My First Time in Botswana

Botswana, the first time The Truck Africa truck crosses the north-east border into Botswana, and right at customs they make us drive the truck's wheels through a disinfectant water bath while we step on a damp rag in our shoes. They don't want Zimbabwe's bacteria and bacilli. We drive until evening. It's November '93, the end of the dry season; in fact there's an attempted downpour, but the drops dissolve instantly, the air is so dry. We camp 100 km from Maun. Arriving in Maun we camp at the Island Safari Lodge. Nicola and I decide to go into the Okavango Delta with a guide for 3 nights and 4 days, by mokoro and into wild nature. After a few kilometres by mokoro we set up camp, and every evening and every morning, with our guide Sam, we walk 10 km on foot, risking being attacked at any moment by lions or worse - but that's the beauty of it.

Anyway, an exceptional experience; even drinking the Okavango river water and bathing in it is very exciting. We return after an unforgettable experience. Nicola and I spend our last night at the Island Safari Lodge in a tent. Mine is bad, because I gave my foam mattress to Sam and no longer needed it - except for that one night. The next day Nicola and I leave Maun with Air Botswana for Gaborone on the legendary Jumbolino, a British Aerospace 146, and then on to Johannesburg. Bye