A whole day travelling through Botswana is just an average day of travel, but the African bush scenery and animal spotting made it pretty enjoyable. In total we travelled over 600km south in more than 11 hours to reach our destination in the north of South Africa, the Game Reserve in Polokwane, formerly known as Pietersburg. We poked our heads out of the tent this morning at 4:15am just to make sure Johannes wasn’t joking about the 5am departure. He still wasn’t kidding around. The group were quiet packers and some already had their bags outside ready to go in the truck. We quickly threw our things together then helped others also pull their tents down. As quiet as we were, the camp next door who noisily arrived late last night, curiously shone torches our way but we continued just the same. As we packed we were still silenced in amazement at how clear and bright the stars were in the dark morning sky.
Botswana Drive
5am had arrived and we were off again. Before we could hit the open road we still had to manoeuvre through the sandy entrance path. Johannes was determined not to get bogged this time. Going as fast as he could, everyone hung on for dear life as we bumped and banged our way through the driveway with Johannes letting out a loud ‘Yahoo!’ once we were free. Everyone on the bus cheered and applauded his skillful driving. We slept on the 16 seater bus for about 2 hours and then pulled up on the side of the highway 20 minutes outside of Francistown and had a quiet breakfast of cereal, fruit, bread rolls and coffee. The brisk morning air was clean smelling and very fresh. To warm up, some of the group went for a 25 metre run up and back from the breakfast area. We stood behind the truck to escape the cold wind and were pleased to get back on the bus and move forward.
As we rolled into Francistown we had another 20 minute stop. Time enough for a quick stroll and toilet break. Again we searched high and low but were no closer to finding our elusive Botswana magnet. Time was running out. As we searched for a bathroom we passed one of the local fast food restaurants. It was funny because just outside of the store there was a sign that read ‘Seating For Wimpy Customers Only’. The restaurant was called Wimpy's. We couldn’t find a bathroom so we crossed the road to the petrol station and struck gold, an unlocked bathroom, with toilet paper! We grabbed some water from the store and got back on the truck.
Back on the truck we passed a group of donkeys grazing in the fields. We also drove by the Francistown Football Stadium which looked huge compared to the few tall buildings and dusty countryside. Some of the group had bought the local paper and we read a few of the headlines that caught our eye. One of the articles that unsettled us a little read ‘167 Roadside Incidents Recorded By Police Due To Livestock Conditions This Month Alone’, it didn’t give us a lot of confidence that we would get through this drive unscathed. Ironically, yesterday while driving, Johannes struck or was struck by a suicidal bird head on. It made a loud thump and startled a few of the group. On our journey so far today we have stopped or slowed down for dogs, goats and cattle to cross.
It was a long drive but thankfully we were able to sleep the majority of the way because the scenery outside wasn’t all that inspiring. A few minutes before we reached the Botswana/South Africa border, we stopped at a roadhouse and grabbed some postcards and some lunch. We had burgers at a fast food restaurant named, Steers. It was pretty good. We passed through the South African checkpoint and headed towards the Mokopane Mall to drop off some of the group whose tour was coming to end. We got a security guard to take a group photo and farewelled Don and Beatrix, Peter and Di and Kasumi. We then went inside the mall to stock up on some alcohol for the campfire later tonight. There was a small bottle shop which at the end of the store sold pre-mix drinks very cheap. Dan bought a 4 pack of Captain Morgan and Cola bottles for R35 which equates to about 6AUD. Ev bought a 6 pack of Pina Colada’s for the same price. Unfortunately Dan miscalculated the price on a bottle of Jim Beam and thought R179 was $18 when it was in fact about $28. Oh well. Dan needed it.
Polokwane Game Reserve Camp
We arrived at the Polokwane Game Reserve at about 5pm and took photos of the Pietersburg Football Stadium again, which was used during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, located just outside of the game reserve. We set up camp in the caravan area, which is basically just outside the fence of the game reserve, and pretty much had the site to ourselves except for one caravan. It was getting very cold so we started a campfire as soon as we got there. As we erected our tents, Johannes and Shawn got started on dinner. Tonight we were having chilli beans, mince, potato, rice and bread. There were also a couple of power outlets around the grounds so we were also able to charge the laptop and iPhone.
Dinner again was beautiful and we helped with the dishes. The tea towels weren’t dry so we resorted to ‘flapping’ cups and bowls as if they were wings to get them dry. We then both had a couple of drinks with the group and had a chat around the fire. After dinner, Johannes asked if anyone would like to volunteer to make dinner for tomorrow night. We stuck our hand up straight away as we hadn’t really had the chance to contribute so far on tour. Johannes said he would take us shopping in the morning for supplies for dinner.
Greg and Katie had bought a bag of marshmallows so we roasted a few of those as the night wore on. Russell was sick of drinking beer and was onto the ‘sissy drinks’ or ‘lolly waters’. They were very pretty. Unfortunately it was quite a windy night and no matter where we sat the wind would follow and blow smoke into our eyes, so we took it as a sign to go to bed. It was only 9pm but we were getting up at 5:30am for a 6am game drive in the reserve.
