Central Kalahari & Okavango Delta, July 2013 *

[iNdlovu]

11 days and counting. It's time to start gathering all the needed equipment and putting it in one place. At the moment it is spread in various nooks and crannies in the garage and garden shed.
The Landy has had a major service and has been checked over from front to back, which doesn't guarantee anything, but does give one a feeling of security. I'll need to put about 2 liters of diesel in each jerry can as well as fill the water tanks with water and a bit of Milton and drive around with them for a few days to rinse them out.

Work things always seem to get in the way, so I had better start getting ready now.

[Sprocky]

Don't forget to put your Timbi stickers on!!!

You can go without water, but not without Timbi!

[iNdlovu]

The sticker is already on Sprocs. I reckon I'll fill the tanks with the best of Johnny Walker RP, I'm sure it travels better than beer

There you go Sprocks, just for you

[iNdlovu]

Alarm? Who needs an alarm, I've been awake since 01:00. Too excited to sleep, but not in a rush to vacate the cozy warm bed, surely Johannesburg in the winter is designed for Inuit persons. But the lure of Botswana is too strong and I roll out of bed at 03:00, a quick shower, last shave for a while and I'm ready to get to the prearranged spot to meet up with the 2 other vehicles. 10 of us in total have a quest to experience. From 03:45 the others start arriving, some dropped off by sleepy wives who brave the dark night and bitter cold. For a few years I have been meaning to get the heater fixed in the Landy, but somehow have never got around to it, but we'll survive with the help of warm jackets and beanies.


The highway is busy, doesn't anyone sleep around here? But after passing Pretoria, it smooths out and we are able to maintain a steady 110 K/Hour. Our route for today is up the N1 as far as the turnoff to Nylstroom, Vaalwater, Ellisras (Lephalale), through the SA/Botswana border at Grobler's Bridge/Martin's Drift and onward to Khama Rhino Sanctuary outside Serowe.

The three vehicles have two way radios and there is an excited banter filling the airwaves. With the 4 older members traveling in the Landy, it is soon tagged as the Pensioner's Wagon, the Toyota is transporting 4 of the younger guys and is referred to as the Play Pen and the Pajero with the remaining 2 people is dubbed the Overflow. Pretty soon we see the Engen sign for the Kranskop Toll Plaza against the still dark sky, it's time for a Wimpy breakfast and a Mega coffee.



This is a lengthy affair and we need to hit the road in a hurry, next stop Ellisras where the other two vehicles will need to re-fuel. On route, the sun slowly shows itself, it will be a big job to warm up the cold morning, but it does show itself in spectacular fashion.



After all the coffee, a pit stop is called for, something achieved quite easily with no ladies on the trip, a farm fence will do.


The Play Pen crowd

[iNdlovu]

Thanks Nan, the sunrise was really beautiful.

Before our departure, the trip treasurer had gone into the bank to increase the daily draw limit on the card for the trip bank account, so we pull into a fuels station with an ATM to fill up the 2 vehicles and to draw some cash. No luck, the bank had messed it up and somehow our limit became R100. Frantic phone calls to the bank produced absolutely zero and this situation continued for the entire trip, frustrating and nerve racking to say the least, however we are able to use the card to pay for fuel etc so not the worst scenario.

Finally we reach the border at Grobler's Brug where all formalities take less that 10 minutes.


Then we cross the great, green, greasy to the Bots side of Matin's Drift, again...everything is a breeze.



On the road again, we find the first 40 kilometers to be more potholes than tar, but we dodge as best we can and reach the small town of Palapye where we stop at Sandys Butchery. We had placed our meat order with Mike and it is all ready for us, vacuum packed according to meals...so easy to manage. In addition Mike also exchanged some $US into Pula for us, so at least we have a bit of cash.


Next stop Serowe to buy some fresh groceries and a case or two of Bots beer, then the final 30 k's to Khama


Are we happy to have the first day of 608 kilometers behind us? You don't have to guess.


Because of the early start tomorrow, we don't camp but are staying in these two roomed, 4 bed bungalows, each with their own shower toilet and basin, very comfortable.

[iNdlovu]

We arrive at the camp site and offload our kit bags and a few cases of beer. The local Bots beer is called St Louis. The one in the white can is light, very tasty and refreshing and then there is the St Louis Export. An excellent beer, even better than my favorite Castle Lager, I wish we could buy it in SA, incredible stuff.



Everyone takes turns in making the meals for the day and although we arrive just before sundown, we have some rolls with cold meet and cheese to ease grumbling stomachs before our braai.
The setting sun bathes the surrounding trees in golden light.



The afternoon rolls suitably garnished, a masterpiece.



Serious business over with, we get on with the fun stuff of pouring a few .



My thoughts turn to Mel as Walter organizes my first scotch of the trip.



Gathered around the new fire, we chat and discuss the stories of the day until someone calls that the meat is ready, the finest fillet steaks with pap & sauce.



Then it's just sitting and chilling around the fire, the silence of the bush melding with your soul and all tensions drain away like a wave reseeding on the shore.

[iNdlovu]

Thanks for the comments guys, today we get into the trip properly.......

