The MAIN Thread about the Bots Trip that 10 of us (5 Club Members & 5 Partners/Special Friends) did, is found here: viewtopic.php?p=34844#p34844
However, I started this Thread about my trip - I do not want to interfere with the trip reports etc. on that Thread, especially as Bugger's Trip report is, currently, unfolding.
Background:
The trip was the brainchild of Wessel. He approached Andreas & to discuss a trip - in late 2021.
They started planning.
We decided to include HenriSteyn & Grips to have a 'core' group.
The intention was to open to the Club closer to the time.
However, we soon discovered that the group, due to the bookings & due to logistics, could not exceed a maximum of 7 vehicles.
We then decided to make it 'by invite' only.
Wessel had been to Bots before, he was towing, his friends, in two other vehicles, were not towing.
They eventually left him behind. Mind blowing, I felt, that friends would do that.
Wessel wanted people who had a stronger sense of 'Camaraderie'.
HenriSteyn then suddenly moved to Hermanus at short notice & later advised he could not make it.
They decided to invite Avon & Monica to replace HenriSteyn & Sue as Avon had mentioned to them both. on separate occasions, that he'd love to go to Bots again.
Around this time Bugger contacted Andreas about a long trip to Nam & Andreas mentioned this trip to him.
Bugger was more than keen.
So the group was, at the start of 2022:
Andreas & Ally
Wessel & Elana
Manny & Tammy
Christo & Karin
Avon & Monica
The Extended Trip
The Trip Wessel planned was for a week - Wednesday to Wednesday, basically to CKGR (Central Kalahari Game Reserve).
Wessel chose these dates as his In Laws/Parents (can't recall which) had to care for the kids & he didn't want to inconvenience them for more than a weekend.
However, Andreas & I felt it would make more sense to tack on a few days before & after to make the trip worthwhile.
This suited me as I had already advised my staff, in January, that the Great & Glorious House Doctor would be closed from 22 April to 8 May.
Seven day's leave gave you 14 consecutive days off. Bargain!
Andreas then did an outstanding job of the arrangements for adding a few days before & after CKGR.
The Plan:
The plan was: Saturday 23 April - Andreas& I would meet up at the Petroport other side of PTA & head to Martin's Drift.
Go through border & camp just inside Bots (Kwa Nokeng, right at the border).
Christo would meet us at Kwa Nokeng. Sunday 24 April - go to Palapye for shopping& then stay at Woodlands where we'd meet up with Bugger Monday 25 April - Head to Nxai Pan & stay at South Camp for 3 nights (until 28 April) 28 April this would be a LONG day - Leave Nxai Pan, get to Rakops fill up, draw money, get provisions and most importantly - leave by 11:00.
We would meet Wessel & Avon in Rakops - they would be coming up from Khama Rhino.
We'd ALL then head to CKGR, & hopefully, get to Piper's Pan by 15:00 if all goes well.
We would stay in CKGR at PipersPan & then Sunday Pan from 28 April until Tuesday 3 May. Tuesday 3 May - We'd ALL leave & head to Lethakani. Wessel & Avon would then head back to Khama Rhino.
Andreas, Grips, Bugger & I would then head to Kubu Island for 3 nights. Friday 6 May - We'd pack up early & head to Khama Rhino for our last night in Botswana. Saturday 7 May - We'd leave Khama, go through the border & head home. Sunday 8 May - Unpack & recover.
That WAS the Plan...
Elana & the Braai & Manny - the odd man out:
I arranged a 'ken mekaar' planning Braai in early April.
Shortly before the Braai Wessel announced his wife had to withdraw due to work commitments.
He asked if he could bring a friend - well obviously he could.
Bugger arrived very well prepared, he handed us all a long very detailed sheet with al,l the bookings, & info.
The sheet had many GPS co-ordinates, but, as I later discovered, none were for any of the places we were going to.
Bugger was adamant he'd go through the Zanzibar Border Post, which, at the time of the braai, was still closed.
The Braai was a success, everyone left on the same page & everyone was rearing to go.
Only Grips, who lives 750km away, could not make it.
