Stunning Botswana (page 1 of 7)

Well, here goes—I’m taking the plunge. This is my first blog on VF, so I hope I don’t make too many blunders. In advance, you’ll have to excuse me because they’ll definitely happen anyway Here’s the context of our trip: - Project started: December 2015 ... yeah, that’s a while ago - Family of 4: 2 adults, 1 teen (17) and a 10-year-old boy - First trip to Southern Africa

Originally, we’d planned to go to Namibia. But after watching a TV documentary, we took a slight detour to the right and ended up in Botswana 🙂 Don’t worry, we’ll still do Namibia—just a bit later. It’s definitely not off the table. Quite the opposite!!

After that big decision, the question was: "Should we go alone or with an agency?" Through my son, who’s into music, we were lucky enough to meet some VF members who love Botswana: Marygabrielle and Yves (I won’t name-drop, but you know who you are). They were amazing and helped us with every aspect of our trip. We can’t thank them enough 😉 So, I didn’t even need to ask VF for all my questions 😛

For a first time in Southern Africa, and especially for Botswana, they easily convinced us to use a small local agency for at least part of the tour we wanted to do. After multiple conversations online—and thanks to Marygabrielle acting as our translator (our English is *terrible* )—our itinerary was finalized, and ... we ended up spending our entire vacation with this local agency:

Letsatsi Safaris (email for those interested: letsatsisafaris@gmail.com, website: www.letsatsisafarilodge.com, phone: +267 71692093/71351892) Joe and William (the owners) are brothers and true Batswana.

Since Marygabrielle and Yves knew them well, we set off with them in complete confidence. Everything was planned and paid for in advance, so all we had to do was relax once we arrived. Pure bliss for me—real vacation time without having to prepare meals 😛 and being able to fully enjoy everything. Everything was included: guides (them, in this case), accommodation (mostly in tents), and a cook. All we had to do was help set up and take down the tents. Indiana Jones better watch out—we’re going camping in the wild too 🙂 A dream come true!

Of course, there’s an extra cost compared to traveling solo. But this time, we splurged, and we don’t regret that choice at all.

They were all fantastic—professional, friendly—and it was a huge joy for us. We had an amazing time thanks to them. A big thank you to Joe, William, and all their staff we met: Jonah, Junien, and Doris.

Now, time for the story!

Hi Mathilde, thanks for this promising start to your travel journal. I’m eagerly waiting for the next part! 🙂 Christine

Hi Mathilde

Me too .... with some photos 😉. Muriel

Oh, thank you Mathilde! So happy you loved the trip this much—I honestly didn’t doubt it for a second! Can’t wait to see the photos!

Thanks Christine! It’ll arrive bit by bit with anecdotes rather than a full story, and of course some photos.

Hi Muriel Yep, I’ll post some photos (well, I’ll try at least 😎)

Well, I didn’t doubt it either, but it was even better than I could’ve hoped (apart from my English, which let me down badly 😕). I’m still missing a few animals, so I’ll have to go back 😏.

Now, I’ll try to post some photos, but anyway, as promised, you’ll come over to the house to see a bit more

Thursday, August 10th: The big day has finally arrived. We're leaving Nice for the beautiful destination of Botswana. The travel bags are packed to the brim, and the backpacks are loaded with all the photography gear for my daughter and me, clothes and shoes for the kids for my husband, and all the papers, games, books, and a small laptop for my son. We're all set and thrilled. The flight with Lufthansa goes smoothly. Nice/Zururich - Zurich/Johannesburg. Perfect, no delays. The formalities in Johannesburg go quickly and without any issues. Waiting for the flight to Gaborone with Air Botswana. We already spot giraffes on the airport plaza!!





We arrive in Gaborone with a half-hour delay. Joe is waiting for us with a big smile and a nice sign with my name on it. It's so nice to be welcomed like that. Stop by the hotel to drop off our bags, dinner at a restaurant in town, then a short restorative night since we have to leave at 6 AM.

Saturday, August 12: Today's journey is supposed to take us to a lodge near Rhino Sanctuary. Even though the road itself isn't anything extraordinary, I'm amazed by what I see: beautiful birds, a few wild animals (antelopes) by the roadside, lots of cows, donkeys, goats, and villages. Sometimes I wish I could stop, but we have to keep moving, and we'll have the chance to see all this later. We arrive at the lodge around 1 PM. It's really lovely, pleasant, and there are lots of birds.







Here, we pick up the cook who will be with us throughout the trip: Doris.

A short break to rest, and at 3:30 PM we head to the park.

Sunday, August 13th: Today, we're heading to Lekhubu Island. Along the way, we pick up the cart (as I loved calling it) containing all the camping and cooking essentials. We'll spend our first night in a tent and eat by the wood fire. The place is magnificent with lots of birds. We walk through these fabulous baobabs at sunset. What colors.... And that first meal by the wood fire—what a delight. Doris turned out to be an excellent cook. During our stay, we enjoyed crêpes, bread, cakes.... Impressive 🙂 And the sky... what can I say about such a sky? I'd never seen anything like it. Simply sublime, with a Milky Way I was seeing for the first time.

The photos are stunning! I miss Botswana so much!!!

Monday, August 14: We set off at a leisurely pace after watching the sunrise over Kubu Island.













Heading towards Nxai Pans. The road is beautiful but long since we can’t drive fast. That said, it gives us a chance to admire the scenery and notice quite a few columns of smoke from bushfires. We also get to take our time watching the animals we come across. There are definitely some upsides...

Stunning! Kudos to the photographers!

Yes, the photos are stunning... and make you want to see more 😎. Muriel

I totally get you...

Sorry for the slow replies—I’m not very active on the forum (I read a lot but don’t post much), so VF locks me out after a few messages, and I can’t do anything for 24 hours.

It's coming along slowly :) Thanks

I know (from experience 😉) that it takes time to put together a travel journal...

Yes, especially when you're stuck because VF lists so few activities

Still Monday, August 14th... We arrive at the gate of Nxai Pans

Here, Joe leaves us with the 4x4 we had until now. We swap the enclosed 4x4 for an "open" one. We meet Jonah, our new guide. He’s young and works for Joe. We also meet Junien, who’ll be with us everywhere. He’s the jack-of-all-trades. He’s almost the same age as my daughter and is very shy.



After passing through the gate, we still have 2 hours of driving before reaching our new campsite. At this one, unlike Kubu where we had nothing, we’ll get a shower set up 😎 Fancy! By the time everything’s set up, night falls with its beautiful Milky Way

Tuesday, August 15th: Early wake-up call because today we’re spending almost the entire day on a game drive. A hearty breakfast to start what turned out to be a fabulous day.

Not long after we set off, Jonah spots cheetahs in the distance. Don’t ask me how he did it—even with binoculars, we couldn’t see them. So frustrating! No matter, off we go in search of them. We look and look, but no luck. Jonah tells us they’re there but can’t find them until, finally, we spot them: three magnificent cheetahs. They’re so beautiful! Jonah immediately knows where they’re headed based on their path (the watering hole) and anticipates the route in places. As a result, we’re able to follow them for a long time, and we have them all to ourselves. What a thrill! When we reach the watering hole, we witness an surreal scene. Two lionesses are there, lying calmly. They’ve seen the cheetahs approaching and take up hunting positions. The cheetahs, having also spotted the lionesses, freeze in a defensive stance. And then, what had to happen, happens: the lionesses start chasing the cheetahs. Fantastic! 🙂