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Our Africa Botswana AdventureOur Africa Botswana Adventure
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Traveling with friends and family from the remote Kalahari to the green Okavango in our trusty 4x4s Read more
  • Adele Sinisterra
  • Peter Eastwood

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  • Zimbabwe Zimbabwe
  • Botswana Botswana
  • South Africa South Africa
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  • Our Africa Botswana Adventure

    The adventure begins

    April 1, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    There is great excitement ( and nerves ) in the air this morning as we wake up before dawn to get going on our bucket list adventure which has been months in the planning and involved all of us in new job descriptions such as “ medical officer / car mechanic / logistical planner / travel researcher“. We can’t quite believe that today we actually start out on a several month long 4x4 road trip from our home town on the tip of Africa Cape Town all the way to Kenya.

    This first leg of our journey will be two days to reach the border of Botswana independently with each of our two vehicles from Cape Town and Hoedspruit in South Africa. We have chosen to leave on the 31st March ( not on April Fools Day according to Pete ! ) and will cross the Botswana border on the 2nd April to spend the month exploring this beautiful and wild country starting with the dry Kalahari and ending in Victoria Falls.

    We are a group of 6 family and friends and our trusty steeds of transport and homes for the several next months are 4x4s Tala and Joydah each converted into state of the art fully equipped off road vehicles. Designed by Pete and his sons during Covid they will finally be put to the test.

    It’s 5am and we are off !    Read more

  • Our Africa Botswana Adventure
    1

    Time with the Kalahari Bushmen

    April 3, 2023 in Botswana ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    One of the places we really want to visit is the Kuru Art Center near Ghanzi where the bushmen artists of the Kalahari paint and display their artwork. Adele has been following this incredible project for many years and this will be the first time to actually be there in person, a dream come true.

    We arrive in the hot and dusty outpost of Dekhar and who should we see just outside the entrance to the Kuru Art Center. It is our Bushman friend from the Kalahari whom we met last year and he invites us to visit his family and stay the night.

    We are over the moon and spend an hour or two observing the artists as they paint and talk in their
    musical click language to each other and looking over the many brilliant colorful paintings depicting stories of the surrounding Kalahari landscapes together with the animals, plants and natural elements that the Bushman call home. Their paintings hold a special light filled energy and we feel happy and uplifted after our time here as we drive with our Bushman friend to his home.

    There we are greeted by the whole extended family with such warmth and love that our hearts are filled and our eyes emotional with tears.

    We spend the rest of the afternoon learning the art of craftsmanship from the women sitting in a circle on the ground grinding and making ostrich shell beads together with lots of smiles and applause for our small successes. It’s amazing how much attention to detail and time it takes to make one bead to thread onto a bracelet !

    We are rewarded after our concentrated work with some light hearted fun and games as the women show us how they play “throw the gemsquash” whilst dancing to each other and we join in a simplified version with them with lots of laughter. Then the men play a “throw the stick/ spear “ game testing their strength and accuracy for times when they will be out hunting.

    As the day draws to a close and the sun sets the light of the fire draws us all together and we have the great privilege to witness a healing trance dance dating back in time to when Man and Nature were in complete harmony together.

    We all sleep really well feeling the benefits of the dance and the next morning are up bright and early for a walk through the bushveld to learn about the medicinal, practical and edible properties of the surrounding plants. Each and every plant here can be used in several ways from a strong rope for tying something or setting a trap to brushing teeth and healing a sore stomach. How about a cup of coffee or some roasted nuts or a drink of fresh water ? It’s all there provided for by Nature and the age old wisdom of its First People, the Bushmen. Honestly a treasure trove of wisdom we as modern Man need to learn from and reconnect to in order to restore balance to ourselves and the Earth.

    We end our morning by tasting 2 types of underground juicy raw tubers and then the highlight for the boys learning the age old art of fire making from the elders ( their ages ranging somewhere between 70-90 years ).

    We then return to our camp and after prolonged singing hugs and dancing wave our goodbyes for now as we promise our friends we will be back again in the future. Our experience here has been of profound transformation and we hope that others may also support the Bushman and learn from them as we have done in the future.    Read more

  • Our Africa Botswana Adventure

    Central Kalahari Game Reserve

    April 4, 2023 in Botswana ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    A place of remote beauty and peace…

    Imagine driving through vast pans covered in a sea of golden grass as far as the eye can see, then following bumpy sandy tracks hemmed in by thorny bushes until suddenly you come to a green pasture like field filled with yellow daisies and butterflies fluttering in shades of yellow orange and white.

