Overland Tour Botswana and Victoria Falls 2007

Road to Nata

Early morning five brave tourists met the first time in the Drifters Johannesburg Inn to start their great journey to Africa’s nature. There were Liz and Forest from the US, Daniel and Devon from Australia and myself. Merle from Australia skipped the long drives and joined our group later in Maun. And last but not least, there was Tim our guide for the tour.

Tropic of the Capricorn

We started early because we had a long drive all the way from Jo'burg to Nata. We passed many private farms on our way to the border at Martin's Drift and we crossed the tropic of the Capricorn before crossing the border to Botswana. In late afternoon we reached our first destination, the Nata Lodge.

Pool at Nata Lodge

We spent two nights at the lodge. Originally it was only planned for one night but while driving through the Nata Bird Sanctuary a problem with our truck was discovered and needed to be fixed before continuing the tour. We would have loved to spend a night in the Makgadikgadi Pans but we were also quite happy that we were stuck near a pool and bar and not in the middle of nowhere. So we used the time to befriend each other and Castles and Windhoeks. Fortunately this was our only technical problem during the trip.

Bushbaby

After getting dark there were bushbabies visiting the lodge to have their dinner near the bar. They were very cautious, grabbed something to eat from their food place and with a big jump they disappeared into the tree. But it took not long for them to return for the next piece of food.

Our Camp and Truck

Drifters have their own area on the lodge's campsite. We put up our tents there, or actually for the firt night, they were already waiting for us. The tents were really big and windows could be opened almost everywhere to provide fresh air and to offer views of the surroundings. With Drifters a tent is normally shared by two people, but since the tour was not fully booked and the tents were there anyway, everybody who wanted a tent on his own got one.

Springbuck

We had reached our starting point and we had moved into our new homes, so it was time to go for our first game drive. The Nata Bird Sanctuary is not far from the Nata lodge and this was where we entered the Makgadikgadi Pans.

During the raining season, the pans are covered by large lakes that dry up over time.

Flamingos

While there is still water in the pans, it is the home of fish and other water dwelling animals and those offer a rich menu for all the water loving birds that inhabit the pans during this time. Large colonies of flamingos can be found there.

Wattled Cranes

When the pans fill up with water, they get immediately inhabited by fish that then feed lots of cranes.

We really enjoyed the drive and our first encounter with African wildlife. When returning to the lodge, we all looked forward to spending the night in the pans but since the truck had a problem and needed to be fixed, the Nata Bird Sanctuary was our only trip to the Makgadikgadi Pans and the next day, we continued our journey.

Woodland Kingfisher

Next stop after Nata was Maun, the door to the Okavango delta. It was quite a drive to get there and we were happy when we arrived at the Drifters Maun camp where we would spend the night. Later that day Merle joined our group.

Boteti River

The camp has a huge garden right next to the Boteti river and we could watch lots of different birds coming by to allow us taking some photos.

Flying over the Okavango Delta

In the morning we started our trip into the Okavango delta. We bored to five-seated planes and decided for the scenic view option that didn't take the direct route to our destination, but showed us more of the delta from above, e.g. Chiefs Island.

Okavango Delta

The flight was quite impressive and was a great introduction to the unique ecosystem of the Okavango Delta. It is the world largest inland delta where the Okavango river creates innumerous channels before it disappears in the Kalahari dessert.

Runway near Pom Pom

After a little less than an hour, we finally saw a dusty stretch on an island, our destination airport.

Warthog

After landing, we were immediately greeted by a warthog family.

Lilac-breasted Roller

The lilac-breasted roller is the national bird of Botswana, we saw lots of them on our trip.

Pied Kingfisher

We had many bird watchers in our group and the delta offered many opportunities to them. It was great that we spent time not only looking for the large mammals but also for smaller animals.

Impala

The first mammals we found were a group of Impalas and we kept seeing Impalas many times later on.

Lechwe

The Lechwe we found next are not as numerous and you have to watch closely to distinguish them from Impalas (look at the horn).

