John Chase Safaris - All Inclusive Maun

There is a high overcast sky and high humidity when we depart promptly at 7:30 AM. We clear Namibian, and then Botswanian, immigration by 8:30. Another day, another country. About a half a century ago, diamonds were discovered in this area and the resultant economic boom transformed Botswana into one of Africa's richest countries (as measured by per capita income). This is a relative thing as most of West Africa is very poor indeed. Wealth in ...

... It is 10.30 at night and it is still 30 degrees.
We paid $5 for this camp site and it has a great pool with a bar 20m away so all is good.
The dood at the petrol station gave me directions to the Yamaha motorbike shop to buy a new tube for the bike, this is what he said.
Yea boss, go to the to the T intersection and ...

... Aufregung, trafen wir auf Löwen, bereits zum zweiten Mal im Chobe. Gelangweilt, lagen sie im Gras, keine 20 Meter von uns entfernt. Wir fasziniert, mit offenem Fenster und knipsenden Kameras, stand auf einmal das eine Weibchen auf und Schritt geradewegs auf uns zu. Keine fünf weitere Meter und wir hätten sie „streicheln“ können. Sie entschied sich aber dann doch für eine andere Variante. Mit vielen anderen Tieren endete so unser Chobe Teil, bevor wir 600 Kilometer nach Maun ...

... patrolling the grounds, but as with all big towns it is common sense to look after your belongings.

We had pitched next to the river with arriving early in the day and this gave us great opportunities to watch the birdlife early in the morning and at sundown. Around the camp were guinea fowl, jacanas, green pigeons, bulbuls, orioles, grey lories, waxbills and other finches, plus weavers and the long tailed starlings. We ...

After a long day on the truck, we finally got to Maun, an area in Botswana where most safaris in the Okavango Delta go through. We set up the tents and got a very detailed and scary safety briefing about how dangerous the Delta can be. We agreed not to sue the company if we were eaten by a lion or trampled by an elephant. Then we packed the truck with all our supplies for the next 2 days. We were going to be bush camping for the next 3 days and 2 nights. No ...

... time to leave. We saw all of the animals we had seen the previous day except more of them. We visited a few watering holes before lastly visiting a salt pan which had been a lake until a few million years ago. It was just vast emptiness and we took some pics. We were on the last stretch of road heading for a camp site which was in the park when we nearly ran over some lion cubs crossing the road. The truck screeched to a halt and we threw open the windows to take photos of the cubs and the ...

... their home to us and giving us a comfy bed, wonderful home-cooked meals, and easy friendship.

Maun Animal Welfare Society is a very professional organization, well run by a group of dedicated, compassionate volunteers. Our first day in Maun, bumping along narrow sandy back roads, twisting through mopane scrublands, in our borrowed MAWS truck, we were introduced to the basic but well stocked hospital, where we would be spending a good part of ...

... elephants and wilderbeast etc from above. It was worth the US$60 cost. To cap it off it was sunset as we heading back to Maun airport. So ... yes, I was a bit disappointed in both Chobe NP and Okavango but still have many wondeful memories to take away with me: being "poled along" like a gondola - the stars and evening animal noises. May the 2 nghts at Etosha NP with the flood lit water holes that we are staying by make up for this ... that's in a few days time ...

... just want to eat what we like rather than having to eat for the sake of it. Plus I'm trying to cut out the carbs - bit hard when every meal consists of either bread, rice or pasta.



Back on the truck for another few hours after lunch. People reading, listening to music, playing PSP or sunning themselves on the beach.



Arrived in Maun round 3:30. Nice big campsite with shady trees, bar and swimming pool. Good place to stay for 4 nights. Guy called ...

... parched and unremarkable, an odd contrast to the lush and unseen Delta plains only a few kilometres away on the other side of the bush.

Shakawe is on the edge of the Okavango Delta Panhandle, at the northwest tip of Botswana, a small town where lots of big ideas are being put to the test. It's the base for the Trust for Okavango Cultural and Development Initiatives, or TOCaDI, my host for the next few days. With projects involving basket weaving ...