Namibia Botswana round trip travel report: this is what we experienced!

We’ve been waiting for this for so long and today it’s finally happening – the adventure Botswana! It’s 23 May and that means packing the last few things before heading off to the airport. We always start packing what feels like ages before the trip. We always think that in the end we won’t need that much time for packing.

But if we’re honest, most of the stuff ends up in the bag on the very last day anyway. That one jumper, that one T-shirt… you still want to wear everything one more time beforehand and then you start praying that it will all be dry on the last day before it has to be packed. This time everything goes smoothly. That’s certainly also because we only have one outfit from the civilised world with us – and that’s for the flight. Everything else is functional clothing that dries quickly and can be worn in layers. In Botswana it’s hot during the day and can get quite cool at night. One last quick suitcase weigh-in: check. That works. So we can set off!

The journey begins: off to the airport

We first fly with Lufthansa to Frankfurt at 2pm. My parents kindly drive us to the airport. Right on time it’s “all aboard”. We load everything into the car and already our heads are buzzing with thoughts. A travel day always stresses me a bit – especially after we almost missed our connecting flight on our last trip to Africa and our luggage didn’t arrive with us. When we arrive at the airport we pick up our tickets at the counter – old school. As we’re flying on from Frankfurt to Windhoek we’ll be flying from Frankfurt with Air Namibia. And this time we know the drill already: “I can only check you in as far as Frankfurt. You’ll need to report to the Air Namibia desk there.”… but this time we have plenty of time in Frankfurt.

First we drop our travel bags at the oversized baggage counter and then it’s through security and off to the water dispenser. We always take empty bottles in our hand luggage. We fill them up with water at the airport so we can drink enough on the flight. Having enough water simply keeps us much more awake – even if it means we have to go to the toilet more often. We have a flat white at the airport and then head to the gate. The plane departs on time and in no time at all, by 3.10pm, we’re in Frankfurt.

Passing the time in Frankfurt

Now we have loads of time. The onward flight isn’t until 8.10pm. I’m in Frankfurt quite often and I love the cheese spätzle at the airport. So Laura and I stuff ourselves and enjoy a fantastic view of the runway. Such an awesome portion of cheese spätzle is really something and leaves you absolutely stuffed. Because if there’s one thing that regularly makes me feel queasy it’s aeroplane food. On a return flight from New York I even felt so sick at the mere thought of it that I preferred not to eat anything and just went to sleep instead. While my thoughts are buzzing around my head, time flies by – pun intended.

So we grab our rucksacks and change terminals. At the moment the train between the terminals is closed so first we have to find our way around. Apparently there’s a replacement bus but it leaves from outside the security area. In the meantime we’ve also checked in online with Air Namibia and have the barcode on our phones. We arrive at the terminal by bus and go through security. Well, at least I do. Laura gets stuck. Somehow her barcode isn’t working. I hand her my phone over the barrier because I had luckily saved both tickets – and earn some dirty looks from the security staff in return. It works, so I don’t have to fly alone…

We still have a bit of time, so we have another coffee and then head to the gate. And here too we already know the drill, that we have to report to the counter. There we get the correct ticket that we can use to go through the check. We’ve made it and we’re sitting on the plane. Pretty cool, because we had reserved a row of two seats in advance. It’s now just after 8pm and we’re already dead tired. For whatever reason. Take-off, fall asleep and there we are – welcome to Namibia!

We’ve arrived in Namibia!

Immigration is no problem, even though I did get snapped at a bit. But hey, we have a huge adventure ahead of us and it starts right now! We’ll be driving through the wilderness of Botswana on our own. Just crazy… We pick up our travel bags – this time both have arrived – and then wait for our driver in the airport building. It takes a while so we treat ourselves to another coffee.

While we Germans sometimes take political correctness very seriously (well, many do, some don’t), the man at the coffee station is just in a good mood. Laura says we’d like two coffees – without milk. He grins and says: "ah, you want your coffee black… black like me!" and bursts out laughing. Somehow it’s lovely when people don’t take themselves so seriously and simply enjoy life. While we continue to wait for the driver, I quickly get a SIM card at the mtc counter and withdraw some cash for the first few days. We find a SIM card practical so that – if there is reception – we can make calls in an emergency. The mobile network, by the way, is just as full of holes as the German one.

