Week 8 - Zimbabwe, Botswana

Saturday, January 12, 2019

Since Friday evening, we have been in Victoria Falls and once again we had a few free days ahead of us. Yesterday evening, we took a short walk through the small town and did some shopping. We were astonished by the sometimes very high prices in the supermarket. We already knew that it is difficult to buy certain groceries in Zimbabwe as everything has to be transported by land through other countries. But to see deodorant costing 17 Swiss francs or a pack of printer paper costing 25 Swiss francs left us a bit speechless.

Zimbabwe is in a politically and economically very uncertain situation. There is no financial means, the ATMs in the country are empty, and almost only US dollars or foreign currency is accepted. The local currency is sometimes not accepted at all. In 2006, Zimbabwe had a 100 trillion dollar note. These are now sold to tourists as souvenirs.

In the evening, we all went together for a farewell dinner. Many of us left in Victoria Falls. It was a fun evening where we talked about the best and worst moments and especially the best and worst campsites.

As mentioned before, we had a few free days in Victoria Falls. Free days that could be filled with optional excursions, and that's exactly what Cédric did on this Saturday. River rafting was on the program. I had the pleasure of river rafting in different countries before, so I decided not to do it this time. But Cédric didn't want to miss it.

The Zambezi River rafting is considered one of the best in the world with several class 6 (highest level) and class 5 rapids. Some rapids had to be bypassed as they were not navigable for ordinary people. We were three boats, and after the fourth rapid, 4 men gave up because they got panic. So it wasn't completely easy :-) But Cédric found the final exit from the gorge more challenging than the rafting itself. He came back exhausted in the late afternoon. The hunger was satisfied with a delicious hamburger in the evening.

Sunday, January 13, 2019

What would a visit to Victoria Falls be without seeing the world-famous Victoria Falls or also called Mosi-oa-Tunya (the smoke that thunders). With a width of 1700 meters and a height of about 100 meters, it is the largest falling water in the world and one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

After washing our clothes, we made our way to the park. The weather was very sunny, and the splashing water was a refreshing sight. Sometimes we got really wet and had to put away the camera. It's amazing that you can only admire the waterfalls from above. The water thunders down 100 meters onto rocks. Definitely worth a visit if you are ever nearby. We liked it.

Monday, January 14, 2019

We hit the road again. And we had to say goodbye to our old crew for good. Malinga, Steve, and Hesbon will drive back to Nairobi with a new group. We will spend the next few weeks with Dumile (guide), Benson (cook), and Moses (driver). The truck is also different. A bit more modern than the previous one. Three new fellow travelers will also join the new crew. After saying goodbye to eleven people, we are now 14. We will quickly notice how much more pleasant it is to travel with such a smaller group. Once again, we crossed the border into Botswana and a few hours later arrived at the familiar campground in Kasane. Another game drive and night in Chobe National Park awaited us. We did the same things as last week, which didn't bother us at all. We actually enjoyed it. So we packed our small backpack and were picked up by the 4x4 vehicles. Unfortunately, we didn't have as much luck as last week. The guide was not very motivated, and it started raining heavily. We didn't see many animals. However, the evening by the campfire was once again very nice. Instead of elephants like last time, we heard lions behind our tents this time.

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

We woke up at 5:30 am. After breakfast, another game drive through the national park was scheduled. Unfortunately, we did not have much luck and hardly saw any animals. We were all relieved when we returned to our camp. We set up our tents and relaxed by the campground pool and in the bar for the rest of the day.

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

One of the longest drives was on the agenda. 620 kilometers from Kasane to Maun. Maun was our starting point for our trip to the Okavango Delta. Although we had to cover so many kilometers, we still arrived in the late afternoon. The roads here in Botswana are better. We set up our tent, took a quick dip in the pool, and then packed our small backpacks for the overnight trip in the Okavango Delta.

Thursday, January 17, 2019

We were picked up early in the morning. We drove about 1.5 hours from Maun northwards to reach the Mokoro Poler's Station. The Okavango Delta is a huge inland river delta in the north of Botswana. It is known for its vast grassy plains that are seasonally flooded, providing lush habitat for animals. The delta area is rich in many local villages where many families live in a traditional way. Some of the villages are very remote and can only be reached by a traditional means of transport - the mokoro. Mokoros are dugout canoes pushed through the waterways by local guides. Two of us took a seat in such a canoe, lying rather than sitting, and were pushed through the waterways for two hours. Past thousands of water lilies and the occasional hippo. We were asked to move as little as possible as the "Polers" stood at the back of the narrow canoe, balancing the load. A sudden movement could upset the balance and tip the whole canoe. We arrived at our campsite in the middle of nowhere dry and completely relaxed. Our tents had an en-suite bathroom this time (see photos), and we spent the afternoon in the shade or taking a dip in the river. Once the hot afternoon sun had subsided a bit, we set off for a walking safari. We wandered through the grass on foot, saw a few wildebeests, zebras, and hippos. After dinner, we sat around the campfire for a while.

During these two days, the world could have ended and we wouldn't have known... The nearest village was a 1.5-hour ride by mokoro, and there was no cell reception.

Friday, January 18, 2019

We took a short walk before breakfast. After breakfast, we packed our things again and made our way back to Maun. The mokoro trip could have lasted even longer if the sun hadn't been so strong.

A few days earlier, we had reserved a spot in a small airplane for the afternoon. We wanted to complete our picture of the Okavango Delta and treated ourselves to a scenic flight over the area. With a Cessna 172 and our pilot Vincent, we saw various animals from the air – even a family of rhinos. Unfortunately, from the air, we could also see what we were told in the morning. In this rainy season, there has been very little rainfall so far, which has led to many rivers and waterways completely drying up. It's unimaginable what this means for the many animals if a lot of rain does not come soon. We saw the black storm clouds in the distance already during take-off, and shortly after take-off, we already experienced strong turbulence. Luckily, no one of us got sick, and we were able to land again with a good feeling.

We spent the night again at the campground in Maun. The nights here are now warm like in more northern countries, but still pleasant. However, we were woken up a few times during the night. And that was due to engine noises. It turned out in the morning that the police had to come. Our cook Moses' tent was robbed late at night. He only had what he was wearing. He was lucky to have his passport with him for once. Otherwise, we would all have had a problem because we had a border crossing in two days. They couldn't catch the culprit. It was probably someone from the campground staff.

Saturday, January 19, 2019

We didn't leave until 7:30 am. It was slowly starting to feel like vacation. The campgrounds are in much better condition. Rarely any rain, hot sunny weather, and much shorter driving days. We drove from Maun to Ghanzi. Our last night in Botswana was coming up. We arrived already after lunch. Our campground was a sandy desert, and it was incredibly hot. We washed our sleeping bags, had lunch, and headed off to spend the afternoon at the pool about 15 minutes away. There wasn't much else to do in this remote location.