At the Braai I realised Tanya & I were the odd one's out:
1. We had never been to Botswana before - all the others had been to Bots before.
2. Fearless was the only Diesel vehicle.
3. We had the slowest set up & pack up rig.
Not Covid:
As soon as everyone left I started feeling ill.
I was ill for the next 7 days.
Tammy was adamant I had contracted Covid.
Guess we'll never know.
Fuel Requirements:
Andreas stressed the importance of carrying sufficient fuel.
There were two legs of the trip where you'd need enhanced range.
The 1st was the Rakops > CKGR: Piper Pan & Sunday Pan > Lethakani leg.
A trip of over 330km (excluding game drives) towing, in thick sand, with all your water & supplies on board.
In fact, from Rakops to CKGR (PP & SP) & to Lethlakani was 662km in the end.
The 2nd was the Lethlekani > Kubu > Chapmans Baobab > Lethlekani stint - 400km, again, towing, water, thick sand etc..
Andreas gave us his estimates (for his 4800 Patrol) & urged us to calculate ours.
The big Petrol motors chewed fuel, but Fearless was fantastic, although I had two Jerry can's full & a 3rd carried by Wessel, I only ever needed one.
Some of the others used nearly double the fuel than Fearless sipped - Diesel Powerrrr.
Trip Statistics
Total Distance / Odometer (home to Home) 3240km
Total Distance as/ Garmin GPS 3386km
Odo under reads by 4.4%
Fuel used 408.56L
Ave Odo Consumption 7.93km/L or 12.61L/100km
Ave GPS Consumption 8.28km/L or 12.08L/100km
Fuel price in Bots Pula 13.99/L (Diesel) or R17.90/L
Note: In mid May 2022 Botswana's fuel price was increased to Pula 16.73 (R21.60)
Total Trip expediture for Tanya & I was about R24 000.00.
This excludes stuff we brought from home like alcohol, coffee etc.
Also excludes post-trip costs like cleaning, repairs etc.
Park fees in Botswana are exorbitant. More on this below...
Trip Highlights:
I may or may not do a full Trip Report (as Bugger is doing in the Thread linked above) but, nonetheless, here are the parts I enjoyed/Appreciated/liked/found awesome.
I'll do the negatives later under the heading 'Challenges & Disappointments'.
Firstly, Andreas' planning, guidance & organisation were invaluable.
I followed his advice to the letter & that made all the difference.
Andreas is worth his (considerable) weight in Gold.
Bugger took the lead from when we met him (a quintessential Alpha Male) - but to his credit, he did a great job.
But more importantly, having a well equipped 'mechanic' . I needed his tools & expertise twice:
once at Piper Pan when the 'Clusterfok' day (more on this below under 'Challenges & Disappointments' resulted in the drawer system in my trailer suffering damage and once when my fuel tank protector got full of pan slime & started tearing loose.
The 3rd person who made the trip awesome was my dear Tammy/Tanya she was outstanding.
On trips like this you have to have your sh!t together & we did that well.
Moving meat timeously from Deep Freeze to Fridge to defrost.
Charging all items during the drives & so on.
At Kubu there is nothing: no water, no ablutions, nothing.
We arrived there at Sunset & rapidly set up camp.
It was too late & too windy to braai (as planned), Tanya calmly whipped up a meal on the stove & we sat & ate in the veld.
The next highlight was the organisation & execution - the slick, well organised way we went about things - with two minor exceptions (again, coming below).
The ORRA Radios - you cannot do a trip like this without a vehicle mounted ORRA radio - end of story.
Avon did manage with a hand held, but it was crap.
Feedback, poor quality &, eventually, going flat one day.
But quality comms are vital.
The Camaraderie: If you've done a 4x4Action Group trip you know - if you haven't, you won't understand.
Eric the Elephant: at Nxai pan a lone young Bull came to the ablutions around 18:00 each night to drink from the drain.
If you know Monty Python you'll understand why we named him 'Eric'.
One evening Tammy & I were walking back from the ablutions & I had to creep ahead to see if Eric was not around.
As I said to Tanya "How often do you have to check for a Elephant while walking from the bathroom to your campsite?"...
Eric the Wild Dog: A wild dog visited our camp every night, scrounging for scraps (clearly other campers just don't get the 'don't feed the animals' part).
