Back to Botswana

From Zambia we headed back to Botswana via the river crossing on the ferry at Kazungula. What absolute chaos that border post is.  There are cars, trucks and people everywhere and as soon as we arrived we had guys running up to us to help us “through the system”.  We were unofficially adopted by one who knew better than we that we would never figure it out.  We had to sign out our passport details in a ledger.  I was using my Bermuda Passport as I had thought it may have been easier for Zim and Zam but the British Passport written at the top sets the tone for any encounter with a Government official.  We were at the Customs desk dealing with exporting the vehicle when the Immigration Officer came marching over and rather aggressively told us that we had only entered the South African passport details and not the British passport details.  Once I showed him it was a Bermuda passport, which had been recorded, his tone completely switched and he was making jokes with us and couldn’t understand why Bermuda hadn’t got ride of the British emblem and ties.  Despite long lines of hundreds of trucks at the ferry ramp (aka river bank), we drove straight to the front of the “queue” and were baffled, as we were the only vehicle onboard along with passengers laden with cabbages and firewood for the 5 minute crossing.

We enjoyed another magnificent sunset and night of camping on the Chobe River and braai’d our remaining meat as we were heading South the next day.  Meat cannot be transported from North to South or from West to East in Botswana.  However if you hide some in the very bottom of the fridge and act dumb it gets snuck through :)

The road from Kasane to Nata must be one of the WORST road conditions in the world – especially on what would seem a major route from SA to Northern Botswana and onto Zim or Zam.  The potholes are so large, so frequent and so many that you can’t avoid them.  Gravel lanes had been created in some areas but even they were full of holes.   We even parked the car inside a massive pothole for a Kodak moment.  

We saw vultures flying above and they were just snacking on a dead elephant that must have been the victim of a hit and complete vehicle destruction.  A little ways further on we saw another though all that was left of him was a skull and ribcage.  No leftovers with scavengers around!

We made our way from the Northern most corner in Kasane to the most Eastern corner in the Tuli Block to the Limpopo River Lodge in the Tuli Block…forgetting that it borders with South Africa so the winter temperatures have returned.  I slept with thermals, fleece, flannel pants, two pairs of socks and two artic sleeping bags and if I could have coordinated a flannel blanket in the night that would have also made it onto keeping me warm..brr!!  Reception was closed so they hid a key under a rock for us as we had warned them we’d be arriving late and part of the welcoming committee was an elephant at our campsite.