At a campsite situated on the Zambezi river, above Vic Falls, we met up with the rest of the travellers and crew who we would be spending the next 19 days with. The truck we would be travelling on, called Mara named after a river boardering Kenya and Tanzania, started her journey in Nairobi, Kenya and Livingstone was a hop on hop off point for some of the travellers. Five of the original people would be travelling down to Cape Town and the rest were heading to Johannesburg. After a night of getting to know our fellow travellers we headed off on Thursday 3rd June to cross the Zambian border into Botswana, known for its teaming wildlife and vast open expanses.
For the second time on our journey we were crossing a river to make our way in to another country - except this time minus the goats, chickens, crying babies and plus lots of leg room. Our first stop was Chobe National park and we were excited to see what wildlife Botswana had to offer. After a disturbed nights sleep trying to get used to sleeping on a very thin mat in a tent, we were up at 5.30am ready to set off on our game drive. As we all huddled together in the game vehicle wrapped in our blankets and sleeping bags, this was the first realisation that Africa is NOT always hot. The bitter cold wind hit our faces, and it felt as if our noses were going to fall off. After the sun rose we all gradually started to thaw out we started to appreciate the surrounding beauty and aniamls.
Although we weren't lucky enough to see any of the big cats this time we still came across a large herd of cape buffalo, giraffe, elephants, warthogs and a small family of banded mongoose. In the afternoon we all went on a boat safari along the Chobe river, with a drink in hand, and managed to see a large herd of elephants drinking and playing in the mud of the river banks. 
There was a baby elephant that was still learning to use its trunk to drink water, so it had to emerse its whole head in the water to drink. As the sun started to set we got very close to a school of hippos who would regularly open their mouths and yawn to ensure we didn't get too close. 
We were up early the next day and headed for our next destination, Maun. Although most of the day was taken up with travelling we managed to take in the stunning sunflower fields and wild elephants roaming along the side of the road. This is definately the image of Africa every child dreams of. That night as normal we all helped with our daily chores, from cleaning out the truck to helping make the dinner. We all sat around the big fire eating our scrumptious dinner and chatting the evening away. Another very early start (as you can see there is a theme here) where we quickly packed away our tents and gobbled up some breakfast before heading in to the Okovango delta. The Okovango delta is created by the water which runs down from the mountains in Angola and when it gets to Botswana it spreads like fingers to create the worlds largest natural eco-systems. Our real journey in to the delta started when we got in to our 2 man makoro, which is a wooden dugout canoe.
Each makoro has a poler who stands at the back and pushes and guides you through the reeds and lilies (very similar to punting for those people who have been to Oxford and Cambridge - but with even more breathtaking views). We sat back and enjoyed the ride, as we watched the world go by. Our poler, Miriam guided us safely to our island in the delta, which was to be our home for the night. After putting up our tents, we spent the afternoon having a go on the makoros on our own trying not to land up in the water. The polers definately make it look a lot easier than it really is. At 4pm we were taken out for a guided walk around the area trying to track different animals and from a distance we spotted a group of zebra and a lone wilderbeast. In the evening we had a traditional south african dish called potjie (a stew brewed in a pot over the fire) and watched our polers and guides put on an entertaining display of singing and dancing.
The following morning after seeing another stunning African sunrise we went on our final bush walk in the delta and managed to see some lion tracks from the night before, which made everyone that much more alert. We packed up camp and had another leisurely ride on the makoro back to our truck. It was very relaxing until the last few minutes when we saw and heard a large male hippo who was warning us to stay clear.
That night we celebrated Neelam's 30th birthday, with some good food and a chocolate cake around the camp fire. Although some people wanted to party in to the wee hours of the morning, Kim (grumpy old man) got up and told them to keep down the noise, as some of us were trying to get some shut eye. Needless to say no one remembered a thing in the morning, even the birthday girl who saw her birthday cake for the second time all over the bathroom floor!
Our next destination was Ghanzi, a small town near the Botswana/Namibia border in the Kalahari desert. We camped in a quaint campsite with replica bushman huts. Some of the group went on a bushman walk, with people who continue to live off the land and learned about various plants which they use for medicinal purposes. After a relaxing evening roasting marshmallows on the fire we headed to bed, ready to wake up nice and early and cross into Namibia.
The next installement of our overland trip will follow shortley. I have to add we are both dissappointed with England crashing out of the world cup but very proud of bafana bafana.
Love
Kim and Nat
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