The day started early. I woke up at around 5 am to take
photos of sunrise. It was not a good idea as the sun is behind the mountains
most of the time. By the time it becomes visible it is no longer possible to recognise
suns contour. But still it was a beautiful scenery with the golden rays of the
sun falling on to the slopes. After the breakfast we hanged around in the camp
till 9.30 am. The return trip to Leh was quite tiring. As before it took us
around 5 hrs to reach Leh. Am and I got down at the town, had our lunch, did
last minute shopping for the trek tomorrow and then returned to our homestay. I
didn’t go out afterwards. Instead took the time to do the packing and relaxing.
Mo was there for dinner as well. We chatted for a while before returning to our
room.
Tuesday 30 July 2013
Day 3: Leh -> Pangong Tso Lake
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Pangong Tso |
We rented a car to go to the Pangong Tso lake today. The
agent picked us (Am, Je and me) from the homestay at 9 am in the morning. The
lake is in the east of Leh, close to the Tibetan border. The lake is about 140
km long and about ¼ th of it is in the Indian side. The highlight of the lake
is the turquoise colour arising from the rich mineral content. The lake has no
outlet, that ie, the mineral rich water that flows into the lake from the
mountains stays there. Also, due to the high mineral content the lake does not
support any aquatic life.
Along with us there was a british couple who was sharing the
taxi. The driver was the same person who took us to the monasteries yesterday.
We started from Leh around 9.30 am and it took almost 5 hrs to reach there. The
route took us through some of the most amazing landscapes that I have ever
seen. We passed through the Chang La pas which is at a height of 5360 m. The
pass was partially covered with snow and the wind was colder at the pass as
expected. In the winter the pass is prone to avalanches. Since it is close to
the Chinese border there is also a strong military presence here. We came
across many army check posts and vehicles all along the way. The lake was
closed to tourists till 1994. Since it was opened, the ill effects of tourism –
viz. the wastes from tourists, disturbance to wild life etc. – also started. In
one way you do not like to have any tourists there and on the other hand it is
such a mesmerising sight that you don’t want to miss it!
We reached the lake in the afternoon and had our dinner in
one of the shacks on the banks of the lake. The beauty of the lake on the
barren landscape of Ladakh cannot be described in words. If there is a heaven
on earth then it should be here. We had our accommodation in one of the tented
camps on the side of the lake. It is a bit expensive for my budget, but it was
worth every penny. I am glad that I booked it. One thing that really irritated
me are the people driving their cars and bikes to the edge of the lake to take
photos. Idiots, trying to look macho!!!! Other than disturbing the delicate
ecological balance of the nature these people do not do any favour to this
beautiful environment. I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to do that
when they have the chance to enjoy this beautiful environment from a distance
and help to maintain this beauty for the future generations!
After taking a short break and dumping our bags in the tent
we went to explore the surroundings. Everyone on their own, and me with my ever
trusted camera. I also tried to do some timelapsing, which didn’t work out
during my last trip to Africa. It was so peaceful and beautiful that I didn’t
want it to end.We had the dinner in one of the tents in the evening. Then we chatted for quite some time before returning to the tent. The wind was pretty chilly. I decided to do some night time photography. Aim was to try some star trails. It didn’t work out as I wanted it to be. But I did end up taking some nice shots of milky way and a shooting star! Not bad, for an amateur photographer.
Day 2: Leh
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Shey |
Hemis is the biggest and the richest monastery in Ladakh and it took around an hour to reach there. It is the first Buddhist monastery that I ever visited in my life. It was constructed in the 12th century. The multi-storeyed building included the main prayer hall and a huge statue, about 12 m long, of Guru Padmasambhava. There is also a museum which showed the different statues, tools and tanka from the earlier times. We spend about 2 hours there, walking around the monastery and taking photos.
Next we visited the monastery at Tikse. This was definitely the most
beautiful of the 4 monasteries that we visited today. The large gompa rested on the top of hill
which can be seen from far away. It was a beautiful sight to see. The highlight
of the monastery is the 15 m tall statue of Maitreya (future Buddha). It is
definitely one of the most beautiful statues of Buddha that I have seen. The
rest of the monastery was similar in architecture like Hemis, though on a smaller
scale. From the top of the monastery one can get a good view of the surrounding
landscape. After visiting the monastery we took the dinner at the restaurant
attached to the monastery.
From there we went to Shey which is on the way to Leh. Shey was the
capital of the old Ladakh. The Shey palace includes a Buddha temple and a stupa
topped with gold. From the top of the palace one gets a good view of the
surrounding area which includes many stupas spread over the landscape.
Our last stop was the palace at Stok where the royal family currently
lives. The palace includes a museum where the impressive crown of the queen is
exhibited among other things. Though small in size the palace is surrounded by
mind blowing landscape. There is a café at the entrance of the palace which
overlooks the beautiful landscape. We all had a chai there, relaxing and
enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. Wish I could stay there longer.
On the way back to the homestay we got down at the town to have dinner.
Once again a long and tiring day, but also wonderful and interesting!
Day 1: Leh
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Shanti Stupa |
The plan for today was to roam around the city Leh. The first in our
itinerary was the Leh Palace. Overlooking the town of Leh, the Leh Palace was
built similar to the Potala palace in Lahsa, but in a smaller scale. It is 8
stories in high, though the royal family used only the top floor for living.
The rest I think is for storage and other purposes.
Am and me walked through the narrow alleys of the old town of Leh in
the direction of the palace. The route was easy to find, as all you have to do
is to walk in the direction of the palace. The old town seem to have frozen for
decades with mud walled houses and pebble streets and the street dogs (many of
them) occupying each and every corner of the alley. The climb to the entrance
of the palace was not so steep. Still, I realised the high altitude effects,
with breathing heavily in a few hundred meters. Just after one day in Leh, my
body is definitely not acclimatised. Not surprising as the minimum number of
days required, as per experts, is 3 days.
The palace is undergoing a lot of restoration works. Inside the palace
is there is a photographic exhibition of the photos taken from the end of
1800’s. One could see that the region hasn’t changed much in the last century. Other
than that there is not much to see in the palace as most of the mud walled
rooms were empty. But the view of the town from the top of the Palace was
magnificent.
From the Leh Palace we climbed to the Namgyal peak. Slightly steeper
than the climb to the palace, it was a good test to see if the body is ready
for the trekking days ahead. As before, I felt tired and breathed frequently as
before. I made a couple of stops in between. The peak includes the fort of Tashi
Namgyal which overlooks the Leh palace and the temple of Maitreya (future
Buddha). It is also the place where the king offered the bodies of the defeated
Mongols to the deities. The peak offered a breath taking view of the city of
Leh.
From the Namgyal peak we climbed down to the city to have our lunch.
Our next plan was to go to the office of the Womens Alliance of Ladakh.
According to my guide book there is a small film show about the culture of
Ladakh at 3 pm every day. When we reached there we realised that the film is no
longer shown there. We didn’t know about it before as the travel guide is
already 8 years old. At 3 pm they had a meeting of the Womens Alliance planned.