Water Lily

It was again time to switch transport, so we left behind the Jeep that took us through the island and moved into the Mokoros that were waiting for us.

Elephant at a fallen Baobab Tree

OOur camp was an a small island called Baobab Island but the tree that once gave the island its name had fallen over just a few weeks before we arrived and this turned out to be a good thing.

We just started settling down in the camp when Shaku our local chief guide offered to show us our first elephants. He and Tim lead us to the group of elephants, always making sure that we were quit and that there was enough distance between us and the elephants.

Close-up Elephant

While we were really cautious about keeping some distance to the elephant, one of the young bulls of the group thought different and decided to inspect us. He came in our direction, so we retreated. But no help, he kept coming to us, so finally the only thing we could do was to climb the fallen Baobab tree. Since these trees are huge, we all had enough space on it and the elephant couldn't get to us. The elephant decided to have a snack and started to feed on the leaves of the tree and we could watch it really close. After some time the elephant decided to leave us and we were able to return to the camp.

Elephant behind the Tent

The elephants stayed on the island and we could hear them the whole day. In the evening the moved through the bush right behind my tent and at night Tim was surprised by an elephant that wanted to join the teeth brushing.

Mokoro

The Mokoro is the traditional vehicle in the delta. It used to be made of a single tree but today they use plastic Mokoros.

Marabou Stork

The Okavango Delta is a paradise for birds of all kinds. There are plenty of fruits and seeds, insects and many water dwellers. The Marabou is a stork, but it feeds primarily carrion.

Sunset

A roughly two hour Mokoro tour on the evening was the quiet end of the first exciting day in the Delta. Almost silently the Mokoros move through the small channels, and all we heard was the sound of nature.

Waterbuck

The best time to observe animals is the morning and evening. So we had an early start next morning, again in a Mokoro.

African Darter

Our path led us back to the island with the runway; past trees full of darters, waiting for fish or letting their feathers get dried.

Elephant Food

On the island, we took our first hike. From a distance, we could see antelopes. This time we saw no Elephants, but with the marks on the trees it was clear that they had a snack here.

Bearded Woodpecker

Back at the camp, we were welcomed by a woodpecker, directly over our heads.

Hippo

Having another evening Mokoro ride we met hippos. These harmless and cumbersome looking animals can become quite uncomfortable, and be nimble if they feel threatened. On their account are the majority of wild animals caused deaths. So, we stayed at a safe distance.

Sacred Ibis

Ibis and other water birds use the early evening hours in order to go hunting in large swarms.

A Beauteous Evening

Another day was coming to an end. In the last rays of the sun the reeds reflected in the quiet waters.

Giraffe Family

As dawn broke we went on another exploration tour, this time directly to the island where we had our camp. Since the island is not very big, and we were on foot, we had to wade through knee-deep water to the neighboring island. But the effort was worth it, we soon met a giraffe family on their morning walk.

Sausage Tree

The unusual shape of its fruit brought to the sausage tree its name. The fruits are used in traditional medicine for all sorts of ailments.

Baboons

From a distance we heard the barking of baboons, but it took some time before we could see the family. As these wild baboons virtually have no contact with people they were not particularly interested on us. In areas where they are fed by unreasonable tourists they aggressively beg for food.

Little Bee-Eater

The remoteness of the delta allows getting very close to birds, as the people are not perceived as a threat.

Lechwe

Again and again we met antelopes on the hike. At lunch time, we then went back to the camp to have lunch and from recover from the hike.

Hippo

In the evening we went for a sunset Mokoro tour. Here we came fairly close to a hippopotamus family and the slogan: "Don't worry, they won't eat you ... they just kill you" was created.

Night Water Lily

In the evening the night water lily opens. It differs from the normal water lilies by the jagged leaves.

Papyrus

The channels of the delta are lined with papyrus.

Sunset

Sunsets in the Delta are a very sensual experience. It gives you an enormous feeling, seeing the last rays of sun coloring the water and the sky. Thereafter, however, it is time to hurry, to get back to the camp before the hippos start their nocturnal excursions.

