The Okavango Delta was one of the destinations I had most been looking forward to and I’m pleased to say it didn’t disappoint.
After Mike navigated through a sandy and bumpy road into the park, we finally arrived at Mankwe Lodge. Again Mike and I had planned to camp while mum and Reegena were booked into one of their tented camps. However after a quick look at the camp sites which were approximately 3kms from the lodge, completely isolated and offering cold bucket showers, Mike and I quickly reviewed our accommodation options and with a pretty good deal on price from the manager there, went for the tented camps as well. A great decision and a real treat!
The following day we set off on our tour guided day safari. Unfortunately we didn’t have much success with our animal viewing that day (you know a guide is getting desperate when he gets excited over an impala), but were still fortunate enough to see giraffe, zebra, hippo and a lot of game. Regardless of animals, the surrounds were just as beautiful as I had expected, so I didn’t feel let down.
Better luck with animals the next day when we did a self- drive tour through Moremi Game Reserve, South Gate. Before we had even entered the park we had elephants just stroll on by behind us along the road. It’s so amazing how close you are able to get to them!
We felt so lucky with our animal spotting and I guess in many ways our luck did continue as we arrived for a stopover in Maun, ready for a long trip to Namibia the next day, only to have our radiator blow after we had arrived in town. Go Ruth!! She managed to hold on all the way to Maun, without stranding us in the park.
So the next day we (or mostly Mike) made a mad scramble around Maun to find someone reliable to fix it.
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| Our newly, reconditioned radiator |
Back on the road that afternoon, with a newly reconditioned radiator and only a minor inconvenience to our plans, we headed off towards the Namibian border. Our goal was Ghanzi, which we made in plenty of time before sunset, but not without a second run in with the Botswana Police. This time it is was for speeding, 83km in a 60km zone, as we came into a roadside village. These police were much nicer than the ones we had encountered at the “Animal Control” post, but did still issue us with a fine. However, out of this incident came one of the stories of the trip for me, as Mike (who for some reason forgot to mention this story in his own blog), not only negotiated the price down, but then asked if they give “volunteer discounts”. Turns out the Botswana Police do, and Mike as a result got 100 Pula back. Classic!!
The rest of our stay in Botswana was without incident, another “Animal Control” post, but this time we had nothing for them!
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| The road towards Namibia: Too many cows crossing! |
Unfortunately I am going to end this post on a sober note, as it seems the rumour we kept hearing throughout our Botswana leg may be true. Next year Botswana Tourism is planning to raise the prices of its park entry fees, by a LOT. Standard park fees that we paid during our trip are 120 Pula pp per day, plus 50 for private vehicles. Next year the cost is likely to be raised to 700 pula pp per day, nearly a 600% increase, or approximately 100 Australian dollars per person per day.
This change in fees seems to be an attempt by Botswana Tourism to virtually eliminate self- drive throughout its parks, forcing tourists to take guided tours and also giving preference to “high-end” tourism. While this has been their strategy for some time, I wonder if they have given enough thought to the flow on effects on their economy, given the money that self- drive tourists provide to local businesses such as fuel stations, supermarkets, craft markets, auto repair, etc. It seems a shame to kill such a large part of its tourism industry forcing tourists into skipping Botswana for other parks and countries, all to make a quick buck and meanwhile denying the majority of people (those of us who aren’t rich), the opportunity to experience these incredible parks!
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