Thursday, April 10 – transit from the Okavango Delta to Ghanzi

Well, it was a rough night. The combination of oppressive heat in the tent and Juan’s snoring resulted in minimal sleep for Tim! (a rare third person reference!) That’s okay though, the visit to the Delta was totally worth it. And the overnight experience wasn’t a total disappointment – listening to the hippos’ grunts and squeals was a joy!

We’re starting early today – gathering at 6am for a sunrise walk.

I had no objection to the time of our wake up. In fact, I welcomed getting out of the tent and moving around!

And thankfully, the rain had stopped!

The main focus of the walk was this watering hole, and observing its occupants – several hippos!

Stay calm, we mean you no harm!

I count 20 hippos eye-balling us! Including the guides, there were 15 of us on shore. Not good odds, but thankfully we all survived!

After a breakfast of eggs, baked beans, and toast, Annie and I were back in the mokoro for our return to civilization.

Do you see something over there Annie?

Hippo alert!

We kept our distance, and fortunately they didn’t feel threatened by us (understandable!)!

After reaching shore around 9am, we headed back to our accommodation in Maun, the Sedia Riverside Hotel. The complex also includes a campground, so we took advantage of the showers there to cleanup before we resumed our road trip across Botswana.

Update: My passport and money were there waiting for me upon my return from the delta. They missed me!

Our destination today is Ghanzi, a town in the middle of the Kalahari Desert in the western part of Botswana. We departed the campground at 11:30am, made a stop for lunch and provisions, and arrived at our hotel at 4:30pm.

The Dqae Qare San Lodge

Mosquito nets are back! This could be another rough night though. There is no A/C, but a fan is available. However, the power is turned off at 10pm! (the property’s only source of electricity is solar) I could leave the windows open; if it weren’t for the holes/rips in the screens! Oh, and there’s no hot water.

(Not complaining, just explaining!)

The lodge is run by the San people. The San are one of the oldest (if not the oldest) tribal groups in the world and the original inhabitants of southern Africa, with archaeological evidence showing that they have lived on the land for 30,000 years.

After getting settled in, we went on a short nature walk around the property with two members of the tribe.

It was an interesting hike, as we learned about the San’s interaction with their environment.

And even enjoyed a little bit of a sunset!

We spent the rest of the day relaxing (some of us played cards), and Shaddie cooked us a dinner of spaghetti and vegetables, with cake for dessert. Was a good effort! Oh, and as we were approaching the end of the tour, an attempt was made to reduce the alcohol inventory!

(Apologies for the lack of photos at this stop; I think it reflects my reduced energy level at this point!)

Friday, April 11 – transit from Ghanzi, Botswana to Windhoek, Namibia

I’ll lead off by saying I slept really well, considering. I’m sure my rough night in the tent helped put me under last night!

No sleeping in today though! We have a long trip ahead of us. Breakfast was at 5:20am, and we were on the road by 6am. Our destination is Windhoek, in Namibia. We’re looking at 8 to 9 hours of driving. I think there may be a nap taking place at some point!

We arrived at the Trans-Kalahari Border Post at 9am. The immigration officers for both Botswana and Namibia are located in this facility, which was convenient. And surprisingly there were no other travelers in the building when we arrived. Departing Botswana was a breeze. The entry into Namibia was a little more time consuming (for some!).

Beginning on April 1st of this year, Namibia initiated a revised visa program. I heard about through my tour group company. For U.S. citizens, a visa would be required at a cost of $90. There was an option to obtain the visa in advance online. I jumped at that, and took care of it while I was in London. In our group, only Naima and I arranged for the visa ahead of time. We cruised through immigration in about 15 minutes. For the rest, forms needed to be completed and payments made. The last of us finally made it through 90 minuted after our arrival. (Good thing we were the only ones going through the process at the time!)

Travel Note: Shaddie informed us that since its inception on April 1st, the Namibian visa program has generated $1.5 million in revenue. Impressive!

We arrived at the Auas City Hotel in Windhoek at around 3pm.

There’s a shopping mall right across the street from the hotel; I took advantage and acquired some cash from an ATM.

The Namibia Dollar. 1 USD = 19 NAD.

This was the last night of the tour, so we all went out for a final dinner together. The selected restaurant was Joe’s Beerhouse. Like our first dinner together in Victoria Falls, it seemed kind of touristy to me, but I’m a snob!

I led off with a Galactic Grapefruit (Smirnoff Vodka, Pink Grapefruit Syrup, Cranberry Juice, and a splash of Schweppes Soda, with a sprinkling of Fairy Dust!). Very good!

My main was Namibian Bobotie (a traditional South African casserole made with curried game mince & topped with a savory custard). The game meat was Oryx. Cost of the meal: 316 NAD ($17). It was good. I’m glad I tried a local dish!