Khwai Botswana (Between Moremi and Savute) - March 2017 (Because of the time delay I incorrectly showed the date on the YouTube files as April 2017. It takes hours at my incredibly slow upload speed to correct and reload the files so unless I find something really important to change I intend to leave the files as they are.)

On Monday 13 February at 10:31 we were invited to join our dear friends Retief and Desiree van der Reyden to go to Khwai. Due to intermittent cell phone reception at Mountain Zebra National Park where we happened to be we only confirmed that we would love to join them at 12:29 on the same day.

Great excitement ensued as Sylvia had not been allowed to go to a malaria area for some time but had now been given permission provided that she took a prophylaxis. Malanil was prescribed and daily while we were away a tablet was ingested.

It is very unusual for us to plan a trip so far ahead so we had lots of time too decide what to pack.

An OzTent mosquito net pop up gadget was acquired and duly erected again at home and repacked. These things are long so special packing accommodation had to be arranged in the vehicle. This proved to be a lovely gadget which we used every day at the campsite and if I had spent a few more days at Belmond I would have wanted to erect it over the table in the evenings to prevent us being eaten alive by the insect life. In addition it was decided that our ice maker would come along. Our friends would supply a generator to produce the 220 volts required. This we used once at Sebe Sebe but not again.

Much reading and research regarding water levels in the destination areas was done as we had heard horror tales of what was going on. Very little information of real value was obtained from the web and our friends had contacts in the area who kept us updated.

The vehicle was finally packed to the gunwales and we were ready to go. For those unaware gunwales refers to a nautical term meaning fully loaded. Considering where we were headed this term seemed appropriate.

Two almost identical cameras were most often used by us both although another one was on standby.

At last the day arrived and we set off for Sebe Sebe Lodge near Stockpoort/Parr's Halt. We planned to travel in convoy but we were so excited that we left early and the decision was to meet at Sebe Sebe. A lovely braai was prepared by Willem and enjoyed with our friends at Sebe Sebe and after dinner off we went to bed. Around one in the morning Sylvia asked whether we had the vehicle registration papers. Alack - oh dear - horrors - good grief and other words - I had fondled these very papers while digging out our passports but left them resting where I had felt them. Immediate panic - woke up friends. Alarmed Desiree as I was in the process of hopping around trying to fit a foot and leg into my underpants as she enquired at the door what was wrong. I would drive back immediately to fetch the missing papers. Without wife I sped off towards home. After a long drive to the gate I discovered to my horror the gate was locked. Oh dear this was terrible - too awful in fact. The gate is some distance from the lodge and I drove back towards the bed. I had no idea where the jailer was on the property so I could not wake him. At sparrow fart I saw one of the maids and asked about the gate opening time. Seeing the urgency in my face and hearing my trembling voice she proceeded to phone the jailer all the time keeping an eye on me as I looked panicky and distraught I am sure. This time with wife and without waking anyone - off I sped and took a wrong turn and found where the keeper of the keys had been sleeping. The gate was duly opened and off we sped even more. It was dawn and the warthoglets and their parents were busy wandering around on the road. I missed them all. As the sun rose I said we should ask via WhatsApp where we would be staying the following night and we would catch up. As we roared forward the cellphone signal would come and go - mostly go. Eventually there were two blue ticks alongside the message but no details were forthcoming of where I should head off to once the papers were in hand. A message came back - our friends had rearranged everything and we would spend another night at Sebe Sebe. Later that day we arrived back. My son said we were very lucky that they still spoke to us. Another braai was held that evening.

The border crossing required the papers and we crossed without incident.

It was a lovely drive to Maun where we stayed at Maun Lodge. It was very pleasant. The wifi was excellent but we were on holiday and after a cursary glance we proceeded to enjoy the surroundings.

The next morning we headed north not really knowing what to expect. There were a few muddy wet patches which we crossed and a few diversions through the bush to avoid catastrophe. On arrival in the Khwai Community Camp area we turned back from one of the cut lines as there was too much water. We stayed at camp site number four. A beautiful spot the other side of a very wet eastern side. Not knowing the area and what lay under water it was a bit tense getting there. However eventually we found that where we had beached was our campsite and Sylvia found the site number sign in the undergrowth or maybe that should be overgrowth.

As the days passed our westerly route which started mainly dry became a moat. On some of the evenings the insects came to life and we both escaped in our giant mosquito net cage to escape the biting insects. From here we spoke to our friends a short distance away who were sitting beside the fire.

We drove around a lot but many of the paths lead to water and we had to turn back. The scenery and the animal sightings were lovely.

During our stay the water rose significantly in some areas and a dry road became a river. On one occasion while alone we took a route that had been dry two days before and which became wet. We decided to press onwards as the end of the path was only a short distance away. It started easily. As we headed further along the depth increased until we were in what can only be described as a lake. We got out with luck - skill has nothing to do with water depth and being on our own recovery would not have been fun.