Our Camp in the Delta

The Drifters camp in the Delta consists of several stationary tents, a large kitchen and dining area and of course the bar (the large white box, which ensures that the beer stays nice and cold). During the entire trip, Tim provided excellent food, we had only had to help cutting things and dish washing.

Channel in the Delta

The canals in the delta would quickly become overgrown, if the hippos wouldn't keep them free. They use them as roads on their trips and ensure that we could use them we at daytime with the Mokoro.

Broad-Billed Roller

Since the time in the Delta came to an end, we broke camp and headed back to the runway.

Saddle-billed Stork

First we went by Mokoro and then again used the Jeep.

Our plane

We were picked up by a twelve-seated plane and brought back to Maun.

Delta from the air (with an Elephant at the water hole near the right top )

After spending four days in the Delta, we saw it with totally different eyes on the return flight.

Maun from the air

When we first houses of Maun, we thought back to the wonderful days in the Delta and we would have preferred to remain longer. But our journey continues, we were also looking forward to visit the National Parks.

Drifters Maun Camp

Drifters maintains a camp at Maun with a bar and a small swimming pool. Since we were the only guests we put our tents right next to the bar with a magnificent view over the river.

Dusk at the Boteti River

In the evening we enjoyed the sunset comfortably sitting by the pool.

Zebra

The next morning we were heading to the national parks. On the way we were able to observe the first zebra crossings.

Red-billed Hornbill

At the camp directly at the entrance of the Moremi National Park, we had lunch break. A curious hornbill watched us and probably hoped for some of the sandwiches.

Bush Squirrel

A rustling in the nearby bushes made us curious and we found a bush squirrel looking for food.

Dwarf Mongoose

But the Bush Squirrel was not alone; it was accompanied by some dwarf mongoose. We also got new accompaniment, a local guide to drive us through the parks. Botswana puts great importance on having a local guide.

White-Backed Vulture

After lunch, we went further into the park, we were quite late and we had to hurry to reach our campsite before the dark.

Kori Bustard

In Moremi live countless birds.

Savanna

The Moremi National Park is located on the eastern edge of the Okavango Delta so part of it is of water and marsh and another is typical African bush.

Ruff, Blacked Winged Silt, Water Thick-Knee

At the numerous water holes live many water birds.

Crocodile

Where there is such a rich food supply, the carnivores are not missing.

Young Elephant

In Moremi live many elephants. At a certain age to keep the young bulls are removed from the herd and go alone as a bachelor.

Wildebeest

Wildebeest are antelopes and normally live in large herds. Sometimes, however, they are also encountered in small groups.

Elephant

Elephants are almost constantly eating, no wonder, they need tons of greens to supply such a big body.

Lion stalking

The dawn broke, and we had not yet arrived at our destination as we met a new obstacle. In the middle of the road in front of us two lions lay comfortably. One of them soon became very interested in some zebras grazing in a distance.

Lioness at Dusk

The lioness was comfortable and stayed on the road. Since it was quite dark and flash was used, I had feared it could disrupt the lions, but they took no interest at all. They not even turned their head around to see what was going on. Gladly we would have looked even longer, but we had to go.

Camp Fire

It was already dark when we reached our campsite. We were very happy that we had to drive for some time after meeting the lions because the only existing infrastructure was the campsite number in a tree. So we set up our tents and had dinner at the campfire.

Mongoose

At dawn, we went for a game drive. Tents and trailer were left back at the camp. In the first light we discovered a mongoose family.

Warning at 3rd Bridge

About the campsite at 3rd Bridge, I had already read in a guide book. This is where individual tourists stay in the park and there are also simple facilities. I was very happy that we stayed at a special place for groups, surrounded by nothing but nature.

3rd Bridge

Since the 3rd Bridge is fairly well known, I had expected it to look somehow differently. Our two guides first had to evaluate before we could drive on it with the truck.

Tawny Eagle

Hadeda Ibis

You notice early if you are approaching a water hole because you'll find an increasing number of birds in the bushes.

African Fish Eagle

Eagles are always impressive.

