Africa the Return

Today is our last full day before we fly out tomorrow. It's about 120km back to Maun from Khwai and scheduled to take about 3hrs.
We are up early to get breakfast, pack up, and leave. The kitchen staff think we ought to have eggs and bacon, etc, but we just have toast. They quietly disapprove. 😀
We make it across the log bridge OK. Have to pay entry fees to cross the Moremi National Park. There is no free transit option. Well, it's worth it because they have so much land devoted to National Parks its got to turn a buck somehow. So it's $54 aud to drive the first 30km. This part is away from the water, so there's not much to be seen. A pair of Steenbock, small antelope a bit bigger than a dikdik. Birds, lots of, and tree squirrels.
The road through here is OK. Good for 30kmh. Lots of dry bog holes, narrow and winding. Very little deep sand.
Once out of the park, we see more wildlife. The irony. Lion Snacks, aka Macca's aka Impala and some giraffe.
Road is still not bad. You can do 40kmh through the endless whoopdies and dry bog holes. Not bad so far. 2hrs under the belt so far.
Then we get to the 'Y' Junction North of the quarantine checkpoint. We went up the eastern arm to Mababe and now back down the western arm from Khwai. Now the road starts to get interesting. Just before the quarantine point, about 40 elephants crossed the road. Had to find a place to stop that was hard enough and also the elephant approved distance away.
We were waved through quarantine, and then the fun begins. The 20km or more until the bitumen starts the other side of Shorobe are still terrible. They have had days to fix it. Sand so deep the HiLux gets a tummy rub mixed with super hard limestone sections. More sand than limestone.
At one stage, someone in another HiLux passes us. They must be having trouble seeing. The ride is that rough. Then we catch them on a hard bit, wait for them to piss off as we can't see in their dust. This happens a few times, so I just pass them again. I suspect they have the diff lock on for the sand and off for each 50m or so of hard. Or maybe low range. Dunno. They were a pain. Just needed 4wd, high range, no diff lock (traction control was having a party), and momentum. Oh, and 'power' mode helped. Invoked the spirit of Jeremy Clarkson.
Anyway, we got to the black top. Upped the tyre pressure and then 20km of Botswana potholes into town.
Finally found the Toyota Parts place and got a quote for the damaged mirror. Minor ouch at the price, but hopefully, the travel insurance will cover it. Filled the car with fuel and changed our remaining cash back to US dollars. The Botswana Pula is not easy to exchange outside of Botswana.
Managed to upset more local drivers, both for not letting people in and letting people in. Chickened out at the 4 way stop signs by turning left all the time. Even that is nerve wracking.
So now we are in our accommodation. Had the obligatory Savanna Dry. The Croc Burger was off the menu due to lack of crocodile so 2 x Bacon, egg and cheese burgers were had. It's 38C, sun pounding down, and the humidity is in the minus regions somewhere.
Have to finish emptying the car when it gets cool. Then re pack ready to fly. It's hard to believe it's over.Читать далее