To be honest, I was ready to be impressed by Botswana, but it was really a mixed bag. Also to be honest, we spent a total of five days there, so I will admit that I am definitely under qualified to comment on the country generally – but in typical opinionated fashion, will pass on some thoughts below on the areas we did see.
First, we went out on the Okavango Delta in a mokoro – a touristy thing that I have kind of always wanted to do. It was nice, especially because we went through the community trust and did not pay the blatantly arrogant prices offered through the lodges. That said, Maun was a tourist hole and the delta was nice because we were passing through anyway. I think if we had come all the way from Europe or NZ with the intention of seeing the Okavango, I would have been pretty damned disappointed. We did get some pretty water lily pictures though (probably not worth the US$100 that the lodges were charging for the outing – just saying).
Second, we hit the Makgadikgadi salt pans. These were truly exceptional – but only if you had your own car. We did a fairly good drive all over them and absolutely loved it. We also spent a night free camping in the middle of them, which was incredibly special.
So, the delta got a big minus, and the pans got a big plus from us. I am saying Botswana comes out even, but we cannot really comment on the country because we only spent five days (apparently Chobe NP is nice though). The people, however, are quite lovely, so they get a big thumbs up and we managed to head through the entire country without a shower – not beating the Angolan record, but something all the same. Finally, Botswana was fun because I hit country 41 in my tour of the world – I realize that this is really irrelevant and says nothing about how well one has seen a place – but 41 before 30 is cool all the same!
After Botswana, we ended up back in Pretoria, staying with family and organizing the sale of Blue before moving on.
May 2014