So they invited us to take part in the meeting in order to get an overall view
of the work done by the group. It was quite interesting. About 20 Ladakhi women
were there in the meeting. They explained about the origin of the alliance and
the work done by the group. The group goes from villages to villages educating
the villagers about the importance of sustaining the Ladakhi culture, being
self sufficient, prevention against diseases like TB, HIV etc, efforts to ban
plastics in the region etc. It was quite an impressive effort with the alliance
started with 70 people and having grown to about 5000 people.
Our initial plan was to go to the Shanti Stupa in the evening and watch
the sunset from there. We cancelled the plan as the day was mostly cloudy.
While we were coming back from the Womens Alliance the weather became partly
sunny again. So we decided to carry on with the plan to go to the Shanti Stupa.
With 554 steps to climb, it was not an easy task. In fact climbing the steps in
the thin air was really difficult. Once on the top I was quite glad that I
decided to visit the Stupa. It had a peaceful atmosphere with the Tibetan
chants through loudspeaker in the background and also offered spectacular views
of Leh from above. After taking a tea from the café at the Stupa we climbed
down to the town for the dinner. Afterwards we went back to the homestay to end
a somewhat tiring day.
Friday 26 July 2013
Day 25: Back Home
Back to the grey, dull and cold Germany!! Sitting in the train from the Frankfurt airport to the town I live. It was a horrible flight from Windhoek. The flight was delayed by more than 2 hours. And that too after they have preponed the starting time in the first place. By the time the plane left the runway it was around 10 pm. That is after about 7 hours since I reached the airport. Then it had a stopover at Luanda for some reason. In the end I missed my connecting train from the Frankfurt airport! What a journey! Probably a reminder to what lies ahead for me – the reality!
Sitting in the train, I am still trying to get a grip on my emotions. I had sent a sms to the Lady to see if everything went on well with her connecting flight from Johannesburg. Worrying unnecessarily I guess. Still very much confused about how everything went so wrong. Wonder whether it is wrong to like someone? I may never know what she thinks. All I know is that I like this women a lot and sincerely care about her. We have a lot in common – similar interests, similar views and more or less the same wavelength. From our time together in the last one month one thing I am sure about is that I will never be sorry for holding her hand as I genuinely felt so. I am only sorry to know that I hurt her by that. Will we ever be friends again like the way we were before or will I ever see again? Let the destiny decide that. I am happy that I met her.Day 24: Windhoek - > Home
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The Lady again seemed to be less cheerful today and chatted very less, may be a few words in an hour. As before, I was clueless, especially since she was in better spirits last nights. After roaming around some craft shops in the city we stopped at a café as the Lady was not so keen on ‘looking at the same things again and again’. I didn’t mind that actually as I thought I might come across something interesting at some corner. A few minutes earlier I came across a leather wall hanging which I thought of buying. But it was too expensive for my budget.
While sitting at the café the Lady hardly talked. She was playing with the straw of her juice all the time. It doesn’t take rocket science to see that something is not in order and I tried to ask her once and got the same old vague reply back. Clearly she was in no mood to talk and it was frustrating for me to be in a situation where I end up annoying her than helping her. I really wished that I could run away from there. After some time she said she is going back to the hostel and would like to sit down on the shade and read something. And suggested that I can go ahead with the window shopping. But this is Windhoek and it is not safe for a tourist with a handbag to walk alone to the hostel. We had been warned before by the hostel staff and I didn’t want to take any risk on the last day. Moreover, for me the question of letting her go back alone didn’t exist at all. So I decided to walk back to the hostel with her though I was not so sure whether she liked it.
I felt more and more that our friendship has come to an end. It started with the ellies in Swakop. And now it has turned a full circle at Swakop. We were closer before than now. There was more trust and openness between us. In the last 4 weeks all those seemed to have vanished. There were times I felt that she is more interested in texting (whoever that lucky person is) than talking with me. Those times I felt more like a driver than a friend. There were times I felt like talking to a wall than to the dear friend I knew before. How did it come to this? I don’t know, and probably I will never know. I thought about talking to her about it sometimes. Then decided against it as it won’t mean anything to her and most probably I will get the typical vague answers again. Now I really feel that she was a close friend only in my mind and for her I was always just a “travel buddy”. Probably it was like that all along and the I let my stupid mind run wild, as usual!
The driver from the African Tracks car rentals came to pick us up at 2.30 pm. After coming back to the hostel we hardly talked in between. I hurt to see that someone whom you considered as a close friend has just few words for you than to the driver who is a total stranger. The Lady checked in first as her flight with the South African airways leaves at 5.15 pm and mine was supposed to leave only at 8 pm. We had a late lunch at the airport restaurant in silence. I went to the security check to see her off. I decided to check in after she has left as I don’t think that I could see her leave.
The goodbye’s happened really quickly. I was quite numb, couldn’t remember what I was mumbling at that time. After checking in my luggage I sat down at one corner of the airport almost in tears. I wondered whether it is because I just lost a friend or is it more than that. I really don’t know. I don’t think I will meet her again. I am not even sure whether I will be in touch with her again like before. I would have loved to , but it didn’t seem sensible where there is a lack of trust and openness between us. I don’t want to be a friend “who is nice to have, but not absolutely necessary”. Even if she meant a lot to me! Life is full of surprises and one can only hope for the best.
I came to Africa trying to figure out my point of equilibrium of my life and I wonder now whether I will ever find one. I think the truth is that our friendship has finally run out of steam. I needed her and she never needed me. All she needed was just a travel buddy! And I am sorry, I am not that person!Day 23: Swakopmund:-> Windhoek
We didn’t had any plans for today like yesterday. The main reason why we decided to come here rather than staying at Windhoek was to relax and be lazy. We got the spontaneous idea to go for a overland flights over Sossusvlei. I had been in Sossusvlei when I came to Namibia for the first time in 2008. It’s undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places in Namibia. The red coloured desert and the salt pans in the middle of it with skeletons of trees is a real natural wonder. I assume it will be more spectacular to see it from the air.
It was an expensive option with costs starting at a minimum of 240 euros per person for a 2.5 hours flight. But still I felt like it is a once in a life time opportunity to do so and if lucky we will get some nice snaps. Unfortunately we were too late to book the flights and since we have to get back to the bus station at 1.30 for our trip back to Windhoek our options were limited. So we decided to spend our time by window shopping as before. In a way it was good as it is stress free. Being with the Lady and to chat with her once in a while is always a good option. At the back of my mind I could still hear the clock ticking for our parting. I hate good byes, period! And with the Lady it is going to be harder even if it is going to be one sided feeling.
We took the public transport to get back to Windhoek. It is the first time in our whole trip that we are travelling on public transport. In all other occasions we had our own car or we travelled on other means of private transport. So it was a unique experience when compared to the relatively luxurious option that we used for going to Swakop. Still it was a good to travel with the ‘locals’, just getting a glimpse of their lifestyle. We reached Windhoek in good time at around 6.30 pm. We checked in again at Chameleon where we left our big luggage before heading to Swakop. We had already booked a double room for the night and it turned out to be a really good decision. For the first time in our whole trip we had a little bit of comfort and privacy.
