Week 7 Bikepacking Africa: Botswana

Day 43: Gwete > Chanoga, Botswana

• The usual 6am wake up call to be ready for breakfast at 7am. Packed up nice and quiet, eating and chatting with locals about our trip.
• Still unsure where we will stay tonight as there aren’t a lot of good options.
• Had a WhatsApp call with the tour company for the Okavango Delta.
• Finally got everything booked. Not riding out until 9:30am. Thankful for tailwinds to start!
• PL’s shirt is inside out and backwards today again…lol.
• Saw our first snake slither across right in front of me. Silver gray color about a meter and a bit long. I’ll have to Google what kind it was.
• We’ve been making a lot of jokes about the Termite Hills/penises.
• Still looking for a license plate and saw a truck crashed on the right so I went into the bush looking for it. Thought I would go to the bathroom. A car stopped PL on the road and said “you’re in the middle of the park and there are lots of animals around like lions. Be very careful”. So…back on the road and we both said we didn’t know we were in the park with lines…lol.
• 300m later I found a Botswana license plate laying on the side of the road. That’s two! Pretty freaking cool.
• Pulled over for snacks at Makgadikgadi/Nxai PANA National Park entrance.
• Audiobooks went in. Stopped with about 20km to go. Both feel tired.
• Again went through some of the highly populated elephant areas. Definite evidence that there are a lot around. The only thing we’ve seen today are few zebras and a dead hyena. But not a few kilometers later we finally saw a pretty good sized elephant by a watering hole about 50 feet from the road. We just stopped and waited because he saw us pretty quickly and then he stared for a bit and then turned and went back into the bush. We just talked gently to it like we would a bear…lol. We also saw some zebras.
• Rolled into Leopard Plains at 2:30. Had to WhatsApp to see if there is room as the gates are locked. They are full and don’t allow camping. Recommended Drifters Lodge 42km away. So we are going for it…Yikes!
• Hit the Lodge at 5pm, which was really 50 km away. And we had to push for a kilometer after 175K day. Not fun. Only 100m to serenity, lol. Deep sand.
• Got registered by Gigi and realized that we missed the kitchen by 15 minutes as it closed at 5pm. She offered to make us peanut butter and jam sandwiches and we had a beer.
• Went and got our tent set up and came back to eat, finish our beer and start uploading our stuff.
• Walked out to the end of the dock to watch the sunset and met Shepherd, a missionary here from North Carolina.
• Back to have hot showers and then back to the lodge to finish all of our uploading.
• We are both looking forward to our sleep tonight.

   

175.93km/111m
TOTAL: 3,584.71km/25,729m

Day 44: Chanoga > Maun, Crocodile Camp Safari

 

• No alarm set but woke up just around 7am. Got chilly last night but it’s a beautiful morning on the Boteti River. Sitting here eating our breakfast and coffee and really appreciating the beauty of this country.
• A short distance today to Maun, so we’re just going to do some planning and roll out around 10.
• Got a ride from the safari vehicle out to the road and we are now riding at 10:40am. Nice tailwind!
• Noticed that the women do not wear the long wraps or skirts at all anymore. And no head wraps.
• Seeing a lot more Volkswagen Golfs some Beamers, Mercedes & some Subarus. Just small little punter wagons. Everything seems to be tarmac here until you have to get off the main road and then it’s quite sandy. Also seeing a lot of rangers on horseback in this section.
• Rolled into Maun at noon. Found the [checkers], had ice cream and went to buy some wine and beer for our Okavango Delta excursion.
• Because it’s Sunday, the liquor store is closed. So we’re gonna have to go in search of a few beverages to bring with us.
• Looks like we won’t find any alcohol on a Sunday. So we’ll try to get a drink package with the trip. Just nice to have a cool beer on the water!
• Now we are riding out the 12 km to get to Crocodile Camp where we will stay for the next couple days.
• Passed the Botswana Wildlife Training Institute.
• Seeing quite a bit of antelope on the other side of the fence along the river, the School of Hospitality and also a backpacker hostel. Bucket hats are everywhere.
• Rolled into the campsite around 1:30pm. Got registered, had quick showers and sent our clothes to get washed to get back tonight before we leave.
• Today’s special: malva pudding served with custard, antelope stir-fry, carrot cream soup for supper. I want all of it!
• Got our tent set up and then just chilled. We are on the Thamalakane River.
• Chatting with our Austrian neighbors who are setting up tents for the night.
• Went to the bar to have some food and a drink. I had some Okavango Gin & Soda, which they said is better with a grapefruit slice. It’s really good.
• Back to the campsite. PL had a nap and I read and then went back down to the river to do some accommodation planning for Namibia and South Africa.
• He showed up and so we decided to order dinner, which turned out to be a bit of a gong show as what we ordered they didn’t have. So we ordered wine it showed up and then they came and told us the food wasn’t available. So then we ordered something else which came in a small portion. Good thing we had a late big lunch.
• Back to the campsite and in bed by 9pm.

