|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
burgers and fries |
Weather |
|
Maun,
Botswana |
11 July,
2004 |
Sedia Hotel |
19°57.245’S x 23°28.717’E |
Odometer: 27095km |
Sunny, 75(F) Degrees, |
|
We packed up camp and got back in the boats
for the return trip. On the way Brian met a mkoro poler that had been his
guide on a trip here in 1997. By noon we were back at the hotel and
enjoyed a delicious lunch at the hotel restaurant. We relaxed for a couple
of hours, then headed for the airport and our scenic flight over the
delta. Seeing the terrain we had traveled over by land from the air was
fantastic. Small islands dotted with baobab trees were surrounded by blue
waters and lush green grasses. The colors were spectacular. We could see
the narrow channels we had navigated by mkoro, and even saw an elephant
splashing through the shallow waters. There were giraffe, buffalo, impala,
and lechwe, all tiny from the air. We ate dinner at the hotel restaurant
and sat up talking and looking at slide shows from our trip. |
|
|
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
Audi Camp Restaurant |
Weather |
|
Maun,
Botswana |
12 July, 2004 |
Sedia Hotel |
19°57.245’S
x 23°28.717’E |
Odometer: 27095km |
Sunny, 75(F)
degrees |
|
We spent the morning with
Debbie and Brian souvenir shopping, then dropped them off at the airport
early in the afternoon. Graham and Connie are heading for Drotsky’s caves
tomorrow and spent the remainder of the afternoon shopping and
re-supplying. That evening we met at Audi Camp for dinner. Roy and Sonya
along with their three kids (Victoria, Roy, and Charity) joined us. Roy is
a doctor from Wyoming who has opened a medical practice here in Botswana.
They have lived here for about a year, and have spent time in Africa
previously. They noticed the Colorado plates on our cars a few days ago,
and wanted to get together to hear our story. They are a very interesting
couple and have had some fascinating experiences here. They were kind
enough to buy our dinner for us and we spent an enjoyable evening talking
with them. After they left we ran into a couple who has just traversed the
east coast of Africa, starting in the middle east. We traded stories for a
while over beers. We have even met up with a family from Switzerland who
we fondly refer to as the “Swiss family Robinson,” a family of five
traveling in a large truck whom we first met in Mauritania. They are
staying at Audi camp and we’ve had a good time catching up with them. |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
Chicken brochettes, corn on the cob,
baked potatoes |
Weather |
|
Maun,
Botswana |
13 July, 2004 |
Audi Camp |
19°57.245’S
x 23°28.717’E |
Odometer: 27095km |
Sunny, 82(F)
degrees |
|
We met Graham and Connie for breakfast this
morning and wished them a happy and safe trip. They will be in the area
for another week or so before heading south to the Central Kalahari game
reserve. We may pass them on the road somewhere, but if we don’t see them
in the next couple of days we probably won’t see them again until we
return home. We said our goodbyes and after Graham answered a few of
Witt’s last minute car questions they drove off. Witt and Jen spent the
rest of the day getting organized for the next leg of the trip. We stopped
at the local Land Rover dealership which was kind enough to grease
Rafiki’s propeller shafts for free. We dropped the old alternator (the one
that we replaced in Cameroon) off to have it re-conditioned. A stop at the
Botswana parks office secured us a reservation in Chobe national park in
about a week and we did some grocery shopping. The afternoon was very
productive, and we hope to leave here on Thursday. Our current plan is to
head north and west from Maun to spend a day hiking in the Tsodilo hills.
Then we will cross into Namibia and drive across the Caprivi strip,
dropping back into Botswana for a few days in Chobe. Our next destination
is Victoria Falls in Zambia where we will celebrate our anniversary |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
230km |
Meals
Borewors, pap & breedoe |
Weather |
|
Kalahari,
Botswana
Connie & Graham |
13 July, 2004 |
Bushcamp |
19°58.400’S
21°48.098’E |
Odometer: 35914km |
Cold in am, Hot at midday,
90(F)
degrees |
|
We awoke at Audi camp with grand plans for the
day, but things turned out slightly differently. We had breakfast with
Witt and Jen. This was our last meal together and marks the breaking up of
the Africa Overland team and Witt and Jen head off North to Zambia. Graham
and Connie are going South to Cape Town and then shipping back to the US.