The driver arrives and takes us straight to the car hire. When we get there we see the Toyota Land Cruiser already waiting for us. Wow, what an awesome beast. If this thing doesn’t get us through the wilderness, nothing will! We deal with the formalities, get a thorough briefing and then we’re off. The staff member drives with us to the nearby petrol station to fill up the car. Then I take over. I’ve been looking forward the whole time to getting this huge monster moving.

Shopping at Spar – almost like at home

First we drive to the mall to buy groceries. We opt for “The Groove Mall”, because that’s where we went last time and we felt it was pretty safe. There is also a Spar supermarket that basically has everything we need – especially lots of Gut & Günstig products, which keeps surprising us. Laura had already written a shopping list in Germany so that we could get the first big shop over and done with quickly. It actually goes fast and in no time we’re leaving Spar with two full trolleys. One of them is full of water. Better to have it than to need it – especially out in the wilderness.

We navigate our way through the left-hand traffic to Hilltop Guesthouse, where we’ll be spending the first night. The guesthouse is really cosy and we’re given a warm welcome. We’re just so happy that the trip is finally starting. With big grins on our faces we’re shown to our room. It’s cosy and clean too. The staff member also explains to us that there’s a bucket in the shower so that the excess shower water can later be used for the flowers. After all, this is supposed to be one of the driest years in Namibia. Oh man, as if the area wasn’t dry enough already… we think about how lucky we are to always have enough water.

We round off the evening…

By now we’re really absolutely starving. Just like last year, we head back to Joe’s Beerhouse. A classic with tourists. We drive our own car through the traffic, even though we did briefly think about calling a taxi. Taxis in Windhoek are always one of those things. There are safe ones and some that take tourists somewhere only to rob them. So we’d rather fire up the Land Cruiser Beast and park directly in the secured car park.

There are always so-called parking boys there to watch your car – in return they ask for a small tip. We don’t really believe that any one of them would defend our car if things really kicked off. But if the tips at least keep them from going off the rails then it’s money well spent. You usually give around 10–20 NAD, which is about 0.60 to 1 €. Full to the brim, we leave Joe’s Beerhouse after a lovely evening and drive back to our accommodation.

The sun is slowly setting. It’s getting darker and the lights in Windhoek start to come on one by one. We grab two chairs and watch the sun go down.

We go to bed early because the arrival day has been exhausting again. Tomorrow we’ll have an early start and head straight to Botswana – more precisely to Ghanzi and the El-Fari Campsite, a stopover on the way to Maun. We’re curious what the border crossing will be like… We lie in bed for a while. So here we are. It’s lovely to finally be back in Namibia!

A new day begins on our journey through Botswana as self-drivers. We wake up and only now does it really sink in that this has just been our first night in Namibia. It feels strange, because somehow our thoughts are already circling around nights out in the wilderness. What will it be like to open up the roof tent for the first time while we can hear lions? And what will the evenings be like round the campfire when all we can see is what’s lit by the flames? I look over at Laura. She’s already awake too. The two of us grin, excited about what lies ahead.

Breakfast brings back memories

Yesterday, when we arrived at the Hilltop Guesthouse, we were asked what time we’d like breakfast. After the long journey with an overnight flight we went for 8am. As we’re getting ready we notice that breakfast is already being laid out in front of our room. We step outside and are greeted with real enthusiasm. I love it when people radiate pure joy in life. And that’s definitely the case here.

Breakfast looks really delicious. There’s fruit salad, bread, egg and even a dessert. We really didn’t see that coming. We just had to get our heads straight first. Last time in Namibia we managed to give ourselves upset stomachs with our very first breakfast – probably because of the milk, as we suspect today. The end of the story was that from the afternoon onwards we spent the whole night throwing up again and again. And not just a little. The two of us together in the roof tent, in the middle of the Namib Desert. Also an experience. But one we definitely don’t want to repeat. Back to breakfast: we bravely ate everything and it was incredibly tasty!

After breakfast we load our luggage straight into the car. Today is going to be a long day. We have a long stretch ahead of us, including a border crossing into Botswana. We say goodbye to the people at the guesthouse and set off.

Thoughts go round and round as we drive towards Botswana

Beforehand we downloaded the Google Maps offline maps so that we could navigate with them. For the main roads Google Maps actually works very well – both in Namibia and in Botswana. It quickly reaches its limits once you get onto the minor roads though.

We’re now on the highway, heading out of Windhoek. We pass a checkpoint, which you come across every now and then. There’s a brief visual inspection and occasionally they’ll also check your driving licence and vehicle papers. Done, on we go. The stretch really drags because it literally goes straight ahead to the horizon. To the left and right all you see is sand, sand and more sand. Every now and then you can spot some baboons.

