Travel diary of a self-drive safari in Botswana, selected moments

Day 4
This is it: the end of civilization and the beginning of trails and parks. We start with Baines Baobab. A vast salt desert, dry at this time of year, dotted with small islands covered in baobab trees, some of which are several thousand years old. 4,000 years old, it seems…
The night under our baobab tree is eventful. Sudden gusts of wind, which rise and disappear as if by magic in 10 minutes. Followed by showers that follow the same pattern of appearance. In the early morning, we wake up happy not to have been swept away by a supernatural tornado in the middle of the night, and happy to rediscover the calm and serenity of this somewhat magical place.

Day 5
His carelessness will be his undoing. Unless his mother can save him. He didn’t hear the car coming. And when he did hear it, it was too late, too terrifying. He didn’t know how to react. They found themselves separated by a clearing 5 meters wide, but stretching as far as the eye could see. His mother stayed at the edge of the clearing and called out to him. He remained more or less hidden, though sometimes visible.

Day 6
One zebra, two zebras, ten zebras, a hundred zebras. No, that’s not enough. A thousand zebras, no doubt. As far as the eye can see through binoculars, kicking up a cloud of dust. Arriving at the heights of the Boteti River is like something out of an adventure movie. The slow drive overlooking the river is an unforgettable moment in the middle of the afternoon when zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, and elephants decide to climb the sandy slope. For this journey, nothing less than a Toyota will do.

Day 8
The track is fairly smooth. It is quite sandy, with frequent patches of mud. In these cases, you have to slow down, drive slowly through the mud, then accelerate again. Suddenly, a sign says “water ahead.” A fallen tree trunk partially blocks the track, and an alternative track branches off to the right. However, according to the GPS and the map, the village of Mababe is straight ahead. And it’s the dry season. We decide to continue. That’s how we came across the herd of hippos. About forty animals, and several babies with still pink skin, at the water’s edge. Nice dead end.
At the end of the afternoon, our arrival at the camp brings us yet another new atmosphere. At the river’s edge, there are magnificent colors and greenery everywhere. It’s relaxing. We set up our hammocks. The frogs’ concert begins at nightfall and lulls us to sleep. Our sleep is interrupted by the sound of hippos in the river.

Day 12
We crisscrossed Savuti. We traveled the length and breadth of the park. They say there are lots of lions in Savuti. So we went early in the morning, at midday, in the afternoon, and even at sunset. We searched for lions. We even found two lionesses. But we wanted more, we wanted even more. Then, game over, we had to leave the park. And there, on the airstrip, right on the sand, three huge, well-fed males were lying in unlikely positions, digesting their meal, their carcass lying a few meters away. So OK, now it’s true, there are lots of lions in Savuti.

Published on: 10 June 2023