46.5km/99m
TOTAL: 3,631.21km/25,828m

Day 45: Maun > Okavango Delta (Bush Camp – Concession area 32)

• Up at 6am to be packed up and dropping our bikes off in the lobby by 7am.
• I thought I’d ask if anybody had any boots my size as all I would have that’s closed toes would be my cycling shoes. Sure enough, she walks out with a pair that fit me perfectly. Can’t make this shit up!
• Breakfast buffet with very average coffee. Waiting for our pick up to start our three day Okavango Delta excursion.
• Picked up in an open safari vehicle by Master, our guide. We will be with him for the next three days and our camp is actually on his property.
• Picked up 4 others and off we went. Carlita, Jessica, Riley & Lola from Barcelona.
• 2 hour ride into the concession. Pretty cool. So many new routes, bridges as the water is at record highs.
• Got to the river and no mokoros (canoes) available. So we had to go back to the village to find polers.
• Pretty cool as they bang a metal ring and whoever is needed all come running. They take turns and go in order so everybody gets a chance. So we picked up some polers and went back to the river.
• Hopped in our Mokoros with our poler John Budro from Maruza.
• These paths through the delta are created by the hippos.
• The elephants eat the flowers of the lily and then the locals eat the stems in stews. Like a sweet potato. Also helps prevent malaria.
• Hippos are very territorial so they will kill each other. Usually only see the skulls. Hyenas will come eat everything. The best cleaners. Animals that need calcium will eat hyena poop!
• Hippos kill more people than all animals because they can kill on land and water. Self defence. Can only really be eaten by a pride of lions from the back. Hippos spray their territory – dung shower. Based on the spray-height on a bush or the circumference on the ground will let the hippo know how big it is. They will either stay and fight or they will leave.
• Giraffes – males – could be hunted. Could tell by their poop. Females were prettier and softer. The males doesn’t look as good and is often dented because it falls from a lot farther.  Females -4.8m/males -5.2m
• Had lunch under a tree and then back to the mainland to find Master.
• After our very thorough briefing, we started our game drive. Order of hierarchy: lion, hyena, leopard, wild dogs, cheetah. Last 2 are endangered.
• Elephants have 6 sets of molars. Lose every 10 years. They die after their last molars. Of starvation.
• Drove through all kinds of off-road areas and spotted a bunch of animals.
• Found an ostrich egg just sitting there.
• Ran into a few researchers who told us where the wild dogs are so we backtracked to find the pack. A pack of 5 – alpha male & female have tracking collars. Waited for the wild dogs to get up as it was close to 5:30pm. Hoping to see a hunt. Then all mayhem cut loose!
• The dogs got up and started to hunt so we followed. We saw a whole bunch of giraffes, but we were weaving in and out to try to follow these dogs. Didn’t see the actual kill, but we rushed back to see them feeding off of what they just caught. Was incredible.
• Then started our drive back at 6:30pm. Stopped for a quick bathroom break as he said we’re another 2 1/2 hours before we get to the camp. None of us know if he’s telling the truth or not or if he’s joking.
• Got to the camp at 8pm. We were served with a welcome hot facecloth and a drink. And a really nice fire.
• Got into our tent and then sat by the fire waiting for dinner.
• Had a great dinner of salad, lasagna with fresh buns and then fruit and yogurt for dessert. Also had some great conversation.
• I went into my tent at 9:30pm with a warm bush baby while PL stayed up talking to our guide, Master.
• A great day seeing many animals. Highlight was the wild dogs hunting and then feeding!!!