As we drive, memories of last year come back to us. We came across a crashed motorcyclist on the road who, luckily, was only injured and already receiving help. For us that moment was the deciding factor in bringing a first-aid kit from Germany with us this time. Unfortunately the HIV rate in Botswana is very high, and in Namibia also quite high. So it doesn’t hurt to have rubber gloves and disinfected material with you in case you need to dress any wounds. And having a first-aid kit is certainly no bad thing should we find ourselves in an emergency situation out in the wild. We talk for a while about that accident last year and about how staged accidents are often used by criminals to rob tourists. So gut feeling is more important here in Namibia and Botswana than we might rely on it in our everyday life in Germany.

Now we can already see the border in the distance. Or at least a large cluster of lorries. We thread our way between the lorries and spot a little building that we decide must be the border post. In Germany there would already have been 100 signs, at least half of them threatening something like “failure to comply will result in a fine of…“ – ah yes, the good old German forest of signs. Strangely enough, things work here without all that.

We enter Botswana…

We park the car and go into the building. There we see a long counter, with people sitting behind bars, busy with stamps and paperwork. This must be the right place. We ask what we have to do, because we can only see the Namibian flag here. Are we only exiting here? A man explains that we have to fill in one of the white slips. We already know the slips from the plane, where they were used for immigration. We look in vain for ballpoint pens. Never mind, I fetch some from the car and then we fill the thing in quickly. No sooner said than done – everything filled in, handed over, exit stamp received and that’s us done.

Then a thought suddenly pops into our heads: ok, we’ve now exited Namibia, but we haven’t entered Botswana. Hmmm. And where do we do that? As the border hut is the only building, we get back into the car and just drive on. If we’ve missed something, we’ll be stopped somewhere along the way. We go round a few bends and suddenly we see a gate with a building next to it. No sign, no flag, nothing. Well then, let’s go inside. We can already see plenty of Africans disappearing into the building and not coming back out. A sign of a government office, because nothing in there ever seems to go quickly.

It does in fact seem to be the office for entering Botswana. Once again we ask our way through and are told what we have to do. First and foremost: get in the queue. Fine, we can do that, hey, we’re German – easy. Here too we have to fill in a slip – this time for immigration. Then there is a passport check, an entry stamp and then we’re allowed to pay – by credit card as well. Here you pay for the car and for immigration itself. Ready to go, we’ve entered. Welcome to Botswana!

We go back to the car and through a gate. The gate is guarded by a policewoman who checks and collects the papers for the car. Strictly speaking, what should come next is a drive through a slurry pool where chemicals are supposed to remove pathogens from the car tyres and our shoes. But the pool is dry. I find it pretty illogical anyway. The shoes you’re wearing are disinfected, but the other shoes in the boot are not. Oh well, they’ll know what they’re doing…

Filling up with petrol and withdrawing money in Ghanzi

We now finally continue into Botswana. We see loads of donkeys at the roadside. I like donkeys, because at least they have a mind of their own – which others describe as stubborn. They’re just not conformist animals. I can somehow identify with them – not that there are any parallels, of course.

We now drive to El-Fari Campsite near Ghanzi. The town lies on the way to Maun. We’ll soon need to fill up anyway and decide to withdraw some money at the same time. I ask a man at the petrol station where the nearest cash machine is. Apparently it’s just round the corner, perfect. So after filling up we drive straight there. Laura waits in the car – if at all possible it’s advisable not to leave the car to be broken into. So I wander around looking for the cash machine. I find the bank, with a big group of Africans hanging around in front of it. So this is the meeting place for young people, fair enough. I go to the machine and despair. No idea why, but I can’t get any money. So I ask one of them if she can help me. She shows me how it works and discreetly slips away when it comes to entering my PIN. And then out comes the money, tip-top! It worked. I thank her and head back to the car.

Arriving at El-Fari Campsite

Back at the car we continue on to the campsite. We’re already being warmly awaited there. A woman welcomes us while her husband is already wheeling firewood to our pitch. The firewood is free, the pitch is in a really lovely spot with plenty of distance to the next camper and there are clean, modern ablution blocks too. There is one other couple on the campsite, otherwise it’s completely empty. We quickly make ourselves something to eat and then fall into bed dead tired.

After a very long night – we really needed that sleep – I get up. The sun bathes the whole campsite in golden light. I hear the sound of birds which brings back memories of Namibia from last year. Everything feels so peaceful. And I’m full of anticipation for everything that still awaits us in Botswana.

