Botswana 2015
The two of us spent a period of six months actually planning this bike trip, although we had been discussing the idea for a year or so before we decided to take action and turn the 'want to' into a 'going to'. We certainly didn't know what we were going to encounter, but we just did it. Two city boys went on a bike trip for seven days and explored and experienced our country and the beautiful outlying Botswana and Zambia. We met some strange yet friendly people along the way and we saw the beauty of Africa and had the privilege of being so near to one of the big 5 animals of Africa. It was also a journey of two friends making memories for life and getting each other through the day. This was far from the usual of everyday life, and boy was it exciting. We thought to write about each day along the trip to help share some insight into what routes we took, the kind of things we saw and some tips and advice for if you want to do the same thing yourself.
Campsite at Kwa Nokeng Lodge. Kevin(Left), Etienne(Right)
Day 1
After months of planning and getting really excited about our Botswana bike adventure, we were eager to saddle up, get on the road and grab a first coffee after 60 or so kilometres. But it wasn't 20 metres before we realised we had to stop and adjust our luggage so that we weren't forced to sit right on top of our petrol tanks. After a bit of Jenga and a measure of just throwing our hands up and saying "eh, let's see what happens!", we set off from Pretoria at seven in the morning en route to Brits in the North West province of South Africa. We approached our first stop in Thabazimbi where we had a late but well-deserved breakfast that had to last us the rest of our long day on the road. Our next stop was just outside Elisras in Limpopo where we had a short rest stretching the legs and giving the bum a rest. This is a strangely beautiful part of the country, where the red of the earth and the green and brown shrubbery and acacia trees make up a really unique palette. After this, we made our way to the Martin's Drift border post. The border had (with no surprise) very long queues. And the weather? Well, with standing in the Limpopo summer sun while wearing a bunch of biking gear, you could imagine things got pretty hot!
When we finally crossed the border, we had to change some of our Rand currency into Pula to pay our border costs. This can luckily be done at the border post, but one should prepare for a little 500-meter stroll to another building. After that, we were finally in Botswana. After a long first day on the bikes, we headed to our lodge, Kwa Nokeng, where we would be camping for the night. This is about 1km from the border, and the lodge looks beautifully over the Limpopo River. When we arrived at the lodge, we unloaded and set up camp... all the while we could only think of one thing: the swimming pool, and us in it! After the swim, we treated ourselves with ciders on a deck overlooking the Limpopo, while watching monkeys playing in the trees above and around us. Finally, we were in Botswana, and what a great view to end our day. Supper awaited- it wasn't fit for a king, but filling was all it had to be; Chinese noodles and rice. It was then time to hit the sleeping bag and get some rest for day two of our Botswana Adventure.
Coffee and curdled Cremora at Kwa Nokeng Lodge
Day 2
Our day started at 05:30, and of course, we needed to start the day with some coffee! We had a rather strange incident with the Cremora we were using instead of milk- it looked curdled and wasn't mixing with the water. Paranoia around the disease-free nature of the water ensued. We later realised that the water wasn’t dodgy, but the Cremora curdled due to the high salt content in the water. This is how a lot of the water in Botswana is treated for purification, and the taste does take a bit of getting used to. After this, we packed up camp, packed the bikes and got on the road at 07:00 en route to Nata. The road out of camp wasn’t too great and our pace was slow. Our first stop was at a Wimpy in Palpye where we had a really energising breakfast. After breakfast, our journey continued and we made our way to Francis town where we got a bit lost but finally found the road to Nata. 100km From Nata Things took a bit of a scary turn. Kevin, the Puzey STX 200 rider describes how on the road he started hyperventilating, had increasing tunnel vision and dizziness. We both pulled off on the side of the road and sat Kevin under a tree. He was in bad shape: his limbs started feeling really blood rushed, and had pins and needles and numbness rushing from his limbs almost into his chest. Amid heavy breathing he just said one thing: "Where is the nearest hospital?".
Etienne, the voice of reason through the whole escapade whipped out some "Rehydrate" and rejuvenated him with electrolytes. There was a further 20 minute period of these strange physiological symptoms until Kevin retained control of his breathing and the dizziness and tingling in his limbs gradually faded off. After sitting under the tree for a period, he decided he was feeling good, and we decided to carry on. We can only think that it was some kind of reaction to the anti-Malaria medication that Kevin was taking or severe dehydration. So we continued the last 60km to our camp. Etienne had an embarrassing moment in the soft sand in front of some other bikers, but handled it with dignity, and they looked like they knew the struggle well! We finally reached our camping spot after a pretty productive day. We set up camp and went for a swim, and relaxed with some cold drinks. After a hot shower it was time to make some supper, and thinking this day couldn’t get any stranger, we got the fright of our lives seeing a pair of glowing eyes in the bushes! We saw though that it was just a dog that snooped around on the camp grounds... thank goodness for that! After the events of the day Etienne had to spoil himself with a tot of whisky and a well-deserved cigar. Kevin wasn’t in the shape to contain alcohol. Another day of the Botswana adventure was done and it was time to get some rest for the next day.