He drove Renay nuts, it was hilarious watching her send this scrounging dog scampering!
The game sightings: especially at Nxai pan.
The Pans: vast unending open spaces.
Eric the Lion: he made the Piper's pan portion of the trip.
It's a long story, which I'll relate below.
Fearless: 3300km without missing a beat (except for shredding a 92000km old Cooper tyre).
Then there were other standouts: The food (but not much else) at Kwa Nokeng, Woodlands (stunning), Palapye (great shopping), Baines Baobab (& Chapman's, but for different reasons), the Bots meat (see below).
There are two types of Holidays: The nice chilled ones, where you relax & get spoiled & adventure ones, where you have a great experience, but get back needing a rest.
This was an adventure holiday.
Challenges & disappointments:
Basically things that could have been better...
Firstly, Botswana is in a state of Decline.
No one has done any maintenance since Sir Seretse Khama died 40 years ago.
The road signs are so faded you cannot make out what was once written on them.
CKGR - the entrance building & the campsites have not had a modicum of maintenance in 40 years.
Rundown & in an advance state of disrepair.
Khama Rhino is a dump, falling to pieces - why anyone would go there is a mystery.
YouTubers Edward Bath, Christoff of GetOutDo! & Ryan of 4x4Ventures made a brief mention of this in one of their's combined video.
They need a klap upside their heads - it's a sh!thole.
The game sightings are awesome in a "contrived well stocked park with animals in a confined area" type of way.
Christo Grips having to cancel - a week before departure Christo Grips had to cancel, this was a massive disappointment to me.
We are good mates, but seldom see one another as lives in Kakthu. We were looking forward to the trip.
He would have LOVED it. Unfortunately work pressure got in his way & he had to withdraw.
Pity as he had his S/Cab Land Cruiser 79 perfectly set up for the trip.
I missed him, I missed Karin, I missed his Jaegermiester.
I did not miss the Stroh he forces on you at every opportunity though!
Then three incidents which could have gone better: ONE: Thursday 28 April:
This was the day where we would leave Nxai Pan & Wessel & Avon would leave Khama Rhino & we'd meet at Rakops
At the Planning Braai @ my house we agreed that it was vital we left Rakops by 11:00 latest.
The night before our group agreed to leave by o6:30 latest.
I got up at 05:00, by 06:00 we'd had our coffee & were done packing up. Bugger Andreas & I left Nxai pan @ 06:11.
At 07:00 we were out the gate & inflating tyres.
We arrived at Rakop at 10:00 & proceeded to get fuel & money etc.
Unfortunately, Avon & Wessel only managed to get there at 10:40.
Wessel had to still fill his water tanks (The Bushlapa is apparently so poorly balanced that, with water onboard, it fishtails like crazy).
Now, when we arrived, the only ATM in Rakops was closed & would open 'just now'.
Bugger & Andreas asked the cashier at the Fuel stop if they could draw cash, she had enough cash for Bugger, but only a little on hand for Andreas.
The lady said she would have more cash for Andreas soon as most people pay for fuel cash (we all paid by card). Andreas told her not to worry.
Tanya & I then went to the ATM, it was open, Tanya joined the queue & managed to draw cash.
We were sorted.
When Wessel arrived he was told he must pay cash (clearly so they could assist Andreas, who no longer needed cash).
As we were in a rush, Wessel never questioned it & paid cash. This would cause a major issue a little while later.
Avon & Wessel had already experienced challenges drawing cash earlier & were therefore very low on cash.
Once refueled, Wessel went to find water (in a town in a desert).
We finally drove out of Rakops at 11:40, I was NOT happy.
Two The next incident was the clusterf*ck at the CKGR gate,
The first mistake was that 4 of our party went in to handle the payments.
We should only have sent Wessel in as he had the bookings spreadsheet.
The 2nd problem was that we did not have enough cash to get all 5 vehicles in. Chaos.
Not our proudest moment. Eventually we all threw money in & we were on our way (but much time was lost).
Tanya & I had now put all our money in the pot & only had Pula4.50 left instead of Pula800 - this would cause a problem later.
Now being an hour late, we pushed hard (too hard) to do the 133km (or 170km - don't recall) to Pipers Pan.
Driving 30 - 40km/h on those roads takes a toll.
