Let me start by saying, normal travel escapes us. I'm not sure if it's a curse, a blessing, or both - but it's always a story. Typically not funny at the time....but later? Almost unbelievable, always hysterical.
There are two kinds of road trips that people take. 1. Wally's Way and 2. The Slow Way. Wally's Way is putting the pedal to the metal and getting there as soon as humanly possible, bathroom breaks are negotiated. Food, drinks? Packed in the cooler box in the car.
The Slow Way is stopping at every gas station, road side attraction, mud house, largest rubber band ball ever, whatever whatever on the side of the road, whereby each stop must last a minimum of thirty minutes. Taking a five hour journey and turning it in to twelve, that's the Slow Way.
We took the Slow Way to Maun, Botswana. With two Ford Ranger pickup trucks, our crew consisted of our friends Davison and Barbara, their kids Shalom and Theo; Precious (Phil's sister) with kiddos Ethan and Megan; Percy (Phil's brother), Nigel (Phil's nephew) and myself and Phil, eleven in total.
First stop along the road to Maun was Khama's Rhino Sanctuary, established in 1992, it's over 8500 hectares providing sanctuary for white and black rhinos and over 30 other animal species and more than 230 species of birds.
First animals spotted, (striped?!) zebras!
Giraffe!
Below pictures show a rhino watering hole where visitors can walk down a protected pathway and sit in a "hide" waiting for any type of animal to venture to the watering hole. When we arrived, there were warthogs sunbathing on the banks.
Waiting to see what else is lurking behind the thick brush.
One rhino appeared, chasing away the warthogs. And then there were four.
This little adventurer, who has no fear of all things wild, is Theo.
Having a peek at what lies beneath.
The pathway, secured with a wire mesh. I guess that keeps the rhinos away?
After our stop at the Rhino Sanctuary, we carried on to Maun. And then this happened outside of Orapa - we hit a very large, solid and extremely heavy guinea fowl. No injuries, except to the bird.
We then stopped at a road block and the police officer asked us what happened. When we explained we hit a guinea fowl he asked if we reported the accident. We were a little confused, report that we hit a bird? To whom? He explained, how do we know you didn't hit a person? I'm pretty sure there is a big difference in the damage to a vehicle that hits a person and one that hits a bird. But, nonetheless, he persisted. Where was the bird? Did we put it in the back of the pick-up? We should return to Orapa and file a report. After some puzzled looks from all of us, some language barriers, and positive proof that we did not pick up the bird and put it in the back of the truck, he waved us through. Another thirty minutes for an unintended stop, ahhh the Slow Way. On to Maun!
But first - appreciate the sun setting in Rakops, which is so secluded we once stopped for petrol before driving through the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, and they were out. Of petrol. A story for another day.
We have a friend / business associate with an organic vegetable nursery in Maun, which is kind of a touristy town approximately 600 miles from Lobatse where we live. It is considered the gateway to the Okavango Delta, the population is around 55,000. Historically, it was a bit "wild-west" meets "great white hunter". cattle, ranching and big game hunting were the norm. Things change. In 2013, Botswana banned hunting. And, over the years, Maun began transitioning into an expensive safari getaway, where the normal pricing for a stay in a safari camp typically costs around $1500 USD per night...per person. Welcome to eco-camping, or "glamping", as it is now called, it definitely comes with a hefty price tag. Lucky for us, the organic vegetable nursery also has a lovely unoccupied house.
We arrived in the darkness of night after picking up pizza from Debonairs and chicken from Nandos in town, everyone was full, tired, and ready for bed. Especially after the long drive. The house sleeps about eight adults comfortably with a nice view of the semi-low river (it's the dry season), green grass (sprinkler system), and a relaxing ambiance. And wine.
Breakfast on the veranda.
Notice, Phil still has food on his plate...
The view of the Boteti River from the veranda.
The industrial sized kitchen.
The kids took a ride across the (crocodile infested?) river in a mokoro (dugout canoe). And loved it!
Sunset.
I think Theo was telling me a story....
Prior to leaving Lobatse, Phil tasked me to check out day trip safaris into Moremi, the nearest national park to Maun. I called an operator, guess how much per person to take a safari ride through Moremi? A mere $190.00 per person - that is if you have over seven total in your group, $190 is the discounted price...per person...times eleven...equals two thousand dollars...U.S. dollars. This is a National Park - if you're brave - you can traverse in your own vehicle. We are nothing if not brave! Smart? Questionable. Brave? YES!
The 99 kilometer, very sandy, questionable road to Moremi.
Elephant dung on the side of the road. This was before we even reached the park.
Smells like elephant poop!
Davison's African totem is an elephant, so this is a very impressive gift to his wife, Barbara!
Barbara is not so sure....
We obviously had no idea what was in store for us on down the road...nor did we realize that it probably wasn't such a great idea to get out of our vehicles.
Perspective.
The lonesome road.
We decided to have a bit of fun along the road. No animals were harmed during the making of this extremely exciting video. Don't worry if you can't get it to play properly, I couldn't either but it took me so long to make it that I didn't want to delete it. Just in case it works for someone, somewhere.
Giraffe sighting before entering the park!
20 k's to go to the South Gate entrance. If you want to pronounce the Xakanaxa, you need to learn how to click your tongue while you're talking. Good luck with that.
On the lookout...
We still have not reached the park boundary...
FINALLY! We have reached the park.
Professional safari guide = $2000 USD (or 20,000 Pula, the Botswana currency); enter with your own vehicle = 215 Pula (or $20 USD). No brainer!
