AFRICA TOUR part 9

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Tuesday 28th of November 2017 TOP

Senyati Campsite, Kasane, Botswana

Ma’s birthday

Highlights:

Lesoma Valley

Pandamatenga border crossing

Sable antelope

Roan antelope

14 giraffes

Sinamatella (Hwange) views and sunset

We are awakened by a baboon that is pulling the garbage out of the neighbours bin. The garbage cans are hanging above the ground, but this specimen is so big that he can  easily reach it.

Last night it rained again. We put the car in the sun so that the tent can dry. Then we fill the 50 litre water tank. Of course we flush the water tank first. The tap water here looks good. I wouldn’t drink it, but it’s fine for the dishes. Because we still have hot water from the donkey, we can have a nice shower. We start driving at 8 a.m. On the advice of Mario we drive through the Lesoma Valley, a beautiful stretch of nature. It is actually a piece of no man’s land on the border with Zimbabwe. There are 2 roads right next to each other with an occasional pole in between. The right road is from Zimbabwe. We are not allowed on that. The bad road with potholes, puddles and mud is from Botswana. We slither and slide and the blobs of mud fly around. The road starts next to Senyati and winds for 14km to end right next to the border crossing of Zimbabwe where all trucks are waiting. The valley is very green and there is a lot of life. Lots of bokkies and an incredible number of birds of prey, vultures and caribou. We also see numerous leopard paw prints. Last night Gerard heard a lot of ‘wahoes’. The road ends right next to Mario’s Garage. So we pass the Engen Petrol Station again where the tires can be inflated. Then I go and get some cans of Cola & Fanta, chips and cookies to speed up the border crossing. Had read something like this on the internet. First I score a shopping bag and big umbrella for 50 pula at ‘Ali’. Then we drive the 98km to the border. Primo exit Botswana. We are the first today. Yesterday they only had 1 car! Next to Zimbabwe. They are very friendly. We buy 2 visas for 30 USD each and pay 50 dollars for the car. We don’t have to go to the other building because the customs officer just comes to us. This is the best and fastest crossing ever! The inevitable question is dropped: what did you bring us? Well, soda, chips, cookies and 2 cans of spaghetti in tomato sauce. They are very happy and everyone comes to see us off.

Note: I’m not a fan of ‘bribing customs’ but there had just been an revolution where President Mugabe was replaced. There are goods in store but cash (USD) is lacking for people to go shopping. ATM’s are empty. There was something in the news about several garbage bags found at a government official’s house containing 25.000.000 USD in cash.

We drive on to Hwange National Park. The road is red with many loose stones and large puddles. Here it has also rained nicely. We see 5 sable antelopes. Cool, because we had not seen them yet. Unfortunately, they are very skittish and immediately run away. Not weird considering it’s only 10km to the hunting office. After an hour we arrive at the entrance of the Hwange National Park and are welcomed very friendly by Matthew. We have to pay at Robins Camp so that will be our next stop. Work is in full progress here. It looks like a construction site and that’s how it sounds. We report to the reception to pay. There is a couple who have just arrived and 3 guests who complain that they have not seen an animals yet. The Robins Campsite equals Moremi’s South Gate times 2. Understandably there is nobody camping here. What a despicable site. The plumbing is decayed, but they are working with 50 people to at least renovate the houses. Plumbing might be on their to-do-list too. We flee. First stop by Little Tom. A nice pool of water but no animals. Thing is they can now drink everywhere because there are puddles all around. On to Big Tom. Here is a hide at a huge natural pool. However, the artificial water pool is very small. We meet an Australian and his girlfriend. They just came from Mana Pools and saw wild dogs 2 out of 4 days. They also say that all roadblocks have been lifted. Only at big cities in and out. They were with relatives in Harare when the coup took place and everyone was happy. They themselves have a farm in Australia with 60 horses with which they organize hikes. After yoghurt with fresh apple, bananas and a mango we drive on. We see some life on the way. Zebras, bokkies, 3 kudus, a few piggies, a group of roan antelopes and then 14 giraffes. We haven’t seen the roan antelopes on this trip either, so that’s cool and 14 giraffes is always fun. Next stop is the Detema or is it Deteema Dam. We would have liked to camp here but there was already a booking. We have a chat and get the tip to go to Masuma Dam. That would be the place where many elephants come. At Detema/Deteema Dam we see a lot of bokkies and baboons. We do not want to go back to Robins Camp so on to Sinamatella and that turns out to be a long way; 50 km on a very bad road with loose stones, potholes, puddles. The rear fender comes off.

