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Sunday, October 1st, Crocodile Ranch, Maun, Botswana
There are three levels of accommodation here - backpacker - overlanders camping at $C7.50/ night, "mid range" with a reasonable, but not grand, room with a few beds at $C100.00 - $C150.00/ night, (such as here), and the "top end", usually in the delta at anything from $C350/night/ person and up, up, up. The top end that we have found, being $US1800.00 per person per night. The situation is even more expensive, as you need to pay $US30.00 per day each if you stay in any game reserve. Even to camp in a park, with no facilities, it would cost us $US300.00 for an overnight stay! (You need to pay for both "days" in the park, plus camping is not cheap, even for literally only a tree to camp under with zero facilities. We (me anyway) are trying to do this touring bit somewhat cheaper than that. We arrived in Maun on September 28th. Once again, the border was easy, no more than 10 minutes total to get out of Namibia, and into Botswana. We need an insurance disc here: it costs $US1.00, and is worth less, but it is part of the entry procedure for foreign vehicles. Prior to leaving Gobabis, on Sept 28th., we did a brief tour - it was quite a revelation, supermarkets containing more stuff than Windhoek, and lots of fresh goodies. Must be coming across Botswana from South Africa, or even local produce. At the border, the land suddenly lowers into the Kalahari. Once again, the temperature increases. There is a lot of foot and mouth and other animal diseases here. This necessitates quarantining certain areas of the country hence there are lots of grids in the road, and occasional manned barriers to cross. The Lonely Planet tells us that various fences in the country, designed to stop the spread of these diseases, has also stopped much migrating of animals searching for water. In some cases, 99% of an animal population has been wiped out due to these man made barriers. Our original idea was to stay the night at Ghanzi, 200Km from the border. Ghanzi is quite a "frontier" town, nothing like Gobabis, the only hotel had pretty heavy security, so we may be in for another version of South Africa! The Lonely Planet said it was the back of beyond, merited little time, and once we arrived, we agreed. After a cold drink, and a tank fill up - fuel is the same price here as in Namibia - about $US0.40/ litre, we leave for Maun in the Okavango delta - another 300Km. away, through yet more desert, and desert heat around 2:00PM. We are heading through the Northern reaches of the Kalahari desert here. At this altitude, it's actually far less of a desert than the Namib. Mainly thorn scrub and grasses. Occasional green spots, and even though the rains are still weeks away, the trees are beginning to show leaves and occasionally blossoms. The kids get out a sleeping bag and "camp" on the back shelf in the cruiser. They can play for hours without any artificial items except Edna and Edni (our family teddies). After 100Km of good road, we are back onto, probably one of the worse roads we have driven on. There is nothing else for 200Km. The diesel purrs along, no tyres flatten on us, no holes reappear in the sump case, no strange noises except the rattle of hacking over rutted roads emanate from anywhere. Dust, stones, sand and total emptiness abound in every direction The road again reverts to tar even if it is a sticky, gooey one necessitating a full covering of sand after 110Km, and we arrive in Maun at 5:30. We are all dirty, tired, sweaty and glad to be here. This is nearly 600Km in one day, we start to think that Nairobi is still possible. It's the end of the month plus as we later find out, a long week end celebrating independence day, so all the banks have 50 - 100 people trying to get cash. We changed $100 at the border, and hope this will do till we can get some more. I want to find the same camp I stayed at last time, I think it was Island Safari, after seeing it sign posted, we head off there. After a look around, I cannot believe that this is the same place, this is all very run down and trashy - the pool looks like pea soup. For all we know, there may be a family of crocs in there. The camping area that used to be pristine lawns bordering onto the jungle, is now totally given over to huge trees and cabins. The new camp site is simply a dust bowl. I ask the manager where the river is. "Just out there" she says. It's only 15 metres across now. We chat about what this place used to be like, and yes, Tony, the white hunter I remember, did own this place once, yes, the water used to be a kilometre wide here, yes, there did used to be a village next door that would supply mokoro's and polers. No more, all gone. She tells me that this is the most water the river has had for years, some years ago there was none!, I appears that I saw the delta "at it's best" 23 years ago. Where has it all gone? No one can say, but it ain't here no more. I am really upset, and apologise to the family for my build up of the swamps, now sadly little more than a frog pond. As ever in a new country, I ask about the security situation - was ok, but don't fool yourself. This camp had a break in recently, and Audi Camp next door was in a hold up two nights ago. Interestingly though, she lqaid the blame on Zims who "can be down to Nata and across the border before we wake up". There is no such thing as self catering here (or anywhere in Botswana as we later find out), so we settle for a (quite expensive) rondavel, and after 600Km, thankfully submit to showers, samossa's and a draught beer or two. September 29th. We pack up, and head back into Maun looking for something closer to what we have got used to to date in SA & Namibia. The Post Office, first in the queue, yields another tranche of Economists - thanks again