Our second day starts just after sunrise. Although the distance for the day is only 414 kilometers, the last eighty are very sandy and heavy going and we expect to take at least 4.5 hours to do those last eighty clicks, hopefully we'll be proven wrong.
We quickly repack the vehicles with the stuff taken out for the overnight stop. it's a matter of finding a little space and squeezing stuff in. We also take this time to fill all water tanks for the time in the CKGR where there is absolutely no water. All three 4x4's are loaded to the roof and I think the others get a bit tired of my moaning about them taking everything but the kitchen sink on a trip like this. I wouldn't have been surprised to see a hair dryer or something equally ridiculous emerge from the kit.





At the gate of Khama we load a few bags of fire wood onto the Landy for our first night in the CKGR, we'll probably arrive a little late to gather some.

And then we hit the highway once more. A pretty uneventful drive until we reach the little town of Letlhakane where we all need to refuel. The situation with the card limit rears it's ugly head, but again the manager of the local Chappies (Supermarket) agrees, after some begging and pleading to change some cash into Pula for us. Meanwhile the rest of the gang is killing time back at the fuel station obviously getting a bit bored which results in a few pranks



On my return to the garage I find them up to something with the Landy


And it takes me some time to notice a new accessory which they have purchased


And an even longer time to notice the kitchen sink/bath on the roof


A few choice words has them returning the bath to the vendor from whom they had borrowed it to give me a rev, but the cow/donkey bell stayed, no matter how much I protested.

All fueled up and the bill settled, we hit the highway once again. Shortly before Rakops we start encountering a few pans and the warming morning air creates huge dust devels which litter the entire northwestern horizon.



We cross the Botete River and reach the jumping off point for the Central Kalahari Game reserve and have to stop for the required road sign pic. By now the time is about 11:45

[iNdlovu]

Day 2 continues.

So here we are off the tar and ready to tackle the 45 kilos to the park gate and another 40 to our camp. The track heads straight towards the southern horizon, not too bad except for a few patches of soft stuff and then suddenly the talcum powder gets thick and deep. We select 4 wheel drive, second gear and do everything we can to keep up momentum, slowing down or stopping in the soft stuff is not the way to go. At times, the odd donkey or cow is in the way, but we keep grinding through, hoping they'll move before we have to stop.


At times the track star bursts into many secondary tracks that people have made in the passed to get around particularly bad spots, the trick is to choose the right one. We seem to be lucky by not having to drive over or through too many bushes on these deviations. Suddenly the radio crackles, the Toyota is stuck.

We (in the Landy) find a reasonably firm patch to do a 50 point U turn and head back to yank them out, reverse for about a kilometer until the footing is firm enough to turn around and off we go once again.


At times we pull over to wait for the rest of the convoy in order to make sure we don't get too far ahead


And eventually we reach the Park Gates, at this stage we are about halfway to our final destination


Formalities completed, we set off once again. The track seems to improve, although there are many places of very soft sand, this being the dry season. Fortunately there are no more incidents.
We know we are close when we reach Deception Pan in the Deception Valley.


The sign seems way off the truth in the dry season, but I know what this place is like in the rainy season...black cotton soil that seems to suck your vehicle in.


Whew, we've made it...the turn off to our very own Camp Site Sunday Pan #2, our nearest neighbor camp being about 8 k's away.


The others catch up and we start pitching camp, you don't want to be caught out there without shelter after dark, there are no fences and because of the nearby waterhole at Sunday Pan, it is famous for it's numbers of Kalahari lion roaming through the camp.


Many hands make light work and as the sun sets the temperatures drop drastically as they can in the Kalahari





Pretty soon, we're all done and can take the time to sit around another great fire, feeding on Marinated Pork Ribs, chops and yes RP even a salad. The biggest surprise was a bowl of ice cream for dessert.
Dishes washed, food packed away and locked back in the vehicles we can gaze at a beautiful moon with a trillion bright stars.



The night was un-eventfull, at about 01:00 I got up to check the surroundings and was greeted by a few yellow eyes on the camps perimeter, but these were only the eyes of 2 jackal and a bat eared fox checking up on us. The roar of a lion and the whoop of hyena were also heard, but were probably about 2 kilometers away.

But Oh, what a sight to behold on the morning of the third day

[pooky]

Awesome iNdy

Lovely sunrise, with miles and miles of nothing but bush or lack thereof


Flutterby - Goats do Roam is a take on the French wine 'Cote du Rhone' (SP)
Fairview wasn't allowed to use the French name so they came up with Goats do Roam
as they also have a herd of Saanen goats which they milk and make cheese from the
milk. (I was their first cheese maker back in the '80s)

Sorry iNdlovu for high jacking your TT

[iNdlovu]

Day 3
After watching the golden Kalahari sun break the horizon we boil up some water on the fire which is brought back to life from last night, fill a few flasks with good hot coffee and climb aboard the three vehicles to head to the waterhole to see if there is any action.
As we wind our way down the slight rise to Sunday Pan this bustard greets us


We follow the track to the waterhole and there is very little action out on the vastness of the pan, other than a lone Springbok and a Gemsbok stretching in the early morning light,a giraffe gives us the lofty eye as we trundle slowly passed.


We reverse into a viewing spot about 50 meters away from the waterhole and quietly wait.

Soon the one that stays busy rushing everywhere but doing nothing arrives


and a family of ground squirrels appear through the trees, very interested in the vehicles


Not before long a young Kudu bull with his entourage arrive followed shortly by 3 Gemsbok



The lofty one finally arrives at the waterhole and pretty soon the place seems to be tingling with nervous activity as a hyper herd of Springbok arrive to add to the already present one's and two's.