Where Elephants Roam and Flies rule!


Up to the mid 1970's Botswana's wild areas were the almost exclusive haunt of big game hunters and a few hardy travellers . In the 1980's overland safari companies started and then slowly the demand for luxury lodges and tented camps with fly in options appeared for the overseas visitors to experience Africa. Soon the natural unspoilt beauty of Botswana was in danger of being overrun by too many tourists so the Government hiked up the park fees and Private Lodges increased their prices, thereby making it less affordable for the average man in the street. Self drive options to Botswana for the plethora of 4x4 enthusiasts and tour groups have meant that resources and facilities are now under huge strain and the environment will surely take the brunt of this demand if not properly maintained / managed. We were astounded at how many campers like the 'wild' side of Botswana and CKGR, even if for only one or two nights!

Two vital things you have to get used to when "wild" camping besides the dust and sand which is a given and creeps into all sorts of crevices, is the breaking and making of camp, restocking with ice, fuel etc and the long, dusty & rutted ride to the next destination . The only comfort along the journey is one's padkos and airconditioning, otherwise it's shake rattle and roll until you get to stretch your legs to open the fridge for cold water! Next vital component is being part of the team and mucking in with cooking, cleaning dishes, gathering wood or whatever needs fixing or tweaking! Rod's 'McGuyver' skills saved the Kelly's and Emmanuel's on numerous occasions - our bed extension slider needed an overhaul, power utilization from solar to batteries, replacing shocks etc. Not easy to find 6 people all on the same wavelength, who get along famously and can all take a ragging and laugh about their shortcomings or idiosyncrasies. We had this awesome recipe without any arguments for 24 incredible days together.

Driving on the bridge over the River Khwai after a bumpy 5 hours, brought back some memories of our previous trip to Moremi Game Reserve when we got to Camp no 6 at North Gate - and had to fit 3 couples onto a site for 4 people max! Game drives were cut short due to water levels of Okavango Delta still being too high and our site was home to a bunch of marauding hyenas AND was also right on top of the communal ablution block! Not a memorable experience!

Khwai Community Development Trust is not run like Kruger or Botswana Parks Dept . No such thing as a computer data base. They take your booking, register your arrival if you happen to have driven another 17 kms to their office in Khwai village and thereafter it seems to be on a first come first served basis and looks like priority for the best and biggest shady campsites is given to Tour Operators.

Our chosen site MAG13 was large, shady and empty so we hastily set about making camp using the 'first come first served' basis especially as the light was beginning to fade fast. The prime campsites along the river had little shade in the afternoons and were too small for our group of 6. The best ones were taken up with organized Tour Groups. So just as we hammered in the last peg of the shower cubicle, an official in his clapped out 4x4 arrived at our site. We nominated level headed Rod and Director of Operations Carol to speak to this KDCT gentleman while the rest of us sweated and toiled away in 30 deg heat at dusk.

Much negotiation was happening as the skies darkened! Rod and Carol pleaded ignorance as there were no signs at site 13 indicating this was a reserved for Tour Operators . The sob stories unfolded from them both and using their seniority and determination that we were not prepared to uproute our group at the late stage of the day, they eventually won the debate and "lucky for some no 13", by hook or by crook, became our home for 7 nights.

It is difficult to capture on camera the vast plains of arid landscape in this part of north eastern Moremi but one thing is for sure - the Elephants are here to stay and they have made their mark! Devastation comes to mind when looking at all the mangled, dead and damaged Mopani Forests along our drives within Khwai and into Chobe National Park. Are there now too many elephants due to the Botswana government putting a moratorium on culling and hunting?

Our days were spent game driving along the banks of the Khwai River peering through binoculars for hours on end to spot birds, raptors and animals and whatever else was inhabiting the bushes, banks, water and skies! The searing heat attracts large herds of Elephants, Buck and bird life to the rivers and banks and our patience was rewarded with sightings of the rare bat hawk and wattled crane and at night a variety of Owls in our campsite . Thank goodness for the "Roberts" bird app and book which kept TK and Carol vying for "spotter of the day". Hot it certainly was and cold fridge water and ice becomes a prized possession during 35 deg temps at midday. Camping in cooler weather during May - August has its advantages but then you also have to contend with higher river levels and inaccessible muddy roads and deep water crossings. Not for the feint-hearted.

Unlike Gonarezhou (and Kruger Park to a lesser extent), Elephants are very relaxed and chilled in this reserve and happy to share their habitat with us humans as long as we respect their space. On one afternoon they came within 30 meters of our campsite while we were sitting having tea. To observe these gentle giants at close range is very special and you mostly see them before you hear them, unless of course they are breaking down trees! No cats or wild dog sightings this time around, nor did we see any baboons or monkeys
However, the Spotted Hyenas were very busy after dark and any item left around the site would be chewed or carted away - thankfully our "shower" kettle became a victim of their scavenging habits, so did Irene's pumps and admittedly, both were due for replacement!

It was very hard to keep our sense of humour as we exited from our tents in the mornings . Talk about being inundated with flies! They would converge on us as if we were their last tasty meal! We tried to bait them with fruit away from the camp but they weren't interested! No one in our group had experienced this problem at any other campsite before and believe me this bunch have visited many wild camping areas around SA and its bordering countries. Watching the beautiful orange sunrise gets kind of spoilt by the buzzing, pestering and hugely irritating buggers and Terry's electric zapper killed a few dozen but nothing seemed to chase them away - not even the Mosquito repellant! First the bees at Mabua and now the flies at Khwai. Was this due to over utilization of the area by tour groups and campers where human waste / rubbish is not being properly managed? 13 was not a lucky number for us!

To escape the bloody buzzing, pestering flies, we packed up the cars after breakfast with snacks, lunch & drinks, then headed for long game drives along the river where we found solace in shade, a lovely flowing river pool to splash around in - this was a vehicle crossing section with no crocs or hippos - and more importantly to escape the bloody flies so we could have drinks and lunch in peace! How resilient were we ?
Rejuvenated we headed back to camp to read, watch the awesome sunsets, start the evening campfire and reflect on the days game drives and finally clean off the dust and sand in our 'shower with a view' cubicle and prepare our meal from our abundant supply of food .

Lightening, thunder, a few drops of rain and then strong winds halted proceedings on what became our final evening at Khwai. Within 30 minutes the calm descended and all was back to normal except for Rods thumb which got whacked by a flying bread board caught up in a collapsed section of Pete's veranda. To add insult to injury we were now blanketed with a layer of sand and dust including our bedding! Delicious lamb curry and the customary liquid indulgences perked up our spirits but resulted in consensus from the group to head for the comfort of our homes after 24 days in wild Botswana. Finally the irritating flies had got the better of us all and we cut short our stay by a day!

The Delany's were heading to Windhoek, the Emmanuel's to Jhb and the scribe and COPK to Knysna. Mabua, Deception and Khwai now done and dusted. An awesome desert experience, great lion, elephant and bird sightings in extremely dry conditions while being totally self sufficient. Fortunately there are so many other great places to explore, especially in our own country, so who knows where or when our next adventure will be.

Summary: 5600kms travelled : 10 /9 to 5/10 : 3 stopovers between camps and 3 days to get home from Khwai. No hassles with the Metalian or Conqueror trailers and Rod & Irene were very happy with their new Toyota Landcruiser 'camper' bakkie - whatever little niggles cropped up along the journey, the 3 competent musketeers took care of them !

Thanks for sharing our travels
Cheers until next time :)

Wild campers with gees - Carol & Peter : Rod & Irene : Liz & Terry (residents of Knysna)

Ps : sorry that Videos abbreviated by Travelpod