But we got there & set up before dark, so all's well that ends well.
But it was a long hard frustrating day.
But it probably stands out more because the rest of the trip ran so smoothly (well, mostly).
THREE Tuesday 3 May:
This was the day we left CKGR, Andreas & I were in campsite 03 whilst the rest were in campsite 04 300m away.
We all agreed, the night before, to leave at 07:30. I got up at 05:55 and started packing.
At 07:15 Bugger came down & announced that the others are nearly on their way.
At 07:33, with no sign of Avon & Wessel, we drove down to the man made waterhole to see if there was any game.
No mater how you leave the Sunday Pan camp sites, you drive past the water hole.
At 07:38 Avon finally joined us & assured us that Wessel was 1minute behind. Little did he know that Wessel decided to have a quick shower before leaving.
Anyhoo, we finally got going at 07:46 & headed to Lethlakani.
There was a little drama there due to Tanya & I having zero cash (I gave our last Pula to the Pump attendant) & me being told the toilets were 2 Pula when in fact they were free.
But once sorted, we bid Avon & Wessel farewell & Andreas, Bugger & I headed to Kubu Island.
A final negative1 issue was Khama Rhino, here's the story:
We had campsites booked at Khama Rhino, Andreas suggested we upgrade to chalets.
We agreed & they credited us for camping & gave us a Chalet for Bugger & Renay (it was her birthday).
Andreas & I would take the 'A-Frame'. They apparently did not have any chalets available.
When we got to the A-Frame it appeared to be in disuse, rundown & had no water.
After trying to see if we could sort the water issue out (I had my doubts as the cistern indicated there had been no water there for along time),
Andreas & Ally shot down to 'reception' & complained, the said "We put the pump on an hour ago, water should arrive soon".
That what they SAID, what they MEANT was 'F-Off'...
We then saw their team screaming off to put the pump on.
A while later, water had still not arrived & my 'Moer Meter' that normally idles in the red, was starting to reach the purple.
I then drove down, the guy SAID "The water will arrive in 15 minutes, & I will be there by then to see the water arrive".
What he meant was "F-You"
I gave his water 30 minutes & then my Moer Meter stripped. Tanya & I drove down. I had a clear outcome in my mind:
Either he gives us a Chalet or I beat 7 shades of sh!t out of the man. Hom se...
I walked in as he was helping a new arrival, he took one look at me & realised he needs to get me far away from the other customers.
He asked "Did the water come?". I replied "No! Chalet!" & held my had out for the chalet keys.
He ran to the shop muttering something about not knowing why the water hadn't arrived, I said "The water is NEVER coming. CHALET!"
He came out the shop saying "Eish, the lady, she's not here." to which I said "Chalet!" & he handed me the keys to the chalet next to Buggers.
We went down, checked in & had a shower & went to dinner to celebrate Renay's birthday.
A large group of Saffas took the table next to us, the one large portly 'Karen' was so loud, crass & kommin that we moved to the far end of the restaurant.
On a happy note, while she was feeding, she was quiet.
I did not enjoy Khama Rhino, but the game was fat & plentiful. We had Eric the Kudu 3m from the car & some fat Rhino (the main one was Eric) less than 10m from us...
But other than those minor issues, which did not detract from the overall trip, we had a fantastic time...
Chapman's Baobab is a must see site. It's 80km from Kubu Island & it's this massive Baobab, that had fallen, but is still growing.
We took a drive there (80km - 3 hours) only to find the entire massive tree is no more.
All that's left is a 40m2 area of Baobab fibers.
There is nothing on the interwebs that mentions that Chapman's is no more.
On a bright side, the drive back over the pans made for a stunning 'Photo Opportunity'.
The Pic below was taken by Ally in 2019, that's Alti of Ironvan Adventures standing in the tree
Meat in Botswana:
You cannot take meat into Botswana.
Andreas recommended a place in Papalye called Bosveld Meat Market aka 'F#k kom ons braai'.
Tanya ordered meat from him a week before the trip (there is a big Spar, a Food Lovers & a Woolies in Palapye - but there meat didn't look so lekker.)
We arrived in this dusty dirty center & stopped outside a rather shabby looking building (the rest of Palapye is neat & modern).