After having a hot shower and sorting out our luggage we went to bar to order a pizza. But it was too late. So we had to settle down for a couple of beers and some chips. Not so bad! One last evening with the Lady and it went better than expected. She was in good mood and also opened up a little bit I think. Day 22: Swakopmund
We didn’t have any specific plans for today other than just window shopping. After having a breakfast at the hostel we went for a walk in the town. The only goal was to check out the curio shops and buy some souvenirs if we find something interesting. We stopped by the beach to do some photography. I also took the time to check my emails, which I haven’t done for the last 3 weeks. I had applied to some jobs before I left and wanted to see if there are any responses to it. There had been some and I sent quick replies promising to get in touch again once I am back home in Germany.
The Lady and I continued with our window shopping latter on. I bought some paintings from one of the craft shops and then went back to the hostel at noon to have our lunch and a small break. In the afternoon we were back in the town popping in and out of shops again. As the sun started setting down we spent some time in the beach. The Lady was in a better mood today. At least she showed some interest in chatting a bit, which was nice. We went to the light house restaurant in the evening for our dinner. We were at the same place around 2.5 years before while we were both doing the volunteer project with the desert elephants. Our friendship started with the ellies in the deserts of Namibia. Now we are back here at the same place where it all started. And now I feel like our friendship has turned one complete circle. I invited her for the dinner. I felt like doing it, a parting dinner perhaps? Glad that she accepted it. Little bit of chatting and watching her talk made my evening.
When we were walking back to the hostel along the same street as before I realised how different it is now when compared to the old times. We were closer then, and now we are more like strangers, “travel buddies” as she would say. Missed the good old days!
Day 21: Harnas Rest Camp -> Windhoek -> Swakopmund
Its going to be one more long day today. First we have to drive around 300+ kms to Windhoek. We have to return our car there and then proceed to Swakopmund using local transportation which will take another 4.5 hrs. Also, we should aim to return the car before 12 so as to avoid paying the rent for one extra day. It was a long drive, through tarred roads almost all the time. After driving through the bush for majority of the times it’s a bit boring to drive through the uneventful highways. Also, it was a bit tiring to drive through without any proper break.
We were able to give back the car at the African Tracks just after noon. In the end we drove approximately 5100 kms in 3 weeks through 3 countries - Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. One hell of a ride, incredibly lucky and unlimited memories for a life time! We had to pay additional 900 N$ for the missing number plates and the scratch from the high lift jack on the side panel just above the rear tyre. Overall I guess we were lucky to be let off without any further charges, considering the adventurous drive we had the last weeks. The rental agency dropped as back to the Chameleon backpackers afterwards. It is where we stayed on our first night in Windhoek 3 weeks ago. The receptionist at the backpackers arranged for us the transport and accommodation at Swakopmund.
We left our main luggage there and left to Swakop with just a backpack necessary for the next two nights. We decided to go to Swakop instead of staying at Windhoek as it is a beautiful town on the beaches and also it is much safer place than Windhoek. We can move around freely without the need for looking over our shoulders for trouble all the time. It was again a long trip, around 4.5 hours. We reached Swakop around 6.30 pm. After a quick shower at the Villa Wiese, which is the same backpackers where we stayed 2 years back, the Lady and I went for a walk along the beach.
We hardly talked during the whole day. And while we were walking she seemed to be annoyed for some reason. Or at least she was not in her best spirits. I tried to keep some distance so as to avoid further trouble. In the evening we had dinner at one of the bars and went back to the hostel. One more uneventful day. Wish I could see her smiling and chatting cheerfully like before again. All those seems like past. `I no longer have a feeling that she likes my company. It feels more like she is somehow killing time before her trip back home. And it won’t necessarily matter who helps her in killing the time, either it’s me or somebody else. The best thing I could do now is not go get things worsen further. I hope I will be able to do that!Day 20: Dqua Qare Game Farm -> Harnas Rest Camp
It’s a long day ahead of us. We are staring at about 420 kms of driving today. We left the community camp in the morning itself. The destination is Harnas Rest Camp in Namibia which is also a game farm and a wildlife research foundation. Except for the camps in Botswana we didn’t have any reservations in the camps in other countries. In Botswana, esp in the NP’s its compulsory to have advance reservations. But since its off season, I was sure that we don’t have to bother about any reservations in Namibia. The only problem with Harnas is that is about 100 km north of the Trans Kalahari highway. So if we don’t find any place to camp there then the only options left are to go for normal rooms, which will be expensive or to drive back all the way to the highway and look for other options. Both are not good. In addition the rates mentioned in the travel guides looked more than double the normal rates in Namibia. Since it is a game farm I expected that the rates include some kind of game drive. So I decided to call them in advance when we are on the road about campsite availability.
On the way we couldn’t reach the camp office in any of the telephone numbers mentioned in the travel guides. So we had no other option other than driving directly to them. We reached there around 4pm. The camp settings were a bit different from what we knew of other game farms. The rest camp is situated in a very large fenced area with the games in “semi captivity”. The whole extra money they charge for the camping/lodging obviously goes for maintaining that huge property. They also claim to conduct some wild life research. Unless I see some credible publications from the researches, I will be sceptical of those claims. But they do say that they take care of abandoned pets and do rescue and rehabilitation of the animals for more than 30 years, which is always a good thing. I hope they are really doing that for the exorbitant rates they charges.
To our disappointment the game drives were not included in the rents. And I didn’t even feel like taking pictures of animals behind fences. Especially after coming across them roaming around freely in the national parks. Actually it is quite depressing to see them behind fences. I saw the first cheetah of our trip there. Beautiful cat, and my most favourite one, but felt sad to see it behind barbed fences. Wish I could talk with it. In the evening we could see some antelopes (impalas and wildebeests) around our camp. Also we came across a new animal, a springhare, which looks almost like a rabbits with small ears, but hops around like a kangaroo. It also had a long black tipped tail. I had never seen/heard about this animal before. That was a nice surprise!
It’s the last night of our Kalahari adventure in the tent. The rest of the days are going to be in more or less civilized surroundings. I felt sad. I loved this life with all its rustiness, surprises and freedom. But then I am also aware that this is not real, in the end it is just holidays. When I was lying down in the tent I told the Lady that I am going to miss her. She didn’t say anything, obviously, the answer clear! Sometimes silence is the answer!Day 19: Khumaga Campsite -> Dqua Qare Game Farm
It was a long drive today. When we started from the Khumaga Campsite the weather was not so attractive. It rained all the way in the forenoon. On the way to the park gate the only animal we came across was a lonely bull. Somehow I felt a mix of emotions. I felt like it was there to say good bye to me. I stopped the car and stayed there for a while just watching him. I was wondering whether I will ever be able to come back to this beautiful continent. I literarily said good bye to him and moved towards Maun. Our destination was the Dqua Qare Game Farm near to Ghanzi.
