Carmine bee-eater - a new bird on our list !!
WOW! What an absolutely wonderful, action-packed, exciting, happy holiday!! We loved every moment and have made some wonderful new friends that we are already making plans with to travel again next year!! Jake and I had a really magic trip and it just felt like such a happy one for us as a little family!
We left Johannesburg early in the morning and were held up at the
boarder by some travel companion's paperwork. It meant a late start on
the roads into Botswana...
None of the game reserves in Botswana are fenced. It means that you can see wild animals along the road at any time. Unfortunately, there are also lots of domestic animals - goats, cows and donkeys - on the roads too...
Our rule was not to drive at night and since we'd crossed the boarder so late in the day, we broke this rule on our first day and one of our party did in fact hit a cow. We stopped at the first shopping center we could find for something to eat and landed up setting up camp in the parking area, much to the interest of the locals. Thankfully the restaurant was 24 hours, so after filling up, we were able to hit the road again early the next morning...
We visited Botswana towards the end of the rainy season, so we still had quite a bit of rain. Funny enough, the rain all fell while we were driving and not in camp, which was great. Below shows the clouds rolling in where we stopped for coffee along the road...
Donkeys don't move for cars...
We spent our first night at Maun Rest Camp. We arrived quite late in the day and headed out to eat across the river at an awesome backpackers type place, that served the most delicious pizza and we all enjoyed getting to know each other a bit over our first drinks together.
This is our truck all set up for bed. It was super user-friendly and fully kitted out. Jake was an awesome co-pilot and very helpful...
After our morning shower we had breakfast and headed off to do some shopping - would you believe that a tiny town like Maun even has a teeny tiny Woolworths?
The campsite at Maun rest camp was lovely, albeit a little sandy. The morning views across the river were stunning and I'd loved to have had a few more nights there. Actually that goes for all the places we stayed...
It poured solidly from Maun to the gates at Moremi. And I mean poured - I could hardly see in front of me, which was terrifying since the roads were very muddy...
Jake with the kids on our trip - Ariana, Jake, Malia, Rafael, Brian...
And there's me with my sweet child...
It's so different to Kruger in Moremi. The roads are not great and we had to take a long route to our camp as the main road had been closed. There's also the novelty of being able to get out of your car anywhere you like. I was quite nervous about that, but the bushes are really thick because of all the rains and you don't actually see that many animals (I know we've been ridiculously spoilt in Kruger previously). We tended to forget that we were in the wild a lot of the time...
The driving was such fun! It was scary and exciting and so thrilling when you actually get to the other side in one piece. Here's Jake and I crossing a rickety bridge on the way to Third Bridge...
And us crossing a river just outside the camp...
It got deep and I underestimated how much power the water would draw from the engine, so I stalled mid-way, which could have (apparently) been quite disastrous. Fortunately, I started up the engine quickly...
And we made it safely to the other side in one piece...
Some of Jake's photos from the side of the road...
Grass seeds...
Some views across the plains - you can see how high and thick the grass was...
Pretty zebras at sunset...
We were grateful to spend 3 nights at Third Bridge. It's a stunning site (you'll see later) and it gave us some time to relax after our long drive to reach there. On our first morning, we were up early for a trip on the Okavango Delta, which has always been a dream of mine, so you'll have to forgive me for all the photos, hopefully they capture a fraction of how magnificent it was. Jake nicked my big lens, so the landscapes are mine and everything else is his...
The trip started early and we sped along the narrow watery alley ways through the delta...
The weather was perfect and the water was just so perfectly still...
Night lilies...
And day lilies... 
Papyrus, which Jake learnt about at school - the ancient Egyptians used it to make paper...
More papyrus...
The air is so fresh and clear - the colours are so striking...
Sometimes you go around a corner and find turbulent water where the hippos have quickly ducked beneath the surface...
And suddenly, the narrow pathways start to widen...
And they open out into a huge lagoon...
We were treated by a special African Fish Eagle sighting...
Close-up...
He (or she) was collecting water hyacinths to use for nest-building...
Red lechwes...
They're a little bigger than impalas. You don't get them in Kruger, so it was a good sighting for us...
This was the second lagoon we reached...
Funny how different the light makes things look from one side of the lagoon to the other...