We knock on the locked security gate & a tall German opens & digs our meat out a large deep freeze.
The meat was all frozen. I had my doubts about the quality.
But let me tell you, the meat was great, the biltong & droe wors was awesome & the meat was vacuum packed in perfect portions for two.
We were the only ones to use Bosveld Meat Market & we were glad we did.
Another of Andreas invaluable nuggets of info...
Manny the Moocher:
So, before Wessel climbs into me, Full Disclosurer.
Before leaving SA we decided that we would not be the weakest link on this trip.
I made sure I was self sufficient and, with our slower pack up times, we got up earlier and worked harder.
However there were a few areas where I 'mooched' off the others:
Firstly, it was surprising when I used the word Mooch that Renay said she'd never heard the word before?
The word originated in the 1300's.
Anyhoo, here's where I mooched:
Jerry Cans: Based on my (wildly pessimistic) calculations, I needed to carry 3 Jerry cans of additional Nectar of the God's.
I can only carry two, I asked Grips to carry one & he said 'No problem'.
When Grips pulled out Wessel called & very kindly offered to carry my additional fuel.
In fact, he offered me two.
As it turned out, I only needed one Jerry can & not the 4 I had going into CKGR.
Nonetheless, I did have someone else carry fuel for me...
Firestarter:I never lit a single fire & never used a single firelighter.
All three packs I took came home with me.
Andreas usually lit a fire before I got a chance & if he didn't, Bugger did.
I was happy to light a fire, just that these guys were too fast for me.
Braai/Grid/Tongs: Although I had all the equipment, I never used my braai or clamping grid.
Generally someone else's braai was there & I used theirs - mainly Andreas' - which is exactly the same as mine.
I did use my tongs, but only occasionally, others had theirs there already.
But it saved Tammy unneccesary cleaning - I'm nice like that...
Shower: At Pipers pan I used Wessels shower set up, however, I did lay a nice shower floor for him & provided water.
At Sunday Pan I as we were in diifferent camps, I let Wessel keep the floor - we set up my shower in the camp shower enclosure.
Awimbawe Awimbawe
Solomon Linda wrote Mbube in 1923 in isiZulu.
He died in 1962
In the early 1960's George Weiss translated the song to English.
The Lion sleeps Tonight.
Today there is a great outcry as Solomon (or his descendants) were never paid the Royalties, today worth hundreds of millions of Dollars.
However, the song is factually incorrect (Lions do not sleep in the jungle, the mighty jungle - they are found in open Savannah's).
Why is this relevant to our stay in the CKGR?
Read on...
Firstly, Piper's Pan was the most social part of the trip, those were the only 3 days when all 5 couples were together.
It's where we had the most laughs.
We actually booked two camps, but with Grips out we (sort of) squeezed into one.
I say sort of, as Wessel, Avon & I were actually outside the camp area, between the camp site & the road.
In fact, Avon was about 30m from the road (remember this - it's relevant later).
Now, as mentioned earlier, Wessel's lovely wife Elana couldn't make it, so he brought a friend, De Waal (a very nice chap).
So I primed everyone to call De Waal Wessel's 'special' friend & ask questions like 'Where did you two love birds meet?'.
However, Wessel was one step ahead & cracked jokes about it quicker & better than we did.
Anyway on the first day we were there (we stayed at Pipers 3 nights), Andreas & Ally were returning from a game drive & as approaching camp, Ally saw a male lion crossing the road towards our camp, he then lay down in the shade pf a bush.
They alerted therest of us & we all drove out to see him. There he was, lying about two meters from the road, completely unperterbed by all our vehicles right near him.
I zero'd trip B & drove back to camp, the route is a bit like the shape of a question mark.
When I stopped at our tent the trip meter showed 220m.
That means he was less than 200m from our camp site!!! .
That afternoon the Lion (his name was Eric) was the main topic of conversation;
* Why is he alone?
* Is he hungry
* Where are the female lions who hunt for him.
* Will he attack Avon & Monica as they are the most exposed to him - or will he deem them un-nutritional (they are both short n slender).
* How will we get up to pee (Avon & Monica had already made a plan B to not exit the tent.
However, gradually, as the sun set & the fire grew we started talking of other things.
