Road Trip, Day One Botswana

September 30 was Botswana's Independence Day (51 years, 1966, since Independence), and because all of our travels around Botswana and South Africa this year have been business as usual, we decided to go off the grid and take a real vacation - camping style. Tent. Mosquitoes. Wildlife. No cell service...You name it - if it was on the route we decided to take, we were going to see it. Because there were five days in all of traveling through Botswana into Namibia and back into Botswana, I'm dividing this blog into five parts. Too many cool pictures to put into one! So, folks, buckle your seat belt for DAY ONE.

Phil INSISTED that we get up at 3 a.m. to hit the road early on Saturday, the 29th of September. We had been grocery shopping on Friday and packing the truck, making a list, checking it off, so by the time we went to bed it was after midnight. I know this because when I set the alarm for 3 a.m. it said, "You have 2 hours and 58 minutes until wake up." WTF.

Our main roads here, for the most part, are quite nice. The challenge becomes cows, donkeys, and goats. It is not safe to travel at night dodging creatures. We decided to stay the first night in Nata, a part of the Makgadikgadi Pans (pronounced Ma Ka Dee Ka Dee), at a place called "Pelican Lodge". Our one and only reservation for the entire trip. We needed to make haste in the daylight hours to arrive in time to set up the tent.

We pulled out of our driveway at 430 a.m. heading northeast toward Gaborone. Don't ask me what happened in the hour and a half delay. I think I was intravenously having my coffee while sleep walking around saying, "What have I forgotten, what have I forgotten???"

One thing Botswana does a good job of is, marking national sites or heritage points. Along the way to Francistown we came across a landmark sign "Majojo" and made a quick u-turn to see what it was about. This is what the Botswana site says: "Majojo Monument is one of the 105 known Zimbabwean Tradition elites in eastern Botswana, stretching from Nkange and Sua Pan to the Limpopo River. There are more than 500 known stonewalls in southern Africa." This particular one has been dated at 1300 - 1650 AD. 

Now, just because something is gated, or locked, doesn't necessarily deter us. Especially after we have hiked a bit, uphill, and are sweaty. I think what's happening with this particular site is that they are refurbishing it. Still, it was magnificent. And, what we have discovered about the majority of these sites is, they leave everything - pottery shards, etc. - as they lay. I don't think that is possible in the US, or even many other countries, the chance of vandalism or theft is too great. 

Pottery shard next to a shell. Which came from where...in a land locked country?

This lock says "Fort Knox" lol.

 Close up of how the rocks were layered and stacked.

The old information office for the site. They seem to be in the process of building a new, stronger, stone structure with a different entrance to the site. 

I'm always ready to bolt in case someone yells, "SNAKE!"

Forward!

The next big town we hit was Francistown. We stopped early on, looking for a spare tire. The story of our lives! Here's the conundrum - do you spend 200 dollars knowing that when you buy one new tire it's only a matter of time before it punctures? Or do you spend 20 dollars on an excellent used tire so that you feel less pain when it punctures? Exactly! 20 dollars it is! Sometimes, well, most times, this tire business for Phil is a fun and challenging game. We never seem to search in a "good" part of town, typically it's a fellow Zimbabwean trying to make a dollar (Phil always pretends not to speak Shona so he can listen while they think we are oblivious), and it always ends up being a great story, as you'll see coming up next in Road Trip, Day Two Botswana! This time, it was a Zimbabwean, and he said, in English, give him five minutes he'd be back with a size 17. It took 35 minutes and he came back with a size 14, which he said would work. Hahahahahahahaha. No. 

Carry on! 

We were entering the area of the Nata Bird Sanctuary and our first stop for the evening, the Pelican Lodge. It was situated right off the road, easy to find. But the potholes for about ten kilometers or so before the lodge were a nightmare! We zigged, zagged, went off the road, went to the other side of the road, held our breath, braced ourselves, and finally pulled in to the lodge. Whew. It was about three o'clock, time to set up the tent and organize our campsite. Plus, we were in time to catch the sunset safari drive at 4:45 to the actual Pans at Nata Bird Sanctuary. Yeah!

This campsite, our first in Botswana, was the bomb-diggity! But more on that later, first the safari drive to Nata Bird Sanctuary! Founded in 1988, it hosts over 165 bird species. Nata has a population of over 250,000 lesser and great flamingos and is recognized by UNESCO as one of the largest breeding sites of flamingos in the world, and a site of international importance. Situated at the mouth of the Nata River Delta, it also borders the Sau Pan (Salt Pan), within the larger Makgadikgadi Pans. One can self-drive through the Pans, however, we were still looking for better tires and decided let's let the professionals guide us just once. This is a protected area of Botswana, and absolutely magnificent! Sorry for the barrage of pics, but these few are out of like 3,000. 

Ostrich!

 This is a Secretary Bird.

Wildebeest herd.

Pelican!

I'm not sure what was going on here...I'm wearing a tank top and Phil is wearing flannel. One of us was not prepared. 

  And then, back to the campground, a nice fire, glass of wine, and dinner!

And, that is the exciting end to Road Trip, Day One Botswana! Up next, flat tires, elephants, no reservations, and nothing life threatening! 

PS - they did have nice hot showers, we might be camping, but we're not backpackers. Hahaha. No offense to backpackers! :) And, it's nice to be able to wash the dishes in a timely manner. Can you believe I just said that?! Anyone? Mom?!