Continuing a further 220 km north, we spent two nights at Wildtrack Safaris-Eco Lodge, centred in the newly formed Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area.
This area forms a continuous corridor connecting Chobe National Park and the Sibuyu Forest area of Botswana with Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, allowing the free movement of wildlife throughout the areas.
The main lodge is spectacular, incorporating a large, beamed thatched roof and hosting an amazing collection of African art. Our bungalow had a thatched roof, a huge bed, a giant soaker tub in the bathroom and an outdoor shower open to the incredible nighttime Botswana sky.
The staff were exceptional, and the food—much of it traditional Botswanan fare—was delicious. The lodge offers morning and late-afternoon game drives, of which we did one afternoon drive.
There had been some recent brush fires in the area, so the wildlife was limited, but we did see plenty of elephants, giraffes, sable, kudu and other game.
All in all, a very nice stop if you are heading south or north. Kudos to Johnathon and Jacques for the obvious effort they have put into managing the lodge, with guest comfort and enjoyment top of mind.
Located just off the main A3 highway, approximately 170 km northwest of Francistown, Nata lodge offers bungalows, permanent tent sites and a very sandy campsites that travellers coming from every direction use as a comfortable pit-stop en route to other destinations.
The lodge has a nice restaurant/bar and indoor and outdoor seating and the food was good.
The camping wasn’t as good as there were too many lights around the sites, so we had to keep most of our screens zipped up.
We were located near a dishwashing station, which also served as a security guard station. It was a little bothersome having a guy sitting at the station constantly looking over at us.
To add to that, his buddies would show up in the evening, and they would chat and shoot the breeze while we were hoping for a little privacy.
We spent two nights here, but this would have been a better place to just break up the journey and spend one night. The site is located near the Nata Bird Sanctuary, which sits on the edge of Sowa Pan.
In the wet season, thousands of flamingos gather, and a very large variety of birdlife can be viewed. Being in the dry season, there was really not much to see, so we spent the day dealing with slow internet. Low on supplies, we had a nice chicken schnitzel dinner at the lodge.
Located just outside Francistown and about 170 km from Tuli, Woodlands was a bit of a surprise. We were expecting a lodge complete with a little restaurant and maybe a bar with good Wi-Fi so we could upload some pics and get the blog updated.
Well, this wasn’t really a “lodge,” just a reception office that sold some frozen lasagne, soups, bread and stuff, beer (yes!), and red or sparkling white wine.
Our lodging was surprisingly beautiful, with a comfortable bed, a microwave for heating our frozen lasagne and a nice bathroom with a rain shower and lots of hot water. Joyce was in heaven, as she could wash and dry her hair and rid her body of the dust and grime that had accumulated.
There were two rooms side by side, and as we were unwinding with a cool drink and doing some tech catch-up, our neighbours arrived.
Christian and Nishi (sp?) are a wonderful couple from Norway who had taken a year off to travel. We immediately hit it off and spent the remaining afternoon and evening chatting about whatever subject came to mind.
Nishi suggested we share dinner with them, so while she cooked up a dish of rice and eggplant spiced with chilies, we nuked our lasagne. We sat down, shared our dinners and sipped our drinks into the wee hours of the night.
Well, actually, until around 9:00 pm, which seems to be bedtime for most of us older travellers.
About 65 km from Mapungubwe, we passed through the Pont Drift border crossing to the Tuli Block in Botswana, where Molema Camp offered an unfenced wild experience.
To our surprise and delight, all five sites had a little toilet, open-air shower and dishwashing station, complete with hot water. Rustic, but a luxury for sure, because elephants, lions and leopards can frequently stop by for a visit.
Walking to the ablution block—toilets—in the pitch black with only a headlamp or flashlight can kind of raise the hair on the back of your neck a little.
Camping near us were two German couples with whom we shared a morning game drive, but it was the evening before that the excitement really kicked in. It was dark, and I was in the process of searing and charring our peri-peri chicken.
The evening was quiet and relaxed when, all of a sudden, four bright headlamps were pointing our way and quickly moving towards us. Through the darkness, the Germans were running towards us, pots full of rice and chili con carne in hand.
Elephants! Elephants had invaded our campsite! We had no choice but to run!
The minutes turned into about an hour, so we offered them some bowls and utensils, and we proceeded to chow down, all the while keeping our lights and my super-duper 1,000-lumen flashlight pointed towards their camp.
As the ruckus at their campsite settled down, all of a sudden, we heard noises behind and to the side of our site. Oh-oh, more elephants!
We all stood, watched and shone our lights, waiting in anticipation for the next invasion. Fortunately—or not; it all depends on whether you like this kind of action, and we do—the beasts, the elephants, ha ha, dispersed, and we were able to wish our visitors a good night.
Joyce and I sat looking at the incredible night sky, listening for any further visitors, but none arrived. Off to bed we went, hoping we would have another encounter tomorrow, but alas, it was not to be.
Our abode
Sunrise in the Tuli wilderness
Two week old Black Eagle
Two week old black Eagle
Waiting for us after our hike
Wildabeast
Male Kudu
Yum, sausage and beans
Slightly well done Peri Peri chicken
At this point in time, I was really getting into building fires and cooking on the braai over the embers. I chopped wood, collected kindling and used my bare hands to move burning logs and place them exactly where they needed to be. I need to come up with a better way of moving burning logs!