Then Eric let out a long lazy yawn-roar! & all Hell broke loose!!!!!.
As Bugger said, we were chilln' 'n chatting around the fire when Eric gave that long lazy yawn-roar! & all Hell broke loose!!!!!.
Within seconds everyone (except Andreas & I) were out their chairs.
Bugger shone his high power red-eye torch.
Eric was right across the road - less than 30m from Avon's tent (so about 33m from Wessel & I.
Everyone was gripped with fear & or excitement.
Slowly they all sat down again - Avon was on edge.
Wessel was sitting right at the edge of his chair, Andreas asked him to relax, he said he was, Andreas then asked him to sit back, he did, for a few seconds, then he was back to sitting right at the edge of his chair, Andreas asked him to relax, he said he was, Andreas then asked him to sit back, he did, for a few seconds, then he was back to sitting right at the edge of his chair, Andreas asked him to relax, he said he was, Andreas then asked him to sit back, he did, for a few seconds... you get the picture.
At one stage Ally got into the vehicle for safety - Wessel then opened the two back doors. Ally was not impressed.
I'm not sure whether Wessel opened the doors so he could jump in, or to get the lion to jump in with Ally.
He could then slam the doors & Ally & the Lion would be in the vehicle together.
Problem solved.
Eric the Lion gave out a few more lazy growl yawn roars - he was VERY close.
Eventually Wessel said he is going to bed. I complained as I still needed to shower. There was much disbelief that I was going to shower.
I decided, Eric, Hom Se... I'm showering.
Wessel left & Bugger & Tanya went up towards his BushLapa - Bugger crept round & hid behind the pop up shower, as Wessel approached Bugger shook the shower & growled.
Wessel got a massive skrik & dashed into the Bushlapa, nearly knocking himself out against the door.
It was so funny Tanya couldn't relate the story to us!!!
Anyhoo, I went to shower.
Usually Wessel would, once everyone had showered. come & switch off the power.
Well tonight, once I was done, Wessel just hit the entire DB board off from inside.
I got into bed & Bugger decided to prank Tammy & I. He took a spade or something and scratched it against the TTT's walls, but we knew it was him.
While Bugger was trying to prank us Eric gave out a Tarzan Movie/MGM quality roar - his first proper roar!
Well, lets just say, 3.35seconds later - EVERYONE was in bed!!!
Anyway a few hours later, as always, nature called, I got up, stuck my head out, shone my head lamp left & right, then walked a few meters to a road in the camp, crossed the road & had a pee.
I then went back to bed.
Tanya was awake & asked if I was mad! Why walk so far, just pee right outside!
But I explained 'Decorum' to her, besides, Eric se....
The next time I got up to pee (can't recall if it was that night or the next) I walked too close to Wessel's Caravan & the place lit up - he had stuck motion sensor lights all round.
THAT gave me a bloody fright...
Anyhoo, Eric was never more than 300m away for most of the time we were there.
I suspect he was a very lonely, lazy lion - who didn't appreciate Bugger pranking me...
Let me say it from the horse’s mouth: that Lions was less than 3sec away from us and it scared the $hit out of me…… i am glad my fear caused some stress for Andreas and some Laughter for others. Let me tell you, when Pierre can around the second time to poke fun at us and Manny, and the lion roared again, he was klapping the 100m in 4.3s flat to his Synchro.
Between the 5 cars we all borrowed or used something of others, some things we used were intangible like Andreas’ knowledge of overlanding and the bush. That’s camaraderie after all….
More Mooching:
I used Wessel's Inverter to power my coffee grinder to grind another tin of beans.
The coffee I ground lasted us until the last morning, when I had to grab a scoop or two of Andreas' coffee...
I must say, Wessels BushLapa Baobab is an awesome rig.
I was impressed how quickly & easily Wessel could knock up a meal or get hot water.
When we drove from Piper's Pan to Sunday Pan & stopped near Tau Pan for lunch, Wessel had that kitchen open, gas stove on, re--heated some Kudu Cheese wors, made lunch for himself & Divan & packed it all away, faster than we could dig out our pre-made lunch & eat it.
Combination of Wessel being impatient & fast & the Bushlapa's great set up...
.
