SOUTH AFRICA
Johannesburg
July 17, 2019
After a total of 29 hours of travel, 23 hours of which were in the air, we arrived in Johannesburg and were met at O.R. Tambo International Airport by a nice fellow named Resistance, who proceeded to take us to our accommodation, Safari Club SA, a great lodge conveniently located not far from the airport.
We were warmly greeted by the hotel owners, Jose (sp?) and Alastair MacDougall.
The lodge is set in beautifully manicured surroundings, with a nice, welcoming sitting area and restaurant, and a separate indoor-outdoor bar. Our room was cozy, with a comfortable bed and spacious bathroom.
Over the next three days, we enjoyed excellent breakfasts and dinners, but more importantly, we shared great conversations with Jose and Alastair. They are a lovely couple who put their hearts and souls into their business. We highly recommend Safari Club SA, and we are looking forward to stopping in for a visit when we return to Joburg in early September.
We had real problems trying to get good enough internet or 3G cell access during our stay at the lodge and at most of our destinations as we made our way north to Zambia, so I wrote our first post 13 days late.
So when I could finally publish my draft posts, this is what I wrote.
To date, we’ve covered just under 2,000 km and have so far camped in the bush for six nights in three locations, stayed at a nice little lodge just outside Francistown for one night, camped for two nights at Nata Lodge campsite in the North-East District of Botswana near the Nata Bird Sanctuary and Sowa Pan, and spent two nights in a beautiful bungalow at Wildtrack Safaris Eco Lodge, situated in the centre of the newly formed Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area—the largest of its kind in the world.
Departing Wildtrack on the 31st, we made our way to the Kazungula border crossing. After two hours of the most bizarre, red-tape-infested customs process, we crossed the Zambezi River from Botswana to Zambia and made our way to Livingstone for two nights, where we regrouped, picked up a SIM card and loaded up on groceries for our next leg through the wilds of Zambia.
So now our blog will continue on as if nothing happened. We departed July 20th heading to our first stop after Johannesburg: Blouberg Nature Reserve.