After breakfast, Graham worked on the car and Connie did washing. An
agreement had been made to travel to Drotsky’s caves with an English
couple who had driven from the UK down the East coast of Africa. Their
names are Helen and Chris. At the appointed hour of noon, we all met at
Riley’s Garage in Maun and hit the road for Drotsky’s Caves, one of the
most remote locations in Botswana. Just before sundown we bushcamped off
the track, and built a huge fire to ward off the cold. |
|
Following Nellie through the
bush |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
Audi Camp Restaurant |
Weather |
|
Maun,
Botswana, Witt & Jen |
14 July, 2004 |
Audi Camp |
19°57.245’S x 23°28.717’E |
Odometer: 27095km |
Sunny, 82(F)
degrees |
|
We had another productive day in town running
errands and preparing for our departure tomorrow. We spent a couple of
hours on the internet in the morning. We checked Expedition Overland’s
website; They are in California now, and it’s interesting to read about
them driving through Arizona and to the Grand Canyon in their 6x6 land
rover. It must turn quite a few heads in the US! We did some grocery
shopping, stocked up on beer and gin, and bought a few souvenirs for the
folks back home. We picked up our newly reconditioned alternator, which
given that the Land Rover dealership didn’t have a spare hub tool to sell
us, virtually guarantees that a wheel bearing will fail soon. We spent the
evening at Audi Camp’s bar, Jen laboriously translating an email into
French to send to some of our former traveling companions. |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
82km |
Meals
Steak & chips |
Weather |
|
Kalahari,
Botswana
Connie & Graham |
14 July, 2004 |
Bushcamp |
19°57.454’S
21°12.229’E |
Odometer: 35996km |
Freezing overnight, Cold in
am, Hot at midday, 90(F)
degrees |
|
We traveled on to Drotsky’s caves after
breaking camp in a relaxed fashion. The caves are completely undeveloped.
The only facilities are a visitor book, and a piece of string from one
entrance to the other. We arrived at about 10am and had some trouble
finding the cave opening even with a waypoint. On finding the entrance we
had a quick explore and decided to return after lunch. After lunch Graham,
Helen and Chris took torches and went in. The cave complex is over a
kilometer long, and requires some athletic clambering in the dark to get
through. It was magnificent though. Huge stalagmites and stalactites and
vast echoing caverns. After exploring the caves, we continued on down the
road towards the Aha Hills. We camped off the road when the sun began to
get low. |
|
Entrance to the Caves |
Inside! |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
397km |
Meals
Braai'd sirloin |
Weather |
|
Tsodilo Hills,
Botswana, Witt & Jen |
15 July, 2004 |
Bush Camp |
18°45.785’S x 21°45.015’E |
Odometer: 27492km |
Sunny, 90(F)
degrees |
|
After stopping at the internet café and the
post office we left town this morning at about 10 am. We stopped at Etsha
6, one of several resettlement camps for refugees from Angola’s civil war
located along the western edge of the Okavango delta. We visited a craft
shop and a museum that housed various artifacts of unknown purpose or
origin. There were no explanatory placards on the exhibits and the lady
who unlocked the door and took our 20 pula admission fee didn’t know much
about contents of the museum. On the plus side most of the exhibits were
just sitting out in the open so you could touch them and play with them.
We spent about 20 minutes there and were on our way again. Once we turned
west toward the hills it was about 40 minutes on a good dirt road to the
main gate. There is a very nice museum and well-marked hiking trails that
take in some of the rock art that make this a world heritage site. The
hills are quite beautiful, with pink and purple stone cliffs. After
perusing the museum we found a suitable campsite and made dinner, enjoying
the solitude of the place after a few nights of loud neighbors and car
alarms at audi camp. Despite the museum, admission to the hills is
currently free, a welcome change from the expensive game parks. |
|
The Tsodilo Hills Museum |
 |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
403km |
Meals
Hamburgers and fish & chips |
Weather |
|
Maun,
Botswana
Connie & Graham |
15 July, 2004 |
Audi Camp |
19°56.073’S
23°30.537’E |
Odometer: 36400km |
Cold in am, Hot at midday,
90(F)
degrees |
|
We left our bushcamp early and continued on to
the Aha Hills. They aren’t really much to see, but there are two large
sinkholes close to them. We stopped at the first sinkhole which is 50m
deep. It is quite impressive, but smells highly of bats. We then traveled
on. Nellie, Chris and Helen’s Land Rover 101FC died at one point just
before lunch. After some quick diagnostics, it was determined that the
fuel pump had stopped working. Chris pulled it out and repaired a broken
wire and the 101 was running again. At mid-afternoon we stopped again, and
found that Nellie was leaking air from a front tire. So a quick change
operation ensued. We got back to the main road at about 4pm and split
company with Chris and Helen. They were heading up to Tsodillo hills,
while we were bound for Maun. After saying our goodbyes we hit the road
and arrived back at Audi Camp at about 6pm. |
|
|
|
July 16 ----> |