While entering the outskirts of Maun I ended up paying for a speeding ticket. I had always been careful not to cross the legal speed limits in this trip though I love driving fast. Somehow I lost the concentration and ended up doing 70 kmh in a 60 kmh zone. I had to pay 300 BWP as fine. I was angry with myself afterwards for that.
We stopped at Maun to post the postcards and then proceeded towards Ghanzi. The Lady took over the wheels from Maun. It was a pretty smooth ride without any traffic as usual. On the way we stopped at Lake Ngami about 10 km from the game farm. It is a totally undeveloped site and had been recently taken over as part of the Moremi NP. It is the only lake within Kalahari. After the recent heavy rains the water has flooded the surrounding tree ground and one could see large number of trees with their trunks immersed in water. The water had a strange orange colouration and with the water birds in it, the lake looked strangely beautiful.
We reached the Dqua Qare Game Farm in the afternoon. It is a community campsite run by the San community. It was a really nice place with a small pool. The Lady and I immediately jumped into the pool. It was our first pool dip in the whole trip. After the long drive it was quite refreshing. Other than us there was only one other camper, a British guy travelling for 4 months from Cape Town to Kenya. He should have a lot of money I think to travel like that for 4 months in a 4x4. While he was chatting with the Lady, I have to admit that I was quite jealous. Silly I know!
In the evening after the dinner the Lady and I tried to some night photography of the stars and some macros of the moths. When we were busy adjusting the lighting to track the moths something ran over the Lady’s feet before ending up over my feet. The Lady and I jumped back and then we shone the torch to it. It was a small snake! First shocked and then nicely surprised we took some photos of it. After making sure that it is no longer near our car we tried to identify it in our insect book. But we couldn’t identify it. But that surely brought an end to our night photography!
Day 18: Khumaga Campsite
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We reached the Njuca campsite without any trouble. We hardly saw any animals on the way. But the landscape was amazing. 360 degrees of complete emptiness covered with dried grass. It was very quiet. There was nobody else in the campsite. I even thought of camping there today instead of camping at the noisy neighbourhood in the Khumaga campsite. But the Lady was not so fascinated by the idea.
Later on we drove towards the Tree Island campsite. Surprisingly the roads were good. The campsite was on a small hill on the edges of the pan. Again one more amazing campsite overlooking the pans. It’s a strange feeling when you think that you are standing on the beaches overlooking the bed of superlake Makgadikgadi that existed about 100,000 years ago. To give some idea about how big the pans are, the pans covers an area equivalent to 1/3rd of the size of Switzerland! Though we were standing on the edge of the pan I could image how it would be to stand in the middle with just the view of the pans all around you till the horizon. I don’t know how many minutes I stood there watching the emptiness. It’s a fascinating view. All I could see was a lonely gemsbok on one edge of the pan. Wonder where the rest of the herd is. I was really happy that we could drive that far today.
By the time we drove back towards the camp the rain has subsided. We stopped many times on the way to take some photos. The Lady was busy with macro shots and me busy with landscape and paparazzi photos of the Lady. We took a break at the campsite till evening. We went out again for game drive trying out new routes in the NP. We had some luck this time. We came across a baby python on the road. We noticed it only because some Gunieafowls were scrambling around it without bothering about the approaching car. Later on we came across a turtle which should be at least 50 years old, some ellie, Kudu, Impala, Steinbok on the drive. At least something is better than nothing!
Day 17: Planet Baobab -> Khumaga Campsite
Not a good start in the morning. The day started dull as I had a bad dream yesterday night. I dreamed of my father, looked very sad. I am struggling to get used to the fact that he is no more. I miss him a lot and try not to think about him. I wish if I could have spent more time with him. Especially during the times he needed me the most. I didn’t or I couldn’t and I hope he knew why. Where ever he is, I wish he is having a better life than the one he had. He deserved it!
Once we had our breakfast we started driving toward the Makgadikgadi pans. When compared to the roads in Namibia, Botswana is still in infancy. Though the main highways are good, especially the ones that was quite often used there is absolutely no sign boards at all. If you are looking for turns off the highway you are in trouble. Before driving to the pans we decided to stop at the McKenzie’s at Maun to settle our bills for the rescue. We called them in advance to see where they are located as their office is in outskirts. The bill was quite expensive – around 750 USD for the two days! But there was nothing to argue about it as they had to be paid for the service delivered even if it was inefficient. Though we communicated our location exactly on the first day itself it took two days for them due to the lack of any GPS. The owner was a nice guy and in the end I thought everything turned out fine and we are safe, so why complain unnecessarily.
We drove to the Khumaga campsite in the Makgadikgadi National Park from there. While driving in Botswana one thing that you come across quite often in the highways are the people standing on the sides of the road and requesting a lift. I am ashamed to say that we never stopped even when there were women with babies waiting in the hot sun! I always had the lame excuse in my mind that the double cab is filled with our stuffs. Though it was true almost all the time, it is also true that we could have made space, if we wanted, by shifting them to the luggage area, which we never did! I always preach about helping people in need, and I also feel good when I do that, still the truth is that I didn’t do it when I could have done. Is it the double face of me? I hope, I wish that someday I will have the courage to do what I believe in! On the other hand Botswana is no longer a poor country as it was when it got independence in the 60’s from Britain. It is currently one of the fastest growing economies in the world with a GDP or around 14000 USD, one of the highest in Africa. With a population of around 2 million I don’t understand why the government can’t provide the basic services, like transportation, for its people. The tourist already invest a high amount of money in the country through the governments “low-volume, high-value” tourism and shouldn’t be expected to compensate for the misgovernance of their rulers they selected.
The Khumaga campsite is on the south side of the Maun Nata highway. One has to cross the Boteti river to get into the national park. There is a private ferry service, to which we tried to call in advance to see if it is still operating in offseason. But the phone number was not reachable. We drove there anyway and were happy to see that the service is still there. It seems to be a family operation. The first river crossing in a ferry, that was interesting.
The Lady and I hardly talked today. We talk less and less now a days and she seems to be less interested. Whenever I ask how she is doing, I get the standard monologue “alright”, even when she seemed not so. I never knew what is wrong, probably I am wrong. But it is also true that I knew a different person before! I didn’t want to disturb her in anyway so I kept my distance.
The Makgadikgadi NP is quite different from the NP’s that we have visited so far. It is situated on the western edges of the pans. The roads were quite sandy than muddy. The campsite itself was on the western border of the park right on the banks of the Boteti river. Though one can expect high concentration of wildlife on the banks in dry season, it was not so when we came. After the rains the wildlife seemed to have vanished. We did a game drive in the afternoon. It was really disappointing. All we could see was a bull, some antelopes and some birds.
At night, after dinner we sat on our campsite drinking beer. Suddenly I saw some near our car. My first guess was that it should be hyenas. As we shone the torch light towards it, to our surprise, it was a honey badger. Not just one, but two! Honey badgers are nocturnal and very difficult to spot. And they are also famous for being fearless. They were not at all concerned by our presence and seemed to be used to the campsite and its occupants. They came back again later, scanning through our camps. That was nice. Later on we had some other little visitors. Spiders, almost 3 cm long and looking very scary. That was not nice!!!!