On the last night at the campsite we were invited to join our friends for dinner at Machaba Camp and this looked like a lovely destination. When we found the location of the lodge I cleared the track on one of our GPS units before we returned to our camp as we would be returning in the dark and we had already explored the area quite thoroughly before so there were many tracks on the map. Many of the tracks on our GPS's led to water and we did not attempt to see what was on the other side. We were told that a Land Cruiser was up to the roof in water at the airstrip and had been there a few days.

We used two Garmin 276C gps units and a new 276Cx. On two occasions that I happened to notice the new 276Cx failed to mark the track correctly and just showed a straight line between two points and that could be very bad in an area like the one we were in,

The next destination was Belmond Khwai River Lodge where we stayed for four unforgettable nights and days. Here we were greeted by Chantelle Stork and the team and treated like royalty and told that we had been allocated the honeymoon suite. Private splash pool, double showers, beautiful bed, and so much more. Greeting card to welcome us. Magic.

We were told to beware of walking around in the dark because of the wild animals. We do not fear wild animals and were ready to head off to our chalet, when Sello who was to be our guardian during our stay, leapt onto the scene and led the way. Well maybe that was very lucky for us because a hippo and its calf were obstructing the path we were to take and I certainly did not see them until we nearly barged into them in the dark. Back we went to the dining area as Sello was unable to convince them to move away. A while later we tried again and Sello told us to stand beside another lodge while he shooed another hippo away.

Sello drove the two of us around in a game drive vehicle and he with the help of other vehicles in the area found us wild dogs and leopards. These were by far the best wild dog and leopard sightings we have ever seen. We also saw elephants very close up.

The vehicle stood still for four days in the sun with both fridges running and I was afraid that maybe the new gel battery had gone flat. The indicator showed low and I feared the worst but Sylvia said the fridges were cold. On the trip back to Maun the battery still did not show full but after a night being charged by the C-Tek charger all was well again.

We parted from our friends after the second night - not surprising that they left you might think - but they went with their photographic group to Savute.

Fortunately we arranged to meet at Maun and not Mababe as we had no way of contacting each other if we were delayed so arranging a time was a bit hit and miss. A game drive was arranged for us just before we departed and as luck would have it we came back about an hour later than usual. Nes the driver who had taken us on a game drive that morning at Belmond was getting ready to escort us out (understandable as it was now important to be rid of us). I declined his very kind offer as I knew the route to the main road. In good time we reached the main road without incident, We had driven the route from Maun before and all of the route back would be on a main road so navigation would be very simple. Well - after Mababe on the straight main road we arrived at what I would call a significant water crossing where we had been diverted to dry land on the way north. This would be simple. Forget it - the road south had acquired a few dead end forks in the meantime. After much barging around and reversing I got a brainwave - look at the GPS carefully and pay close attention. This worked and we escaped from the road entrapment.

On the way home we stayed at Sebe Sebe again and this allowed for a comfortable drive home the next day.

Our handbrakes were totally ineffective after driving around in the water.

Many thousands of pictures were captured - many on rapid fire as wild animals did their thing so it means lots of looking and sorting what to bore anyone with who looks at this site.

For those of you planning a game drive some bits of information. Warm jackets are good, sort pants and open shoes are bad if there are mosquitoes and biting things, also clear glasses can be nice as you speed along home at night to keep the flying insects out of your eyes, a buff and long sleeves can also be nice.

A trip like this is greatly improved if you have another vehicle along and also radios are really essential as you lose contact in the bush within a few metres.

This was a truly wonderful and magnificent trip. Thank you all who so kindly tolerated my company - especially Retief and Desiree.

We travelled about three thousand nine hundred kilometers on this trip.

Much thought has been given as to which pictures to post and how to post them. Thought however does little other than influence the keys I might press. Pressing is what is required not reflection. It was our holiday and not a photographic competition although some pictures were of a very high standard due to the exceptional sightings we had. Really I need to post comments alongside some of the pictures to indicate what they mean to us and why they are being posted. YouTube is a poor way to do that. Also many pictures are taken through the windscreen. These scenes bring back memories for us. If I was to load the pictures onto this website I would fill the site up in just this page.

Well to add a further complication my hard drive crashed after we got home and I had to reload all the software and then work out how to set up the Dreamweaver sites again. This little foray has taken me days. To add insult to injury some of my pictures got damaged and had to be deleted - fortunately this did not affect many pictures.

Because of this change of plans I used Thumbs+ to create a Web folder and then made the slide show to post onto YouTube. What this means is that the pictures were not as carefully chosen as I would have liked but I believe that speed in posting is important as the sooner people can see the pictures the more relevant the site is. (Here I am taking the liberty of assuming someone may be interested.) The pictures are in the order they were taken and not sorted by type. Due to my advanced age and senility it is taking me ages to get things properly completed and I need a few goes at the task to sort things out properly. Two cameras were mainly used and I have made separate files for each camera.

The first download to YouTube did not complete in about eighteen hours due to an awful ADSL connection and had to be restarted.

 

The link below contains the pictures taken with the 18 - 200 lens:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsCQfC4GyP4&feature=youtu.be

 

The link below contains pictures taken with the 70 - 200 lens:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUwg2ZothL4&feature=youtu.be