Central Kalahari & Okavango Delta, July 2013 *

iNdlovu
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Central Kalahari & Okavango Delta, July 2013 *

Post by iNdlovu »

73 days and counting. This should be a good trip, 10 people in 3 vehicles heading into the best places in Southern Africa for just over 2 weeks. I know it's a bit early to start a TT, but the planning stage is in full force.


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Re: Central Kalahari & Okavango Delta

Post by iNdlovu »

The Plan

Day 1. Leave Joburg at 04:00. Head up the N1 to Kranskop toll plaza where we hang a left, pass through Vaalwater and on to Ellisras (Lhapalale). Breakfast at the lodge and then back on the road to go through the border at Martins Drift. Continue through Palapye and Serowe to arrive at Khama Rhino Sanctuary where we spend our first night in en-suite chalets.

Day 2. Up early again have some coffee and rusks and then hit the road to Rakops. Along the way we'll stop on the side of the road for a nice breakfast of bacon and eggs, sausages and fried tomato. Just after Rakops we turn left onto the sand road and head for Matswere gate where we enter the Central Kalahari Game reserve (CKGR). After gate formalities we follow the sand tracks for a while and head to our Camp (Sunday's 2). Here we spend 2 nights enjoying game drives in the day and the absolute wild solitude around the camp fire at night.

Day 4. After a leisurely breakfast we pack up and head to Passarge camp 2 for the next 2 nights.

In the CKGR, when you book a camp site, your party are the only people in the camp site and in the two sites we have selected your nearest neighbor is between 10 and 15 kilometers away. The other awesome thing about the CKGR is that we will probably only encounter two or three other vehicles on any given day.

Day 5. will see us driving up to Tsau gate where we exit the park and follow the track along the vetinary fence westward where we will eventually meet up with the Ghanzi/Maun highway where we head north for Maun. We may decide to change this option by exiting at Matswere again and checking out the game in the Botete river area and heading to Maun from that side. In the dry winter months a lot of animals migrate to that area, so we'll see how we go on that one.
In Maun, we stay at Audi Camp. We have booked the 10 bedded house for the group so will have a bit of luxury again after camping in CKGR. We are staying 2 nights here and will make full use of the superb pub and restaurant in Audi Camp.
On day 6 we go into Maun and re-stock our supplies and get ready for the trip into the Delta. Here we need to travel light as everything has to fit into the Mokoros (wooden dugout canoes) which is our mode of transport in and around the Delta.
The big tents and other items of bulk and luxury have to be left behind with our vehicles at Audi Camp.

Day 7. After a good breakfast in the restaurant we climb into the big Samel 4x4 truck and head northeast for about 45 k,s where turn off onto the sand tracks, heading for the edge of the delta. At the last village along the way we pick up Worm, who is our head guide (an old friend who I always hire when going to these parts) and 6 or 7 of his people who will be our polers. On arrival at the water we leave the packing of the Mokoros to the polers, it is a very technical process to get weight and balance right, and make arrangements with the driver of the Samel to pick us up at the same spot in 5 days time.
Then it's goodbye world as we head up the millions of channels and waterways teaming with birdlife, red Letchwe, hopefully a Sitatunga or 2, and whatever bigger game can be seen from the Mokoros. Along the way we'll stop on various islands to stretch the legs on a short game walk to see what we can find.
By about 14:00 we'll find a good sized island where we will set up camp and stay there for two nights, moving to another island for a further two nights. Game is always plentiful, ranging from Red Letchwe to Zebra, Wildebeest, Giraffe, Elephant, Lion, Hyena, Buffalo etc. Usually around the camp fire at night Worm will tell us stories of their lives in this paradise as we listen to the night sounds of the wild.

Day11. We pack up camp and head down stream to meet up with Samel at the pre-arranged place and drive back to Maun where we again overnight at Audi Camp, enjoying good hot showers and a restaurant meal.

Day 12. We climb in the vehicles and take the road towards Nata, turning off for the Makgadigadi pans to overnight at Kubu Island. We'll see how we go and maybe spend 2 days on the pans before heading to Francistown to overnight before taking the long road home through the border and on to Johannesburg.

So that's the plan. i'll get into the logistics another day.


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Mel
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Re: Central Kalahari & Okavango Delta

Post by Mel »

That sounds amazing! How many people and cars will go in total?
Is it mandatory to go with at least two vehicles or just advisable?
Not that I would ever dare to go just by myself - only curious as
the CKGR is high on my bucket list. But you know that already. -O


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Re: Central Kalahari & Okavango Delta

Post by iNdlovu »

The Logistics

The challenge is to move 10 large male humans from Johannesburg to Botswana and back in 14 or 15 days. They must see the CKGR, Okavango Delta, and Makgadigadi pans. They are all inexperienced campers and know little about living in wild places. The round trip is about 2,500 km and at both destinations we have to be completely self sufficient. Naturally the object of the exercise is to give the guests a true African wilderness experience.

Considerations by order of importance.

Vehicles: they need to be 4x4's with low range, good ground clearance and able to carry weight. All vehicles need to have diesel engines so no need to carry different types of fuels.

