Welcome To Botswana

Up early this morning as we are in transit today.  Karongwe had been the 'pre-trip' location and there were just the nine of us. Now we begin the main trip.  We met the six new people who are joining our group.  Three more couples; Bud and Kay, Stephen and Mindy, and two ladies traveling solo – Colleen and Lia. After breakfast we set out at 8:30 am for the airport and took a British Air flight to Victoria Falls.  After going through customs in Zimbabwe we met our Tour Leader, Vitalis.  We weighed our bags for the future flights and boarded a sixteen passenger bus, which was being driven by Big Boy.  Vitalis had to stand for the two hour drive into Botswana and the Baobab Safari Lodge in Chobe National Park. Vitalis will be our Tour Leader for the rest of our trip.

Leaving the Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls where we landed did not allow us to see either the falls or the town.  But immediately we had Big Boy stopping the bus so we could get good pictures of the Baboons.  We have found that when we see anything we want to look at longer we just ask.  The guides and drivers are so full of facts and stories about the animals that it never gets old. Vitalis did encourage us to keep moving as we had a long drive, nearly two hours and we wanted to arrive before dark.

We had gone through the one minute long line for customs and security at the airport and now stopped to get our passports stamped for exiting, drove a few hundred yards, re-exited the bus, and got in line at a little three window immigration station to enter Botswana.  A lot of semis were at both locations and used different lines.  We all used the one holer ladies room and luckily had our own tissues and hand sanitizer.  Then after we walked over a towel of disinfectant for foot and mouth disease we returned to our seats for the rest of the ride.  

During the ride Vitalis explained about the various things we would be doing on our trip and also a lot about the culture of Botswana. He pointed out where four countries met in a neat corner – Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.  The Zambezi creates a perfect natural boundary.  At the Four Corners the only way across is by ferry. Semis were lined up for miles waiting their turn.  Only one fits on board at a time.  They driver has to go through customs and Vitalis said that, depending on the mood of the officials, a driver often must empty his load.  The official examines the inside of the truck for false panels which may have highly taxed items, such as cigarettes, hidden behind them.  Sometimes, they just do it because they can. The ferry only runs during usual business hours and does not operate on the weekend.  Drivers try to arrive on Friday night and be first in line on Monday morning!

We saw our first Sable Antelope along the drive and some Impala.  The ‘newbies’ were so excited and the bus stopped and windows were slid back to get good shots. When we arrived at the Baobab Safari Lodge we were greeted with warm scented washcloths and by the staff singing us a welcome song.  Entering the thatched roof long hall we were greeted with a cold iced tea with a thin slice of pear in it.  They also passed what they called chocolate fudge but it wasn’t   It was my favorite – Penuche or sometimes called Mexico Fudge.   We oohed and ahhed with a combination of excitement and contentment as we stood in the tiled open air lodge overlooking the watering hole.  This lodge was so different from the first one.

Some of the differences are due to the fact that here we saw below us the wide flood plain reaching out as far as the eye could see in either direction.  Directly across the approximately mile and a half to two mile wide river basin of the Chobe River is Namibia.  The lodges we could see there are allowed to use the river as are the citizens.  It lies not completely but mostly with in the Namibian borders.

Someone from Housekeeping guided us to our cabins. The uneven dirt path led us to Cabin 6.  Perched on a high stone foundation, the building had tented upper sides and roof but cement walls. We later learned that the cement is made from termite mounds.  

After a short break we returned to the lodge where Vitalis gave us a way too long talk about OAT, rules of the parks, rules of the tour, and kindergarten basics like sharing, rotating turns, and cooperating. We placed our valuables in a green bag which was sealed and placed in the office safe.   This was followed by a delicious dinner of chicken, salad, vegetables and a chocolate dessert.  It is the custom in Botswana for the “chief” and the men to eat first and the ladies who did cooking explained this custom and the men lined up at the buffet table.  Then the ladies and then the staff of guides and managers joined the line.   Each night they ate with us.  

This dinner was followed closely by bedtime.  We were led along the darkened path by the staff with flashlights.  We were told to stay in our rooms until 6:30 a.m. when it would be light enough to be out that if there were animals in our way we would not frighten them.  This was always the case here – back to the cabins by 8:30 or 9:00.  This really didn’t give us much free time because then we would start charging camera batteries and tablets.  This was followed by showers, some reading and lights out.  We knew that at 6:00 a.m. at this camp one of the guides would come down the path beating a drum and we would rise, put on our light, call hello out of our opened tent flap and start the day!