I don’t expect this post to be of much interest to others besides those who were in the party who drove the 8000 or so dusty kilometres. It is however a video record – comprising 5 short, amateur videos – of our overland safari through Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. If you are interested carry on …
Botswana is a long way from Cape Town, so we took a few days to reach the quiet Ramatlabama border post near Mafikeng, from where we drove to Khama Rhino Sanctuary near Serowe. From there we crossed Sua Pan to Kubu Island, made an abortive attempt to reach Baines’ Baobabs on Nxai Pan (the sand road defeated some of our vehicles – or rather the drivers), stayed at Island Safari Lodge in Maun and then skirted the Delta to Drotsky’s camp on the Okavango River.
Crossing into Namibia we traversed the old Caprivi Strip (now Zambezi Province) to Camp Kwando. Taking in Katima Mulilo, we crossed into Botswana at Ngoma and struck out for Kasane’s Chobe Safari camp along the river road.
The crossing into Zambia at the Kazangula Ferry (soon to be replaced by a bridge) was a highlight, or a lowlight, depending on your perspective or levels of tolerance for bureaucracy in Africa. Camp Nkwazi on the Zambezi was a welcome surprise and experiencing Victoria Falls from the Zambian side was both a first and wonderful experience. This is one instance where the word ‘awesome’ is apt.
We crossed into Zimbabwe at Kariba Dam after negotiating a particularly dangerous road down the escarpment, littered with truck wrecks. Mana Pools was magnificent. I love this place. It’s wild, and as if to cement its reputation, the river “treated” us to the spectacle of a canoe being torpedoed by a hippo. Our much-anticipated houseboat adventure ended prematurely, unfortunately, so we left for Kariba’s south shore.
It is on Kariba’s south shore where one comes face-to-face with Zimbabwe’s rural poverty and the return to a subsistence and barter economy. We stayed at remote Gache Gache Lodge, and then after a stopover in Binga, experienced a time-warp in one of southern Africa’s great national parks, Hwange, which was almost deserted.
Go to the safari photo album
Recent Comments