Day 46: Okavango Delta

• Happy Anniversary to us! Woken up at 5:30am with a warm “Dumela” – that is the Setswana word for “Hello” – warm water in our sink inside our tent, a nice big fire outside and breakfast ready.
• My shoulder’s pretty sore today. There’s been a few times I’ve had to stop my bike from falling in the last week, and I can’t sleep on my right side. Not sure maybe from holding on in the safari track yesterday?
• Hopped into the truck at 6:30am with another warm bush baby and a tea basket for our morning game drive.
• Just called to see how close we are to the water. It basically surrounds the whole camp.
• Apparently there was quite a lot of animals that way including hippos, lions and hyenas. I had my ear plugs in so I couldn’t hear a thing. Off we went and saw a lot of the usual suspects.
• Then we came upon four male lions and an elephant kill. Spent a good 30 minutes hanging out there watching them feed. Jackal and vultures as well.
• The female & cubs were in the bush, which we only saw from a distance. The female was massive! Would’ve been cool to get a close-up.
• We were just saying how we didn’t think we needed to do another safari as we’ve already done one. But everybody’s telling us how different they are. Facts! 100 %
• The stuff he is driving over in this truck is insane!
• Found 2 females with cubs. 1 with 2 nursing and one with 3 bigger cubs.
• Drove around some more, saw all the usual suspects and then stopped for tea, muffins and cookies. Had a lot more good chats about Kalahari [breeze] and how they work in partnership with the locals in this Concession Area 32.
• Made our way slowly back to camp. Followed a very large herd of elephants. Drove through them and got some angry trumpets.
• Made our way back to camp for lunch, which was spaghetti and meatballs with squash and cream corn on top. Really yummy. Then we had free time to have our showers and chill and nap.
• Back in the safari truck at 4pm for another game drive.
• Drove around for just over two hours and then stopped by the water to have snacks and drinks as the sun set by the lagoon.
• Made our way back to camp for dinner at 8:15pm. Love the warm face cloth welcome!
• Sat by the fire until supper was ready. Had butternut squash soup, Thai chicken curry and brownies.
• Talked about what to do if you run into wild animals in the bush. Realized we shouldn’t have stopped and talked to the elephant we saw…lol. Just keep riding.
• Master shared stories of guests that don’t listen, wander off and have been killed. We all talked about how it’s weird that they just don’t trust their guides and believe what they’re saying about the dangers.
• Into our tent at 9:40pm. PL napped today so he stayed up to chat. A lot of hippos and lions & hyaenas chattering.
• Another great day spotting animals. Highlight was the lions!!!

Day 47: Okavango Delta> Maun, Botswana

• Same timeline. Up at 5:30am to be in the safari truck by 6:30am.
• On our way to another canoe trip near Master’s village. Cruising slowly, I’m looking at tracks from the overnight activity. He calls it your morning newspaper to see what happened. He also calls all the bumping and chasing around in the safari truck an “African Massage” – lol.
• Going by the elephant kill so we were warned about the smell. It was pretty gross yesterday so I can’t imagine what it’ll be like today.
• 3 males, female and cubs feeding
• Then we came across a hyena feeding on a giraffe.
• Bushy wushy stop.
• Coffee and biscuit stop.
• Saw 2 other safari trucks – Mazungos in the wild.
• Drove to Master’s Village to pick up the polers and then to the mokoro station. The village is called ditshiping.
• Started our tour.
• Elephants change the landscapes. For example, palm trees came here from Namibia because elephants ate them and then pooped here. Getrmination. Learned about rhinos and male dominance.
• Came upon a Cape Buffalo so Bob got us a photo.
• It’s a narrowmokoro so it feels a bit wobbly!!! Biggest guy in the smallest canoe.
• Then we stopped for our lunch. Our helicopter is coming sooner so we’re just doing a short tour.
• Started our bush walk.
• The sausage tree is the Mokoro Tree, which is used to make the canoes.
• Giraffe, antelope and zebra all hang out and feed because they don’t compete for food. Giraffe keeps an eye out during the day cause they’re tall, and kudu at night cause they have good hearing.
• Said our goodbyes to the girls from Barcelona and made our way back to the water.
• Had our lunch and then back to the canoe to head back. Just so cool to see all of these channels created by the rhinos.
• Back to the drop off point where Master picked us up and a few of the other workers and polers and brought us back to the village.
• PL had a lot of fun with Lola, the 10-year-old from Barcelona. They created a lot of games and played elephant poop soccer. It was really cute to see the creativity of her. She’s a wise young sweet 10 year-old.
• Then we got a tour of the community garden, which is a shared project with a charitable foundation from Zimbabwe. It’s pretty cool and it’s working quite well, but it is only in the first year.
• Then we waited for our helicopter.
• Said our goodbyes and up we went with our pilot Brock. From Holland…lol!
• Amazing first helicopter flight. The delta is beautiful!
• PL had a great chat with the pilot about Cycle 5 too.
• Landed and our shuttle was about 10 minutes later.
• Back to the campsite, unpacked, had showers, set up our tent, and PL had a nap. Had a blast of uploads from the last three days!
• Went down to the bar area to have dinner. They actually had the Impala tonight so PL ordered that! I didn’t trust it so I went with the platter with all the apps on it again.
• Watched our Week 5 video while we ate, which was a lot of fun. It was great, maybe one of my favorites.
• Back to the tent. In bed by 9pm.

