Beautiful Botswana. Elephants,Hippos, Hyenas and Crocs ! Part 4

After a beautiful two days in Moremi it was time to go. The next stop was the Mogotlho Camping Site, just outside the North boundary of Moremi run by the Khwai Development Trust. This is a community run campsite. The campsite here aims to benefit the community, the funds it generates pays for medical facilities, houses and schools. The camp sites are used extensively by tour operators except for the one at Mogotiho which is for self driving visitors. You have to be pretty much self sufficient here as there are no facililities.

Leaving Moremi we drove through some wonderful scenery.

We took the scenic or "Harry Route" which basically meant following the river through the bush. It was a stunning drive, rich in game viewing with the most elephants we have ever seen. We drove North out of Moremi into Khwai where we stopped for bread.

Khwai was an interesting little village. The bread was freshly baked in the bread oven round the back of the shack, very tasty it was too.

Ever onwards, we rounded the corner and came upon scenes that looked just like pictures in a Children's Bible. Animals of ever kind by the river, absolutely an amazing scene and certainly one to return to!

Elephants in family groups and lone bulls were everywhere. We found a spot to set up our last camp of the holiday. Just far enough away from the river.

Making friends with the locals. We went for a little explore the hippos were getting friendly.

We hoped they stayed on their side of the river.

Someone was watching us. Hopefully he knew his place!

Everywhere you looked was something new.

Even the scavengers were fascinating. Around the next corner was this hyena in close pursuit of a pregnant female. Sadly I couldn't get the camera out fast enough but Den did get these pictures.

Finally as the sun went down we settled down for a really peaceful night. I really did hear a lion roar in the distance but no big cats came our way. I was secretly rather pleased that elephants and hippos stayed away from our camp.

Tomorrow, the road to Chobe paved with sand and the end of our adventure.

For those of you who have stayed the course with this blog, The Final Chapter, Part 5 to follow.

Beautiful Botswana Safari . "The Night of the Blister Beetles!" Part 2.

We left the solitude of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park to set off on the next stage of our journey to Moremi and the Okavango Delta via Ghanzi and Maun.

Ghanzi is a cattle town and since the development of the Trans - Kalahari Highway it has become less of a frontier town and more of a tourist resort. Food and other provisions are readily available. We had booked in at Thakadu a game lodge on the outskirts of Ghanzi which also provides luxury tents as well as camping. The lodge had a swimming pool, proper toilet block, as well as a restaurant serving lovely food by the water hole. All the facilities were clean and well looked after. We were pleased to have a proper shower and after a good an really inexpensive meal we took to the roof tent. Security on the site was good, so we slept peacefully! 

 The swimming pool, just what you need when the temperature is 40 C

The waterhole by the restaurant.

The site is used by tour operators, but still has a very peaceful ambiance.

We left early the next day heading for Maun our last stop before setting off into the wilds again. We needed water and Harry knew of a water stop in Maun where we could fill up. After a few trips down the back lanes we found the water plant and managed to fill both vans with Botswana water, fresh and clean with a slight Botswana tang, but perfectly drinkable.

Maun is an extremely busy frontier town and filled with tourists. It certainly is a town of extremes from shanties on the outskirts to an international airport and very busy.

Maun is the gateway to the Okavango Delta and one of the fastest growing towns in Botswana. Donkeys and goats are everywhere! The name "Maun" means " place of reeds", a throw back to the time when there was more rain. On the outskirts of Maun we found our next night halt, the evergreen Drifters Camp. Here we would encounter the night of the blister beetles!

At this point I feel we should be playing some Hitchcock movie music. We arrived at Drifters camp just north of Maun to be told they had a slight beetle infestation, but that it was over the other side of the camp and shouldn't cause us a problem as the beetles did not fly. We pitched camp and it was a beautiful spot.

As evening drew on we noticed the beetles were gathering, but really did not take too much notice. We lit our fire and cooked a meal, sitting out under the trees. As we went up to the toilet block we noticed the beetles, crunched a few and carried on as normal. As the evening drew on the beetles massed, they were attracted to the fire and the white lights, we beat a few off and then decided to go to bed. As I got into the tent I felt a scratch on my neck but thought I had caught it with my ring and scratched myself. The morning told a different story. I had two enormous blisters on by neck and Den had one on his shoulder, they were filled with nasty yellow fluid and looked very angry. We hastily packed up and as we did so the beetles just came from everywhere, the toilet block was completely covered with black beetles, it was truly like a movie scene! We decided to leave immediately, the camp site wardens were oblivious to the beetle problem they had, we did wonder how the party they were expecting that day fared?

Here's the little blighter, looks innocent and unassuming but beware he packs a nasty secret. We travelled back to Maun and got advice from the pharmacy, cream and sterile needles to pop the blisters. We were warned us not to let any of the fluid touch new skin as it would blister again. Another lesson well learned, it's little creatures that are dangerous not big ones. The blisters took a week to heal and I wore a fetching scarf to keep the wounds covered. The blister beetles can also kill cattle if they get eaten. We thought afterwards that perhaps the green well watered grass, at Drifters had attracted them.

 Later that day we travelled to Maun Airport as Fiona had not been well, so had decided to fly back to Jo'Burg, leaving us with Harry to finish the trip. Fortunately, she managed to get a flight that day without too much of a wait, Maun Airport is certainly a busy little place. We said our goodbyes and went back to the shopping centre to stock up on drinks for the next part of the journey. As the day had almost gone we decided to pitch up at Audi Camp the other side of Maun before setting off to Moremi, here we had a pleasant beetle free stay, with plenty of cold beer in lovely surroundings and another great African steak in the restaurant.

Audi Camp a great stopping off place and worth a second visit!