Destinations: the two main destinations are so different that this is essentially 2 trips in one. Each destination has its own requirements.

CKGR. There are no facilities in the reserve. We have to carry in our fuel, water, and food for the duration. Fortunately we have our vehicles with us, so we can carry all the stuff needed to live in relative luxury. We are not allowed to take fresh meat or vegetables across the border into Botswana, but can buy meat and veggies in Botswana and transport when traveling in a south to north direction. You are not allowed to carry meat when traveling north to south and it will be confiscated at the various vetinary fence check points en route. The tracks are very sandy which will result in high fuel consumption. July is dry season so water is non existent and grass seeds could plug radiators and kill engines or at worst start a big fire in the vehicles.
Nights can get bitterly cold, but days are nice and warm. Camp sites are not fenced and predators can and do visit camps.

Okavango Delta. The mode of transport is in Makoros. The Mokoro is about 12 ft long, about 2.5 feet wide and has about 4 inches of freeboard when loaded. These Mokoros are wooden dug out canoes made from the sausage or knobthorn tree.
Each Mokoro has a poler and will carry 2 passengers with their equipment and food. We will require about 7 mokoro for the trip so need to provide food for 17 people. Here, water is everywhere so no need to worry about that for drinking or washing. All food has to be of the tinned or dried variety as there obviously are no fridges. There are no official camp sites, we simply find a nice island that offers a good camping area. Predators are abundant and do roam camp sites at night. Hippos and Crocks are ever present in the channels, but are not normally a major threat. The Delta is fed by rivers that arise in the Angolan highlands and all end up in the Okavango river which crosses the Caprivi strip in Namibia where it flows to spread out and form the Delta. this process takes about six months, so the waters normally reach the southern reaches of the Delta in June or July, timing is important.

Accommodation: The two destinations above necessitate camping, but in order to break the hardships, chalets or luxury permanent tents should be used where possible at other overnight venues.
In the CKGR we will make use of large ground tents and will have the use of fridges in the vehicles for cold beer and fresh food.
In the Delta we will make use of one man tents that pack up small enough to be carried by Mokoro. No beer, but a few bottles of Scotch will go down well mixed with Delta water. Boxed wine is also OK, space permitting. As mentioned above, food is of the dry or tinned variety, although tinned food is very heavy. Pots and pans need to be kept to a minimum because of space restrictions.

Emergencies we will be far from any facilities and consideration needs to be given to medical, vehicle breakdown and injuries. Help is certainly not just around the corner. There can not be any traveling at night because of the very real threat of hitting cattle, donkeys or people which are always found on the roads. The Delta is a malaria area, but not a big issue in winter. Fuel is available throughout Botswana, but very often pumps run dry in the smaller towns.

Money: the currency in Botswana is the Pula and it is advisable to use that currency for purchases, although Rands are accepted by some outlets, you will get ripped off on the exchange rate.

So that is the scenario in a nutshell ....... next our solutions.


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Re: Central Kalahari & Okavango Delta

Post by iNdlovu »

Mellie 0/* , it is not mandatory to have more than one vehicle, however it is very wise to do so. In some areas of the CKGR you may not see another vehicle for a few days and the conditions can be quite hard on vehicles.
Let me know when you want to go and I'll take you guys.


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Re: Central Kalahari & Okavango Delta

Post by Mel »

I will get back to you on that offer O** But for now thanks for giving me clearer
ideas of how to possibly realize such a trip. So interesting!!!

As a vehicle - a Toyota Hilux with a rooftop tent, would that be any good for the camping?


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Re: Central Kalahari & Okavango Delta

Post by iNdlovu »

Absolutely perfect, as long as it is a 4x4 model.


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Re: Central Kalahari & Okavango Delta, July 2013

Post by iNdlovu »

