Stunning Botswana (page 2 of 7)

And here are a few photos of our camp with the awesome outdoor shower I loved it!









We won’t go hungry today!!!

Wednesday, August 16: today is my husband’s birthday. The kids won’t stop teasing him by asking what he’s getting 😉 . It’s a surprise for him.

But before we find out, we take down the tents and hit the road toward Baines Baobab.







We unhitch the trailer to take a tiny path.



Baines Baobab is gorgeous.













No happy elephant today 🙁 After this morning, we head to Maun where we’ll spend the night at a hotel. In the evening, we’ll eat in town with Jonah and Joe, who we’re meeting up with. Joe arrives with his wife, daughter, and niece, and they bring a beautiful birthday cake for my husband (thanks Marygabrielle—they totally nailed the surprise 😉 ). It was really delicious and light.

Hi there,

Well, for a start, it could’ve been worse! Quite a few of these photos were taken at just the right moment!

Good evening,

You started strong with Khubu Island (gorgeous photos 😎) and an incredible scene with a lion AND cheetahs 😛

Well done and thanks for sharing this amazing trip with us 🙂

Hi there,

I just stumbled upon your travel journal. The photos are stunning—I’ll be following it closely since Botswana is on my travel list! 😊😊😊

Can’t wait for the next update!

Myriam

What a stunning travel journal. It’s one of the best I’ve read so far—thanks to the story *and* the photos, which are always well-taken, sharp, and gorgeous!!! The full package!!!.

One photo I really loved (and didn’t see coming) was the one of the kettle—I should say, the *two* kettle photos. So original and they really set the mood. Thank you so much for sharing this; I’ll never get to go there myself, so I’m living vicariously through all the VF travel journals.

Lovely travel journal, and cheetahs right from the start of the trip—amazing! I can’t wait to read the rest (no pressure at all 😇)

Thanks Joel, that’s so kind! We were really lucky at the start of our vacation 😄

Thanks! Yes, we were so lucky to witness that scene between lions and cheetahs. It was amazing to see the animals watching each other and then chasing one another. I’ll remember this for the rest of my life—unless I get Alzheimer’s 😜

Oh yes, you’ve got to take a trip there. You definitely won’t regret it. It’s a wonderful country. More to come, but not too fast... the photo upload is taking forever 😕

Thanks, your compliments really touch me. I love the first photo of the kettle too. That’s why I couldn’t resist posting it It does make a nice change, actually

Yes, we were really lucky to see them. Jonah had told us it was going to be tough, and that’s exactly who we ran into almost at the start of the drive. We were so lucky... in so many ways, actually.

It's true you guys were really lucky; in 20 trips to Botswana, I'd never seen a scene like that, nor a baby rhino either, for that matter😐 But without the guides, I don’t think you would’ve seen anything! They’ve got eyes we just don’t have. You experienced Botswana in the best possible way—sleeping right in the heart of the wild, just your family and your guides. It’s priceless! Hearing the sounds of nature at night is truly extraordinary, and keeping watch around a fire under the Milky Way🙂 I’ve got to go back, and faaaaast!

Thursday, August 17th: departure for Tsodilo Hills with Joe and the enclosed 4x4. We want to see those famous rock paintings that are a UNESCO World Heritage site. There are over 4,500 of them on the site. The road to get there is long. Along the way, we drive through a bushfire that started the day before. Such a shame for the landscape and nature, but oh well...

A little roadside stall we came across









At the Tsodilo campsite, we’ll have showers and proper toilets. Pure luxury!! 😏 The site is stunning, and there are birds of all colors everywhere. It’s mind-blowing.









To visit the site, we have a guide. You can’t say she’s super enthusiastic about what she does (unless that’s just her nature 😕). We’re walking at a snail’s pace, and she’s not very expressive. Too bad, because the walk is lovely, and the paintings are remarkable.









And the quirky photo of the day for me:

A bench in the middle of nowhere 😮 The evening will be spent quietly around the fire, just like every night. It’s so relaxing.

Friday, August 18: We take down the tents at a leisurely pace, still enjoying all those little birds that are here in surprising numbers, and we head back to Maun with a stop in a small town to grab some lunch supplies. Tonight we'll be staying at a hotel.











Wow, it changed color and turned green!!

Your photos are still amazing! Great job with the birds.

Saturday, August 19: We’ve been "wandering" in Botswana for a week now, and we’ve already seen so much that it feels like we’ve been here much longer. What a feeling of well-being! 🙂

Today is going to be another beautiful day. We have a meet-up by the Okavango to take a mokoro ride, that famous traditional canoe. Joe is taking us. We’ll be setting off in 3 canoes: one with our cook and all the camping and cooking gear, and 2 for us.

















We had to switch boats after a little water got in 🤪. Luckily, we came across another mokoro...





Oh oh, hippos!

We’ll land on an island in the delta 2 hours later, go for a walk (yes, on foot!) in the afternoon, and sleep there.





We feel like we’re being watched. Maybe it’s just a feeling...







Tonight, no shower and a hole in the ground for a toilet. No wandering off alone from camp in case we have a bad encounter.

Our toilet

Sunday, August 20th: This morning, our guide takes us on a mokoro ride for sunrise and a short drive on an island. The kids don’t have the energy to get up, so it’s just my husband and me.





When we get back, breakfast is waiting for us—with fries! Yes, fries cooked over a wood fire for breakfast.





After returning, Joe is waiting for us. We have lunch in town, then he takes us to our hotel while we wait to head back out in the afternoon for a flight over the Okavango Delta. Such a special moment—none of us have ever been in such a small plane!



Please excuse the quality of the photos that follow. They’re not very sharp—I struggled with focus and shutter speed. It was tricky to get everything right!

This flight is absolutely breathtaking. One hour of seeing an incredible landscape and animals galore. It’s truly magical. However, a heads-up for those who get seasick (like me, for example): the plane isn’t any better. I got off the small aircraft feeling completely queasy. Same for my daughter 😕, so make sure to bring motion sickness pills. But I’d happily do it all over again despite that 😄

Monday, August 21st: here we go again for another adventure. Jonah picks us up in the open 4x4. We’ve switched vehicles up to now, but this time we’re keeping it until the end of our trip. Good thing, we’re more comfortable with this one.

We head towards Moremi Xakanaka with a stop at the Bayei cultural village. I was surprised by this visit because I wasn’t expecting that. To be honest, I didn’t really know what to expect, but not that. It was very interesting, even if I found it a bit overhyped. Still, I enjoyed the visit overall. Welcome dance at the village

Learning a game

Meeting the village doctor



A ceremony that seemed to be about menstruation (but not sure). Doris, our cook, tries out the dance

Wedding ceremony

During our visit to the village, we took the opportunity to give some supplies to the kids. They appreciated the pens more than the clothes, which weren’t their size 🙂