Category Archives: Africa

(18-19 June)

Maun is the fifth largest town in Botswana, although it is still officially a village.. The population is about 55 000 (the latest numbers we can find). It’s quite a small town. You get just about everywhere in 20 min.

Wednesday we went for lunch at the Dusty Donkey again. We did check out a few options, but this seemed like the best. Maun is not on a culinary list, still we’ve done ok. The flat white (coffee) was too notch.

Before heading back to our accommodation, we stocked up for our long journey back to Gobabis tomorrow. Ordered sandwiches at Hillary’s ready to be picked-up in the morning. Also got a funnel for our jerrycan.

This evening we’re having take out. It will be nice to just relax by the bonfire for a bit.

The school children seem to be walking quite far to get to school. They often walk in small groups, laughing and talking. There must be quite a few schools since we see children with lots of different colors on their school uniforms.

Rush hour through the center start around 15.00, by 16.30 it is over. This seem to coincide with the children finishing school for the day. We saw them walking to school around 7 in the morning.

Pictures

(18 June)

This evening we drove to town and had dinner at a nice little restaurant, with mostly Italian food. We had pizza and gelato for dessert. Yummy!

We sat outside. Looking down at the sand we might have been in the Caribbean, but it was desert sand under our feet.

They had a lovely fire to being some warmth to the chilly night.

A game of Farkel is included in most every meal.

Pictures

At breakfast (yesterday) we had a chat with our innkeeper, 80 years old. He has lived in Botswana for the past 30 years, but was born in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). I told him Dad had been in the UN troops in Congo in 1959. Patrick told us he was in Elizabethville in 1959, and often visited and talked to the UN soldiers. He said it was a possibility that he might have spoken to Dad. A small world (possibly).

Pictures

Today (June 18) we have a relaxing day, just hanging about in Maun. We drove into town and had lunch at a cosy coffee shop, The Dusty Donkey. The sandwiches were great, anything but ‘dusty’. We also stopped into the town’s tiny Nahabe Museum. They were just hanging photos for a new exhibition, but they let us look around. Admission by donations.

We then went back to our guesthouse. Have been relaxing by the small swimming pool (no swimming for us since it was only 17 degrees in the water). We are also enjoying the tranquility of the river view from our balcony. There is an abundant birdlife around the river. Goats walk by, and cows wander down to the river to drink. This morning I saw a couple walk by with a wash basket. They had done laundry in the river. We settled for doing it in our scrubba ‘washing machine’. I made some great coffee in the afternoon.

A small boat ferries people across the river. In the morning to go to work, and int the afternoon to go home.

According to Patrick, our innkeeper, the water level is normally 10 m higher at this time of the year. Now they are hoping for rain in November. It must rain in Angola in December, at the latest, for the water to reach here in May.

There’s no beginning, there’ll be no end. The river doesn’t have a defined beginning (spring), and no clear end (delta).

Pictures

It’s a curious thing about the hairdryers, the plugs and the sockets. I have borrowed a hairdryer in each accommodation. The plugs are European, and the sockets South African. The two doesn’t fit together. The simple explanation is that only foreigners use the hair dryers, and they just assume everyone brought their own converters (we did of course).

This innkeeper is the exception to the rule. Not only did he supply a converter. He also had an extension cord long enough to reach a mirror. A small luxury!

Another thing at this inn that we haven’t been spoiled with before is a hot shower. Bliss! At all the other places it has been, at best, lukewarm.

Pictures

(17 June)

We left our little cottage with the sand garden around 10 am. Drove back to Ghanzi town, just up the road, to get some cash and fill up with diesel. We also bought a jerry can, and filled it up. Better safe than sorry. And of course a quick stop in Shop-Rite, got some large plastic bags to put our backpacks in when we’ll drive on gravel roads later on.

Today we had about 3,5-4 hours drive ahead of us. Speed limit on the highway is 120 km/h. Part of the road was quite narrow (from a European perspective), speed limit on a similar road in Sweden would most likely be 70 km/h. The traffic is not particularly heavy, and the road very straight. There are no shoulders on the sides, just sand and som grass straws.

We passed two veterinary check-points, due to foot-and-mouth decease in some regions, however, we didn’t have to stop (didn’t have any meat or dairy either).

