Africa SW 2018: 7 Pom Pom Camp to Kasane, Botswana

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

We had the option of going on a game drive this morning and then going directly to the airport, but we chose not to as everything would have to be packed and ready to go before we left and Marilynn was feeling a bit off. Instead we had an easy morning of packing and watching wildlife from our balcony.

We were driven to the airport at about 10:30 where we waited for out plane. Two came into sight, and when they both landed there was some confusion as to which one we were to be on. Then two more landed – the dirt strip looked like a major airport. One of the planes was the tiny one we arrived on that almost destroyed my knees, which had me seriously worried, however it turned out that ours was an 11 seat Cessna 208. With only two other people on board I got some leg room by sitting sideways on a seat for 2..

There were stops at two other camps to let people on and off, which took well over 2 hours, and on the last leg the plane was full except for the double seat I was occupying. We did OK as Pom Pom had packed lunch bags for us.

At Kasane there were no taxis- people arriving here are with group tours with transportation arranged. The information lady called one, and he drove us to the Thebe River Safari Lodge on the outskirts of Kasane. I booked this myself when Evi was having trouble confirming our two nights here - most places are full. We had to drop a few stars from the hotels we had been staying in, but it worked out well. It would be a good place for a budget safari experience. The US $ 171 rack rate for two people including breakfast is good for this area.

We saw a supermarket about 200 meters from the hotel, so walked there in search of cold beer and a SIM card for Marilynn. That didn't work out, as in Botswana supermarkets and grocery stores are not permitted to sell alcohol, only licensed bottle stores, and they had no SIM cards. We stopped at a chicken restaurant in the same mall, but they sold no beer either. This was not looking good.

An employee at the supermarket spoke to another customer and he agreed to drive us to where Marilynn could get a SIM card for Botswana. There was a money changer, so I changed my South African rand into Botswana pula as rand cannot be used here. Our driver waited for us, so we had him drop us at the Chobe Marina Lodge where we were sure we could get drinks and food. We were the only customers in the patio bar, which overlooked the Chobe River, so we settled in for the afternoon, watching boats on the river and lots of mischievous monkeys playing in the surrounding trees as well as in the bar. We decided to have dinner here, but with the exception of a salad the food was beyond horrible. The waiter who had been looking after us all afternoon was embarrassed to serve it.

They called us a taxi, which took us to the lively bar/restaurant of our hotel, but physically located some distance from the building our room is in. After a few more drinks we headed for bed.

Thursday, November 8, 2018

After a good breakfast included in the room rate we made used of internet in the lobby. This took the whole morning, as I'd had a lot of business emails to deal with. The lodge ran safaris, so we booked one for 3 PM and walked to the hotel restaurant for lunch. The 3 hour game drive was only $US 90 for both of us.

We had a 12 seat safari vehicle to ourselves, with a very knowledgeable guide/driver. We had been cautioned there would not be much to see, so our expectations were low, and I cautioned our driver that what we had seen in Pom Pom Camp and in the 'Etosha reserve would be a tough act to follow.

We didn't see much for the first few miles after entering the Chobe reserve, but then we came across large herds of elephants one after another. Of course, there were lots of the various deer species as well. We stopped at one place where dozens of baboons were crossing the road, and they continued to cross in front and behind our vehicle. There were a lot of moms with tiny babys. The mothers would help them up so the little ones could sit on their backs and ride them like tiny cowboys on horses.

We could see a huge herd of elephants in the bush on our left heading the same direction as we were going. Our driver thought he knew where they would cross the road, so he drove there and stopped. Sure enough, we could see them through the trees headed our way. When they crossed they were only a couple of feet from our vehicle. One very large elephant took exception to us being there, came up to the vehicle then began to flap his big ears and make threatening sounds, until eventually he decided to go around us.

In front of us a large male was in hot pursuit of a female. Our driver headed in their direction where we could clearly see the bull catch up to the female, climb up on her and mate. In all our safaris we had never seen that.

We next drove to an inlet off the river where about 18 hippopotamus were in the water. We sat quite close to them for some time watching their antics, and getting great shots of them blowing and opening their huge mouths. It was necessary to drive like mad on the forest tracks to get to the gate before the 7 PM closing. We had a full four hours and several first time experiences – we were thrilled and amazed. Needless to say, our driver was well rewarded.

Dinner was fabulous pizza in the hotel restaurant, cooked over an open fire. We had a delightful waiter who was brought me various local beers to try. All in all, it was a super day.

Tomorrow we board a riverboat for a cruise, so will have no internet for a few days.