Day 16: Planet Baobab -> Kubu Island
We decided to do a day trip to the Kubu island today. Kubu island lies in the southwest of Sua Pan. When we were in the Third Bridge camp our neighbours Richard and Mary recommended it. Though we marked it in our list we were not so sure about it. But the more we read about it the more we became interested in going there. Moreover we didn’t have any other plans for today.
As usual I marked the necessary coordinates in my GPS. According to the maps, from the Maun – Nata highway there are two routes going south that we could take to go there. One about 24 kms before reaching Nata, and the other along the western edges of the Sua pan. The travel guide I had said that one should avoid using the route along the pan edge in the wet season as the track could become dangerously muddy. We decided to take the other route as the route along the pan edge was marked only in some of the maps that we had, making the route more suspicious.
In the morning we told the Dutch couple that we are going to the Kubu island and they could join us if they are interested. They were undecided, so I left them alone and didn’t bother about it much. Just before we were about to leave they came to us and said they would also like to join us. I thought it will be nice as the route is not supposed to be an easy one (driving to the pans is always going to be risky), and also if one of us get stuck the other could pull them out. And in this part of the world it is always safer to drive as a convoy than being alone.
The diversion towards the pans from the main highway was not easy to find as there were no signboards at all. I used the coordinates in my GPS to figure out the track. Once we found the track, which we were not so sure at all in the beginning, it was just a matter of blindly driving south. It was really a tricky and challenging one, esp for novice 4x4 drivers like us. First of all there is no designated route. We found routes all over the place mostly due the previous drivers having tried to avoid undrivable routes. The landscape changed quite often from gravel tracks, grassy routes, marsh, bush lands etc. and that too filled up with puddles. Most of the time we had to drive around to avoid suspicious puddles and then try to figure out the right route and direction ahead. Without the GPS it would have been impossible as most of the time I drove blindly in the direction shown by the GPS towards the next waypoint in the GPS.
I am sure the Dutch couple was having second thoughts after some time. When we took a break in between they came to us and asked whether we are lost. I just told them “Probably! I am not so sure, but the direction looks good”. Not so comforting answer, I know. But that was really the truth. The route was really challenging one, completely exhausting and without any signboards! From the highway the Kubu island is about 70-80 km down south. It took around 4 hrs for us to cover it. It was one hell of a ride. There were some patches of pan that we had to cover and it was so filled with water that if we were alone we would have never attempted to cross it I think. Since we were travelling in a convoy I told the Dutch couple to stop and wait till we have crossed and move only when we have completely crossed the section. I wanted to be absolutely sure that if we get stuck the other should be in a position to pull us out or vice versa.
We somehow made it to the Kubu island by noon. Once we reached there it was absolutely clear for all of us that all the risk that we have taken to reach there was worth. It was an absolutely beautiful place to be. Kubu island is an isolated granite outcrop of around 1 km long and about 10 m high. Evidence of the former lake could be found there in the form of fossil beaches of wave rounded pebble. With three sides of complete emptiness around and covered with baobabs, it has a unique beauty to it, and it was breath taking to see it. When I stood on the one of the rocks there all I could see was complete emptiness with the clouds meeting the salt pans at the horizon. I tried to walk into the pans a little bit. Within few meters the dangers were clearly evident. The ground was wet and sinking and the surface underneath the salt layer was clayey which stuck to the sandals like glue. Think about what will happen if one tries to drive through it.
We spend about an hour there and we could see the storm clouds accumulating on the route we came in. We decided to drive back before it gets converted into rains. Especially the stretches were we have to drive through the pan. But we were not so lucky. About half an hour after we stared it poured heavily. I could hardly see through the windscreen. And with water all over the place there was no clear tracks to drive into which made the trip more difficult. It was a nightmare drive as I was not sure to know whether the route I am driving into is a good or bad one. When we rode over the muddy tracks accidently the car was floating all over the place making the drive more and more risky. While trying to keep the momentum to avoid getting stuck in the mud we drove over obstacles that sounded like the car is getting broken into pieces. Again it was a completely blind driving absolutely guided by the direction pointed by the GPS, ie. just drive north!!!! Never in my life had I driven like that before. I felt like I am participating in rallying.
While struggling to keep the car moving ahead through the rain and the mud we came across a track which was completely different from the one that we came in. We realised that it is a different route as we started seeing some rudimentary sign boards towards Kubu island. From the GPS the route ran parallel to the one that we drove before. After some time the rain stopped and the weather became clear. We started seeing the endless grassy pan on our right side. We realised that this is the second route to the Kubu island that runs through the edges of the Sua pan. Though the travel guides suggested that one should avoid this route in the wet season we found it perfectly alright for driving to the island. It was in a much better condition and lot easier to drive than the one we took to reach Kubu island.
The Dutch couple also made it along with us without any bad experiences. In the end we covered the distance to the camp in less than 3.5 hours. The onward trip took us around 4.5 hours. We were completely exhausted at the end of the day. It was a really good day, adventurous, challenging and extremely lucky. We were really glad that we decided to do the trip to the Kubu Island today.Day 15: Baines Baobab - > Planet Baobab
The day started in a relaxed mode. We didn’t hurry up as we knew that if everything goes fine the distance that we had to cover today is not so big. The only hurdle could be covering the pan between the campsite and the Baobabs. Since the dark clouds that we say yesterday evening didn’t turn into rains, I was not expecting any trouble as long as I stick on to the tracks.
We covered the pan without any problems. We stopped at the Baines Baobabs again to take some snaps. The drive towards the gate was pretty easy. We came across only some bulls and gemsbok on the way. By noon we reached Planet Baobab which lies on the east of Nxai pan gate and about a km after Gweta. It’s a private camping are, and our first private camp spot after Victoria Falls Campsite.
When compared to the campsites we stayed in the national parks in the last days this one was a luxury. A swimming pool, a bar, restaurant, private ablution blocks, hot water, power supply and individual huts to keep our things dry, I should say that I felt a bit weird. Felt like it had been ages since I had experienced any luxury. In a way it was a good choice as it gave us time to relax and recharge our biological batteries for the next adventures ahead.
It was drizzling all the time. We planned to go and have a look at the Greens Baobab and Chapmans Baobab on the northern edge of the Ntwetwe Pan. The twin pans Ntwetwe and Sua are part of the gigantic Makgadikgadi pans with Ntwetwe on the western and Sua on the eastern side. And our campsite, Planet Baobab, was on the north western side of Ntwetwe pan. In the maps I could see a track going directly from Planet Baobab towards south through the Greens Baobab. And Chapmans Baobab was further southeast from there. I thought I could try those routes. When I checked with the receptionist at the camp they advised against it as they said the route is not at all drivable after the rains.
