Our headlights were illuminating the tall, wooden, arched gate. ‘Welcome to Chobe national park’. Through those gates were elephants. Further beyond that was the border to Zambia. But we were in a pickle; we were denied access and could go no further.
The Okavango Delta is the synonymous with life southern Africa; A beautiful, unspoilt wetland ecosystem, slow waterways glimmering in the sun, alive with mangroves, insects and crocodiles, covering thousands of square kilometers. Pushing through the reeds slowly and spotting wilflife in a mokoro, a pole-driven canoe, is an unforgettable experience.
A small-town Botswana butcher is quite a eyebrow-raising sight. We stopped to buy some steaks at a small shack with no door and no fridge. What he did have was a glass display cabinet piled high with cow hearts, enormous cow tongues, and some assorted steaks.
We had grand ambitions for Botswana. The goal was a drive from the Namibian border to the town of Maun (pronounced something like Mau-oon), gateway to the magnificent Okavango Delta wetlands area. It was a huge distance which would cover almost the entire country.
This African highway was never ending, and we had no chance of finding a place to sleep. The sun was setting and long, cool shadows were mingling with the last intense rays of a crimson golden hour. We had been driving down this gravel road all afternoon, and we were exhausted. The closest hotel was … More Enjoying the company of lions on an African road trip
This was Namibia, the undefeated champion of the gravel road to nowhere. We had a great time driving along these straight, gravelly, hypnotising roads to nowhere, spotting funny little waystation cities along the way. Namibian highways The road to Keetmanshoop was a dead-straight line that pointed to the horizon. It was a mesmerising sight. After an hour (of what felt like … More Discovering Small Towns of Namibia
Southern Namibia was so vast and empty, it felt like we were driving across the moon. The arrow-straight gravel highway was so long, and so straight, it touched the horizon with a pinprick. The vast pastel sky seemed to be about a hundred times larger than usual. We felt extra excited now; Cape Town was well behind us, and … More Camping in the deserts of Namibia
Everything was dark when we got up in Cape Town. The cloudy night sky was smudged with black ink. Our car was waiting in the driveway, packed and ready to go. It had been raining last night, and the clean white paint was beaded with glistening droplets of water. We didn’t feel quite so fresh. It was well before dawn, earlier than we were used to, but we were … More The Unofficial Road Rules of Africa – a Driver’s Guide
I did a road trip through 7 African countries by 4×4, with two travel buddies. It was an epic adventure – after more than five weeks on the road, we’d camped in lion territory, fixed flat tyres and run out of fuel, forded rushing rivers, and drove over sand dunes. And it required a lot … More Preparing for a road trip in Africa
One rainy day in Sydney, I started thinking about my time in Southern Africa. It was the most stunning driving I had ever experienced in my life, through a continent exquisitely beautiful, dangerous at times, misunderstood by many, and utterly alluring.
StickyMangoRice 