    This surprising landscape blew us away with its wild beauty and contrasts.

    The Central Kalahari or “ Great Thirstland” as it was named by the indigenous Bushman people is the second largest game reserve in Africa and with only one campsite available in mist destinations it offers a rare opportunity to bask in solitude and harmony with Nature.
    We spent our first two days driving all day without seeing another soul !

    Our campsites are so special here. No fences separating us from wildlife some with simple structures for bucket showers and toilet and some without. Just a small central fire pit for nights around the campfire under the stars. Simple and perfect.

    A total reliance on what we have brought in with us makes for a great appreciation of each meal, firewood used and water the most precious of all.

    One morning we spend time watching a beetle harvest water from a leaf in the early hours before the heat of the day takes over. Here where waterholes are scarce and far between many animals ( and in the past the Bushmen ) rely solely on plants for water and at this time of year after good summer rains everything is flourishing and abundant.    Read more

  • Our Africa Botswana Adventure

    A beautiful leopard encounter

    April 9, 2023 in Botswana ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    It was the end of a beautiful day. The sky clouds were gathering into what looked like rain and the golden grasses waved moodily in the wind like a whisper of brushed silver against the last light.

    We had been out on a long excursion around Deception Pan which had seen us following a route along a scarcely used hardly there track through the sand bumping along and breaking apart the thorny bushes on either side to scrape past ( This resulted in our water tank tap opening with the loss of much of our precious needed water supply forcing us to leave the park sooner than planned ).

    We were on our way to our campsite when in front of us appearing in a silhouette on the road was a leopard. She sat there as still as a statue in the golden evening light absolutely perfect in grace and harmony with her surrounds.

    Seemingly undisturbed by our proximity she casually walked to the side of us and continued on her evening wake up stroll cat stretching up a thorn tree, sitting next to Joydah our 2nd vehicle for a while and then crossing over to the vast pan on the other side of the road where Gemsbok and Springbok grazed peacefully in the distance.

    We followed her path as she traced the outskirts of the pan along the bush line choosing the most magnificent giant tree to climb and there she sat overlooking her kingdom in the magical last light of the day with a rainbow in the sky overhead.    Read more

  • Our Africa Botswana Adventure

    Connecting to Nature

    April 9, 2023 in Botswana ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    How do we connect deeply to the natural world around us ?

    It takes time to literally slow down time and connect. After one week on our journey and time to ourselves to spend time in camp without driving, going anywhere, achieving anything, the world around us slows down and we become aware of our surrounds more intimately. The sound of a woodpecker pecking in a tree nearby, the birds and insects singing their song, the light of the sun at dawn and sunset, the barking of the geckos at night and the millions of stars singing their own tune through the silvery skies.

    Slowly slowly the process happens without effort and with the help of Nature around us.    Read more

  • Our Africa Botswana Adventure

    Boteti River Camp

    April 12, 2023 in Botswana ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We have made out the semi desert it to a green oasis on the fringe of the Kalahari.

    After 10 nights in a water scarce environment where our last few days saw us on a strict water ration due to our precious water escaping out the water tap on our vehicle whilst driving along a thick thorny bush track we are ecstatic to arrive at Boteti River Camp.

    We rush straight to the swimming pool and wallow like the hippos in the river below for the rest of the afternoon taking advantage of ice cold drinks from the bar. We have never appreciated water as much in our lives !

    It is such a luxury to stay in this beautifully appointed local camp where everyone is so friendly and an African themed touch is seen wherever we look. We enjoy 1 night camping and the 2nd in the chalet accommodation where we all indulge in a lazy afternoon siesta before sundowners on the upstairs terrace watching a herd of elephants walking up from the river into the Makgadigadi Pans Park across the way. Sigh…. this is the life !    Read more

  • Our Africa Botswana Adventure

    Makgadigadi to Nxai Pans

    April 14, 2023 in Botswana ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    We set off after a scrumptious breakfast at Boteti to continue our journey through the Makgadigadi Pans Park to Nxai Pans where we are staying for the next 4 nights.

    We decide to follow the Boteti Riverside track for as long as possible and immediately notice the huge number of zebras literally everywhere spread out grazing along the green riverine belt as far as the eye can see and on either side of the track in the bushveld.