We arrive at 6:05 p.m. with screeching tires. Fortunately, the barrier is still open. The gate is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. We can change campsites without any problem. No one is staying at Sinamatella either! The camp is located on a mountain and you have a great view over the valley below. There is a big strip of green grass, then several natural pools and a stretch of river and then the low trees start. Because not dense one can still see through the trees and shrubs, but we do not see any animals. We choose the spot with the best view and are just in time to have a toast for Ma’s birthday with the setting sun.

Wednesday 29th of November 2019 TOPPER

Sinamatella Camp, Hwange, Zimbabwe

Highlights:

Sunrise at Sinamatella with 106 singing rangers

11 lions

Mandavu Dam

Masuma Dam

Turtle on hippo’s back

Swimming elephants by moonlight

So life goes on. And how?!

Last night we heard several hyenas, monkeys and a jackal. Before the sun comes up, the sky turns a beautiful red. The rangers in training are having their morning road run singing loud. They run a long way (10km). Not a cloud in the sky and the sunrise is beautiful. We do nothing else than enjoy the great view. Sinamatella is located high on a mountain and you look over the entire valley. We have the whole campsite and the picnic spot to ourselves. The skinny manager introduces himself. We talk to him for a long time about the future of Zimbabwe and the wildlife parks. We give him a bag of food because these people have nothing. He has not received his salary for some time. And even if the salary is paid, the bank has no cash to pay. People sleep in rows in front of the bank, hoping to be able to withdraw some of their money. The shops seem to be full, but all cash has left the country or is stashed at a few people’s homes.

We regularly check if we see animals downhill, but nothing at all. We see a lot of natural water holes, but there is no movement anywhere. However, a lot of birds of prey and vultures fly on the thermals. At least 30, always a beautiful sight. We also have 2 birds, 2 squirrels, 4 dassies and a lizard that stroll around the car. At 9 a.m. we go to the reception to book Masuma Dam. Walk-in price for 2 persons is 58 USD. If you book this in advance through the office in Harare, you will pay a lot more (172 USD), but you are allowed to camp with a maximum of 6 people. The roll of cookies we give John quickly disappears behind the counter. We go to the restaurant because there you also have a fantastic view. There is a small shop where they sell soft drinks, chips and cookies. We start our game drive at 10 a.m. and just for fun want to see if we can get to the small artificial pool. We take a road and I think we come to a kind of Hide. I almost want to get out when I suddenly see a lioness in the corner of my eye. In addition, there are 2 more. We drive there slowly but they are very scared and start walking. To the rest of the group!!! We see so many ears, all close together, but 11 lions are certainly there. 1 by 1 they disappear into the bushes and we cannot get any closer. Not seen any animal yet, only lions. How lucky can one get?

We continue towards Mandavu picnic site for breakfast. This is also a fantastic place. From the hide you have a view of the lake with hippos, crocodiles and dead trees. The assistants go fishing. 2 large lizards eat apple peels. A dassie comes to see if there’re any left overs. We drive on to Masuma Dam. Here the hide is also a few meters above the water. We install ourselves because there is no one except the administrator called Edward. He is happy to have guests again. In the lake of 50m by 100m there are 23 hippos and we count 3 crocodiles. A 4th crocodile lies on the shore towards paddling pool, a second small natural pool. It is quiet with animals but as it gets later, an animal parade comes along. Bokkies, 10 kudus, 5 zebras, 2 giraffes. The first elephant arrives. Then we see a few more but they walk on. Whole flocks of swallows fly above the water. The hippos are very active. Fighting and jumping out of the water like real Air Jaws. When the sun has set, they leave the water one by one to graze on the banks. A couple staying at Kapula Private Camp visited the hide. But they have to leave before 6 p.m. because then the gate around the picnic area will close. The couple tells that they also stayed at Ngweshla Pan for 2 nights and had wild dogs in the campsite. The dogs had caught 2 impalas and then the lions came into the campground to steal the prey. Sounds like the winning lottery ticket.