Not again…

Laura is still in the roof tent. She has a headache and feels sick too. Then it occurs to me: didn’t I think this morning about how last year in Namibia we threw up like crazy after breakfast?! Not again… Quick status check for me: all good, I feel fit, I’m fine! Very good, then at least I can look after Laura.

Laura doesn’t fancy either coffee or baked beans, which I’m cooking over the fire. So I spend the first breakfast in Botswana with myself. I think a lot about the coming days, feeling a certain respect for the wilderness mixed with absolute joy.

After breakfast I pack up while Laura slowly gets ready in the ablution block. I quickly brush my teeth and then we set off. Laura has taken a headache tablet and the distance to Maun is not far. We’ve also got something with us for nausea, the joker so to speak if nothing else helps. But Laura first wants to try without it.

We start the engine. Maun, here we come!

The first night in Botswana is already behind us. We spent the night in Ghanzi at El-Fari Campsite. Laura has a headache and that’s making her feel sick as well. Not the best conditions for driving to Maun today. But the good news is that the distance will be short. At 9.45am I stash the last bits in the car, put Laura in the passenger seat and start the engine. Maun, here we come!

Off we go to Maun, the last stop before the wilderness

We drive along sandy tracks back to the tarmac road that leads straight to Maun. Laura is looking reasonably well, the drive is relaxed and I can spot some animals at the roadside. I think about what it will soon be like in the wilderness. We’ll be sleeping there in the tent among loads of wild animals and sitting by the campfire in the evening, listening to the rustling in the bush. During the day we’ll prepare food, perhaps read a book or chat. But we won’t be able to keep looking around us all the time to see if an animal is nearby – quite apart from the fact that the animals’ senses are superior to those of us city dwellers anyway. On the other hand, the wilderness calls with its tranquillity, its breathtaking sunsets and all the animals that will move us so deeply…

My thoughts break off abruptly when I see a check point. At 10.20am we reach Ghanzi District and are stopped. An officer comes to the driver’s side and asks me where we’re heading and asks for our papers. He wants to see the driving licence – he’s happy with the German national licence – and the vehicle documents we got from our rental company. He walks around the car once, looks a bit stern, but then hands our papers back with a smile and wishes us a good onward journey.

Shortly afterwards we reach the next gate. This time it’s a vet gate. The vet gates are checkpoints where all fresh meat is confiscated if there are any diseases going around at the time. Understandably, Botswana wants to prevent diseases from being brought into and out of the wilderness. Of course we fully understand this, probably also because we don’t have any fresh meat with us. We’re waved through with a friendly gesture. There probably isn’t a current problem with diseases. It’s also pretty hot and dry – it seems it hasn’t rained for quite some time.

We arrive in Maun before midday. A relatively large town in Botswana. I had read a book during our trip that describes Maun before there was a tarmac road. A real safari town with pubs, petrol stations and plenty of tough guys wanting to head into the wilderness. Today there are large supermarkets, an airport and lots of small shops and street stalls. If you are now thinking that the town is big, you should picture more of a small town in Germany to get a rough comparison.

So we roll through town on our way to Audi Camp, where we will spend two nights. Because it is Sunday today and the authorities are closed, we have allowed two days for Maun. We still need permits to be allowed to drive into the wilderness. Entry through the gates is regulated and limited to a certain number of people and vehicles. We really like the fact that nature is relatively well protected by limiting the number of human intruders.

I start to worry

We arrive at Audi Camp and check in. Everything is super easy. Unfortunately Laura still has a headache and lies down for a lunchtime nap. We had actually wanted to hang her hammock between the trees, but then she would have had to share her bed with about a thousand ants. She decides instead on the back seat of the car.

I use the time to read up a bit more about the coming days in Moremi and Chobe. My thoughts are circling. With some things I simply don’t know how they will turn out, even if I don’t really feel afraid. What actually occupies my mind is what it will be like when elephants come towards us on the deep sand tracks. The roads are surely particularly dry and, due to the lack of rain, very soft. And from the way I have seen the tracks in photos, they are very winding and run between bushes.

So it will not always be possible to see ahead. So what do we do if an animal is suddenly standing on the track, feels threatened and we get stuck while reversing? These thoughts keep going round in my head, but I decide to be aware of the situation without driving myself crazy. A healthy respect for what is to come is probably part of it – that’s what I decide.