Yellow-billed Stork, Spoonbill

A water hole provides food for all kinds of water birds.

Yellow-billed Heron, Yellow-billed Stork

The water birds are not impressed by the crocodiles even though many of them populate the pond.

Carmine Bee-Eater

Saddle-billed Stork

At the Water Hole

A water hole offers many opportunities to observe animals.

Impala

We meet again and again large herds of Impala.

Elephant Family

Elephants have little natural enemies, just when they are small they risk becoming victim of predators. Therefore the elephant mothers take good care of the young.

Two little Elephants

As adults, they will be huge but the smallest of the elephants are too little to look over the high grass.

Our first Camp in Moremi

Around noon, we went back to the camp for lunch and to break camp.

Helmeted Guinea-Fowl

Then we went for our new place to reach it in daylight.

Hippos

The sun was already quite deep when we reached a lake inhabited by lots of Hippos.

Camping near the Lake

To our surprise this was also our second camp in Moremi, right next to the lake.

Second Camp in Moremi

We set up to our tents and had the bush toilet with the best panorama in the world, with direct view of the lake dyed red by the evening sun and hearing the sounds of the Hippos.

Pearl-Spotted Owlet

In the night we were visited by an owlet that settled directly in the tree above us.

Lion

In the morning we had to clear the camp quickly, and then we went on a game drive. To our great joy we discovered a male lion, although he tried to hide behind a pile of termites. There is a wonderful book of a British family in Moremi that participates in a lion research project. Three of the children tell of their life in the bush and how they support their parents in the research: "Lion Children" by Angus, Maisie and Travers McNeice. The family also founded an organization to rescue the lions: http://www.lionaid.org/.

Tsessebe

Even though we already were travelling for a while, there were always new species to see, that we had not previously discovered.

Comb Duck

To leave Moremi we had to first return to the South Entrance and use the road outside the park, the route in the park itself was impassable.

Red-billed Quelea

But despite the detour, we reached Savuti Park, a separate part of the Chobe National Park. On the way we discovered huge swarms of small birds.

Red-billed Quelea

Almost like a swarm of bees are the formations of red-billed Quelea.

Zebra Family

As with human fingerprints every zebra pattern is unique.

Road Block

It happens that an elephant stands comfortably in the middle of the road. There's no choice but to wait until the road is clear again.

European Roller

Again and again we discovered new species of birds in the bushes near the trails. Thanks to our bird lovers, they were always identified quickly.

Ostriches

While the small birds were hard to find, the ostriches could not be overlooked.

Black-backed Jackal

Jackals belong to the family of dogs and feed mainly on small animals.

Steenbok

Around noon it started to rain and so it remained the whole afternoon. We were lucky that it only drizzled when we put up our tents and ate dinner. We went to bed early.

Flooding at Chobe

Normally, the Chobe River is rather small, but what we saw resembled more a giant lake than a river. Although Tim worked for many years as a tour guide, he had never seen so much water in the Chobe. And not only that, the Chobe flowed in the opposite direction. The Zambezi River had so much water, that some of it pressed into the Chobe River while normally the Chobe flows into the Zambezi.

Our Camp at Chobe

Due to the flood the river was right at our camp right, though normally it is not even in sight.

Baboon

While Tim prepared our dinner, we made a game drive with our local guide.

Side-striped Jackal

After we had already seen several Jackals, we encountered a Side-striped Jackal for the first time.

Baobab Tree

The baobab tree is a symbol of Africa. It can be found almost across the whole continent. The trees can become several thousand years old, if not eaten earlier by elephants.

Vulture at the Remains of an Elephant

Life and death are a central part of nature, also for elephants, finally ending up as a feast for vultures.

Impalas at Dusk

In the evening, it began again slightly to rain, so we played Uno in a tent.

Rainbow

In the morning we saw passing thunderstorms, but fortunately we were spared by them, but could admire beautiful rainbows.

Banded Mongoose

Our last morning in the parks in Botswana had dawned.

Impala

We made one last game drive, which led to the exit of the park led near Kasane.

