Sunset IV - Maun
To many, a nylon sleeping bag laid over a 2 inch thick mattress housed in a dome shaped canvas tent barely sized to contain said mattress, on the African plains under a cloudless night sky in May perhaps mightn’t be the ideal holiday scenario, but to us it was romantic, nostalgic, and adventurous all at once. We were up before dawn well rested and spiritedly eager for the next leg of our journey despite its predictable longevity. Breakfast was as good as any and the dying embers of last nights fire were restored bringing both warmth and austerity to all.
Part of the camp routine, and indeed success of this type of travel is an all-inclusive attitude and contribution to its operation. Be it unloading the bus or helping solos set up their tents, offering Nola any help she may need or anyone else things they may have forgotten - insect repellent, bog roll or power bank chargers. It was an essential part of our micro-society and each would at some point be reliant of another. Our motley crew slipped into a well honed routine on day two with everyone striking camp and loading the Wilderbus with pretty slick efficiency lead, as would often be the case, by Duncan the Canadian Do-Gooding Mountie.
Today would be a second back breaking day of travel necessary in our quest of reaching the Okavango Delta. With a much later start than yesterday and no activities planned on our arrival, it was another 550km in front of us and approximately 7hr behind the wheel. We were heading to the township of Maun in the far north of the country and second largest village in Botswana. With a population around 85,000 Maun is the "tourism capital" of Botswana, the administrative centre of Ngamiland district and the headquarters of numerous safari and air-charter operations running trips into the Okavango Delta.
One of the rare highlights on such a long and arduous straight line jaunt down highway A14 was the passing of the Kalahari Desert. While we didn’t actually go through it, it was clearly seen from the bus and ran flat and straight for miles. As a large semiarid sandy savanna covering 900,000 km2 throughout much of Botswana, when spotted it was a great opportunity to get out and stretch the legs and have a “bushey-bushey”.
This section also allowed Fatpap to send Derek skyward for some establishing shots and all important footage for the soon to be released travel video. In howling crosswinds whipped across the Kalahari, Derek as always performed superbly capturing some bangers otherwise unattainable. At some point we also stopped for lunch prepared by Nola that morning consisting of chicken wraps, fruit, snacks and juice and under the shade of an Acacia tree the group thankfully alighted to scoff aforementioned lunch and prepare the arse for another long sector onto Maun.
We pulled into town for a top up of supplies which of course meant goons of wine, bottles of gin or rum and any other poison taking ones fancy. Richard always had an iced cooler on hand that was inevitably lighter the following morning. Nola too went shopping during these stops as all food was purchased fresh on route using local suppliers for whatever was available, meaning a menu could never really be set and was fluid per the seasonal offerings at each village. It was a simple yet organic way to survive leaving us all wondering every day to what was to come, including Nola.
We arrived into Maun mid afternoon to find Sitatunga Campsite on the outskirts of town where we would be spending the night. Immediately this was different to Khama with full facilities including pool, bar and restaurant together with a rustic but clean amenities block and campsite incorporating sheltered areas and electric outlets for charging our gadgets. It was by no means the Ritz but more than we ever expected given this tour was categorised “basic camping” in the brochure. After the tents were pitched and everything removed from the bus and set up for the night, Fatpap who had by now had a gutful of travel and bus confinement, plunged into the refreshment of both the onsite pool and a gin & tonic. Both served their immediate purpose, and with all the grumpy washed away, we set up stumps at one of the outdoor tables for a round or 5. Dinner soon followed together with a full briefing of our journey tomorrow to the Okavango Delta but there was also some other housekeeping to address. A milestone tried to slip through the cracks last night unnoticed so with some clever foraging work yielding a cake and candles, we all helped celebrate Duncan’s birthday. Needless to say the excitement was palpable with plenty more libations had at the bar.
Bag re-packing Botswana style
Sitatunga Campsite drinks, Maun, Botswana
Maun is the set off point for most trips into the delta and the Sitatunga Campsite is home to Delta Rain African Safaris who we would be spending the next 3 days with. Before leaving Australia Intrepid asked travellers to use soft packed duffle bags or the like. We of course had a month on the road in various situations requiring several levels of attire, but had pre arranged for our hard shell suitcases to be buried into the bowels of the bus using only a foldable smaller bag for the overland journey. Well tonight all were required to reduce that yet again to a small, back-pack style bag for the confining canoe trip up river. With more camera gear than Annie Leibovitz Fatpap was limited only to a toothbrush, deodorant, T-shirt and long pants with his water bottle and solar power bank filling the remaining cavities of his camera bag. The Delta experience was the corner stone of this tour and for us the very reason we took part in it, but some negativity will need to be expressed here about Intrepid’s disbursement of information. But, it was what it was and we made the necessary sacrifices, including the Moon Bazooka and Derek, to see what we had all come to see.