We invite Edward to diner and he happily accepts. He has a Kalashnikov ak47 with him to protect us against the wild animals especially leopard and lions. But at 8 p.m. he already goes to sleep in his small house on the other side of the site. There is a fence, but there are numerous large holes in it. Well, Edward did make a fire for us, but that is quite a distance from the hide. We stay in the hide and see one elephant family after another passing by. Some go for an extensive swim in the pool. Some totally submerge and they push each other over. Lots of splashing and they seem to have a great time. It goes on all night long. By morning the hippos change places with the elephants. We hear a jackal close by and later also a lion roars.

Thursday 30th of November 2017 TOPPER

Masuma Dam picnic area, Hwange NP, Zimbabwe 

Highlights:

Crowned cranes

Green mamba

Stick insect/walking stick

The Painted Dog Conservation

7 wild dogs, 3 adults and 4 pups

What an enormous luxury to wake up at your own private waterhole. The elephants are all gone and the hippos are back. Except for a few kudus, it is quiet. The gate opens at 6 a.m. to other visitors. 2 cars come from Kapula. They also heard the lion but did not see it.

Edward has lit the donkey so I can take a hot shower. At 8 a.m. we start driving and later stop at Shumba Pans. Beautiful pond with a small, new hide but 500m from the camping spot so you always have to take the car. No animals but 4 beautiful crowned cranes. We drive on and arrive on the 75 km long asphalt road without asphalt. The road has decayed and we move slowly. We see some elephants. We have to brake for a giant standing on the road and a bit further we have to stop again for a small turtle crossing the road. We look at almost all waterholes along the way and there are many, the natural pools are also full and the artificial ones are extra-large due to the rain. Few animals. We also encounter only 1 (safari) car and it droves on without stopping. At Main Camp we look at the empty, not alluring, camping site and stop in the shade of a tree for yogurt. Suddenly Gerard sees a snake on the trunk of the tree. A green mamba, poisonous.

At 12.30 p.m. we arrive at the Painted Dog Conservation. www.painteddogconservation.nl and www.facebook.com/stichtingPDC/about/. We got the Golden Tip from Isaak and Bianca we met in the Kalahari. They contacted the PDC and arranged our stayover.

The Painted Dog Conservation is easy to find just outside the park. The professionalism pleasantly surprises us. In a large hall, the story of painted dog Eyespot is told with images and photos. Needless to say that the entire pack of wild dogs has been wiped out as a result of human activity. Parents shot. Puppies starved. Poaching with snares is also a huge problem. Man is great at ruining everything. The Painted Dog Conservation tries to provide a lot of information and we see a bus of school children who stay in the bush camp for 4 days. There is currently 1 female dog in a closed area with a footbridge of 800m over it. They also have 2 other dogs in the shelter, but we don’t get to see them. At 2 p.m. we go to the guesthouse where we sleep tonight. We can hand in our laundry and that’s amazing. We fill up the 10kg top loader twice. Finally everything clean and fresh again. A hand wash is doable, but it is still make do.

At 4 p.m. the main tracker called Jealouse comes to pick us up to search for the wild dogs with a beacon. Our entrance passes are still valid and the boys at the barrier recognize us even though they are quite tipsy. At Main Camp we have to pick up an armed park guard. Ak47 Kalashnikov joins the backseat. We bump a long way through the park without seeing any animals. Then Jealouse hears a beep and the dogs come closer. We wait and wait and wait. It is (uncomfortable) warm in the back of the ancient Land Rover Defender and we have hordes of flies and horseflies in the car. There is a tiny spider next to my head. It manages to grab a horsefly without a cobweb being used. Well, not much else to see or do, or wait next to the car there is a stick insect walking! But before I can take a picture (getting out here does not seem to be an option here), we take off like a rocket to another road. And there, on the road right in front of us are the wild dogs. What a beauties. I count 7, 3 adults and 4 fairly large puppies, but it must have been 9 in total we’re told. Guess 2 are on the other side of the car or gone into the bushes. Some have collars to dart them out, but they also provide some protection against the deadly snares. The dogs will stay on the road for a while. 2 puppies come to the car together. They are very curious. The pack moves to the small puddle next to the road. We go straight through the vegetation and can see them for a short while before they disappear into the woods.

