Travel to Botswana

The next part of our trip is to a more primitive part of Africa - Botswana.  As if to prepare us for the unexpected, we awoke at 4:15 AM to get our bus at 5 AM, and after a freezing open air jeep ride to the main entrance, our bus was nowhere to be found.  After a few calls, we learned the bus had broken down, and wouldn't be coming.  Fortunately, the Entanebi staff has two micro buses at their disposal, and they marshaled them for us, and we still made our flights out of Johannesburg after a three hour drive, After flying to Zambia, we took another bus to a river on the border of Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia (the only place in the world where four countries share a common border). From there, a platform boat across the river, to yet another bus awaiting us on the other side. That's one jeep, two buses, one boat, and one plane if you're keeping score.

At the river crossing, there is no bridge, and only two ferries or a private boat can take you across the river.  We saw what seemed to be a mile of trucks lined up to get the ferry.  Our driver told us that they wait in line for three weeks(!) to get across the river. Now THAT"S the kind of third world craziness I was hoping to see first-hand.

We arrived at our destination, the Chobe Safari Lodge, at 5 PM.  The lodge sits on the Chobe river, and had monkeys and warthogs running around everywhere.  The dining area is gorgeous, as we were treated to a buffet with a great variety of food, including a few impala dishes, some curries, exotic ice creams, and more.  Our next game drive is at 5:45 AM...