Botswana 2011

We went to Botswana 22 – 27 April, 2011. We planned to camp on Kubu Island for two nights and at Khama Rhino Sanctuary for the other three nights. Our memmories from this trip will always involve a mightmarish border crossing, lots of sticky, salty mud, lots of peace and quiet, and good company.

These five posts contain some of our more memorable photos from the trip. View the full gallery from this trip here.

Day 1 – From Swartwater, not quite to Kubu Island

Day 2 – To Kubu Island

Day 3 – Kubu Island to Khama Rhino Sanctuary

Day 4 – Khama Rhino Sanctuary

Day 5 – Khama Rhino Sanctuary

Botswana, April 2011 – Day 3

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Sunday morning we were up before dawn to photograph the sunrise. The sky was almost perfectly clear, and the pan was full of people of every age with any kind of camera you can think of. The combination of soft, early morning light and the stunningly photogenic location was irresistible.

When the sun was up, most of the photographers headed back to the camp for coffee and breakfast and suddenly we had the pan to ourselves – just the two of us and the quiet, seemingly endless salt pan.

The silence was breathtaking.

At last, we had to turn our backs on the rugged beauty of the granite rocks and Baobab trees, and return to the camp site. It was time to pack up and head off to Khama.

The road back to civilisation was very different from the one that took us to Kubu. The sky was deep blue, with a few white clouds drifting lazily high above. There was a lot less water, and a lot more solid ground. The pans, however, were no less impressive.

Johan lost himself in the search for the “The Shot”.

But like all good things, the pans also had to come to an end. Eventually, we reached the tarred roads, took the bakkies out of 4X4, and pointed their noses in the direction of Khama Rhino Sanctuary. After a long day behind the wheel we pulled into our camp site at sunset, pitched camp under two stunning Baobab trees, and lit the camp fire.

Botswana, April 2011 – Day 2

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The day dawned over a herd of Nguni cattle grazing on the edge of a very soggy salt pan. Heavy clouds promised more rain.

Our makeshift camp-site at the gateNot long after waking up, we noticed a lone man walking from the direction of Kubu Island. He arrived at our make-shift camp site with muddy, bare feet, a bottle of water and a tale of trying to get through to Kubu Island on the “low road” in the middle of the night, but the wheel ruts were too deep and his V8 Landy ended up stuck on its belly. We gave him a cup of coffee, and agreed to tow him out.

There are two roads to Kubu Island from the main gate where we slept – the high road and the load road. The low road crosses straight over the Sowa pan, and can get you to Kubu in about 45 minutes. The hight road, on the other hand, goes around the pan and can take 2 hours or more. In wet weather the low road becomes almost undrivable. Since we had two trailers and an untried Mitsubishi Triton, we preferred not to risk getting stuck and took the hight road instead.

Arriving where the “high road” split off from the “low road”, we were met by a rather daunting sight: both roads were completely flooded!

Driving over the soggy pansBut we had come too far, and our hearts were set on Kubu Island, so we decided to push on. Shaun, the Landy driver, having been to Kubu Island a few times before, took the lead.

As the day progressed, the clouds started clearing, and the sun made a weak attempt at warming the wet landscape. The dreary weather made driving with open windows comfortable, but did not in any way diminish the impact of the vast salt pans.

Smoke break! The guys and their bakkies

We pitched camp on the edge of the Sowa pan, around the corner from the famous “Kubu Rocks” and set off, cameras in hand, to photograph the sunset.

Star-trails and moonlit baobabs

Shortly before midnight, Johan fetched me from the tent to experience “Kubu Island”. The stillness was almost tangible. Long after midnight, we were still enjoying the silence, and experimenting with some “star trail” photography.

Botswana, April 2011 – Day 1

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It was the Easter weekend of 2011, and we loaded the bakkie and headed off to Botswana with a group of friends.  Our destinations were Kubu (Lekubu) Island at the Makgadikgadi salt pans, and the Khama Rhino Sanctuary.

We drove through to Swartwater on Thursday night, in the hope of getting through the border early Friday morning. It was not to be. We arrived at Groblersbrug border post on Good Friday morning, to be greeted by “go slow” strike action, and utter chaos.

Waiting in line at Groblersbrug

Six hours and a lot of swearing later, we were through the border, and headed for Kubu Island. Due to the delay at the border, night caught us still on the tarred roads. Bravely (or stupidly) we pushed on into the darkness.

With the help of a GPS and some friendly locals, we found our way through the last settlements long after dark. Suddenly slipping and sliding across the first of the soggy pans, we started getting seriously worried: Were we still on the right road? Would we suddenly break through the crust of the pan, and get stuck in the notoriously sticky mud underneath? And then – a gate!

We reached the gate in the rain, just after 9:30 pm. The gate guard had no trouble convincing us to give up getting through to Kubu Island. We parked in front of the guard’s house and our friends opened up their roof-top tents. Tired, cold and wet, we decided not to pitch our dome tent as well, but to rather sleep in the bakkie. I had never imagined that one can sleep so soundly sitting up on the front seat of a bakkie!