6 hour border crossing

We got up at 5.30 packed up tents and got to the border at Martins Drift by 8.45. Our companions got stopped for speeding and were warned about the slow border.

At the Botswana side we queued in the cars and then followed an orderly queue to get passports and gate passes stamped. This took about an hour and a half. We drove over the Limpopo River parked up and joined the queue. Two of us stood in line while the others kept the kids in the shade. After many hours we were close to the building when an official started saying people could not wait in the shade so one of us went to get the family, I was moved with a large part of the queue to another area and the official wouldn't let the others join me. We rejoined the queue much further back and all waited. We saw the family we had been queuing with leave about an hour before we did.

We found the reason for the slow progress, there was only one immigration officer checking all passports! It was another four and a half hour drive to Johannesburg.

We spent our last day leisurely in Jo'burg.

Sent from my iPhone

Change of plan

From Nata we planned to drive back to Mokolodi and follow the route we can by crossing the border at Gaberone. But during discussions about the best bits of our trip we talked about Karma rhino sanctuary, where the doc and I missed seeing the animals as we had to get the car fixed. This meant a shorter drive, chance to see rhino and a 6 hour drive the next day back to jo'burg. We had a fabulous afternoon and saw black and white rhino, as well as giraffe, ostrich and zebra.

Zambia to Botswana

We were prepared for the chaos of the border crossing and delighted to do it in about an hour, including the ferry crossing. We speculated how long it takes for a lorry to cross the border, we counted 200 in the queue and there were more being weighed and waiting in parking areas!

Later the doc informed me that the ferry crossing is quite perilous as the ferries can capsize or collide into a fast flowing and crocodile infested river. There is a bridge being built, but not sure when it will be finished.

We had a good journey to Nata but were disappointed that there was too much water to be able to see the flamingos who visit at this time of year.

Zebras at the hotel

Our hotel at Vic Falls had zebra in the grounds! They were oblivious to us but we were told not feed them or touch them!

Vic Falls

The boiling pot

We walked down to what's called the boiling pot at the bottom of the falls. Then we donned waterproofs and crossed the narrow bridge in front of the falls, we couldn't see anything because of the spray and we got indescribabley wet! The falls are impressive and magnificent. We could hear the roar from our hotel and the plume of spray from outside the town.

The boiling pot

We walked down to what's called the boiling pot at the bottom of the falls. Then we donned waterproofs and crossed the narrow bridge in front of the falls, we couldn't see anything because of the spray and we got indescribabley wet! The falls are impressive and magnificent. We could hear the roar from our hotel and the plume of spray from outside the town.

Crossing the border

We left Chobe to cross the border at Kasangula. The guidebook says to allow at least 2 hours for this border crossing. I recently read a description of French bureaucracy as being like a good workout, you emerge tired and aching but satisfied!

To describe an African border crossing is hard, its chaotic, frustrating, illogical and time consuming. Leaving Botswana we got our passports stamped and submitted all the car paperwork to be checked and stamped. Then we went to find the ferry, we passed mikes of lorries queuing to make the crossing, there didn't seem to be a queue of cars so we drove on and boarded the ferry. There were two ferries working, ours had a small lorry and our two cars as well as foot passengers.

Then the fun began. While on the ferry we inadvertently hired a guy to help with the paperwork on the Zambian side. Passports stamped, we needed kwacha, local insurance, carbon tax as well as import permits. For each of these you queue get paperwork stamped, join another queue to pay and then go back to have it all stamped again.

The drive to our hotel in Livingstone was short fortunately!

Wildlife

We saw a huge variety of animals in Chobe, lots of elephants, giraffe, impala, kudu, waterbuck, zebra and lots of birds. We saw snakes and on our last day some cape foxes. No lions though!

Camping at Chobe

We camped two nights at Chobe. Our first night we were joined by monkeys and baboons, on our second we found buffalo in the camp and elephants wandered in, had a snack and moved on. The tents are surprisingly comfortable and we've all slept well. The only tricky part is when someone needs the loo in the night!

Elephant crossing

We had an amazing journey from Nata to Kasane with elephants and giraffe alongside us, the road was quiet so we could stop and watch the animals. At Kasane we got fuel and food and headed into Chobe National Park.

Today's short drive was a bit longer than estimated

Due to a river across the road. We had tried to avoid the closed road but couldn't cross the river so ignored the road closed sign and drove 300km before finding the obstruction! Help was at hand - a recovery truck drove us across the flooded road for a small fee! This unnerving experience saved us a detour of around 400km!

On the road again next stop Nata then Chobe

Kids getting better view on top of boat!

Okavango Delta lots of water and no hippos!

Luxurious lodge in Maun

Sunday 2nd April
We set the alarm this morning and we were up before sunrise. Just as the sun sets suddenly, going from low in the sky to dark in a matter of minutes so it is at sunrise. We packed up the tents in the dark and by the time we drove out the sky was pink. We tried the water hole again but there it was empty. The guide in one of the vehicles we passed yesterday said they had seen a cheetah at the hole the previous morning. We stopped for breakfast alongside Oryx and ostrich. We took a long route back to the gate hoping to see something other than birds and deer, without success.

It was another long drive to get to Maun. We have a few days of luxury in a lodge alongside the river. Our chalets have two bedrooms and river views. The children were immediately in the small pool. On our evening boat cruise we admired the view and enjoyed the bird life and sunset. The boat took a bit of getting going and the kitchen staff were summoned to help push the boat from shore! The boat took a leisurely route up one of the small deltas which at this time of year are full of water and water lilies. Our  guide explained that people eat the tuber of the water lily. We travelled back for dinner in the restaurant, enjoying the novelty of not cooking on gas rings or wood fire and not washing up!

Clearing the road

In the Kalahari

Friday 31st to Sunday 2nd April

We arrived at the Matswere gates of the Khalahari by early afternoon. The journey was longer than planned as we had assumed we could get food and supplies on Oran's forgetting that this is a mining town with restricted access. The diamond mines are the biggest in the world and security is tight. This meant a drive back the way we had come to find the shops at the next town. It was busy and the queue for the bank was long, it was probably pay day. We also stopped in Rakops the last place before the dirt road to the Khalahari but the petrol station had n fuel.

The 40km of dirt track to get to the gate felt long and bumpy. We had a late lunch and headed in to the biggest game reserve in the world. As you see the grassland stretch away you get a feeling of the vastness. It also makes it hard to spot the wildlife, as we discovered! On our drive to the campsite which took a few hours we saw Oryx, with their huge straight horns, ostrich, spring bok identified as they pronk or jump with all four feet off the ground and lots of birds that were hard to identify but beautiful nonetheless.

We arrived at camp as it was going dusk and quickly got the tents up and dinner on. We shared our campsite with ground squirrel who seemed quite happy with our presence and put their noses out of their burrows every so often. Everyone slept well and enjoyed a lie in as we didn't need to get up early. We had time to make pancakes for breakfast served with fresh mango. The campsite is marked with a sign and is an area of cleared ground with a spiral shaped shelter with a plastic toilet over a hole and one with a bucket and shower nozzle. There's also a fire pit.

We spent most of the day driving to see if we could find the elusive giraffe and predators, but we only saw more deer and birds. A scorpion in the camp caused some excitement and a huge spider whose web hung across our path was equally fiercesome!

We headed back to camp made some dinner and squeezed all eight of us into one of the vehicles for an evening game drive, when we were sure we'd see some animals at the water hole. Just more birds!

In the khalahari