With no other plans left the Lady and I decided to spend the afternoon relaxing, reading and sipping some cocktails at the bar. Our neighbours were young Dutch couples who were also on a similar road trip like us, but through much more safer routes, travelling almost though the tarred routes most of the time. Unlike us, they were on their first African trip and with no previous experience on 4x4 – like us – they decided to be on the safe side, which made sense.
I decided to invite the Lady for dinner at the restaurant. After we left Windhoek we had been cooking in our small gas stove for the last two weeks, I thought it will be nice to have a change and make use of the relaxed atmosphere. Moreover, I wanted the Lady to have some proper full meal as she has almost completely recovered from her illness by now.
It was a nice evening. The food was good and the Lady seemed to be in good spirits. For the first time in the whole trip she opened up a little bit talking about herself and the life she had back home. Just giving a glimpse of the person behind that face. Still I can see that there is a lot hidden behind that face, which she is not ready to share, and only giving vague replies to the queries. Obviously she doesn’t feel comfortable opening up to me for some reason and I guess I should respect that. Still, for whatever reason, I like this woman without doubt. I don’t want to believe that I am in love with her, as I am not good for that, and also I don’t think that she needs me. Just to cut the long sentence short, it was a nice to spend that evening with her and I have to thank her for letting me do that.
Day 14: Nxai Pan -> Baines Baobab
We had a late breakfast and by the time we packed our tents and got ready for the drive almost all the other campers had already left. One of them said that they had seen two cheetahs and a lion on the road from the gate to the camp yesterday. We never got an opportunity to see any cheetah’s on this trip. It’s my most favourite cat. It beautiful, and also has the ferocious look of a predator, fast and so agile. I hope I will be lucky this time.
We checked at the camp office for the road conditions towards Baines Baobab. We have the reservations to camp there today. But the rangers advised us against driving over there as it has rained yesterday. They said they can reorganise our reservations and give a camping slot here. The camp is situated about 500 after Baines Baobab and the route cuts across the pans. Rains means that driving through the pans will be tricky and there is a high possibility that we will be get stuck there. That was disappointing news as I really wanted to go there.
We decided to take round trips along the edges of the South camp of the Nxai pan. We came across large herds of springboks, zebras and some giraffes, but no cheetahs or lions. At some sections, especially on the western section of the Nxai pan the road was a little bit difficult to drive due to the clay. But altogether we came out safe without much trouble. I also reduced the tyre pressures to 1.2 bar in the morning to have a better grip in sandy sections. The weather stayed dry throughout. By noon it was so hot that we decided to drive back to the camp and take a break for a couple of hours. On the way we stopped at the office to check for the road situation towards Baines. The rangers again suggested against going there today.
We stopped at the camp and took rest till 3 pm. Since it was dry and hot throughout the day we decided to drive towards the Baines camp. We have to take a diversion from the main road connecting the gate to the south camp at about 18 kms from the camp and then drive east for about 12 – 14 kms to reach the Baines Baobabs. There are two routes to reach there, the right and the left forks. The direct one – the right fork - is about 12 kms, but one has to drive through the pans at some sections. That means it is not at all advisable in the wet season. The left fork is good for driving in the wet season as it leads to the baobabs without cutting any pans on the route. The only pan that one has to cross is after the Baobabs to reach the camping place. Our idea was to take the left fork and see how the road conditions are and to turn back if it gets risky at any point.
After the diversion we completely missed the left fork somehow and ended up driving in the right fork instead. After a while I got doubtful and stopped to recheck our positions in the map. We drove back again to the main road. We found the left fork and then drove towards the baobabs. On the way we came across a couple (the only people we came across the whole evening) who were camping at the Baines yesterday evening. They said the road is fine till the baobabs and we have to be careful only on the last stretch across the pans. They advised us to stay on the tracks and never attempt to drive around the tracks. Encouraged by the news we drove to the camp. The track was fine and we came across some lonely bulls and a couple of gemsboks. That was the first time we saw a gemsbok in this trip. The landscape was absolutely beautiful. Though it was part of the Makgadikgadi pans the whole route was grassed over. And with the sun slowly moving toward the horizon, the light was golden making the landscape further magical.
We reached the Baobabs without any problems. The massive trees, around 7 of them on the edges of the pan, are more than 1000 years old!! Archaeologists have found extensive remains like stone tools from the middle stone age period around this regions. They were supposed to be at least 100,000 - 120,000 years old at the time when the super lake existed and this might have been the beach at the time.
The last stretch of track to the campsite was not as easy as expected as it was a little bit wet. Since I could see some fresh tracks across, probably from the car of the couple that we came across before, we decided to proceed further. It was a challenging drive and I made a mistake by trying to drive around a small puddle on the route, though the couple has advised us to stay on the track. I was thinking that we might get stuck in the puddle. The drive around was more difficult as the car struggled to get proper grip in the clay and the surface was much more wet than the track we were driving before. Somehow we crossed the pan to the camp. The campsite is a small island in the pan and is very basic. An open space, underneath a huge baobab tree, with a long drop toilet, that’s it; and there is no water or anything else. We found only one campsite, where we also decided to stay; I was wondering where the other sites are and how to reach them. Since our camping slot was a different number, we decided to stay where we are till somebody else shows up. I was completely against driving around the island through the side of the pan searching for the other campsites. In the middle of nowhere, far away from any kind of civilization in all 360 directions, it is the one of the best campsites we ever had.
Nobody came afterwards and we made the camp there. It drizzled a little bit in the evening and I was a little bit concerned whether it will be raining at night. That will make our return through the pan challenging tomorrow. The night with the marvellous African skies, with a millions stars, and the absolute silence, was an amazing experience. After dinner the Lady and I again tried some night photography of the skies. I was really happy to spend the time with the Lady in such a surrounding. I simply loved it!!!!
Day 13: Third Bridge Camp -> Nxai Pan
Before driving towards the South Gate through the 2nd and 1st Bridge I decided to check with the rangers at the Third Bridge Gate to check for road conditions. The rangers advised us to take the route through the Xakanaxa gate instead. The road from Xakanaxa gate to the South Gate goes right through the Mopane tongue which is around 40 kms. The Lady decided to drive. Her health has improved a lot in the last days. She has started taking antibiotics and that seemed to have worked. Her cough is almost completely gone now. It was nice to see her healthy again.
The road was much better than we expected. On the way we came across a big bull on the side of the road. We stopped near him and the bull continued its grazing without minding our presence. It seemed to be quite relaxed. After eating on one side of the road the bull crossed the road in front of our car and started eating again on the other side. At one point it came so close to our car that it was hardly 2 m from the windows. Though it was still very calm like before I have to admit I had second thoughts about reversing the car further. That would have been stupid as any sudden noise from the engine starting would have freaked him off. It was really so close that I doubt that even a sudden movement of our hands would have put us in danger. We decided to take the risk and I told the Lady to stay where we are as for me the bull looked really relaxed. As before, like in the Savuti camp, it was just my instincts talking! Luckily nothing bad happened and it was really a wonderful experience to know that the bull didn’t consider us as a threat and accepted us in his world as how we are. I can’t explain it, but those little little instances in life, it has a real beauty to it.
