February 19, 2007
Today was by far the most relaxing day of the safari so far. We left the bushmanland camp and headed straight for the Botswana border. If I remember correctly, we even got to sleep in a little this morning. We were headed for the Okavango Delta in the north-west corner of Botswana.
We were pretty far east in Namibia already, so getting to the border didn’t seem to take very long. We did stop once for petrol and again for supplies, as Martin had told use we’d be far away from everything and close to nothing. And, the tap water where we were going wouldn’t be good for us, so mainly we needed to stock up on drinking water and any other snacks we’d need to survive for the next three days.
The Namibia/Botswana border was interesting. We had been driving on a hard-pack (I guess it was limestone) road for miles and miles. Finally, we got to the Namibian border post - our first border stop on the safari. We got our papers in order, showed them to the nice Namibian border agents, used the toilet and we on our way. Shortly after, we came upon a fence. With a gate. It looked more like a cattle gate than a country’s border gate. We had to stop in the no-man’s land between the fences and dip the soles of our shoes in chemicals. This dip was what seemed like a pathetic attempt to prevent diseases, like foot-and-mouth disease, from crossing the border. A border patrolman also sprayed the tires on the cruiser and the trailer. The Botswana border guys were nice too. I guess I should say they all speak English, so communicating isn’t a problem. English is an official language in both of the countries. After we were done, we were off into Botswana! On the worst road we’ve encountered yet!
On the Namibia side, the road right up to the border was similar to the hard-pack we’d been traveling on all day. This Botswana road was a two-track of soft sand! It was quite different than anything I’d ever seen, but I guess there’s not a whole lot out there. I had gotten over not riding on paved roads long ago on this trip as well. The road got better after a short stretch. In fact, we even got to a paved road, but weren’t on it for long. We did stop at another gas station and I bought some gum and a Spar-berry (my new favorite soft drink). I paid with South African Rand and got my change in Botswana Pula. After the gas station, we hit the road again and found another hard-pack dirt road to drive on. After what seemed like quite a few miles, we stopped for lunch in the middle of nowhere.
After a quick lunch, where surprisingly one car actually passed by as we were eating, we continued on. We had about 6 hours of driving today, making it the longest driving day yet. The last stretch was the most stressful, and I didn’t get a picture of it. We headed off the road and into the bush again, and slowly made our way through 13 kilometers of very soft Kalahari desert sand. When I heard we were heading into this area, I kind of pictured it as dunes, like the Namib Desert sands. But it wasn’t, there was quite a bit of vegetation. Trees, shrubs, grasses, etc. It was quite a ride. The Land Cruiser was unstoppable, and Martin mentioned before we got under way in the sand that there was a 98% chance we’d get bogged in the sand and would have to push. It didn’t happen, luckily.
The treat that awaited us was very unexpected, but highly welcome. We stayed at a placed called the Guma Camp. It was right on the water! The camp area was impeccable. The grounds were beautifully kept. And, inside them main camp building, there was a self-service bar, a beautiful dining area and an east-facing deck overlooking the waters of the Okavango. It was simply stunning. Pictures can’t express what a cool place this was. I was ecstatic that we were staying here for two nights. We set up camp and then relaxed on the deck with ice-cold beers.
The bath-huts were one of my favorite things. When I set up my own homestead some where in the boonies, I want to pattern mine after these. They had such a great rustic and highly-functional feel to them. I just loved it! The water was not hot. There were no water heaters, no electric ones, anyway. As far as I know, the water was straight out of the Okavango, but pumped up into reservoirs placed high up on a steel structure to build water pressure for the camp. I took a shower and the water was just perfect. It wasn’t cold, and once I was in, felt almost warm in the hot air. I think part of what’s so cool about the bath-huts is they are closed, but open at the same time. The walls are about 6-feet high, just enough for me to stretch tall and see over the top. There were so many birds and frogs and animals making their noises. Being naked and showering so close to nature was a thrill!
I was clean and cool and headed back to the deck to chill out some more. It was so nice. We’d been going for so long on the road, and the last few days had been so busy with game drives and seeing such cool stuff, it was quite nice to just stop and do nothing, stare at the birds that flew by, watch the ripples in the water, have a lazy conversation and a beer or three. I had the most I’d had to drink on the safari this night, a few beers and a glass or two of wine.
We had another excellent dinner, probably one of the best of the trip (or maybe just the surroundings and the alcohol made it seem so great). And, we heard at dinner that we actually could sleep in a little bit more the next day. Getting up a 6:30 I think instead of 5:30. But … we had to take down our tents before hopping in the boat for the adventure of the next day. Doh! I was hoping we were staying there and would get to skip the tent set up and take down for a couple days. Alas, it didn’t bother me as we were in such a great place, having a great time and we were only half-way through the trip! These first four days had been so amazing! What would the next four hold? I had a hard time imagining it, since I’d been blown away so far.