Botswana / Namibia with Bhejane Tours
Posted: 07 Aug 2014 21:20
On the 6th July we (myself, wifey plus the two kids) set off for Stokpoort where we overnighted Sunday & Monday night just 6 km from the border post. On Tuesday the 8th we set off and crossed the border at 08H00 and headed for Mahlapye, then Palapaye, where we tuned off for Letlhakane and met up with the Bhejane Tour. Along the way, we lost a brand new matteress complete with campcover thanks to my excellent fastening skills - and I was a boy scout once upon a time!
Here we were debriefed, got handed out 2 way radios and set off at about 14H30 for Kubu Island and our first campsite. The pans are an awesome experience and something we will never forget, and then Kubu with it's Baobabs, that was pure magic. The Bhejane guys had the campsite set up when we arrived, and the pots were on the fire, and tea and coffee were permanently available - all we had to do was unpack, organise our tents, pull up the chairs and grab a cold one!! That night we were served a superb oxtail poitjie plus a desert nogal!
The next morning we were up early to catch the sunrise, chow a lekker hot porridge and hit the road for Maun via Gweta. At lunchtime, we stopped for some lekker tuna mayo sandwiches before getting to the tar road. Our next night was at the Drifters campsite just before Maun, a lovely setting on the river - just bloody freezing especially in the morning when we needed to be up and packed and at the airport by 08H00 to do the flight over the Delta. When that was done (the worst flight of my life - puked my lungs out!!) we got a replacement mattress from a camping shop and met up with everyone so we could move on to our next stop, for 2 nights this time, in the panhandle at a camp called Shakawe River Lodge. This was also a lovely place on the river, and the highlight for us was a perfect Pels Fishing Owl sighting. Here, we were treated to an afternoon sunset cruise along the river. Good food and lots of "kuiering" around the campfire was the order of the day with lots of good friends being made. There were 35 people on this tour, from all around the country and a wide variety of 4x4's (only 2 were Toyotas - besides Bhejane's vehicles!)
From here, we all headed for Tsodilo Hills where we were guided through some of the rock art, had a lunch, and proceeded in our own time over the border into Namibia to stay at Ngepi Camp for the next 3 nights. This was by far the nicest of all the places we stayed at, where we were treated to another river cruise, a hamburger brunch in the Babwata National Park, tried our hand at tiger fishing but gave the swim in the wire pool in the kavango river a miss - getting too old for the cold water!! From here we visited Popa Falls and also checked out the remains of '32 Battalion HQ.
After Ngepi, we drove across the Caprivi Strip through Katima and out of Namibia, back to Bots and into Kasane where we stayed for the last 3 nights at a place called Thebe River Lodge - this was not nearly as quiet and private like the other campsites we stayed at. From here, we set off early the next morning to get through the border into Zim so we could go see the Victoria Falls and spend the day sightseeing there before heading back for another superb Bhejane meal & kuier. The next & last day they organised a Chobe morning game drive, followed by an afternoon Chobe River cruise to finish the tour off - they were fantastic outings and we saw loads of excellent game sightings and sunsets. All in all it was a fantastic trip with an extremely well run organisation and a young but very mature and knowledgable guide - Riaan Haasbroek and his three assistants who took care of all the camp seting up and food as well as the cleaning up every day!
On the last morning we said our goodbyes, and headed for Francistown where we overnighted before heading out the same border post we came in at and headed on home.
Here we were debriefed, got handed out 2 way radios and set off at about 14H30 for Kubu Island and our first campsite. The pans are an awesome experience and something we will never forget, and then Kubu with it's Baobabs, that was pure magic. The Bhejane guys had the campsite set up when we arrived, and the pots were on the fire, and tea and coffee were permanently available - all we had to do was unpack, organise our tents, pull up the chairs and grab a cold one!! That night we were served a superb oxtail poitjie plus a desert nogal!
The next morning we were up early to catch the sunrise, chow a lekker hot porridge and hit the road for Maun via Gweta. At lunchtime, we stopped for some lekker tuna mayo sandwiches before getting to the tar road. Our next night was at the Drifters campsite just before Maun, a lovely setting on the river - just bloody freezing especially in the morning when we needed to be up and packed and at the airport by 08H00 to do the flight over the Delta. When that was done (the worst flight of my life - puked my lungs out!!) we got a replacement mattress from a camping shop and met up with everyone so we could move on to our next stop, for 2 nights this time, in the panhandle at a camp called Shakawe River Lodge. This was also a lovely place on the river, and the highlight for us was a perfect Pels Fishing Owl sighting. Here, we were treated to an afternoon sunset cruise along the river. Good food and lots of "kuiering" around the campfire was the order of the day with lots of good friends being made. There were 35 people on this tour, from all around the country and a wide variety of 4x4's (only 2 were Toyotas - besides Bhejane's vehicles!)
From here, we all headed for Tsodilo Hills where we were guided through some of the rock art, had a lunch, and proceeded in our own time over the border into Namibia to stay at Ngepi Camp for the next 3 nights. This was by far the nicest of all the places we stayed at, where we were treated to another river cruise, a hamburger brunch in the Babwata National Park, tried our hand at tiger fishing but gave the swim in the wire pool in the kavango river a miss - getting too old for the cold water!! From here we visited Popa Falls and also checked out the remains of '32 Battalion HQ.
After Ngepi, we drove across the Caprivi Strip through Katima and out of Namibia, back to Bots and into Kasane where we stayed for the last 3 nights at a place called Thebe River Lodge - this was not nearly as quiet and private like the other campsites we stayed at. From here, we set off early the next morning to get through the border into Zim so we could go see the Victoria Falls and spend the day sightseeing there before heading back for another superb Bhejane meal & kuier. The next & last day they organised a Chobe morning game drive, followed by an afternoon Chobe River cruise to finish the tour off - they were fantastic outings and we saw loads of excellent game sightings and sunsets. All in all it was a fantastic trip with an extremely well run organisation and a young but very mature and knowledgable guide - Riaan Haasbroek and his three assistants who took care of all the camp seting up and food as well as the cleaning up every day!
On the last morning we said our goodbyes, and headed for Francistown where we overnighted before heading out the same border post we came in at and headed on home.
- Last evening on the Chobe River
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