Vervet Monkey

Buffalo

Although buffalos look rather stupid, they are in fact quite intelligent and proceed with military strategies against their enemies.

Nile Monitor

Southern Ground-Hornbill

Hippos

We had seen Hippos before but in a small bay in the flood-prone area of the Chobe we discovered a huge herd of them at any age, very small baby hippos and huge bulls.

Little Hippo

After we had observed how extensively the small hippos cuddled with their mothers, it was time to go for our next destination. On the way to Zimbabwe in Kasane, we stopped to stock up because the supply situation in Zimbabwe was very unpredictable. Kasane is a nice little town, wonderfully described in the book: "An Englishman in Botswana" by Will Randall.

Victoria Falls at the Victoria Falls Hotel

On the trip to Zimbabwe we all had mixed feelings. On the one hand the country grandiose nature but on the other hand, the present political situation is not particularly advantageous for the country. And the small town of Victoria Falls left a mixed impression. A nice little place that offers everything you want for tourists but we had the feeling that the tourists get tricked. Nowhere else on the trip the traders were so intrusive but that is understandable since they are fighting for their life.

Warthogs

A glaring contrast, the venerable old-Victoria Falls Hotel, build in colonial style with a magnificent view of the Victoria Falls. To be able to look a little longer we enjoyed a local Zambezi beer on the terrace, while on the lawn in front of us the warthogs worked as mowers.

Victoria Falls

Mosi-oa-Tunya, the smoke of thunders the falls are called in the local language and even so the smoke is fine water mist, it is a very appropriate name. Victoria Falls, this name comes from Livingstone, who visited the falls in 1855 as the first European. Today was our first full day in Victoria Falls and it was totally dedicated to the falls.

Livingstone Statue

The English colonialists acknowledged the "discovery" of the falls by David Livingstone with his statue. Livingstone is probably one of the most famous African travelers. Originally, he was a missionary but soon he wanted to discover the unknown ...

Victoria Falls

Since it had rained heavily this year the Zambezi River was full of water and falls were usually hidden behind a wall of fog.

In the Spray of the Victoria Falls

In the immediate vicinity of the main falls it was only matter of seconds to become totally soaked. And even in the Drifters Victoria Falls Inn, although several kilometers away, and we got a little spray from the falls from time to time.

Zambezi after the Falls

Normally there are rafting tours offered on the Zambezi after the falls, but because of the water masses the river was closed.

Young Lion

Early next morning we joined a typical tourist event, a walk with lions. Three young lions between six and twelve months, accompanied us for a little walk through the bush. Since the Lions are accustomed to tourists, they were not particularly interested in us. It is a very interesting experience to touch and get close to a lion, even though they are still very young and relatively harmless.

Lion

The lions are part of a breeding program and, if they get too old (and too dangerous) for the walks they are put in various parks. Since lions have no close mother-child bond and the whole pack will raise them and as the most important skills, such as hunting are only learned later the walk has little effect on the development of young lions.

Elephant Ear

Another tourist attraction in which we have participated was a safari on an elephant back. In pairs we were seated on an elephant with its guide and we made a tour in a private park. There was little time to consider the surroundings and so the tour boring except for the experience of riding on an elephant.

White-fronted Bee-Eater

Quite different was our evening cruise on the Zambezi River. Our group had a small boat, only we plus the boat guide so that we enjoyed the evening above the falls.

Victoria Falls from above

Due to the large amount of water the current was very strong, so we could not get close to the falls but we could see the rising mist they were also good to hear.

Evening on the Zambezi

With the sunset on the Zambezi our last night in Zimbabwe had arrived. We went to the Boma restaurant with a lot of local specialties, such as Impala filet steak and warthog.

On the Way Back to Nata

Unfortunately our great tour was at its end. From Zimbabwe we went back to Kasane and from there to Nata, where we spent our last night and reported the new group on our experiences.

Botswana Sky

The next morning we left early for Johannesburg to arrive in the afternoon. A last look at the Botswana clouds ... But only a last glance for this trip because someday, I will come again ...