Not much happening driving along the Trans Kalahari Hwy, passed a few small towns and villages. Saw kids coming from school, some in regular clothes, some in a sort of school uniform. Most houses we saw were small, made from brick. We did se some small huts as well. And of course all the farm animals.

In Botswana the drive was a bit less tedious, and as a precaution we switched drivers every hour. The road was not in quite as good condition as in Namibia. The narrower road, and a few little bends and slight inclinations made it less tiering.

We have a sat nav, and a map. Still it was pretty difficult to find the small dirt track to our accommodation, we had been warned it might be hard to find. Got close, but not exactly right. Went back to a gas station and asked a safari guide (he looked like one at least). Supposedly there were signs marking the exits. There were, tiny ones, most of them facing in a direction very hard to detect from the road. We finally found it. A fabulous B&B/guesthouse overlooking the Thamalakane river.

Pictures

(16 June)

Our over night stop on our journey between Windhoek and Maun is in Ghanzi. A small town in the northern edge of the Kalahari desert. We’re staying on a lodge a few km outside of town. We’re staying in a small cottage. After checking in, it was very nice to stretch our legs and take a short walk. From our cottage we saw antelopes, and on our walk we first heard, then saw, three lions.

There was a beautiful sunset, and the moon is almost full. It’s fun to see the stars in the southern hemisphere for a change.

Pictures

After breakfast we headed off on the Trans Kalahari Highway toward the border between Namibia and Botswana. The road from Windhoek to Gobabis was straight as if drawn with a ruler. The landscape is almost completely flat, small mountains can be seen in the distance. The colors of the countryside are mostly brown, beige, and grey. Shrubs, bushes and small trees.

Wild animals, such as warthogs, and monkeys cross the highway, or roam around on the side. There are fences on the side of the highway, at home that would be so the wild animals would not be able to get onto the road. Here the animals are mostly on the side of the fence where the highway is. There are also numerous farm animals; horses, cows, goats, donkeys.

Before arriving at Buitepos, and the border crossing at Mohembo, we stopped in Gobabis. We wanted to stock up on plenty of water and some snacks for the journey. For lunch, to make it quick, we just got some pepper beef pies at Shop-Rite.

There weren’t many people crossing the border at the time we were there. We filled out our forms and was stamped out of Namibia, then drove through a short no man’s land. On the Botswana side we had to fill out another form. They checked our passports and Alex’s birth certificate. Then we had to sign the car into a ledger, go to another till and pay road tax. After that we were good to go.

The landscape on the Botswana side was pretty similar. A bit more green, and some trees are a bit larger, and a few more in numbers. Still animals on the road. Apart from the ones mentioned above we saw an ostrich family, two adults and two little ones. I wouldn’t say there were rolling hills, but there was a slight change in the road, and also some small curves.

It took us a little short of 7,5 hrs to get to our lodge in Ghanzi. Just over 550 km. The highway is fairly good, two lanes (one in each direction), and not much traffic. Speed limit outside towns is 120 km/h.

Pictures

The flight from Victoria Falls to Windhoek only took 1 hr 20 min. Immigration was painless. Just passports, and a check of Alexander’s birth certificate. Anna entered her 70th country.

Picked up our rental car, and all necessary documents.

About one hour after landing we were checked in to our accommodation for the night.

(16 June)

This morning we head off for Botswana after breakfast. We have a five hour drive (according to google, probably more) ahead of us. Plus time for a border crossing.

Pictures

Our flight was scheduled to depart at 16.30. We received a message (quite a while ago) that it was delayed until 18.30. When we arrived at the airport a little after 15, the check-in was just opening. The information board still says 16.30. The guy at the counter told us the flight would leave at 19.30. A girl in a shop told us the past two weeks the flight to and from Windhoek has arrived and departed a bit randomly. Today, maybe 19.30, maybe 21.30. No one knows. Maybe tomorrow it will be back on schedule. Maybe…

It’s a modern, pretty small airport. Some souvenir shops, a restaurant, and a coffee shop. The coffee shop said they would be open until our flight left. The waitress was kind enough to find out information, since none was to be found.

We finally taxied out at 18.10 (!) and took of five minutes later.

Pictures