David. This is the only way we stay (ha ha), "current" with any kind of world happenings. Local papers, apart from the current murder stats (South Africa), ministerial good doings (Namibia and now Botswana), and total lack of anything (Lesotho), are totally useless. There is no need for anything about the great beyond outside most countries borders here. Even with these Economists, we only read about stuff, at least 4 weeks out of date. We did in fact get used to this in South Africa and Kenya, and three+ whole years passed with little more than a whimper regarding "news". Except for rioting in the streets of the current, or next country we are visiting, news is not too important to us here anyway. Maun used to be an outpost almost beyond reach, now it is a sprawling, extended centre for tourism. There is a tarred road from here east to Nata, from whence to all other points, and the road we came on will be tarred to Windhoek within the year. It is much larger now, with a brand new air conditioned supermarket complex. This is now quite a centre. People are friendly, helpful, and not after anything. One guy quite happily showed us around the central market looking for a café (it had moved), and did not ask for anything, or even tell us about his poor families situation. A pleasant change from what we have grown used to. Botswana has the highest reported incidence of AIDS in the world - 20%+. You would find it hard to notice any thing advising people of the risks, dangers anywhere. Once again, denial seems to be high on the list. We drop in at the Crocodile Lodge, south of town which supposedly has self catering. It denies that anything but camping is available - the self catering, now being used as homes for the staff apparently. Everything is totally run down to it's lowest denominator. Fires inside the buildings leave tell tale smoke patterns outside above the smashed windows. Goats and chickens in the houses etc - Africa again. Trying to salvage something of the day, we wander around the actual crocodile farm. Several very large crocs lounge just the other side of a wicker fence. These folk can reduce you to lunch within 4 seconds! Very poorly organised, and not very interesting. It's 12:00 and now very hot. We depart, and end up once again back across the town, at Crocodile Camp, just up from the Island Safari, a reasonably organised place - at least you can jump in the pool here without being eaten (not by crocs anyway), and surprise, surprise, we do.
We indulge in the food here, - it is much more expensive than anywhere previously encountered, and poor quality to boot. Everything is about half as much again as Namibia, which itself was half as much again as S.A. Prices up, quality down. Saturday, 30th. We look for an affordable option for a mokoro trip. I'm not too enthusiastic as it would be a total let down from what I remember to what it is. Also, once you have baked yourself daft in the sun for a day or two in a cramped canoe (I eschewed the wooden one and went aluminium last time), you wonder why you'd ever want to do it again. This did not affect the rest of the family however, and so we searched for some nirvana of swamp transportation. In town, thankfully, the queues for cash have gone, and the Standard bank allows me to withdraw up to $C1500.00 - this is a first bank ATM transactions are normally restricted to only about $C130. I settle for $300.00 worth, and celebrate with, yes, some e-mailing. As this is a long weekend, we decide to stay at this lodge for three days, mainly having drinks, and jumping into the pool. We do some school work, around, by and also in the pool as the mood takes us. The one saving grace of this place (Maun), is the "Sports Bar". A great restaurant with TV's - we watch bits of the Olympics in their final dying moments. We talk to some residents, and managers here, it seem that the delta is now essentially carved up into private areas, and those game lodges that did not get picked/ know "someone" when the goodies were handed out, are in fact facing a losing battle. Hence lodges are losing money and are consequently in disrepair. We decide to head off up north tomorrow toward the Namibian border, and trust to luck for a trip out into the swamps. I've had enough of this place, the tourists are treated simply as a never ending source of revenue, with the items that are sought, being tightly controlled in a pure monopoly of private holdings in the delta, and very restricted availability of polers (max of 30 at any time for the southern delta by government order). This with extremely high rates to enter the park, poor or no facilities in the park, low standard and quality of services. After brilliant quality of service and facilities up to now, I'm beginning to think this touring business is hard work. Distance travelled this entry: 650 Km. Distance moved on trip this entry: 600 Km |
This is independence day for Botswana, so the whole of the country is off work, and celebrating - noticeable by staying at tourist
lodges through the country. We have tried to find a lodge where we can do a Mokoro trip (a Mokoro, is a 2 seater dug out canoe,
polled much like a gondola), into the swamps, but the reasonably priced lodges are booked up.
Our shack, is actually little more than another second little pigs house, if that. It's obviously seen better days, and with sticks for
walls and a very old straw roof, bits of which fall onto the floor, bed, bog etc during the day, making for an uncomfortable night if
you forget to dust your bed off. There is a fan for air conditioning, and a mosquito net above each bed. In the toilet/ shower, we find
a large (6 - 7 cm.) spider - quite poisonous apparently, crawling around the stick walls. The thatch does not meet the walls, so large
and often are the hornet invasions throughout the day. Its just off to the 