Day 3
We started at 05:30, and made ourselves some breakfast. We packed up camp, packed the bikes and left the lodge for the next stretch of the adventure- but first, we had to stop in Nata to fill the bikes up. From Nata, we made our way North on the road to Kasane. Many people had told us that we would encounter elephants on this road, and that we did. only 30km outside of Nata we had our first sighting of one of Africa’s largest mammals. This was the straightest road we had ever ridden on, with the flora seemingly unchanging for the entire stretch. We made a pit stop to stretch the legs and to have a snack, and just opposite the road there was an Elephant! He didn't seem too happy with our presence though, so we left pretty briskly! For 300km, there was lush scenery of bushveld, watering holes and many more elephants. On either side of the road, there are large reserves without fences, and this is completely elephant territory. As you drive, suddenly out of the blue there will be a waterhole that appears just off the road, and will often be teaming with wildlife. These sights made for some of our most precious memories of that road. We arrived at the Kazungula Botswana/ Zambia border round about 13:00- our second border crossing. The Botswana end was pretty fast and effortless.
We made our way onto the ferry and immediately, the faces of people changed. We felt like we were firmly in Africa. We each had to pay $10 to get on the ferry that took us to the Zambian border offices. We went through many small and confusingly placed buildings, but luckily we had our fixer who helped us through the process. A word of advice on the best way to conduct yourself in these situations: if you've made this crossing several times and know where to go to obtain each thing you need to pass through the border, by all means fly solo. If you opt to receive help from one of the fixers on the Zambian end, just make sure that you are not being swindled by confusing conversion rates. make each conversion calculation on your own, and don't allow the fixers or officers to rush you. They try to push their luck with getting more out of you than they should. They also ask for a commission at the end of the process so be ready for this. The most expensive thing they talked us into getting was vehicle insurance for use within the border. If your motor insurance is any good, it will cover out-in-Africa travel. We became uncertain about how far into Africa we were covered, and decided to play it safe. One lesson learned here: do your homework regarding motor insurance and medical aid cover, and don't let anyone talk you out of what you know!
An hour and a half and $120 later, we were done and allowed to go. We were on route to Livingstone, which is about 60km from the Zambia border. After stopping to figure out our bearings, we arrived at Livingstone Backpackers where we would be staying for the next 2 nights. We treated ourselves to a room with beds for one evening, which was a horrible decision- the rooms were so hot! The following evening we just roughed it out in our tents again, and this turned out to be much cooler. So the day we arrived, we got our room unpacked and celebrated with a swim in the pool. We drank a Savannah after our long day and just chilled. About two hours later, we went for dinner at Olagas where we had some pizza. It was really good, and the service was friendly. We went back to our backpackers where we played some pool and tried out the local beer, "Mosi". We enjoyed the rest of the evening until we decided to get some much needed rest.
Livingstone Backpackers
Day 4
Rest day! On our first morning where we actually slept in, we got out of bed around 08:30 and moved from our hot rooms to our tent on the lawn. After this we chilled hard, enjoying our surroundings till about 10:30. Today was the day we were going to see one of the seven natural wonders of the world: the Victoria Falls! We made our way to the falls, paying an entrance fee of $20 per person. We spent about 3 hours here. We went on the Knife-edge trail to get a good view of the Zambian part of the falls, and also took the photographic trail which took us close to the bridge and the gorge downstream. After this, we heard about "dead man's pool" - a neutral turbulence pool where you can swim right up to the edge of the falls, and look over the edge. We headed to the top of the falls, and found out there was a $50 fee to actually visit the pool, so we decided to just have a swim in the river upstream, next to the bank. After an eventful experience at the falls, we made our way back to the backpackers where we swam some more, had some more savannahs and just relaxed. Later on, we had some freshly made Mango smoothies, courtesy of one of the South African barmen working there. Our dinner was some yummy noodles, which by now we had gotten pretty used to eating so frequently. We ended our evening with Coffee and the old favourite rusks. What next? they only thing that was still in want from an incredible day: sleep
Victoria falls
Day 5
We had an early start, waking up at 05:30. We were on the road by 07:00 for the Kazugula ferry- the border crossing into Botswana from Zambia this time round went very quickly: we were back in Botswana in 30 minutes. We did our final 250km stretch to a campsite on the A33 towards Nata, called Elephant sands. On this road between Nata and Kazungula, we again spotted loads of elephants. We stopped at a watering hole where there were two herds of elephants- one of the most beautiful sights on the trip. Then we had to make a compulsory stop at an animal disease control checkpoint where they disinfected our shoes and tyres- an interesting experience. From here we continued to Elephants sands, arriving around 14:00. We headed straight for the pool followed by some beers. We relaxed, lay around in the sun, and swam some more! At about 18:00 we moved to go set up our camp and enjoyed the best sunset- trying to take photos that in the end, just didn’t do it justice. Then we went and had supper and some coffee and we saw another elephant making its way to the watering hole, not 10 metres away. We settled at our camp and relaxed with some cigars and whisky and had a strange encounter with a drunk American who came and visited us to say hi and proceeded to talk the most amount of nonsense about being a bull shark wrangler from Las Vegas. Crazy guy, but a legend in his own right. After a day filled with elephants and a dead straight road, it was time to get some rest, eager for what we would encounter the next day.
