AFRICA

BOTSWANA TRIP REPORT AND PHOTOS

Here below some of the most fascinating photos from Botswana. Together with the photogallery, you will find a funny and interesting trip report full of info and anecdotes describing the whole travel itinerary. If you haven't read them yet, check out all travel info and precise itinerary here: www.wildtrips.net/africa-botswana-travel-itinerary.htm. The first part of this travel itinerary, in Namibia, is described here: www.wildtrips.net/africa.htm.

BOTSWANA TRIP REPORT AND TRAVEL ITINERARY

((It continues from the Namibia trip report here).
When we crossed the border between Botswana and Zimbabwe, we wasted some time due to a long queue. The customs officer asked us for about 150 US dollars (for the dictator Mugabe’s pockets, unfortunately). We entered Zimbabwe and we headed to the Victoria Falls.
The Victoria Falls were something wonderful. The entrance from the Zimbabwe side costed about twenty euros per person, and it was all worth it. There were warthogs and tourists walking on the edge of the precipice, just in front of the most impressive waterfalls of the world (except Iguazu, probably).

Then we crossed the bridge to Zambia, and we admired the falls from a different point of view. In the evening we slept in a campsite in Victoria Falls Town, a very touristy place. We had dinner at a good restaurant, Mama Africa, where we had meat while watching some typical dance shows. A bit of holiday in the middle of our adventurous journey.
The next day we left Zimbabwe and we went back to Botswana, where we visited the Chobe National Park. At the entrance in Kasane we were lucky enough to be able to book a place in a park campground, Our trip was going so well that we were surprised.
The wonderful Chobe Park filled us with joy. There were herds of elephants and giraffes, hippos, billions of gazelles, strange birds, everything.

We drove randomly along deserted gravel and sand roads. It was less crowded than Etosha... we didn’t meet anyone on the first day. Apart from hyppos.

The campsite (arguably the best of our travel itinerary) was actually just an area of the jungle, near the river, where camping was legal. We saw monkeys and elephants, we could hear hippos and we didn’t exclude the presence of lions and other carnivores. After much travel, though, we didn’t worry now.

The extraordinary atmosphere in the starry jungle, with the constant chatter of hippos in the background, was as thrilling and magic as anything.

The next day we continued to explore the Chobe Park through the craziest road of the universe. There were half a meter high bumps, very close to each other, so we continuously jumped up and down in the 4x4. Inside the jeep we felt like dices rolled on the table. The landscape was still great, we were still happy, the trip was still awesome.

We arrived in Maun, where some decent roads reappeared.
To continue our travel itinerary, we had to drive South, crossing Botswana towards Johannesburg. Along the way we visited the Makgadikpadi Pans, huge and fascinating salt flats. Then we crossed a number of Botswana towns along the main road. They were all very quiet places, with few fast-foods. We camped in the bush, close to some ostriches.
At the border between Botswana and South Africa, the Customs officers controlled our 4x4 to make sure that we didn’t import any meat. Unfortunately, our safari trip was nearing the end. When we arrived in South Africa, of course our GPS navigator was without maps, but by following the road-signs and the sun (a quick note: in the southern hemisphere the sun at noon indicates the North, not the South) we arrived in Johannesburg.
Amazingly, we didn’t get lost while crossing Johannesburg and at 4:15 PM we arrived at the headquarters of the 4x4 rental company. We were 15 minutes late after an 8000 km itinerary and 15 days of travel.
We lodged in the guesthouse of the rental company, for free. It was the end of an adventurous trip.
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