    It dawns on us that we are witnessing part of the great Zebra migration which occurs each year in a circular route from the rain filled pans of Makgadigadi during summer to the Boteti River on July once the pans dry up and then on to the Chobe Zambezi floodplain extending into Namibia. This 500km route is the longest distance seasonal mammal migration in the world and we are privileged to be amongst these zebra on their amazing journey.

    A long and very sandy bumpy track leads us on to South Camp at Nxai Pans Park and we spend time appreciating a golden sunset at the nearby waterhole where the zebra come to quench their thirst after a scorching hot day.    Read more

  • Our Africa Botswana Adventure

    Nxai Pans a paradise

    April 15, 2023 in Botswana ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Where else can you be lying on your stretcher under the trees and an elephant comes to eat a couple of meters away.

    This is Botswana where all camp grounds are unfenced and there is a feeling of freedom and close contact with Nature which our souls resonate with.

    Wherever we drive on the flat golden grasses pan fitted with termite mounds and islands of trees we see an abundance of animals and birds. Perhaps it is due to the long and late summer rains that all life is thriving and at its best during this time but we are loving seeing the animals so plump and content with plenty of food and water.

    There are so many babies around from zebra to the sweetest tiny giraffe trying to suckle from its mother. Elephants browse peacefully around the fringe of the tree islands and we spot 3 bat eared foxes foraging near a termite mound. Colorful lilac breasted rollers and bee eaters flit between the trees and Crowned lapwings fly up from either side as we drive slowly along.    Read more

  • Our Africa Botswana Adventure

    Under the Baobab Tree

    April 16, 2023 in Botswana ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Sleeping under a giant baobab tree is one of the most magical experiences we have had so far on our adventure. Looking up at the network of branches with stars twinkling behind from our dome tent placed between giant roots and feeling the calm supportive energy of the tree is a feeling we would like to keep with us forever.

    Baines Baobabs campsite is set on the edge of a dazzling white pan with a view across onto the iconic baobabs that the 18th century explorer Thomas Baines recorded by painting and which remain unchanged through time. These ancient wise trees are over 1500- 2000 years old and sit as silent sentinels over their vast wilderness surrounds witnessing the passing changes of the world.

    Giant elephant tracks imprinted in the sun baked mud mark the passage of lone elephant bulls across the pan to browse the trees on the island and we are lucky enough to have one visiting our camp in the morning probably coming to check what we are doing in his quiet paradise home.

    In one of the oldest baobab trees fallen over and still growing we hear the noise of a chick calling for food and spy the parent hornbills flying down to feed him through a hole just large enough for his beak to open and receive a grasshopper.
    Beneath the shady canopy a paradise flycatcher hops from branch to branch and at night the call of an owl lulls us to sleep.

    The sunsets over the pan are simply magnificent and we place our dinner tables in the middle savoring the vast expanses around us and sit long after under the River of Stars.    Read more

  • Our Africa Botswana Adventure

    Moremi the Green Kalahari

    April 20, 2023 in Botswana ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    From the dry side of the Kalahari we stock up at Maun and then set off for Moremi Game Reserve where the jewel of this region the Okavango Delta lies.

    The reserve was established in 1963 by the wife of chief Moremi from the Batawana tribe living in the area at the time who was concerned about the loss of wildlife and cattle encroachment happening all around her and thank goodness for her foresight as today this 5000 km square reserve is a vital wilderness space in Africa and the Okavango Delta a green oasis of water, palms and reed pathways through winding channels where countless animals and birds have their home.

    We quickly discover that there are lots and lots of elephants here and after watching a family herd come to drink and then have a delightful mud bath we set up camp on the fringe of the Xakanaxa lagoon for an intended afternoon of relaxation. This is very short lived as soon after setting up our chairs and stretchers under the shade of the giant trees a huge elephant bull approaches and we very quickly discover that we are all under his favorite grove of Winterthorn trees which are now bearing fruit with the tastiest seed pods something elephants love and just can’t get enough of !

    What starts as a fun experience with our elephant friend vacuuming up all the fallen pods around and very close to our vehicle becomes awe inspiring watching him put muscle to the giant trees and actually shake them to get more pods to fall. Then Peter who is photographing from a distance away from the vehicle on foot is approached directly by the bull and we have some heart stopping minutes watching with held breath and sending as much calm energy as possible to the elephant before he finally turns away to another grove of trees.
    At the end of the day we move campsites as close as possible to the ablutions and are grateful that no further ellies come our way.
    Phew it is an adrenaline experience we do not wish to have again !

    The next morning we calm ourselves down completely with a tranquil boat trip in the Xakanaxa Lagoon.    Read more

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