Day 48: Maun > Sehithwa

• Alarm set for 6am. I was up a bit early to go to the bathroom. PL said he was up a lot just hearing noises and then turning over.
• Packed up and down for breakfast at 6:45am. Stuffing our pockets with food for the day from the breakfast buffet…lol.
• Back to get our bikes at our campsite and met our Overlander neighbors beside us. They are already following us! She went over to talk to another lady from last night that we were chatting with and asked about us. They then spent the evening looking up our account and checking out all of our adventures.
• They are from Capetown, South Africa, and said when we get there, they’re taking care of [us]. Offered us their house and car if we wanted to. Incredible. Brought tears to my eyes.
• On our bike bikes at 8am.
•  Toyota Landcruisers rule this continent and it’s very apparent here as well. All of the safari vehicles are open though, as opposed to the ones in Tanzania.
• Saw a whole bunch of club kids training for track and field in cross country. They did say hopefully the Olympics one day! Really cool.
• Just got chased by our first dogs. Got both of our heart rates up! I kicked him with my right foot and then he kept coming. Went towards PL and then I got him with my water bottle – a lot quicker than your foot. The farmer yelled at least to try to get the one back which we were thankful for.
• Definitely back into a domestic animal section. We’re not seeing any more elephant poop that’s for sure.
• Stopped for our sandwiches 2 1/2 hours out of Maun. Can’t remember the last time we had a meat and cheese sandwich!
• Stopped for a Fanta in Toteng. Heard about the copper mine here. Too much here apparently.
• The tarmac has changed to the red clay, copper color.
• Stopped for a water and ice cream at the Shell. Tried to ask if there’s anything a little farther along to stay, but there’s nothing. I think we’ll just stay here tonight and tomorrow have a longer day.
• Arrived at 1:15pm. Camping at Monlek Lodge. Set up 10, updated our posts and uploaded all our photos.
• Had a warm bucket of water for both of us to rinse off on which was fine.
• Had a chat with the guy staying in the Lodge as they all work in the mines. Second people who work there who are quite negative about the fact that China owns the whole mine and takes all the copper and then sells it back to the more expensive.
• Walked into town about a kilometer to hopefully find a restaurant for some food. The one was closed so we walked and found a newer one opening up. She made us rice, beef and veggies.
• We hung out chatting with a local and a school teacher while she cooked. Across the street there was a green mamba snake that the locals killed. Yikes…but fun to watch.
• Had a really great dinner with sausages from the next door shop. Said our goodbyes and headed back to the camp.
• Had some great chats with the miner and as we were getting to bed, one of them asked about what it would be like to immigrate to Canada. He doesn’t think this mine will stay consistent so he’s considering Canada or Australia. He’s now following us on Facebook and if he reaches out at some point, we’ll do what we can to help him find the information he needs.
• Back in our tent by 7:30pm. Kept our doors fully open as it’s definitely getting warmer as we move south.

111.87km/152m
TOTAL: 3,743.08km/25,980m

   

Day 49: Sehithwa > Dekar (Marina & Dukes, Warm Showers)

• Set our alarms for 5:30am as that’s when all the workers were leaving anyway. And today could be anywhere from 153km to 183 km.
• PL is not sleeping great as his earplugs don’t work as well as mine! So he hears all the noises and says he was up until about 3:30am. Mine are great, so I’m sleeping really well…lol.
• Got all our food out, used the kettles from the kitchen to borrow water and had our coffees and porridge.
• Riding out at 7:15am onto the A3.
• Back to the gas station for our water fill up as there was nothing at the campsite. Now back on the road.
• Quick stop on the highway for some fat cakes! Every country has a different name. Donuts, fritters… and now fat cakes!
• Hit some two, three and even 4% grades today! Not for very long, but almost killed us…lol
• Stopped for a snack 50K in. PL was trying to fix his speed wobble as well.
• Crossed into the northwest district Gen Z line and had to do a foot and tire clean again. Gen Z District.
• Stopped in Kuke for water and a Fanta 82km in. It’s 43 degrees out!!!!
• Stopped in DeKar for more water & Fanta. The plan was to go for Ghanzi but we asked about the Warm Showers here. All the kids knew Miss Plum.
• The kids ran us to their house and started calling her name so she came walking out. Marina, a young blonde girl asking if she missed an email notification…lol. We told her that the Warm Shower site was down and we just took a chance of asking where she lived.
• We initially came in just to chat and have a drink, but decided to stop as it had been a long day and she’s super cool. Her boyfriend Dukes is off in Maun overnight so it’s just her.
• Had a bucket shower while she made us a Mexican dinner. It was so good and plenty of it.
• More chatting while she made fresh bagels in the air fryer for the morning.
• PL had a mattress and I used my blow up. Slept in the extra room. Lights out at 9:30pm

155.95km/300m
TOTAL: 3,899.03km/26,280m