Day one - Mesmerizing Botswana and Chobe National Park
May 9, 2017, We rushed through Heathrow to get to the gate, we were delayed from Stockholm, Sweden and if we would missed the plane to Johannesburg we would also miss the connection from Johannesburg to Kasane in Botswana! You can´t imagine the relief when we when we finally dropped down in our seats on the Virgin Atlantic plane - heading towards Botwana.
We landed early in Johannesburg and after a doubtful breakfast with pizza we flew on to Botswana. At the airport we were picked up by a driver from andBeyond. He drove us to our meeting place where we met our guide Katembo and our travel companions for the week. There were two couples - Mandy and Rob from England and Therese and Pirmin from Switzerland, super friendly people and it felt straight away that we would have a great time together.
Our first encounter with Botswana was on a boat trip on the Chobe River. We saw a family of hippos, mom and two kids of different ages. We stoped close to an old and weak elephant. He graced the soft fine grass in the river, but we saw that he was weak, one ear was completely paralyzed, and we saw how the backbones stacked like sharp hills over the back. It's always sad to see sick animals that slowly thaws away. . but it is nature's course and at the end he will feed others in need, its just the circle of life <3
Along the river we saw loads of crocodiles that sunbathed on the seashore, isn't it amazing that these Crocodiles have travled all the way from the Nile once upon a time ..
Although the boat trip was absolutely magical, it didn´t compare to how we felt seeing our camp for the first time. The camp was simply awsome! Our accommodation was so-called tented camps where you live in luxurious tents. The tent consists of 3 parts, the first part is the bedroom, where we had a double bed, clothes hanger and two bedside tables. In the middle there is the bathroom with a bucketshower that is heated with warm water but also a washbasin. In the next part which is adjacent to the bathroom is the toilet, here is a porcelain toilet with water flush. The location of the tents was absolutely magical, we were really out in the wilderness. No fencing, no walled walls, just a cloth between us and nature.
One that we installed in our tent, we went out on our first game drive in the park. The areas around the river were absolutely magical, the water, lots of new smells and fabulously beautiful views. So nice to get out and see the surroundings!
Back at the camp, we we met by lots of lanterns placed all over the camp, a big campfire and a fantastic three course dinner beside the fire. But now the biggest question is - wonder what visitors we will have in the camp tonight? :)