Arrival to Maun. Botswana

Trip Start Apr 03, 2008
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Trip End Jun 25, 2008


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Flag of Botswana  ,
Tuesday, April 22, 2008

April 21-23. As indicated previously, Mario and I opted for a shorter-lived stay in Namibia, as we had high hopes for better luck game viewing in Botswana. It was our intention to leave early morning post-visa issuance at the Botswana Embassy. Was not to be, and thus we headed out around 3:30 from Windhoek on our way to the border. We figured we would stay the nite on the Namibia side, as our information sources indicated the border closed at 5pm. Imagine... We found this to not be the case, and thus crossed the border around 7pm and started a 2-hour nightmare journey to Ghanzi, with ultimate destination being Maun, Botswana. Maun is the jumping off point for the Okavanga delta, a massive delta considered a gem in terms of game viewing. We anticipated that this would be the beginning of massive sightings of elephants and other animals.

From border to Ghanzi is approximately 200km, or 120 miles B6 death highway to Maun
B6 death highway to Maun
 . One would think this trip would not be overly stressful or tolling on passengers. Joke was certainly on me, and Mario, with this trip. From border to town of Ghanzi, we nearly (and by nearly i mean literally within seconds or less than 1 meter) tagged cows and donkeys alike that seemed to enjoy grazing on the asphalt highway. After the first 3 dodges, we decided to take it a bit more slowly and enjoy views of the petting farm otherwise known as highway B6 heading northeast. It was only later a day later as we made it to Maun that we listened to horror stories of landrovers and 4x4 type vehicles destroyed by the likes of Bessie the cow or Dave the donkey. Take my word for it - drive slow at night in botswana, if you must drive. If not, take it easy and rest for the night...

April 22. Arrival to Maun, Botswana was welcomed. We headed to Audi Camp, to find that there was available lodging for one evening. Dropping our stuff off in the tent, we headed to town to see if we could book a scenic flight over the delta for the next day. Done deal - planned for the 23rd.

Walking around town, it became abundantly clear that tourism was really driving development in this small town of 12-15 thousand people. One would think that locals would establish restaurants or tourism-oriented shops and the like. Instead, we saw a vast number of hairdresser shops all touting superior service and quality orientation. While a trim seemed an interesting idea, we opted against it for the day and instead headed back to camp.
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