AFRICA TOUR part 10

Tuesday 5th of December 2017

Nata Lodge, Nata, Botswana

We get up when it gets light. It is cloudy again. At 7.15 a.m. we’re heading south. We drive away from the dark sky towards the sun. The first 5km are a series of potholes, but then it gets better and we’re able to drive an average of 100kph. We hit another vet fence with complementary fridge check-up and then the chance of encountering wild animals is over and cows, goats and donkeys walk next to and on the road again. We pass the enormous stadium of Francistown. En route to the bank we suddenly find ourselves in front of a traffic light and we have 20 cars in front of and next to us. That takes some getting used to. We use the ATM, refuel, do groceries and we could buy everything we wish and eat at a variety of fast food restaurants. Not that we do that, but we could and that gives an overwhelming feeling of luxury. Still fresh in my mind are the skinny boy at Kapula who gave us a tour and who was very happy with some cookies that a tourist did not want anymore because they had gotten ‘soft’ and the customs officer who immediately started chewing 2 fresh carrots from the food that we left behind.

After Francistown we get a police roadblock but the young cop is only very interested in what we think of Botswana. The map on the side of the car is very useful. We cause a traffic jam. As we drive further south, the roads become even quieter. We see several donkey carts. 1 was very special, a pack of dogs was running behind it. There are picnic areas along the road, often with baobab trees. The last 35km to Limpopo Lodge we drive through Limpopo Limpada Natonal Park. The road is red gravel and sometimes very bad. Despite the many fences next to and also crossing the road, we still see some bokkies, zebras and kudus. At Limpopo Lodge we pay 122 Pula p.p. for camping. We have to drive a bit through the private game reserve to get to the camping spots on the river. Bokkies, zebras, kudu and even an elephant with young. We can choose our own spot and the view of the Limpopo River is fantastic. We have our own ablution hut made of logs. Isaac lights the donkey so we can take a hot shower with a stunning river view. But first we do a small game drive. The road is very bad because the rain has washed away all the sand and only stones and potholes remain. This is by far the worst road we have had this trip and it is a small miracle that we did not drive a flat tire. We only do a very short tour and see a large group of bokkies, zebras, kudus, an elephant and a klipspringer. The animals here have a beautiful terrain with a very nice waterhole but also a stretch of river they can easily reach. The Limpopo River is green and full of water. We also have 2 curious hippos in front of our campsite but they are not that noisy. There is no wind until Gerard lights the fire and wants to heat up the leftover macaroni. Firewood is included in the price and Isaac had already laid it out in such a way that we only had to light it. There is no moon shining through the trees. (At the 5^th of December the annual Sinterklaas Avond is celebrated in Holland. In one of the children’s songs, the moon is shining through the trees.)

Due to bumps and holes, my little washing up bowl bounced around in the back of the car. The bottle of detergent popped open and 90% leaked out through the side entrance resulting in a beautiful green striping all over the car door. And it was only yesterday the rain completely cleaned our car.

Wednesday 6th of December 2017 TOP

Limpopo River Lodge Campsite, Limpopo Limpadi National Park, Botswana

Highlights:

Limpopo river lodge campsite no 6

Platjan border cross

Mapungubwe National Park

Mazhou Campsite

We wake up before the sun comes up. We see it for 3 seconds and then it shoots behind the clouds. Gerard lights the donkey so that I can take a hot shower with a river view. But first coffee. The noisy water pump of the neighbours across the water (finally) stops just when the coffee is ready. So now we can enjoy all the bird sounds. 2 hippos bounce through the green Limpopo River. 2 velvet monkeys run over the dam, 1 runs after a bird. A fish eagle lands in the tree opposite us. A turtle swims in the river.

We drive to the Platjan border crossing, which is much smaller than I thought. We are the only one. Botswana: fill in the form, scan passport, stamp, fill in book and continue via the low bridge over the Limpopo to the South African side. Scan passport, stamp, paper for the car, tailgate open, oops, that’s a lot of stuff, fast close the cover and “have a good journey”. This one was even faster than Pandamatenga. Only when the tide is high you can no longer cross the bridge. That is usually in January and February. We are ready within half an hour and that could have been much faster if we had not taken pictures of the beautiful red bee-eaters.

We drive in the rain on a gravel road to the town Alldays, have to make an emergency stop for the crossing turtle, and do a few errands at the super and buy data for the prepaid. Then we drive on to Mapungubwe National Park over asphalt. The last 23km is between fences, a series of private concessions. It is dry but very cloudy and 26 degrees.

We book a campsite at the reception. Lots of paperwork and we’re already in the system because of our SANPark Wild Card! We can enter the park for free with the wildcard. According to the receptionist we can drive around the whole park in 2 hours, it is 40 km. It takes us 5 hours, but it is also a beautiful park. The red stone rock formations are beautiful. Sometimes trees grow on the stones. You can then see the roots very nicely running over the stones.

We stop at the 1st waterhole and see 4 giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, springboks and a family elephant with 2 very little ones. The 2nd stop is the tree walk. Two elephants walk below us. The view of the river is fantastic and herds of elephants walk to the left and right. The 3rd stop are viewing platforms where you can see the 2 rivers come together. The walking path to the viewpoints is already beautiful with flowers everywhere, but the view is absolutely fantastic. We drive around the park and see only 2 other cars. Animals all the more. Everywhere bokkies, zebras, wildebeests, baboons and elephants. We even see 3 common eland and a small klipspringer. Just what one can expect at San Parks, all animals in the right place. The facilities are also perfect again. We drive along the river for a while and stop at a lake. We do all loops. The 7km Kanniedood trail is very intense with steep parts and many stones. Some pieces resemble the Efteling (famous Dutch Theme Park). At 5 p.m. we leave the park because we have to go to the other part for camping. Tracks4africa knows the way. Shortcut on gravel. But a part of the road is gone (flushed) and it becomes quite a bit off-road driving. The great thing about this route is that we see a lot of animals, elephants, wildebeests, zebras and springboks. Of course many have to cross just before the car again. Fences have been demolished most likely by elephants. At 6 p.m. we are at the entrance to the campsite. There is a power cord around the camp that we have to remove ourselves when we drive in.

We can choose again because only 1 spot is occupied. The campsite has 2 house deer, the kind that we have not seen on this trip.

The campsite is neatly clean and completely raked. We make a fire and opt for an easy meal of adventure food because today it was an adventure again.