It is getting dark and at the end of the day we are back at 8 p.m. So macaroni is skipped from the menu and replaced by an easy and fast to make bean salad and bread with minced meat, mushrooms and onion. Gerard has found mayonnaise. The fridge is full of food and drinks and we can take whatever we want. At 9 p.m. a car arrives that drops off another guest and a lot of groceries. She can join the table immediately. Esther lived in Zimbabwe for 10 years. She has been committed to the PDC for years and also mapped out the cheetah population in Zimbabwe for her Master’s Degree. Her recommendations did not go down well with the Government of Zimbabwe. After the death of lion Cecil (shot to death with an arrow by an American dentist), all foreign researchers had to leave the country because they saw and knew far too much. For example how the animals from the Zimbabwe National Parks were illegally traded to our great friends in China. And also how fast populations are declining due to poaching and illegal hunting. For example, there are only 150 cheetahs left from the 1,500 a few years earlier (December 2017). Only 1% of the wild dogs is left. Hurray for humans!

I already had a very negative image about the survival of wild animals, fish and nature in general. Now I meet Dr Esther van der Meer who has the same opinion based of scientific research.

Friday 1st of December 2017

Painted Dog Guesthouse, Hwange, Zimbabwe

Different, sleeping in a bed with a fan above you. We get up at 5 a.m. Esther goes along looking for the wild dogs. Jealouse will pick us up at 5.45 a.m. We drive to the park entrance. On the way we see a tourist who is jogging on the road. Comments from the car: he wants to be eaten by lions! No fences around the park here. And the lions often walk into the communities. Seems to be 1 of the problems here. We drive into the park and pay 20 USD p.p. entrance fee. Then we pick up the armed ranger called Trust and search for the wild dogs. We pass a pond with some waterbucks, kudus and bokkies. We see a jackal and a giraffe, but we see no other life. All waterholes are animal-free. The dogs are also deep in the woods where we cannot go. We drive back at 9 a.m. A giraffe walks outside the park. We chat with Dr. Esther about charities and life in Zimbabwe. We decide to stay one more night and start the return trip to Botswana thru the park tomorrow. Beitbridge would now also have been an option because the roadblocks have been taken over by the military. They took over from the police who had a very bad reputation harassing tourists. But Beitbridge itself still remains a terrible border crossing (I read during my preparation). We are going to backup photos, update diary, drive to the office for internet and to the booking office in the park. However, at the booking office they do not want to help us with a picnic spot for tomorrow. The ones we want belong to the 2 other main camps. And they don’t want to call because the other camps wouldn’t have a phone. B.S. we visited both (Robins Camp and Sinamantella) and at both we saw them use a phone. Then back to PDC because we would be picked up at 4 p.m. to find the dogs again, we thought. But no one is there and no one comes. The gardener does not speak English and the telephone is not answered. Typically Friday afternoon.

In the end we drive up and down to Main Camp one more time. You pass 2 waterholes on route and outside the park you sometimes see more animals than inside. There are 4 male kudus, many bokkies and 1 wildebeest. A baboon family sits next to the road. They are very skittish, which is not surprising here. Because we are now back early, Gerard cooks macaroni. (We eat our macaroni with a sauce made of lots of vegetables). We also give the 2 guards a bowl and eat by candlelight instead of fluorescent light. When Esther comes home she can also join. She says the guards heard lions.