Suddenly Laura is standing next to me. She has slept for about two hours and feels a bit better now. At least ready to head out shopping again. A Spar supermarket is meant to be open until 4pm – it is now 2.30pm. So we set off to buy a few things for this evening – above all a washing-up brush, which we had forgotten last time. The drive was straightforward, we felt safe while shopping and were soon already on our way back.

Contentment has nothing to do with money

We stop at the road and buy firewood from an older man. As soon as we pull over he practically jumps up to meet us. He is wearing a suit and comes towards us very kindly, laughing. You really have to picture this scene: an older man in a suit and slip-on sandals sitting on a plastic chair in the middle of the dusty sand – hoping that someone stops and buys some wood from him. Goats are wandering around that apparently also belong to him.

We get out and tell him we would like two bundles of wood. He runs off straight away and wants to carry the wood to the car for us. I somehow don’t feel good about that and try to take the wood from him. He really does seem to be old. But he wouldn’t be dissuaded. I think it had something to do with pride and his idea of customer service. Just imagine it: 10 logs of wood (2 bundles) cost 20 pula in total, so about 2 euro. Obviously a lot of money for him. We give him a bit more and he is overjoyed. Of course we could have bought the wood at Spar as well, but it is exactly these moments that make travelling in other cultures what it is for us. We wave, smile at him and drive on to our camp.

Our spacious campsite

The site is really big and dusty. The ground is sand, which is constantly being whipped up by the wind. We have opted for a pitch with electricity so that we can charge all the batteries again. There is also a bench with a table, a firepit with a grill and clean washrooms. At reception there is also a pool and a bar with Wi-Fi.

We get a fire going first and let the evening draw to a close. Tonight we have fried potatoes and a beer each. We look up at the sky and see masses of stars as the fire still blazes in front of us. This is only the beginning. The big adventure is still ahead of us! We take the last sip of beer and crawl into the roof tent at 8.30pm. Tomorrow will be a great day too!

Our alarm rings at 6.30am. Unfortunately Laura still has a headache. The night was safe, after all the whole site is fenced with barbed wire and a security service patrols around. I make breakfast for us so that Laura can take another painkiller. Hopefully the headaches will stop soon… We have baked beans with toast and coffee – a meal we will be eating veeeery often. Laura takes the tablet and luckily notices an improvement shortly afterwards.

Buying permits at the Wildlife Department

We drive out of the site at 10am, because we have quite a bit on the agenda today: first of all we head to the Wildlife Department to get the permits for the national parks. At first we can’t find the department. Because it is right by the court and the police, there are also a few dodgy characters hanging around. As always, we take the camera rucksack and our valuables with us. We always turn it into a kind of ceremony when we take our things and carry them away in public. Everyone can clearly see that it’s not worth breaking into the car.

It is only about a 5-minute walk to the department. We had read that sometimes tour operators queue there and it can take a while until they have everything they need for their guests. But we are lucky and get a friendly woman who quickly issues everything we need. As always, Laura is well prepared and has all the necessary documents with her, such as campsite booking confirmations. While Laura sorts everything organisational with her – Laura is definitely much more organised than I am – I look around. I spot photos of the ministers everywhere. All framed in ornate picture frames. Even the fisheries minister sits almost majestically on the wall. Power and status seem to play a big role in Botswana. Laura pays by credit card and after 10 minutes we are already back outside and have everything we need.

Booking a flight over the Okavango Delta

Next we head to Kavango Air, because a flight over the Okavango Delta is also on the agenda for today. We are wondering whether it is really as green as you see in photos or whether it is just as dry as Maun, as it hasn’t rained for a very long time. We park at the airport (a really small airport), go into the building and find what we are looking for on the first floor: Kavango Air.

As we walk along the corridors, we see many people waiting there – either for their own flight or for guests who are travelling directly to Maun. We open the office door and are greeted by a very friendly woman. We ask about the options and she offers us a private plane that would fly just the two of us over the region for 350 US$. We don’t need that kind of luxury and the plane would have taken off at 1pm. I really want to catch the evening light so I can take photos in good light.

We ask about alternatives and are offered a “big plane” which turns out to be small for us: 6 seats including the pilot. Everyone has a window seat and the flight costs 120 US$ per person – departure is at 4pm. This is our flight, perfect! We go for it and are also told that we should be there half an hour earlier so we can still go through security. The total flight time will be 45 minutes.