We encountered numerous elephants, zebras, giraffes, warthogs, kudu, and more along the road...until...we - Phil's truck, and Davison's truck - got stuck deep in the Kalahari sands...
These next few pictures are the result of the sweat and tears that went into getting us unstuck. In the middle of a game reserve. With wild animals. The first time. Both trucks.
Once we got unstuck, we carried on through the park. Orginally, when we entered the park, a guest who was leaving had told us they had spotted a pride of lions in a particular area. We decided to look for Shumba in that area, however, the park roads are not marked clearly, the sun was setting, and we were thinking maybe it was time to head back to Maun. At some point, we made a circle, and got stuck again. We were able to get our truck unstuck, but not Davison's. And, by then, it was dark. Not a good idea to be outside of the truck during the day, especially not at night. We made the decision to go back to Maun and return the following day to rescue Davison's truck.
That's the thing about telling a story and taking a million pictures. There's always something that gets left out. Something you want to add, but you're just not sure you should. Oh, what the heck. Love you Percy!
But first - appreciate the sun setting in Rakops, which is so secluded we once stopped for petrol before driving through the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, and they were out. Of petrol. A story for another day.
We have a friend / business associate with an organic vegetable nursery in Maun, which is kind of a touristy town approximately 600 miles from Lobatse where we live. It is considered the gateway to the Okavango Delta, the population is around 55,000. Historically, it was a bit "wild-west" meets "great white hunter". cattle, ranching and big game hunting were the norm. Things change. In 2013, Botswana banned hunting. And, over the years, Maun began transitioning into an expensive safari getaway, where the normal pricing for a stay in a safari camp typically costs around $1500 USD per night...per person. Welcome to eco-camping, or "glamping", as it is now called, it definitely comes with a hefty price tag. Lucky for us, the organic vegetable nursery also has a lovely unoccupied house.
We arrived in the darkness of night after picking up pizza from Debonairs and chicken from Nandos in town, everyone was full, tired, and ready for bed. Especially after the long drive. The house sleeps about eight adults comfortably with a nice view of the semi-low river (it's the dry season), green grass (sprinkler system), and a relaxing ambiance. And wine.
Breakfast on the veranda.
Notice, Phil still has food on his plate...
The view of the Boteti River from the veranda.
The industrial sized kitchen.
The kids took a ride across the (crocodile infested?) river in a mokoro (dugout canoe). And loved it!
Sunset.
I think Theo was telling me a story....
Prior to leaving Lobatse, Phil tasked me to check out day trip safaris into Moremi, the nearest national park to Maun. I called an operator, guess how much per person to take a safari ride through Moremi? A mere $190.00 per person - that is if you have over seven total in your group, $190 is the discounted price...per person...times eleven...equals two thousand dollars...U.S. dollars. This is a National Park - if you're brave - you can traverse in your own vehicle. We are nothing if not brave! Smart? Questionable. Brave? YES!
The 99 kilometer, very sandy, questionable road to Moremi.
Elephant dung on the side of the road. This was before we even reached the park.
Smells like elephant poop!
Davison's African totem is an elephant, so this is a very impressive gift to his wife, Barbara!
Barbara is not so sure....
We obviously had no idea what was in store for us on down the road...nor did we realize that it probably wasn't such a great idea to get out of our vehicles.
Perspective.
The lonesome road.
We decided to have a bit of fun along the road. No animals were harmed during the making of this extremely exciting video. Don't worry if you can't get it to play properly, I couldn't either but it took me so long to make it that I didn't want to delete it. Just in case it works for someone, somewhere.
Giraffe sighting before entering the park!
20 k's to go to the South Gate entrance. If you want to pronounce the Xakanaxa, you need to learn how to click your tongue while you're talking. Good luck with that.
On the lookout...
We still have not reached the park boundary...
FINALLY! We have reached the park.
Professional safari guide = $2000 USD (or 20,000 Pula, the Botswana currency); enter with your own vehicle = 215 Pula (or $20 USD). No brainer!
These next few pictures are the result of the sweat and tears that went into getting us unstuck. In the middle of a game reserve. With wild animals. The first time. Both trucks.
Once we got unstuck, we carried on through the park. Orginally, when we entered the park, a guest who was leaving had told us they had spotted a pride of lions in a particular area. We decided to look for Shumba in that area, however, the park roads are not marked clearly, the sun was setting, and we were thinking maybe it was time to head back to Maun. At some point, we made a circle, and got stuck again. We were able to get our truck unstuck, but not Davison's. And, by then, it was dark. Not a good idea to be outside of the truck during the day, especially not at night. We made the decision to go back to Maun and return the following day to rescue Davison's truck.
These hyenas were waiting for us farther down the road before we were able to exit the park. Which is another story, because by the time we had reached the entrance, the gates were closed. Lucky for us, we had both the desire to get the heck out of there and a pick up truck.
Precious had made the decision earlier that day not to come with us to Moremi - instead of eleven piling into one Ranger, there were ten. Ten very uncomfortable, quiet, weary travelers on the 99 k road back to Maun.
The next day, after a few phone calls to various companies to help recover the truck in Moremi, the guys decided they could proceed and get'r done themselves. So, they set out. Precious, Barbara and I sat back and waited.
They took several provisions, including a rope. And set about freeing the Ranger.
And, the guys discovered how / why we went in a circle the day before trying to find the lion pride:
Free at last, they headed back to Maun. Encountering a few magnificent animals along the way.
It was a beautiful three day stay in Maun. It gave all of us an opportunity to spend time with Percy before he returned to Scotland, and to sort of just be. Be away from home, be away from the norm, be emotional, be happy, be sad, be hopeful. Rejuvenate.
And then, we began the Slow Way home.
