|
| |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
279km |
Meals
Soup and Salad |
Weather |
|
Pilanesburg NP, South
Africa |
25 June, 2004 |
Bakgatla Camp |
25°11.338’S
27°08.944’E |
Odometer: 25502km |
Sunny, 70(F) Degrees, Cold
at Night |
|
We’ve been staying with Slade’s sister Vanessa
and her boyfriend Gordon in Johannesburg for the past week since returning
from Tanzania. Slade, Krissy, and Vicky picked us up at the airport last
Friday and took us to an off road/camping/overlanding expo where we looked
around at all the goodies and bought a couple of items. Americans think
they have the camping thing all nailed down, but in truth they’ve got
nothing on the South Africans, especially when it comes to combining
camping with four wheeling. Jen and Vicky enjoyed a little trampoline
bungy, which may have been almost as much fun to watch as to do. We had
planned to spend only a few days in Joburg, but we felt so comfortable at
Vanessa and Gordon’s house that we didn’t want to leave. Gordon’s son
Jason took Witt and Slade bass fishing, and the girls got to spend some
time in a real shopping mall. Evenings were spent mostly around the braai,
although Witt, Jen, and Krissy made burritos one evening. On Monday night
we went to the legendary Butcher Shop restaurant for a send-off meal for
Vicky who is flying to NZ on Tuesday. The restaurant is just as Slade has
been describing it for the past two months. The butcher led us into a
refrigerator where we selected our cut of meat and the size we wanted.
Slade got a 900 gram (two pounds) T-bone, and Witt, shamefully opted for
the 500 gram “lady’s cut” of sirloin. The meat was excellent. We almost
felt civilized after eating at such a nice restaurant, except that we had
to climb on top of the Land Rover to lift the height restriction barrier
in order to get in and out of the parking lot. The next day we drove Vicky
to the airport. It was sad for Witt and Jen to see her go; I can’t imagine
how Krissy and Slade felt after traveling with her for the better part of
a year. Witt and Slade replaced a leaking seal in Rafiki’s transfer case
and changed the oil. Slade replaced a similar seal in Sid’s rear
differential. On Wednesday evening Witt and Jen went to dinner at a pub
with Graham Wilde and his wife Tonya. Graham operates the website
tracks4africa, and was interested to hear our story. On Thursday evening
Graham and Connie arrived in town with her parents, an occasion which
necessitated another trip to the Butcher Shop. On Friday morning Witt and
Jen finally said goodbye and headed North for a few hours to Pilanesburg
National Park. We spent the remainder of the day driving around the park
We’re still looking for leaopard, the only one of the “big five” we
haven’t seen. We did get an excellent close up look at some elephant and a
white rhino. |
|
 |
 |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
414km |
Meals
Stir-Fried Beef |
Weather |
|
Near Mahalapye, Botswana |
26 June, 2004 |
BushCamp |
23°41.008’S
26°30.271’E |
Odometer: 25916km |
Sunny, 80(F)
degrees |
|
Last night we were very glad to have our down
sleeping bags as it got cold enough for frost to form on the car. We
poured some of the hot chocolate we made in the thermos last night and
spent the morning on a game drive in the park. We saw some rhino and
elephant, but no cats. At eleven we left the park and headed north toward
Botswana. We crossed the border on a minor road and soon emerged onto
Botswana’s A1 highway. We drove until about 5 pm and pulled off the road
to bushcamp. A partially overcast sky provided a beautiful sunset and kept
the temperature much warmer than last night. |
|
 |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
502km |
Meals
braai'd chicken |
Weather |
|
Kubu Island |
27 June, 2004 |
Kubu Island Camping |
20°53.560’S
25°49.341’E |
Odometer: 25223km |
Partly Cloudy, 85(F)
degrees |
|
Yesterday morning Rafiki had a little trouble
starting, which is unusual. I ascribed it to the cold weather and didn’t
think much more about it. This morning, however, the temperature was quite
mild and the car had the same problem. It appeared as though the fuel line
had come loose from the metal end of the injector pump, so I pushed it
further on and tightened the hose clamp. After stopping for lunch in Somwe,
the car again didn’t want to start. Closer inspection showed that a
disused fitting from the original fuel line assembly had worn a hole in
the metal end of the injector pump causing a loss of pressure. It seems to
run fine once it’s started and the fuel loss is minimal, so I plan to talk
with Graham about it when we meet him in Moremi on Monday. We drove all
afternoon and turned north toward Makadikadi pans at about 4 pm. The pans
are an old part of the Okavango Delta that the water no longer reaches. An
hour on dirt tracks and salt pans brought us to Kubu Island, an oasis of
baobab trees in the middle of a salt pan. It’s a popular tourist spot,
reputed to have the second best sunsets in Africa. The local community has
taken to charging 126 pula to camp there. The people are friendly though
and the beautiful camp sites are spotlessly clean. We enjoyed another
lovely sunset, built a fire and grilled some peri-peri chicken and corn on
the cob. We enjoyed a nice bottle of wine and sat talking until late. |
|
 |
Makadikadi Pans |
|
Updated Information
Witt & Jen
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
401km |
Meals
Tuna sandwiches for lunch, skipped
dinner |
Weather |
|
Moremi National Park,
Botswana |
28 June, 2004 |
South Gate campground |
19°25.522’S
x 23°38.710’E |
Odometer: 26317km |
Partly cloudy, 85(F) degrees |
|
We left Kubu island this morning after a
leisurely breakfast. We drove north through the pan arriving back on
sealed roads at the town of Gweta shortly after lunch. The drive through
the pan was beautiful with long stretches of open grasslands, and desolate
salt pans, all topped off with an enormous blue sky. We arrived in Maun at
about 4pm and ran into Graham, Connie, Debbie, and Brian at the
supermarket. We had heard that we had to be inside the park by sundown, so
we quickly did our shopping, topped up our fuel tanks, and headed out of
town. The trip to south gate took longer than expected, and we didn’t
reach the park until after 7pm. We did enjoy seeing some elephant and a
cheetah on the road leading into the park, lit up by our headlights. The
facilities at the campground are basic but adequate, with a wood fired
boiler for hot showers. Botswana has adopted the high-cost, low volume
approach to tourism. Park entry, camping, and vehicle permits cost a total
of 270 pula or $US60 per day for two people in one car. |
|
Campsite on Kubu Island |
 |
|
On to Botswana..... |
|
