Day 17 - Into Botswana

Day 17 (Tuesday)

Once again I am awake before the alarm as I relish being up to welcome a new day in a strange environment. I turn off the alarms to not waken Bob, bang my crocs to ensure no scorpion has crawled into them overnight and then get stung by a bee which has hung on to the inside of the left shoe as I put it on. I give a yelp as it is a shock, capture the offending beast for proper identification, which wakes Bob and he is very helpful by getting some polysporin which I apply before putting on socks and getting dressed. 

We go outside to be greeted by a gorgeous sunrise and playful hippos in the water. We take some photos, I get the bee identified before we release it, have breakfast and are on the road just before 8 AM. 

We do not drive far before our first stop, which is where we go thru the border to enter Botswana. There are Baobab trees here and in the distant I take some photos of them.  We have to carry a spare pair of shoes and wipe them off on a wet pad and then wait while the truck drives thru this shallow pool of water.  In the distance, we can see a large herd of elephants in a field that has a shallow river running thru it.

Once thru customs, we continue on our way to the Chobe Safari Lodge.  It is mid afternoon when we finally arrive in this small town and Misheck parks the bus in a small, dirty parking lot behind a small mall and takes off to see about our rooms.  There are baboons and warthogs wandering about freely as well as quite a few locals who look a bit shady as well. Bob decides to stay with the bus while everybody else wanders up to the small mall as we all need to get some money changed into Pulus, which is the currency in Botswana. 

En route to our Lodging for the next 2 nights we drive thru a part of the Chobe National Park, which is known for its large herds of elephants.  We see a Sable Antelope as soon as we enter the park and then nothing the rest of the way. The road is paved, and it is exciting, knowing that this is one of the better known parks in Africa which we have entered.

Once again, it seems we are wondering about our lodging for the night as this parking lot does not bode well for where we might be staying.  When Misheck returns we all board the bus once again and it is a very short drive to a magnificent lodge on the banks of the Chobe River.  It has a large pool, wooden walkways thru the trees, wifi, A/C, and even a refrigerator in the room. The shower is huge, there are mosquito nets over the beds and a small veranda, as Bob and I are on the second floor.

We settle in quickly and head down to the bar for a couple of drinks to cool off and also to check our email as that is where the wifi is located.

Supper that night is once again a wonderful buffet, yet even tho it is wonderfully set up, I think we are all getting tired of the buffets as time rolls on.

During supper some dancers and singers come out and perform. Their music is magic and very African. I let my supper get cold as I use my ipad to film parts of their performance. Afterwards, Bob and I spend some time in the lobby catching up on email before heading back to our room.

Everyone has signed up for the optional Game Drive in the morning and it leaves at 6 AM due to the heat later in the day.