Harnass and into the Kalahari

From Gaberone we drove to a rhino sanctuary called Harnas. We saw lots of wildlife and rhino including the elusive black rhino. Following our game drive we turned the corner to find our travelling companions and enjoyed an evening comparing travellers tales. 

From there we set off for the Kalahari. The final shop and fuel stop took a long time, as we added extra water and cans of diesel to prepare for any eventuality. 

We arrived at the gate and set off to find the campsite. The sites are all numbered and have to be booked in advance, their location moves regularly. We were provided with about 3 different gps references, which was confusing and frustrating. In fact the signs along the dusty tracks proved the most accurate! Our first campsite was quite a long drive and we arrived tired and dusty. The Kalahari is huge and the animals hard to spot, despite this we saw lots of oryx, impala, springbok, ostrich and secretary birds. Each campsite is quite small with a fire pit (it's a myth that a fire burning keeps lions away) a pit toilet and a shower area (not much used as you need your own water!). This first site had spectacular views and on waking on our first morning the doc and I saw giraffes from our roof top tent. 

cold

Today was spent feeling slightly chilly in Jo'burg. We have packed for hot so the clothes options for cooler weather are limited. 

 

We caught up with a cousin of my mum's who I have met just once before and enjoyed a coffee. We had quite a long shopping list and managed some before feeling quite overwhelmed with people and choices. The shopping centre wasn't very busy but we found it hard to decide which shop to go into.

 

Our home for the next 4 weeks arrived today. It's amazing! It's a Land Rover with a tent on top of the cab and then behind that is a camper van, the sides open up and a roof pops out and we have seats, a kitchen, a shower (attachment) and beds. The girls will sleep in the higher tent and we will be behind but with just a couple of zips for access. There are lots of spaces for putting stuff and already we're not sure where the batteries or my cardigan are! We had a quick demo and tomorrow night we put it up for the first time .... 

Day one

The blog should now be re-named "the Kalahari, 3 docs, 4 kids and a friend"

I should introduce our travelling companions, who we will meet up with in a few days: 2 more docs, of the academic sort (micro-biology and medical anthropology), their sister and two kids.

Our first day involved an extraordinarily early start to Blantyre airport. Normally to get the 13.30 flight to Jo'burg we arrive at the airport at 11.30 and have time for a drink on the waving deck. Rumours of passengers being bumped and the lack of Air Malawi flights made us all panic so we arrived at 9am, before the desk had even opened. This was followed by a very long wait, the waving deck was closed and the flight was delayed!

The flight went smoothly and the doc has booked a very lovely hotel, I fear that the standards of accommodation will not match this for sometime.

packing

So the last stage of our adventure is the most exciting. 

We fly on Sat to Jo'burg and then begin the journey into Botswana, across the Kalahari which will take 3 days, we will have to carry enough fuel, water and food. There might be pit latrines at the camp sites. 

From there we travel to civilisation in Namibia but that's about all I know and the places are difficult to spell! The doc with a friend of ours (who is an academic doc) have planned the route and I am just along for the ride. Watch this space! 

We co-ordinated the packing and each person is allowed 10 pairs of pants, 6 tops, 3 pairs of shorts and some warmer items and 4 books which must be suitable for someone else to read too! For for of us this amounts to 4 fairly large bags – hhmm! 

banking

After almost 3 years I have worked out the secret of a pleasant banking experience here in Malawi. Never try and do banking errands in a hurry, approach relaxed with plenty of time. Greet everyone on the way in, complete the forms (with duplicate paper) standing at the desk (not in the queue while holding bags etc, it always leads to errors); join the queue and enjoy the air conditioning and BBC news on the TV. This is also a good time to catch up on text messages. Greet the teller before handing over the slips. Keep smiling as you leave.

And the total in my cheque book agrees with what the bank says, a balanced book is very satisfying!

lonely

Our youngest and I are adapting to life with only half the family. We had a busy weekend with some challenging behaviour and drawn out bedtime as well as sleeping badly. Tonight bedtime went better thanks to the arrival of a new friend. We got a parcel from a fairy godmother, which included a new doll who has done everything with us, from lunch to watching swimming and brushing teeth and is now snuggled up in bed. The parcel was posted in March, apparently it arrived in June but we never had a receipt so it wasn’t collected, but the arrival today was perfect!

nov

This month has proved to be a bit too busy. Usually Oct is the month for bugs but this year the season is still catching up so it’s now! Colds and runny tummies abound.

 

I have just packed my daughter’s bags for a journey I’m not going on. She’s going to the UK with the doc for a hernia op. Our youngest had the same op last year here in Malawi, but the surgeon who did that one is not around. They will be gone 10 days which is going to be tough.

 

We have started selling our possessions, here in Blantyre we have a lady who has a large mailing list and will advertise any goods for sale (for a fee) so I have spent the last 48 hours fielding calls about stuff for sale. It’s amazing which items generate lots of interest and which will be slower to sell.