Botswana

Botswana is my favourite country so far as it is essentially one large national park that contains each of the big 5. There are no fences to keep animals contained which means that many are found wandering the roadside, ranging from cattle to giraffes.

The one fence to be found stretches right the way across the country and is intended to prevent hoof and mouth spreading, if it should return. At each crossing of the fence every passenger is required to remove their shoes and wash them in a puddle of water that is manned by security. The fence is intended to save the cattle, a major export, but has instead wiped out 99% of its wilder beast population that can no longer migrate.

The first night in Botswana was spent in Ghanzi, a small campsite with very few amenities in the middle of nowhere. It was here that our truck ‘Twilight’ set on fire. An electrical fault caused the cables to melt and ensured that we would spend one more day than intended at this dull campsite. One of our party, Ruud, was also stung by a scorpion here, which provided a reminder of why we should all be wearing closed toe shoes.

Our second stop in Botswana was at a campsite called Elephant Sands ‘where Elephants rule’. This was not wrong. The campsite surrounded a watering hole, with a bar and pool overlooking. Immediately on arrival there were already 4 male elephants drinking, although through the night this number grew to around 30. We all sat and watched for hours, well except Lisa who became stuck in the bathroom whilst an Elephant drank outside.

In the morning 7 of us, including our tour guide Matt, headed out for a bush walk. Barely exiting the campsite we picked up on the trail of two Lions, the guide explained that these were from last night as not much dust had blown over and because of the lack of insect trails over the footprints.

I won’t lie that cynicism kicked in at this point, the guide recalling how the lions had chased away a female lion and its cub and then a leopard had caught an antelope and been ambushed by hyena. It all sounded a little too good to be true until we found the fresh carcass of a mauled antelope. Two female elephants then appeared with a calf and became very agitated. Us humans were in their territory and they were able to smell the leopard. It was time for us to exit the area.

Botswana held two more significant experiences in Chobe National Park and the Okavango Delta but I’ll cover these later.

Joe Dunleavy