While watching the bull we saw something moving in the road. It was a snake crossing the road. It was our first snake spotting in the whole trip and if I am right it was a black mamba!! I took photos of it and have to recheck it afterwards. When the bull finally moved away from the car we started the engine and drove towards South Gate. I could see in the rear view mirror that the bull didn’t really appreciate the sudden ignition of the engine! When we reached the South Gate we stopped the car to check whether everything is ok with the car. That’s when we realised that one side of the front bumper has come off from the fixing. I somehow fixed it back again though I am no longer sure whether it will survive the rest of the journey.
Our goal was to reach Maun around 1-2 pm. We stopped at Maun to top up the fuel and the supplies. By the time we left Maun it was already close to 4 pm. We still have to cover around 135 kms before we reach the Nxai pan gate. I also bought a SIM card for the phone to call home. It has been almost 2 weeks since I called home. By the time I finished talking with my sister the credit on the card has been over. On the way to the Nxai pan gate we came across heavy rains. That’s bad news as the pans might get more clayey and more difficult to drive. We reached the Nxai pan gate in time. I decided to drive the next leg. The camp site is a further 36 km north from the gate. The track is covered with deep sand, but because of the rains before it was more comfortable to drive than expected.
We camped at the South Camp site which is on the edges of the Nxai pan. Though they are part of the ancient salt pans, compared to the Etosha pans in Namibia or the Makgadikgadi pans the Nxai pan is completely grassed over. Due to that after the rainy season one can expect to see wildlife in the pans. It’s also New Year’s eve tonight. At night we opened our little champagne bottles that we bought at Windhoek and exchanged the formal greetings. The sky was amazing. We walked over to the pans from our camp in the darkness to watch the stars. Some rangers near to the camp saw us and warned us of ellies around. That’s a scary thought, to come across some lonely bulls in the darkness. So we didn’t hang around longer and returned to the camp. The sky, the typical African skies with the stars up to the horizon, always fascinated me. Pity that my timelapse trigger is not working.
The Lady and I tried to do some night photography of the skies. It didn’t work out well as I would have liked to have. We went to bed around 11pm. Didn’t wait for the New Year. One more New Year has gone and one more new year is waiting for us with full of surprises. I hope it is not a terrible year like the last one. I wish the last year didn’t happen at all. At least this New Year was not lonesome as usual. It was nice to spend it with the Lady. But is she happy? I really doubt it. And I don’t know why. The Lady I knew before was different. Probably because of the weird, crazy me!!!Day 12: Third Bridge Camp
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The day started with a game drive as before. Since we had to drive towards South Gate tomorrow we decided to take a drive in that direction to see if the tracks are drivable or not. In between we tried to take a detour towards the Mboma Island loop that we drove yesterday. Somehow we couldn’t find the connecting route though our maps showed a clear track towards it. Anyway, the drive was not so bad as we came across a small herd of ellie with a baby elephant. It was so small and was trying to drink milk from the cow all the time. I think it is not more than a couple of weeks old. Very cute!
Later on we drove the route leading to Xakanaxa gate. Since we didn’t see any game on the route we took a detour to one of the ‘Boga sites’ (I don’t know what that means!). We came across a herd of ellies again, this time with an youngster lying on the ground and sleeping. That was beautiful. We spend quite some time there watching the ellies (you never get tired of it) and then drove further. We didn’t have any clear destination in mind. We just drove wherever the track took us. Only problem with such drives is that once you are stuck, you will be stuck there for quite long time. Especially when you are driving alone.
The day was getting hotter. At around noon we stopped at a shade and both of us slept there for almost an hour. One cannot describe the feeling when you are in the middle of nowhere, close to nature, with a little breeze soothing your skin, listening to the music of the wildlife around you and being with the people you love being with. I know I am going to miss it for ever!
We drove back to the camp later on. In the morning we decided to go for a boat ride in the delta. The old couple we shared the camp with, Richard and Mary, was also interested in joining us. In one way it was good as the rent we pay is for the boat no matter if it is just one person or 4 persons the price is always the same. So it reduces the price per person and also they were really nice people. I thought it will at least give the Lady a break from me. Badly needed probably! We decided to do it at 4 pm for 2 hrs when the sun is not so hot.
It’s a pity that there is no Makoro trips from Third Bridge. It was motorised boat. Our guide, Receptor was a good guy, funny to chat with, knowledgeable, and was also keen to share it with others. Though we didn’t see any of the Big 5, we did see a couple of Letchwe and a lot of birds. The zig zag drive through the delta is a different feeling when you had been in a 4x4 for the last 10 days. In the end we both felt that it was a good decision to for the boat ride.
At night, after dinner, we chatted around the campfire that Richard has lit. Again, we had the hyena’s visiting us in the dark. Living with nature, I loved it!Day 11: North Gate -> Third Bridge Camp
The location of the camp site was really nice on the banks of the Okavango delta. It is one of the most expensive campsites costing 50 USD per person per night. When I was booking the camps I avoided booking here as I felt it is kind of looting. People say that what you pay for is for the location. I had been in equally good campsites in other NP’s in Africa and I never paid so much amount anywhere. The camp location is beyond doubt very good. But like any other campsites all you get for the money is a place for pitching your tent and an ablution block. They don’t have any power points, but I don’t find it absolutely necessary. Honestly, I didn’t see any justification for the high rates they charge for camping. But we as tourists have no other option, do we? And they know it too. If you want to enjoy the delta then either you pay of just stay at home!
It rained heavily last night. I was worried about the road conditions towards Third Bridge after the rains. We had the breakfast at the sides of the delta where our camp is. But the beauty of the nature was disrupted by the pestering of the vervet monkeys which was trying to steal food from the car or us. In the end we lost only some peanuts and sugar.
Once we packed our tents we drove in the direction of Xakanaxa camp. The tracks were little bit difficult right from the beginning. Since we didn’t see any game in the main road we decided to try one of the detours towards the Khwai river in the north. That turned out to be a big mistake. The track conditions were worse than we expected. There was water everywhere and at some places the mud was so deep that I thought we are going to be stuck again. Once again I had to shift my driving style to that of a rally driver than a normal safari drive. I had to drive much more harshly than yesterday in the marsh. It was really tough drive and I got exhausted from the drive within minutes. At one point I even thought that the shock absorbers might have damaged. The car had absolutely no grip and was floating all over the dirt at some places. By sheer luck we managed to get back to the main road. But it was not over yet. We still had to drive around 20 kms to reach Xakanaxa gate.
The drive to Xakanaxa gate was again challenging with lots and lots of mud pools in the road. The pools stretched the complete width of the road that most of the time I had to drive blindly through it with the hope that it is not too deep so that the water will get into the radiator. When we finally reached the Xakanaxa gate I was completely exhausted. The colour of our originally white car was beyond recognisable. We stopped at one of the mobile camps to wash down the windscreen as it was no longer visible.