It was a fairly uneventful day today but we’re very much looking forward to seeing the animals in the morning and the drive to Kruger National Park later in the afternoon.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dan-ev/
Botswana Drive
5am had arrived and we were off again. Before we could hit the open road we still had to manoeuvre through the sandy entrance path. Johannes was determined not to get bogged this time. Going as fast as he could, everyone hung on for dear life as we bumped and banged our way through the driveway with Johannes letting out a loud ‘Yahoo!’ once we were free. Everyone on the bus cheered and applauded his skillful driving. We slept on the 16 seater bus for about 2 hours and then pulled up on the side of the highway 20 minutes outside of Francistown and had a quiet breakfast of cereal, fruit, bread rolls and coffee. The brisk morning air was clean smelling and very fresh. To warm up, some of the group went for a 25 metre run up and back from the breakfast area. We stood behind the truck to escape the cold wind and were pleased to get back on the bus and move forward.
As we rolled into Francistown we had another 20 minute stop. Time enough for a quick stroll and toilet break. Again we searched high and low but were no closer to finding our elusive Botswana magnet. Time was running out. As we searched for a bathroom we passed one of the local fast food restaurants. It was funny because just outside of the store there was a sign that read ‘Seating For Wimpy Customers Only’. The restaurant was called Wimpy's. We couldn’t find a bathroom so we crossed the road to the petrol station and struck gold, an unlocked bathroom, with toilet paper! We grabbed some water from the store and got back on the truck.
 |
| Francistown Football Stadium |
Back on the truck we passed a group of donkeys grazing in the fields. We also drove by the Francistown Football Stadium which looked huge compared to the few tall buildings and dusty countryside. Some of the group had bought the local paper and we read a few of the headlines that caught our eye. One of the articles that unsettled us a little read ‘167 Roadside Incidents Recorded By Police Due To Livestock Conditions This Month Alone’, it didn’t give us a lot of confidence that we would get through this drive unscathed. Ironically, yesterday while driving, Johannes struck or was struck by a suicidal bird head on. It made a loud thump and startled a few of the group. On our journey so far today we have stopped or slowed down for dogs, goats and cattle to cross.
It was a long drive but thankfully we were able to sleep the majority of the way because the scenery outside wasn’t all that inspiring. A few minutes before we reached the Botswana/South Africa border, we stopped at a roadhouse and grabbed some postcards and some lunch. We had burgers at a fast food restaurant named, Steers. It was pretty good. We passed through the South African checkpoint and headed towards the Mokopane Mall to drop off some of the group whose tour was coming to end. We got a security guard to take a group photo and farewelled Don and Beatrix, Peter and Di and Kasumi. We then went inside the mall to stock up on some alcohol for the campfire later tonight. There was a small bottle shop which at the end of the store sold pre-mix drinks very cheap. Dan bought a 4 pack of Captain Morgan and Cola bottles for R35 which equates to about 6AUD. Ev bought a 6 pack of Pina Colada’s for the same price. Unfortunately Dan miscalculated the price on a bottle of Jim Beam and thought R179 was $18 when it was in fact about $28. Oh well. Dan needed it.
 |
| We've arrived after 11hrs of driving!!! |
Polokwane Game Reserve Camp
We arrived at the Polokwane Game Reserve at about 5pm and took photos of the Pietersburg Football Stadium again, which was used during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, located just outside of the game reserve. We set up camp in the caravan area, which is basically just outside the fence of the game reserve, and pretty much had the site to ourselves except for one caravan. It was getting very cold so we started a campfire as soon as we got there. As we erected our tents, Johannes and Shawn got started on dinner. Tonight we were having chilli beans, mince, potato, rice and bread. There were also a couple of power outlets around the grounds so we were also able to charge the laptop and iPhone.
Dinner again was beautiful and we helped with the dishes. The tea towels weren’t dry so we resorted to ‘flapping’ cups and bowls as if they were wings to get them dry. We then both had a couple of drinks with the group and had a chat around the fire. After dinner, Johannes asked if anyone would like to volunteer to make dinner for tomorrow night. We stuck our hand up straight away as we hadn’t really had the chance to contribute so far on tour. Johannes said he would take us shopping in the morning for supplies for dinner.
Greg and Katie had bought a bag of marshmallows so we roasted a few of those as the night wore on. Russell was sick of drinking beer and was onto the ‘sissy drinks’ or ‘lolly waters’. They were very pretty. Unfortunately it was quite a windy night and no matter where we sat the wind would follow and blow smoke into our eyes, so we took it as a sign to go to bed. It was only 9pm but we were getting up at 5:30am for a 6am game drive in the reserve.
It was a fairly uneventful day today but we’re very much looking forward to seeing the animals in the morning and the drive to Kruger National Park later in the afternoon.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dan-ev/
1 comment:
Wimpys! lol! Glad to hear you made the journey unscathed :) looking forward to hearing more! xx
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