Whatshot
Boundless Southern Africa Expedition 17
Boundless Southern Africa Expedition 17
Date: 2018-03-02
Makgadikgadi In The Wet
"You can't believe the bloody mud and the rain! It's the highest recorded rainfall in a 100 years," say the men from Kwa Nokeng - the Botswana operators who, have guided good friend Les Sutton from Land Rover SA and 20 Land Rover enthusiasts across the flooded Makgadikgadi Pans to meet us.
The humorous stories, between mouthfuls of potjie and pap, washed down with 'dark and foamies' around the campfire, are all about a mud-soaked, slip-and-slide, push-and-winch, Land Rover-testing-like-never-before, 24-hour-no-sleep crossing of Africa's largest salt pans.
The talking stick comes my way and I tell the story of how years before, Ross and I nearly died from thirst whilst land-yachting the-then dry Makgadikgadi Pans, and how Dr Livingstone and his family almost perished when crossing the same pans by ox wagon in search of the Zambezi.
No rain-filled pans for them! The firelight catches the faces of the worn-out Land Rover teams who've put so much into this rendezvous and in the moonlight, I see the shape of their tents, their Landies and the elephantine outline of a massive baobab tree under which the fires and the potjie pots serve as a bush kitchen.
You can't get away from the fact that Land Rover owners are a special breed of adventurers who love the freedom of Africa's wild spaces.
Botswana is a fantastic tapestry of nature, culture and community and the memories will take time to fade. The dramatic Tuli and sunset over the Makgadikgadi Pans; our expedition camp on the banks of the Boteti River in the Makgadikgadi Game Reserve with elephants pushing against our small tents at night; Baines' Baobabs (what an iconic place), and then tackling the old cattle track from Nxai Pan to Pandamatenga.
Leopards in the night, red-billed francolins announcing the dawn, Chobe elephants at sunset, the friendliness of the Tswana people and the support of the Botswana government, who - from the President down - truly embrace transfrontier conservation. Let's face it, there's no place south of the Zambezi quite like good ol' Bots!
'Long live beautiful Botswana, the land of our forefathers. Let us conserve fauna and flora for our future generations; to the visiting delegation led by Mr Kingsley, you are welcome. Thank you and safe journey.' Sidigeng Harrigare Kgamane, Bangwato Tribal Authority.