The road from Xakanaxa gate to the Third Bridge was more tolerable in comparison. But it started raining heavily on the way. It was a sandy track, so the rains helped in making the drive less hard. On he way we hardly saw any game other than some occasional giraffe or impala We registered at the Third Bridge gate and took a break at the campsite. It is an interesting place in the delta. The name of the campsite “Third Bridge” comes from the wooden bridge across one of the tributaries of the river. And there are other bridges named First, Second and Fourth nearby. The Third Bridge itself is drivable only when the water level in the river is low. Even when we were driving through it part of it was under water. They say at times of high water level in the delta the bridge is at least a meter under the top surface of the water!!!!
When the rain settled we went for a drive towards Mboma Island which is on the North west side of Third Bridge. Our plan was to take the round trip to the North West end of the island where there is a boat station and drive back to Third Bridge. That was a relaxing ride. The Lady decided to drive most of the route as I was completely tired from today’s drive. We saw a side stripped jackal, ellies, Kudu, Giraffe and a lot of Impalas as usual. We didn’t find the boat station and afterwards my GPS said that we are already in the return track. A few kms before the Third Bridge we came across a pack of wild dogs. One of the most elusive species and I have never seen a wild dog in my life. We were extremely luck see them. After all the struggle that we had to go through today I think to be able to see the wild dog was pretty rewarding.
We camped at the Third Bridge campsite and we had to share the campsite with an old couple from South Africa. There was some bureaucratic confusion and we didn’t have any problem to share the campsite as there is enough space for everyone. They lit a campfire and as we were sitting around it and chatting we had a hyena visiting our camp, of course to steal the food!
Day 10: Mababe Depression -> North Gate
We are still stuck in the mud. The rescue that was supposed to come yesterday didn’t arrive. It was a moonlit night yesterday. The evening went smoothly with the music of the African wild. I liked it inspite of the difficult situation that we were in. I slept like a baby as I was too tired from the struggle and the Lady said that I snored at night too.
In the morning I tried to get the car out again. We dig in some channels close to the where the tyres were in order to drain the water out of the mud pool. I thought if we could somehow get the mud dried up my morning then the car might come out. But it didn’t work out as the mud didn’t dry up over night and the tyres dug deeper and deeper into the mud again.
We phoned the Xakanaxa camp to get the phone numbers of the rangers at the Mababe get. But we couldn’t get any connection to them. I called McKenzie at Maun again to check for the status of the rescue team. They said they got our location wrong yesterday and they ended up searching for us at some other place. I was surprised to hear that as there is only one road that cuts through the depression towards Savuti and I also have given them the GPS coordinates of our location. It turned out that the rescue didn’t even had any GPS in their car. I described our location again and they said they know our position correctly now and will be here in hours.
The day was getting hotter again and we set up a rudimentary tent using our tarpaulin. Two ends of the tarpaulin was attached to the car and the other two ends slopped towards the ground with the high lift jack as a pole at the centre. We put our chairs underneath and waited again for the rescue. There was nothing else to do. The sun was getting hotter but there was luckily some breeze. I was still feeling a bit tired. The extra time set me into thinking mode again. Wonder what the Lady is thinking about the whole trip. I really wish that she will come out of all this with some good memories. I really wanted to help, but from my experiences so far I think it will be better if I don’t try.
A few hours later we heard a car coming in our direction. I got to the front of the car and waved them to stop before driving into the mud track. It was not our rescue but some other tourist driving towards Savuti. They stopped at about 300 m from us. I walked over to them and told them that they should probably avoid driving through the track and rather drive through the bush. I asked them if they could pull us out and they said they will see. To my surprise they ignored my advice and drove straight through the mud. And as expected they got stuck!!!! I stood there in utter disbelief. For the next 1.5 hrs they were busy trying to pull out their vehicle from the mud. When all attempts with high lift jack and rescue path failed they attempted using the winch. Since there were no trees in the marsh they attached the winch to a broken tree stump nearby. And that worked and they somehow pulled their car out. Later on they also used the winch to pull our car out of the mud.
So finally, after spending about 24 hrs in the Mababe depression we were out. Or so we thought! We avoided the muddy track ahead of us and drove carefully through the bush. But it turned out that the bush is more dangerous than the mud. Since it is covered with vegetation actual ground conditions are not visible. Hardly about 400 m from our last disaster we got stuck in the mud in the bush. This time it was worse than before as the mud was much more loose and deeper. We were so tired that we didn’t even bother to try using the high lift jack. We decided to wait for our rescue that we called in before.
The day was getting hotter and there was hardly any shade. After about 2 hrs I saw 2 cars approaching us at very high speed. The first car stopped in front of us and told us that they are just tourists and our rescue is the car behind. They were just helping the rescue car to find us using the GPS they had. Since the rescue car didn’t have any GPS they were searching for us at the wrong place all the time. I was surprised that the company offering rescue services didn’t even have any GPS in their cars!
The family that helped us there were from South Africa travelling with their 4 kids. They were passing by through the main road to Mababe gate with their trailer when the rescue car stopped them to check for our GPS coordinates. The decided to help them out, though it was far away from where they were heading to. They left the trailer there and lead the rescue car to our location driving through the marsh and taking all the risks. The rescue car itself got stuck twice on the way. I was beyond words when I came to know about it. I felt really happy to see such kindness in people and to realise that the world has not got rotten with greed as I thought.
The helped to pull our car out of the mud and one of the guys in the rescue decided to drive our car till the main road where the tracks are much more drivable. The Lady got into the rescue car. How they drove through the marsh later on was similar to how you drive in rallying. It was a crash course for me on 4x4 driving though marsh. I think that’s were I went wrong. I was too careful and the speed at which I was driving was not giving enough momentum to drag the car out of the mud. For the track conditions that we experienced there one has to drive atleast at 40-60 kmh and that too at a minimum of high range 2 gear.
Once we were in the main road we said good bye to the family who helped us and also to the rescue team. The rest of the drive to North Gate at Moremi NP was not so easy as there was water everywhere. But after having seen how to drive through marsh I was driving like rallying this time. Luckily the car held on. At some instances I really thought that the car will break into pieces. It was too difficult to concentrate on holding the car stable and read the road conditions at the same time when you are driving at 40 -60 kmh. The Lady was my navigator and without her help I don’t think I would have made it.
We reached the Mababe gate safely and then proceeded towards the North Gate. Our destination was Xakanaxa campsite inside the Moremi NP where we had the campsite booking for today. But the campsite is about 30 km from the North Gate and by the time we reached North Gate it was too late to drive to Xakanaxa. So we decided to camp at North Gate instead. The last two days were more adventurous than both of us ever expected/imagined/experienced. When we decided to do this trip in the Green season it was clear for me that the trip might get difficult at some times. So I tried to make sure that we had everything that is need to come out safely if we something happens. But I never really thought that we will be stuck somewhere for so long. Though we always made sure that we had enough supplies all the time to stay safe for 4-5 days, the helpless feeling that one goes through is something that one cannot prepare for. I am really glad that both of us are safe. We were both exhausted. The day ended on a positive note with a hyena visiting our camp at night in search of food.
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