Saturday 2nd of December 2017

Painted Dog Guesthouse, Hwange, Zimbabwe

At 5 a.m. we get up and pack our car. Outside we hear lots of ‘wahoes’ from baboons. They totally panic. When we start driving at 5.45 a.m. security points out huge lion paw prints, less than 25m from the front door. A little further, more lion’s feet and they come from the main road. I still think options of seeing animals outside the park are better than in. The wildebeest is also next to the road again. We say goodbye to the 2 nice guys at the barrier to the park with a roll of cookies. Main Camp has a lot of springbok. We pay 50 USD for 2 people and a car and then drive the high road towards Sinamatella. Water everywhere but no animals. After 2 hours we see 7 giraffes in a circle under a tree at picnic site Mabuye Mabene. We decide not to take the main road but a parallel road. Despite the fact that we don’t see an animal, this one is much more fun and much better, but appears to be only for staff according to the only car we encounter. So back to the main road again. We have bypassed most of the bad asphalt. Now and then we see elephants. And then we are already at Shumba with the 4 beautiful cranes. 17km further is Masuma dam. Edward is happy to see us and arranges by radio that we can stay tonight. He says that this morning at 6 a.m. he saw 4 lionesses drinking water and now they are lying in the bushes. We go back to our private hide. It is warm and there are plenty of animals at the waterhole. We decide to drive up and down to Sinamatella anyway. That will save time tomorrow and Edward will not have any problems taking our booking. You can easily spend 1.5 hours here driving 27km only. Not because of the many sightings but simply because of bad road conditions. At Sinamatella I pay 58 USD for camping but she makes a big fuss. We have another look at the fantastic view from the restaurant and see Edward standing there! We drive past the place where we saw the lions last time, but now there are piggies. It is boar day because those are the only animals we encounter. Small piglets too. We stop at Mandavu Dam but it seems like they have a fishing contest. 25 locals are fishing around the lake. What do you mean, stay in your car? We’re back at Masuma Dam around 4 p.m. It remains quiet although we do see some deer, 8 giraffes and 2 jackals. The hippos become more and more active and start running in circles and loosening their jaws. 2 crocodiles are warming up in the sun. A baboon family walks with bokkies. The baboons walk around the fence of the picnic site, terrified. So they don’t rob you here. It has been 6 p.m. Edward is not back yet. Fortunately, there is still hot water for a shower. We are going to eat with daylight. It is cloudy so we don’t see much of a sunset. When it is dark, the hippos move out 1 by 1 to graze again. And then out of nowhere the elephants come and they keep coming. Until late at night. The last elephants even collide with the early returning hippos. The elephants drink first and then take an extensive bath. Fall like bombs into the water, run through the water, splashing, tusks chattering, trumpeting. With all the action we can barely hear the roar of the lion. The moon is almost full so we can see the elephants very well. Edward returns at 8 p.m. and closes the gate. He comes to say hello and immediately leaves. We continue to watch the elephants in the moonlight for a while. The fireflies are cute.

Sunday 3rd of December 2017

Masuma Dam, Hwange NP, Zimbabwe

What amazing to wake up at your own private waterhole! Having your own hide and an administrator. Good thing we went to pay yesterday because there turned out to be another group. But we were first.

We see the last hippos coming home. Everything else is quiet. The lion went for a walk last night. We’ve heard him but haven’t seen him. After coffee we go for a short drive and see where he crossed the road. The area is so large and so green and there is water everywhere, you can no longer find it. We have a look at Kapula Private Camp, 3 km from Masuma Dam. Here one can rent a safari tent and both cheap and expensive options look good. We get a whole tour. People from Zimbabwe are so much friendlier than from Botswana. That’s a fact.

Before we leave we take a warm shower because Edward has lit the donkey. He was already chopping firewood at 6 a.m. He also washed the dishes. Maybe he felt guilty about being back so late yesterday and missing his dinner date. He claims he was with wife and children in Sinamatella. They have a school and a small clinic there.

Today is kudu day. We have to brake twice in order not to hit them. We drive to Robins Camp and come to the conclusion that it is already too late to continue to Nata Lodge, Botswana. We ask if Detema/Deteema Dam is available and it is. Damage 78 USD. How they calculate their prices is still a mystery to me. Camping on a picnic area based on walk-in is 29 USD pp. Then 20 USD per day entrance p.p. and 10 for the car. If you camp you can stay in the park until 6 p.m. the next day

It is now noon and a pleasant 40 degrees in the car. We go back via Little Tom, Big Tom and Salt Pans. Despite the heat we still see 2 roan antelopes under a tree. We see a few scared zebras, some impalas and some springbok. Everything here is terrified. That implies that there is (a lot of) hunting and poaching going on. Little Tom is a beautiful clear pool with lilies. At Big Tom there is a lot of water in the river and clean water is pumped into a round drinking bowl. It looks like a whirlpool. Here we see 2 more impalas on the field. We drive via a road that is not on track4africa, see 2 ostriches, arrive at Detema/Deteema Dam and go to the hide. This overlooks a pond with many birds and patches of grass on which bokkies walk. A large crocodile lies in the sun. We make tomato cheese toasties for lunch. Gerard will repair the car and then take a shower. The water supply is in a black barrel so the water is lukewarm but good enough. The view from the shower is fantastic. You look straight through the fence (a row of wooden poles) at the pool, the meadow with bokkies and baboons. When at 5 p.m. we drive 2km to the left we see many more bokkies, 5 zebras and 4 giraffes. 2km over on the other side is Detema/Deteema picnic area. Looks nice with trees and stones but it is absolutely not fun for camping. No water view at all. The 2 assistants that should be there have clearly taken time off today. Also on this side 7 zebras, a lot of springbok and a few kudus. Gerard cleans the hide  himself and lights a fire. There is no wind all day but as soon as the fire is on, the wind starts blowing. We see the moon rise over the waterhole. It was cloudy all day and for a moment we thought it was going to rain, but no. In the distance we see thunderstorms. Then we see the moonrise. Beautiful and full moon.