Watering hole on the A33 towards Elephant Sands
Day 6
We woke up at 07:00, packed up camp and left Elephant Sands for Nata Lodge at 08:00. We had a short 60km ride to Nata lodge, unloaded the bikes and set up camp. We were getting to that part of the trip knowing that it was almost over but we had one last exciting adventure awaiting us in Botswana. This was the one thing that we had both said we wanted to see, right from the beginning of the trip, and today was the day where that dream would come true: to see in person, the huge vastness and majesty of one of the biggest salt flats in the world: the great Makgadikgadi pans. Lake Makgadikgadi, which once covered an area larger than Switzerland, dried up several thousand years ago. We wanted to make our way to the eastern shore of the Sua pan, which is the biggest single pan in the Makgadigadi, covering 4,921 square kilometres. It's a pretty surreal experience seeing this thing for the first time in the distance. Almost like seeing the ocean for the first time in your life (if you don't live near the coast). Its appearance is like a large formidable animal: desolate, uncaring, harsh; but a brilliant, blinding white. Dust devils and sand storms in the vast distance. After 60kms of driving, we had some difficulty finding a way to gain access to the pan. We stopped at an entrance to the mine and asked about how we could get closer. We were pointed to an entrance behind Magadi Lodge and made our way down the trail. The trail opened up onto the pan, and one thing coursed through our veins: ultimate freedom. We were mind-blown. We could see nothing but the 'shoreline' as far as the eye could see and could even see (very subtly) the curvature of the earth. We spent two hours on the pans: just our bikes and us. Two town-dwellers, trough some effort and action, having the experience of our lifetimes. We had done it.
After a great time on the pans, we headed back to Nata where we spent a long time just relaxing by the pool. Then we headed back to camp and refreshed ourselves after our eventful day. We went for a great dinner at the restaurant by the lodge, and headed back to camp, bringing our second last day in this African paradise to a close.
Stopped on the Sua Pan, Makgadigadi
Day7
We had a struggle getting out of bed, and due to that we had to forfeit our morning caffeine- terrible! We packed the bikes and left at 07:00, making our way to Martins drift via Francistown. On the way, we met a few fellow campers whom we had met before- we chatted a bit, and then moved on. The ride was long but enjoyable, and as you could imagine by now from many hundreds of kilometres of sitting on a bike seat- painful. When Etienne tried to enjoy himself and stretch it out a bit by standing up on his bike, he was pulled over by the local traffic police and nearly had to pay a fine of 200 Pula. We got to Kwa Nokeng campsite around 15:00 and yep, you got it- straight to the pool! We went for a swim and relaxed with savannahs in hand overlooking the Limpopo once more, and for the last time on this trip. We went back to camp, made supper and had a combination of coffee, rusks, whisky and cigars. Not all at once together, though!
We spent our last evening in Botswana under a sky full of stars spotting satellites, and even seeing some fireflies. we even got to make a few wishes with the shooting stars. That was it: it was time for our last night with our sleeping bags before we slept in our own comfy beds again. We almost didn't want it to end.
Day 8
The final day came, and it was and time to go back home. We woke up around 06:00 and started our morning with some coffee. Then we packed up camp, prepared the bikes and left at 07:30, making our way to the South African border. Here we were, it had taken us seven days to get through Botswana into Zambia and back again, and now we were about to be in our home country in the space of 30 mins. From here it was an extremely long and hot drive and it felt like South Africa was hotter than Botswana. We stopped for some lunch at KFC in Thabazimbi and just put our heads down and carried on after that. Our pace was mostly consistent but very slow at stages- especially from Thabazimbi toward Brits. We reckon the heat and the number of Kilometers we had behind us was all finally adding up. The final stretch of our adventure was from Brits to Pretoria. We traveled on the highway so it went pretty quickly, but it may still have been one of the hardest parts of our journey. It was over, we had nothing more we wanted to see, and all we wanted was to sit our butts on a comfy couch. Our journey ended when we finally made it back to Pretoria at around 16:00. We unloaded our bikes, and ended our trip with the way we ended every day on the trip: a swim in a wonderfully cool pool!
All we can really say in response to what this trip has taught us, shown us, and the highs and lows it has taken us through would be: we would do it all over again. What has really struck us is that great travel experiences and meeting really interesting people doesn't have to be expensive, and it certainly doesn't have to be in some distant land far, far away. It can be right in front of you. And another thing: It is achievable! What do you want to do? What do you want to see? Think it up, make a plan, and make it happen.
And on this philosophy, we think it's time to look even closer to home- home itself! We're gonna look for the coolest stuff in the Western and Northern Cape, and see if we can surprise ourselves by discovering South Africa's own gems, and man, we're excited! Chat again soon.
Etienne and Kevin.