So we set off again. This time to the camping accessories shop “Kalahari Kanvas”, where we actually want to buy another lamp. We’d like to be able to put a lamp at the front and back of the car so we can see well in the wild in particular. Unfortunately, they mostly had tent accessories and other bits and pieces that nobody needs. We leave a bit disappointed. But that turns out to be a good thing, because later we discover another lamp in the car which was ideal for the rest of the trip. That’s how it goes sometimes…

Update on the scenic flight: unfortunately we’ve found out that Kavango Air no longer offers scenic flights. We’ve found other operators with whom you can do a scenic flight over the Okavango Delta. The operators are:

• Mackair
• Major Blue Air
• Helicopter Horizonts

Buy meat at Beef Boys

Next stop: Beef Boys. A shop with a wide selection of meat and vegetables – recognisable by a stolen Chicago Bulls logo. The choice is really good and I opt for a T-bone steak. We also buy potatoes and a garlic bread for this evening.

We have a pet

Back at the campsite we do the washing up before we head off later for the flight. While we’re washing up, a cat comes to visit and won’t leave our side. First she lies down on our chairs and sleeps – later she’s lying on the roof tent when we want to drive off. For whatever reason I jump onto the car and discover that she’s up there by now. When I try to shoo her down she makes no move at all to clear the spot. So I simply pick her up and carry her down. 1–0 to me, because she is pretty perplexed. It’s already 3.30pm and we really should get going to the airport.

Flight over the Okavango Delta

We arrive at the Kavango Air office at 4pm, pay the remaining fee and are told that the other guests will be arriving shortly. So we go into the airport building for a while before it’s time to go. Although “shortly” is optimistic, because nothing happens. The remaining passengers are keeping us waiting.

Half an hour later a mixed group of younger people turns up who are obviously the missing guests. Everyone still has to go to the toilet and pay for their flight. Around 30 minutes later we finally head towards security. Don’t imagine anything special now. I claim the security check is more for show than anything else. We’re then taken to the planes in a small van. Laura and I sit at the back of the plane and can look out to the rear as well. We’re off! This is going to be so cool.

We’ve barely taken off when we see the first animals. Lots of elephant herds, giraffes, hippos, rhinos and antelopes are moving around beneath us. How crazy is that!? The view from above is something else again when it comes to understanding this vastness. You keep seeing little trails trampled by animals and two-track ruts that must be from the vehicles. We’re totally thrilled and already know that the flight will be worth it.

We continue and suddenly discover a forest fire. The landscape is really dry. The green scenery we’d seen in the photos is definitely not down there now. It’s high time it rained again. The forest fires are really bad and many animals perish in the flames. At the same time the fire of course also provides important nutrients for the soil and the dead animals are once again food for lots of other animals. A cycle that certainly makes sense but on the other hand is always truly gruesome.

We turn and get ready for the approach into Maun. At 5.20pm we land again on the small airstrip. A really great taster of what awaits us over the next few days. We’ll be sleeping down there. Right in the middle of it. With wild animals all around us and us cosy in our tent. I can hardly believe it.

Go shopping again and fill up completely

After the flight we go shopping again and stock up on supplies for the coming days. There won’t be any possibility to shop or to refuel. Everything therefore has to be non-perishable. You wouldn’t believe how many tins of beans, pasta and tomato sauce we buy. But also ingredients for dough to bake a loaf of bread or make pizza dough. We want to treat ourselves and enjoy our time in the wild.

After shopping we drive to a petrol station to fill up the car and the extra jerrycans. Altogether we have 170 litres of diesel with us – 130 litres in the tank and extra tank and another 20 litres per jerrycan. We can really recommend the service at the Shell petrol station in Maun. Our car was filled up and I was able to pass the jerrycans down from the roof. The attendant took them, filled them and passed them back up to me. We pay and leave a tip before heading back to camp.

Now we’re sitting here, making a fire and baking the garlic bread. A beer is of course a must as well. Our heads are spinning. What will it be like tomorrow when we really set off? Our first camp will be Third Bridge. To get there we’ll have to drive quite a way through Moremi – with lots of deep sand and animals. We’re so excited to see what kind of adventure awaits us. We look at each other again and you can see the mix of anticipation and excitement in our faces. We grin, clink our bottles one more time and then disappear into the roof tent. Wilderness, here we come!

This Botswana travel report will go on to cover our experiences in Moremi and Chobe as well as the stops in Kasane, Bwabwata in the Caprivi Strip and the return journey via Rundu and Waterberg to Windhoek…

How did you like the travel report so far? Tell us in the comments.