai pan – South Camp
After an early morning coffee and photo session on the pan, we took the road North West to Gweta. Forum member LanoDJ joined us for this drive via the ‘bad roads’. In
retrospect, those roads were really not that bad (in the dry season) compared to what we would encounter later that day in Nxai pan. We stopped for a tea break halfway
to Gweta and saw the most perfect camouflaged gecko.
We reached Gweta and found, well, basically
nothing. But, even in the nothingness, I was
still amazed how neat the people and town
are. There were even a few green gardens and
clearly a feeling of pride and willingness to
work. Botswana’s wildlife wasn’t the only
impressing thing, but the people too. I wish I
could take every South African there and show
them how things could look like if people work
together and stop corruption.
We had a quick stop at Planet Baobab, which
had the biggest trees we’ve seen in Botswana.
We cooled down with a drink, strolled around
the camp and then headed over to Nxai Pan.
The road from the Nxai Pan Office to South
Camp definitely ranked under the top 3 worst
roads we encountered, was just plain
miserable.
We only spent one night (at site #3) at South
Camp, so couldn’t spend that much time
exploring. We were entertained by two clown
birds, more commonly known as the African
Hornbill, putting up a funny act for us. The
highlight of our stay there was a huge bull
visiting us later that night. This was the first
time I was on the same side of a fence as a wild
elephant, and honestly, I haven’t felt ever that
small. What an amazing experience, and we
were hooked!
Day7, Friday 4 Aug: Nxai pan – Baines Baobabs
We decided to take a detour (blue route on attached map) from South Camp to Baines Baobabs because the road couldn’t get any worse, right? I wish I could see a video
of our 3 legged car on this stretch: when you drive too slow you can feel how the hot deep sand sucks you in, drive too fast and we go flying through the air. After a bit of
practice, I got a good balance between crawling and flying and ended up enjoying it tremendously. Unfortunately, we then proceeded with the yellow route which took us
forever since it had a million bumps in it caused by termite heaps, not good for a car with only 3 legs. (The next day we took the green route back, a huge improvement on
the yellow route.)

The sight of Baines Baobabs and the open pans made me forget about the roads and it felt like we were in a different world. Campsite #1 is the only campsite on the ‘island’
(across the pan from Baines Baobabs), making you the only inhabitant on the island, dream come true! Life on the edge of the pan stands still, time itself a forgotten
concept. We set up camp and enjoyed a cold beer while looking over the pan and the baobabs in the background.

Our "neighbours" arrived at the edge of the pan, looking for camp #2. They drove all around the Baobabs, over the pan, around our island, back to the baobabs, all along
the edge of the pans, and after 20 odd mins they were back. Have to admit we were very curious as to what they were looking for, so we were glad to be able to speak to
them when they finally came over to ask for assistance. According to them, there were no indications as to where #2 and #3 were, and the hand-drawn paper map given
out by the office was clearly out of scale. Unfortunately, we couldn’t really help them out, although we did give them the option of sharing with us if they didn’t find their
campsite. They said their farewells, never to be seen again.

We took some photos of the setting sun and started with supper. At this point, I was curious as to how big our island was, since our neighbours could drive around it in just
a few minutes. I decided to walk around the island (yes very irresponsible idea) and found the sign that should point to the direction of #2 and #3, but it was rusted off lying
face down on the ground. No wonder our neighbours got lost. The night was as quiet as the grave, not a breeze in the air, absolutely perfect night. Unfortunately every day
and night was overcast for the first two weeks of our trip, so couldn’t take any pictures from the stars above. Later two pygmy mouse entertained us by running around our
feet at the speed of light, them not being bigger than half of my thumb.