Elephant Ears and Newbies

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Moggiedog
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Elephant Ears and Newbies

Post by Moggiedog »

A much anticipated trip come and gone. Hardly plausible that so much time has passed and the Botswana trip is a distant memory. I have since come to the conclusion - I have no idea why anyone in their right mind would actually want to visit Botswana.


Moggiedog
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Re: Elephant Ears and Newbies

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Not travelling in my own car is always odd. Have been away so often in my car I know exactly what I need and where to pack it. I had no idea how much luggage, space or what my Newbie would have. The day before with a sparrows departure the following day- I get a phone call telling me the vehicle we using is still in the workshop having a canopy fitted and it will take all day. Great - packing in the dark is always my idea of fun! As we all know these perceived mountains usually end up as molehills and we were dressed and ready to leave the following morning on schedule. We were meeting the rest of the crew at the Petroport for breakfast. Toll gates - and Newbie realizes he has no SA rand - only Pula. I doubt very much whether SA would appreciate Pula. Fortunately I had enough Pula and SA rand for most molehills that would surface. We had been waiting a while when we got a phone call asking us where we were as the meeting time had been changed to an hour later!
Eventually all formalities and introductions where out of the way, breakfast consumed and we were heading for the border to meet the final couple in our group. Newbie and I were tail end charlie which suited us fine. The only problem was the vehicle in front of us was driven by an inconsistent driver. At stages we could not see the rest of the vehicles in the convoy. Fortunately this was not our problem as it was up to the vehicle in front of him to keep him in sight.
ImageImage
Just before the border


The border crossing was painless and our first stop in sight. Fuel and fill up jerry cans. We did not have long range tanks - nor did we have a dual battery system which meant we would have to monitor both fuel and battery very carefully if we didn't want to come to a standstill in the middle of no-where.
Crossing the border into Botswana always brings a strong feeling of anticipation flowing through my blood. This trip had the extra excitement of seeing everything from a newbies angle. We so often forget and become almost blazay about things that we have done a few times in our life. Newbie was like a child with a new toy in his anticipation and excitement of finally being in Botswana.

Our first overnight stop - Khama Rhino Sanctuary. This is one of the most beautiful camps to stay in (in my opinion). I often think a two night stop over would be a better option!
Image


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Flutterby
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Re: Elephant Ears and Newbies

Post by Flutterby »

Yay, another moggie adventure!! ^Q^ ^Q^


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Lisbeth
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Re: Elephant Ears and Newbies

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0()


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Mel
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Re: Elephant Ears and Newbies

Post by Mel »

Moggiedog wrote:A much anticipated trip come and gone. Hardly plausible that so much time has passed and the Botswana trip is a distant memory. I have since come to the conclusion - I have no idea why anyone in their right mind would actually want to visit Botswana.
Intriguing assessment. :-? Will follow to learn why that is the case. \O


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nan
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Re: Elephant Ears and Newbies

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ready 0()


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harrys
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Re: Elephant Ears and Newbies

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Ready to enjoy the adventure 0() 0()


Marakele day trips

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Re: Elephant Ears and Newbies

Post by okie »

I'm on board too 0()


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Moggiedog
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Re: Elephant Ears and Newbies

Post by Moggiedog »

thanks for joining - hope you enjoy the ride :-)

Having successfully maneuvered round the hectic Botswana traffic Image
and set up camp Image( as it was a one night stop over I set up my "body bag". One of the things of not having my own roof top tent is having to use a ground tent. I did not want to use a big tent on one night stop overs - so depending on the weather it would be a mattress under the stars or my body bag. The rest of the crew were rather concerned at this - as the camps are not fenced and who knows what can wander through the camps at night.) it was time to take a drive down to "Julius" dam.

Having confused everyone - else we set off to Malema dam - hoping the rest of the crew would put two and two together and we would meet up at some stage. Being early evening the sun was sinking below the horizon - it wasn't long before the creatures of the wild arrived for a late afternoon drink. Not the best of photo opportunities - but honestly - who cares when one is soaking up the atmosphere and the serenity that engulfs one.
Image
Having slaked their thirst it was time for them to blend into the sunset creating a haze of dust in their wake.
ImageImage
The only indication that the tranquilty we were experiencing was not all it seemed was the guard tower looming ominously in the distance. Image

It was also time for us to make our way back to camp to enjoy some good food and ice cold drinks.
Darkness settled over the camp site and the evening chorus of insects and night birds started. At least three different owl calls penetrated the branches of the trees. The rain that had threatened earlier decided to wander off in a different direction and the stars peeped through the darkness. It didn't take me long to fall into a dreamless sleep.
All too soon we were once again packing up and heading for our next destination. Kubu Island. I hadn't been to Kubu for many years and my previous experience had not been a particularly good one. As there were no ablutions of any type - people had made no effort to protect their surroundings when they answered the call of nature. In subsequent visits to Bots we had always stayed on the edge of the pans. Not to put the people off - when I was asked about Kubu - I was non committal. It is a comparatively short hop across to the pans but distance and time in Botswana are vastly different from being able to set a time in travelling a known distance.
Last edited by Moggiedog on Mon Mar 10, 2014 5:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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Lisbeth
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Re: Elephant Ears and Newbies

Post by Lisbeth »

Nice dusty twilight pics \O


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