We spent 6 days visiting 2 game camps in Botswana. Flying from Cape Town, we arrived at Maun Botswana, where we took this tiny Cessna Plane (Picture 1), skirting storms (Picture 2), and arriving at Kalahari Plains Camp. There are a couple companies that provide air taxi services between Maun and the various camps. This was our smallest plane. Our largest one held 12 passengers.
Most people have heard of the Kalahari Dessert, which straddles Botswana and Namibia. The plains are east of there and get slightly more rain, so they don't qualify as a desert. This is the rainy season and camp had recently received over 2 inches of rain, so everything seemed green and lush. With the abundance of water, elephants and giraffes had recently moved in from wetter regions.
We lived in a canvas-sided cabin, which is shown in Picture 3. We had screens on all sides to let in whatever breeze there was and keep us as cool as possible, which wasn't easy with temperatures in the 90s. At night the temperatures dropped into the 70s and we usually slept with a sheet, looking at lots of stars and listening to night sounds. The main building of the camp is shown in Picture 4. It contains eating areas and lounges. Food was excellent and we seemed to be eating all the time.
Morning started at 5:00 AM--need to get out and see the animals before the heat of the day. We had a quick breakfast at 5:30 and off in our vehicles by 6:00. Morning game drives lasted 5-6 hours, including a tea/coffee stop and a visit to the restroom--the local bushes. We had brunch around 11:00 and then it was siesta time until 4:00. At 4:00 we had tea and then were off on our late afternoon drive until about 7:00. When we returned it was time for dinner and then off to bed.
We saw lots of game, although fewer species than we have seen in South Africa and Tanzania. Future blogs will include game pictures and stories.
Vehicles were open land rovers with canvas tops. Picture 5 shows our vehicle, stopped for sundowners--drinks at sunset. Picture 6 shows us at sunset. We were fortunate to have a vehicle and guide to ourselves. There were 2 large groups and us, so we were on our own.
The camp did decorate for Christmas (Picture 7), although it didn't look like one at home.
On Christmas Day we moved from Kalahari Plains to Machaba Camp in the Okavango Delta. The Okavango Delta is the only delta system in the world that doesn't end in an ocean. The Okavango River breaks into channels, providing a very rich wetland system. It was rainy season and it rained every day--a lot. Everything felt damp and we were mud-splattered when we rode in our vehicles. Game was not as abundant as it was in the Plains, mainly because most of the elephants and buffalo migrate out of this very wet area in the rainy season.
Machaba is on the site of an old hunting camp that was built in the 50s. It's named after the Machaba tree. There's no longer any hunting, but the camp has been rebuilt in 1950s style, with modern amenities, such as bathrooms. Picture 8 shows the main part of the camp--a large tent containing dining area and lounge (Picture 9). Picture 10 shows the interior of our tent--spacious and open to the outdoors.
The schedule at Machaba was similar to Kalahari Plains, although we got to sleep in until 5:30. Rick did take a very peaceful canoe ride on the Kwai River, which is the channel where our camp was located. (Betsy's knees didn't like the idea of getting in and out). They stopped canoeing when hippos started appearing in the water!
As soon as we get game picture organized, we'll share them--lions, cheetahs, hyenas, wild dogs, many kinds of antelope, zebras, elephants, crocodiles, giraffes, hippos and beautiful birds. It was a wonderful experience--a Christmas (and Rick's birthday) that was different, but one we'll never forget.
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