We're almost done with the logistics, here is what we've got.
On the 11th July I am doing the Timbi presentation to a fairly big audience in Johannesburg, so will pack the Landy on the night of 10th July and leave White River at about 05:00 arriving in Joburg at 09:00. Most of the equipment is mine, so the Landy is going to be loaded to the gills and very heavy. After the presentation I will stay at a mates place, he will be joining us on the trip. We'll offload everything out of the Landy that evening.
On Friday morning 12th some of the gang arrive on flights from Cape Town and Durban with the remaining people living in Joburg. I will go and pick up the guys from OR Tambo airport and we'll all meet at my mates place (Andries) to get sorted. Some of the guys still need to buy some equipment so we will do a quick shop at Outdoor Warehouse. Back at Andries' place we will lay everything out in his driveway and start the exercise of packing.
Vehicles:
The trip necessitates 4X4's with low range, of the diesel variety, able to carry or haul a load with enough combined space for 10 big lads. So we have settled on the Landy (of course), a Toyota Fortunner (The Tuna - belonging to Ryan) and a short wheel base Mitsubishi Pagero (the Appliance- belonging to Andries). The Landy will be loaded with most of it's share on the roof rack and in the load bay and will carry 4 people. The Tuna will be towing an offroad trailer and also carrying 4 people and the Appliance will pull a trailer with 2 people. Each vehicle has a fridge/Freezer and must carry sufficient water and fuel. In addition to the above, the Landy will be carrying all required recovery equipment & tools and the other vehicles will carry their own basic spares. We have radios in each vehicle to communicate whilst driving and we will have a Satphone in the Landy. There is also a power inverter in the Landy to convert 12 volt power to 220 volts to charge camera batteries, laptops etc.
Food
For the duration of the trip we will take turns in pairs to cook so Andries has been put in charge of collecting menus & lists of ingredients from the people. He will then draw up a shopping list and buy all the dry groceries a few days in advance. We have placed our order for fresh meat and fresh vegetables (yuk) with Sandy's Butchery in Palapye (Botswana) which we will pick up on the way through.
Finances & regulations
All accommodation has been booked and paid for and each member has deposited R2000 into one savings account where we can draw money from ATM's in Botswana for things like fuel, refreshments etc. Everyone's passports are in order and all that's left to do is the usual border formalities at Martin's Drift.
Equipment
This trip consists of 2 very different destinations with different equipment requirements. In the CKGR we have our vehicles with us and can therefore afford to do it in style. Fresh meat, fresh veggies(did I say yuk before) ice cold beer, wine, whisky, brandy and the required mixes. We are staying in two different camps and ease of moving camp is a requirement. For this reason we are taking along 4 large (3 man) tents, camping chairs, tables, 300 litres of water for washing dishes and the odd shower as well as 150 litres of drinking water. In addition each vehicle needs to have enough fuel to do the required mileage in soft sand, so they will be thirsty. The Landy can carry 200 litres, so no problem there. We will also carry our own fire wood which we will buy at Khama Rhino Sanctuary at Pula17.00 per bag. The necessary pots and pans, utensils, braai grids etc are also taken care of. Each person takes care of his own sleeping bag, air mattress and personal stuff.
The Delta is a different kettle of fish. No fridges, so no fresh food except for the first night, no beers, only whisky, brandy and that sort of stuff and some wine which we can cool in the waters of the Delta. If the people need mixes other than water, it will have to be of the packaged powder variety mixed with Delta water. Space is the problem here. Everything is transported in the Mokoro's which are wobbly and don't carry much. So for the Delta it is 10 x one man tents (they pack small) sleeping bags a small kit bag with the minimum of clothing each and as little cooking equipment as we can get away with. Oh ja, and a spade O**

OK, so back to the beginning. We lay everything out on Andries' driveway and start dumping duplicate items and checking that we have the necessities. Nice to haves will be dependent on space at the end of the packing process. Once the stuff is sorted, it will be proportioned out per vehicle and then the packing starts. We need to pack in reverse order of usage so that we don't have to offload everything every time we stop. Obviously people will be excited and I'm sure a few beers will be enjoyed during the day. We are having an early braai at Andries' place and then everyone goes to their respective overnight accommodation (which are close to one another) to try and get some sleep.
Andries and I will leave his place at 03:30 on Saturday 13th July and drive to Ryan's place then we drive to all the other places and finally leave the last place in Fourways at 04:00. The first day is a 600 kilometer day and we'll be driving fairly slowly because of the load each vehicle will be hauling. We hope to make the border by 10:00. Once through the border, we press on for Palapye where Mike from Sandy's butchery will have our meat order vacuum packed and chilled as well as the yuk stuff we asked him to get for us. Then it's on to Khama Rhino Sanctuary which is just passed Serowe. We should get there around 15:00. At Khama we will be sleeping in Chalets, so no need to worry about setting and breaking camp for the next day.

So those are the plans and logistics, the rest of the story will unfold as we go along. 28 days until I leave home. O** :O^ O/\


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Re: Central Kalahari & Okavango Delta, July 2013

Post by iNdlovu »

Ja RP, my insurer is TuffStuff insurance. The best Overlanding type cover you can get. You automatically get emergency medivac as well as vehicle recovery and return to SA in case of a breakdown.
Khama is a good overnight stopover, some people stay for 2 nights. One word of caution about the place, don't count on eating at the restaurant there, but for a quick one night layover it does the trick for me.
Rakops is still a scary place although they have built quite a nice Motel on the left of the highway. The only thing you wouldstop in Rakops for is fuel and they don't always have any, so best to fill up at Lethlakane and top up the tanks at Rakops if they have any.

The Okavango panhandle is awesome, I did a trip up there about 3 years ago, crossed the Okavango river by ferry at Muhembo and down to a place called Seronga

The ferry
Image

In Seronga I stayed at a mates place and set up my tent right on the banks of the river, in fact one morning a big crock walked passed about 2 meters from my tent O-/
Here's my camp site
Image

The view across the lagoon from my tent door
Image

Taking the route less traveled (the others in the convoy)
Image

It's easy when you have a guide
Image

Our other mode of transport whilst up there
Image


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Re: Central Kalahari & Okavango Delta, July 2013

Post by iNdlovu »

The meat order was placed with Mike at Sandy's butchery in Palapye this morning. He will divide it up and vacuum pack it and have it ready for us to pick up on our way through on the Saturday. An indication that time is getting close. O/\ O/\ O/\


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