Monday 4th of December 2017

Detema/Deteema Dam, Hwange NP, Zimbabwe

A very quiet night. Only the screeching of the Egyptian geese. It feels like home (at the lake of Vinkeveen, Holland). No sunrise because it is cloudy. All the birds have left the pool and the crocodile is swimming in circles. In the distance are zebras, deer and baboons. We pack up and drive via Salt Pan, Big Tom and Little Tom to Robins Camp. The first stretch is over loose and sharp stones. Then it is as if we are driving on black carpet. We see the same animals. The giraffe on the salt pan, then the 5 zebras of which 1 youngster, the springbok family, the 3 and 2 impalas and a roan antelope. On the way to the border we see warthogs, impalas, springbok, baboons and a male kudu. The road is red gravel and all trees and shrubs are green.

We arrive at Pandamatenga at 10.45 a.m. The Zim transition is ready in 15 minutes. We donate all our (fresh) food and the Zimbabweans are very happy with it. Then to Botswana. This routine also takes 15 minutes max, including completing the customer satisfaction survey, disinfecting shoes and tires and car and refrigerator inspection. But as said, we have nothing left. We drive to Nata Lodge. The road is good asphalt with signs warning of elephants crossing the road. Yeah right. Well we have seen 6 elephants on and next to the highway where you (can) drive 120 km per hour! And where large, heavy loaded trucks drive on their way to Zim and Zam. So the 2 crossings zebras must have a slight suicidal tendency as have the 2 dik diks grazing next to the road. No problems at the cattle gate this time, although the fridge and freezer have to be opened again and all shoes need to be disinfected. The officer did ask for cold drinking water. The only item we had left in the fridge but in abundance. Along the road we see a beautiful double tanker with Elephant Sands written all over it. About 35km before the Lodge he is fetching water for the elephants. A very calming thought after our visit last year that upset us so much I even wrote a letter with my concerns to Botswana Footprint about the situation at Elephant Sands.

In Nata we can choose from 3 gas stations next to each other. Feels like Luxembourg. The guard is interested in our route. Where is the Netherlands actually located? He wants to go there. He doesn’t mind cold. I tell him that, in this time of year, it doesn’t turn light until 8.30 a.m. and turns dark again at 4 p.m. He doesn’t believe it, but his enthusiasm is suddenly a lot less. A quick errand stop at Choppies because the real replenishment of our stock will happen again in South Africa. I remember we also did some shopping at this supermarket last year, but then we were heading to Kubu Island. Drip, drop and suddenly it pours and there is thunder too.

At Nata Lodge we pay 170 pula for 2 people camping. If you pay in USD, you will lose 13 USD per person. So paying in Pula saves half. Same deal at Ihaha.

Yep, Nata Lodge has a beautiful swimming pool and again it is not nice weather for a swim. The campsite is lush green but is situated next to the highway and that takes some getting used to. We sit under the new umbrella by the pool for a while but it is cold. Everything below 25 degrees is cold. We move into the car where it is still a comfortable 28 degrees. It rains steadily. Hot shower and to the restaurant. But we are much too early and are not allowed to return until 7 p.m. Internet is not working. Power failure due to rain. TIA. Food was good though and we even got a paper thin slice of cucumber and a piece of red bell pepper size toothpick as a garnish. We order 1 dessert, waffle with ice cream, (let’s go wild), but get 2! One to share they don’t understand. The guard is happy when we get back because we still had to sign in. His administration was not yet complete and that is really not possible in Botswana. We pitch the tent in the dark, but that is better than in the rain. There are no wild animals here, just guard dogs. The trucks drive on for a while, but then all is quiet. Fortunately, because the road to Kasane runs straight through Chobe wildlife park and animals like to walk on the road, especially at night!