Botswana - Days 1 and 2

It's about 5 pm on Thursday, February 20th, in Johannesburg (JNB).  We've just returned from the 4-day safari in Kruger National Park and I am back at Bob's Bunkhouse for the night.  I've been out of touch with the digital world since there is no internet connection in the Park.  I have a lot of catching up to do to update this blog.  It will be at least 3 or 4 posts before I am caught up.  I am going to start with the trip to Botswana and Zimbabwe, the so-called Chobe National Park (Botswana) and Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) Tour.  I'm dividing this tour into 3 posts:  1.  Days 1 and 2 - Botswana (Khama Rhino Sanctuary and Elephant Sands Park)   2.  Days 3 and 4 - Victoria Falls in Zimbawe   4.  Days 5 and 6 - Chobe National Park.  After that I am going to write about my wonderful experience at Kruger.

We started early in the morning of Monday, February 10th, picking up the group around JNB.  Two travelers were not at their hostel and we wasted a good 45 minutes waiting for them.  By then the traffic in the city was very bad and we were late leaving JNB.  We stopped in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa (RSA), about 50 km away, to pick up a couple of more travelers.  There were 6 of us in a mini-bus that sits 13 so we had plenty of room to stretch out.  There were 2 Americans, including myself, 1 Australian, 1 Canadian, 1 Dutch and 1 German.  Our driver/guide was David, a black South African, who speaks 11 RSA languages.  Everyone seems to get along fine except the Canadian, who is a smartass and loud-mouth and have a little bit of anti-Americanism in him.  Nevertheless, it was a good group and I avoided having any kind of argument with him.

I knew we were going to Botswana but I didn't know I know some little about the country.  Surprisingly, it is one of the wealthiest countries in Africa, with a GDP per capita of about $14,000 a year.  That puts it at the same standard of living as Mexico and Turkey.  It is a big country, slightly smaller than the state of Texas.  It took us 2 days to travel from south to north.  We entered Botswana from the south-eastern part of the country (that borders South Africa) and headed north towards the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, where we spent the night and take a game drive through the sanctuary in the morning.  This sanctuary was established to protect rhinos from endangerment due to poaching.  It is named after the current president, Ian Khama.  There are no lodges at the sanctuary so we camped there.  In fact, we camped every night.  I chose to upgrade to a lodge a couple of nights just so I can get a good night's rest.  However, I slept very well on most nights in the tents.

Dinner on the first night.  David (guide) is at the end of the table

Steak and Pap (a kind of mashed maize) with peri sauce

"Don't get too near...."

Checking to see who's there

Mother and kid rhino?

Zebras are there as well

Lots of impalas running around

I am handsome!

After the Rhino Sanctuary, we drove north to an elephant park called Elephant Sands.  There are no rhinos here, mostly elephants.  By the time you read the next 3 or 4 blogs, you are going to be tired of seeing pictures of elephants.  However, they are such intelligent animals; almost like humans that watching them behave in their natural habitat just makes you smile.  It is such a far cry from seeing elephants in the zoo or circus.
I was told by the guides that because we are in a vehicle they think we are just another animal.  They have very poor vision, depending on smell and vibrations of the ground.  Sometimes we were just a few feet away from them and they behave just like kids.  Below are some of the pictures.

Elephant Strutting

Drinking from a pond

Beautiful Sunset at Elephant Sands

Travelers with our tour mini-bus