A pretty pelican...
A very happy boy - enjoying the boat ride...
Oh gosh, my handsome boy really is growing up far too quickly...
The lagoons were full of hippos, which are Africa's biggest killers. They're big and they're fast under water and they're quiet too. They've got big teeth as well. This one wasn't happy to see us and was literally throwing himself out of the water in an impressive display to get rid of us. Jake caught his temper in this stunning photo...
And then it was time to start heading back towards camp. Our two hour trip was far too short...
OK, last one (thanks for your patience)...
Oracle, our skipper, was brilliant. He knows the waterways like his own back yard and enjoyed pointing out different birds and things along the way. He loved having the kids on board who squealed when he opened up the gas a little. He made the kids hats and necklaces from waterlilies. Apparently these were dipped into the water and then worn to keep traditional fishermen cool...
A baby croc on the river - we didn't see any bigger, but it was a good reminder that they're there...
A pretty butterfly - I can't tell you how many beautiful butterflies we saw...
These are the speed boats...
My boy after our cruise on the Okavango Delta...
The next bunch of photos are all Jake's. We did some game drives from our camp as well. There was a waterhole right near us and the Wildebeest and Zebras tend to stay near to the camp - I think they feel safe nearer civilization...
Jake is always fascinated by monkeys - maybe he feels closely connected to them...
Beautiful light in this one's eyes...
We saw lots of black-backed jackals near Third Bridge, but sadly missed the pack of 38 wild dogs...
Double vision...
There seem to be enough egrets for each zebra and wildebeest to have their own pet. This zebra looks like he's having a conversation with his egret...
A yellow-billed stork...
OK, so this is the early morning view from reception at Third Bridge. The reception office was right in front of our site, which was great. We could walk down that little road a little with our coffee in the mornings and watch the animals wake up and look for footprints from the night's visitors. Incidentally, this is my photo and we've chosen it for the cover of our photo book, which went in for printing today...
Back to Jake's snaps. Hyena spoor outside reception...
A happy hornbill...
Enjoying his breakfast, which looks like dung...
Jake was very fascinated by how long wildebeest's eyelashes are...
And as always, our striped friends are among his favourites to photograph...
This tiny zebra seemed to have some sort of skin problem on his face, but he was very cute...
Peek-a-boo...
A lilac breasted roller...
A woodlands kingfisher...
A tree full of egrets...
More zebs...
This is our campsite. It was really green and shady, which was great, especially at night. The third vehicle was parked to the left of this shot and ours is the one closest. All our campsites allowed for 3 or 4 vehicles, which was really nice. On our second night, Jake and I were so tired, we slept like dead people. During the early hours of the following morning, some lions walked about 5 - 10m away from our trucks - just beyond those trees over there. As I said, Jake and I were sleeping and heard nothing (I still can't believe it, they are seriously loud!!). They apparently roared like mad and Nic tried to wake us up by calling us, but on we slept. Jake went with Nic to see their tracks the next morning, so they were definitely there. So disappointing for us, I love hearing the lions roar and imagine the thrill of being out in the wild with them! Must say, I can't help but wonder where they were when I I got up for a wee next to my truck in the middle of the night...
Looking out from the top of our site, towards the dam and the staff village. The ablutions were to the right and the reception to the left. In the middle of the picture is the tree that you could see in my cover shot above...
Pretty grasses in the sunset...
A hippo skull at reception...
There's the tree... the view from the reception during the middle of the day...
More wildebeest lying in the road...
Jake was responsible for lighting the braai every night when we got back into camp. He got on very well with my old friend, Nic...
Fungus in the campsite...
Some of the girls - that's Avin, Nic's wife doing a "star jump"...
Another view of our campsite. Incidentally, my child drove and parked my car there...
Jake was so good with all the kids. It's not easy being the biggest kid and he did so well...
Oh my gosh, I miss these crazies...
See - out our cars at a waterhole. Those are hippos over there in the water and we saw a croc getting in for a swim too. That's Malia with her mom, Estelle...
Yawn... I'm sure you've had enough for today, so that's where I'm going to end off...
More of our travel adventures to follow soon, sorry again for the delays in sharing!
Sending lots of love,
Sue XXX
