Leaving Zimbabwe and going through Botswana back to RSA

The Zimbabwean side of the Victoria Falls is just as spectacular as its Zambian counterpart. We went on a helicopter ride to get an aerial view of the mighty falls after Pieter traded (not changed) money in the streets and got incredibly rich, a sum of over 100 Trillion dollars in just 1 banknote – unfortunately old Zimbabwe Dollars, that is. The countries’ inflated currency had been retired 5 months ago when they ran out of space for extra zeros on their banknotes. Now the 100 Trillion Dollar notes have become popular tourist curios. We celebrated our final night in Zimbabwe at the Boma Restaurant in Victoria Falls. The locals call it the “place of eating” for good reason. The buffet featured all sorts of delicious African treats from saza (something like polenta) to mopane worms, which we passed on for more than the reason of being vegetarian. We also attempted to play the drums and had a great time conversing with the two barmen, Takawira and Trymore. The latter was aptly named that way by his parents who attempted to have a son after having given birth to 5 girls already. Takawira offered us his remarkable perspective on Africa, Zimbabwe’s political leaders and foreign aid. In essence, he was very positive about the future of Zimbabwe because change, as he put it, is only a matter of time. The people have voted the so-called old man out three times and still have to deal with him but the resilient Zimbabweans are hopeful to outwait their dictatorship eventually. When we asked what the world could do to help Zimbabwe, he wants us to tell our people back home to stop sending aid in form of handouts to Africa since he has witnessed for years how aid results in the determent of the moral and work ethics of the people. He says that his people quickly rely on it and if aid one day does not come they have forgotten how to work and sustain themselves and their families. Aid should therefore only be employed to remedy catastrophic situations, such as natural disasters, and it should be stressed that it is only available for a limited time.

On 14 May we drove our car through a chemical bath and wiped our flip-flops over disinfectant cloth in order to be able to enter the country of Botswana. The country takes disease control very seriously but the measures seem little more effective than what we have seen in other parts of Africa where officers are often merely equipped with little nets to catch tsetse flies.

We headed straight for Chobe National Park. A year ago Botswana changed the way national parks are being managed. It used to be fairly efficient and cheap but now it is unorganized, quite pricy, and facilities are quite dilapidated despite all the donations pouring in from the European Community (plaques indicating sponsorship of public buildings can be frequently seen). But nothing takes away anything from the natural splendor of the place. Quite frankly, I do not want to rave about its beauty all that much because otherwise too many people end up going there, and after all the best of being on safari is to be in nature alone.

There were roughly a zillion dragonflies at sunset on the banks of the Chobe River, presenting water levels at record highs. The colors of the sunset are especially indescribable when experienced in combination with trumpeting of the roaming elephants. In order to get out of the way of the insects I was already in the tent in the IHAHA camp when Pieter faced a big old buffalo right on our doorstep. Unfortunately the camera was not in close reach and neither of us braved a move to fetch it. It is remarkable how close animals get to people in areas where there is no human threat for them in the form of poaching.

A very much anticipated stop of the trip was Savuti, a particularly beautiful area within the Chobe National Park which is home to many lions, elephants, and gazelles, as well as the National Geographic Film producing Jouberts. To get there one has to drive a couple hundred kilometers through very thick sand. It was more than worth it because we witnessed private moments with a beautiful lioness and her new beau, as well as a mother nursing her adorable cups in the warm morning light.

Shortly after that, we were on our way to Moremi National Park. Getting there was hands-down the biggest adventure of our journey due to the high water levels in the Okavango Delta. We met a nice German couple, Olli and Nicole, who shared the same route, and it quickly turned out to be a good idea to have two vehicles. The route encompassed multiple deep river crossings with waters gushing high, and at times even over the bonnet. At one crossing we got stuck in the middle of the river and had to reverse back out but by that time the water had already entered the cabin of our Land Rover and had covered our feet ankle high! We made it though on the second attempt. The Germans were crossing the waters behind us knowing where there was in fact a passable path, however, they were driving a lower car which made the water come up even further over their vehicle. Albeit a bit soggy, we all made it to the North Gate entry of Moremi where we said our good-bys to the Nicole and Olli. We unanimously agreed that this was a day to remember. Still pumped with adrenalin and on a high on faith of an infallible Land Rover, I got behind the wheel myself for further water crossings deep into the Delta. No other type of vehicle but the Land Rover Defender (bragging intended) managed the difficult terrain to Hippo Pool where we stopped and cooked our lunch amongst pure wildlife before pressing on southward to our rest camp.

The Nxai Pan is a place that creates an instant sound of bliss to my ears for several reasons: Its name is pronounced by locals with a big clicking sound and the huge salt pans features *the best* camp site ever, as some of our pictures hopefully manage to convey. Camping without amenities (no water either) at a hefty fee of US$100 buys access and privacy to a huge area of natural splendor. Pieter went for a bike ride on the pans and encountered sandy-white washed elephants, oryx and jackal while I volunteered to stay behind and to prepare dinner. Not a single sound was to be heard. It is probably the most silent place I have ever visited. It was absolutely fabulous to experience the solitude of this heavenly place. All animals aside, we were alone in a vast open area with Baine’s Baobas clearly visible in the distance.

Due to the wet season we were unfortunately not able to enter the Makgadigadi pans to the south in order to reach Kubu Island. Certainly a disappointment yet also a very good reason to come back to Botswana again in the future.

Upon entering South Africa we headed straight for the concrete jungle of Johannesburg and Pretoria. The two cities still undergo lots of road construction and clean-up projects are part of the effort of getting ready for the Football Worldcup (kick-off June 11th). South Africa now flies their rainbow colors everywhere in forms of flags, hats, wigs, and shirts. Part of the most useful things we had on our journey through Africa clearly were the so-called rear-view-mirror socks with the pattern of the South African flag. This open display of our support for the South African Bafana Bafana Soccer team had opened a lot of gates and has earned us big smiles at many roadblocks. Again thanks for the socks, Colleen!

After completing our tour over 11,000km from Cape Town via Johannesburg through Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, and Botswana we are trying to find a buyer for our Land Rover back in Johannesburg. Pieter has to further engage in some business before we will sadly leave Africa next week. We feel extremely grateful though for all the new impressions and wonderful memories. There are a lot of special people and friends to be missed, as well as the sound of lions calling at night.

Thanks for reading our blog and for having sent us so many nice comments!

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