We had a fabulous catch up with the girls, I haven't seen them for about 2.5 years I think. They are off to the Lower Zambezi this weekend and unfortunately it is full so we can't tag along, but no worries we have been asked to house and dog sit their house which will be good.

They also tell us about Garth (a guide ex Zim who I know) has just had 2 trips cancelled so is free and may want to put together our Zambia trip for us and be our guide - a bit like Clint in Bots. We also hear that it is Sue's birthday on 01 July so have been included in the preparations - she always arranges her own 'surprise birthday' no one else knows until the day what we are all doing! Kinda cool really.

We get back to the backpackers and are staying in Hippo room - quite appropriate as we have both put on weight! Have a good sleep and next morning I arrange for Garth to come and meet with us to discuss our plans for Zambia. Also we have to try and get the car fixed. The spare tyres on front of the trailer make it far too heavy - thats why we almost ripped off the bumper in Botswana, so we have transferred them onto the roof of the car. Only problem is that they weigh 44kgs each and have now managed to rip the side of the car where the frame is attached!! It is never ending with all the little things having to be fixed, but I guess at least it is only little things!!!

Sue has seen Dehyd and he is very excited about seeing me - so next week there will be a braai with Dehyd, Claire and the 3 kids and Mark, Sarah and the 2 kids and not sure who else will have to wait and see - will be great to catch up with them all.

Garth arrives and yes I do know him from Vic Falls, nice guy and I think Martin will get on well with him as well. It's all very well having a guide with you for weeks, but not good if you don't like him and visa versa. We discuss our plans and what we would like to see and do and also ask him to add in anything that he thinks is worth seeing. Like Clint he is very excited as we are so flexible and are not really restricted by time - its so awesome to see guides really excited about putting together a trip which gives them a chance to show off their countries properly - the passion is amazing!

Garth tells us about a guy down the road who should be able to help out with the car, so Martin goes to see him. Mike Lottering and he should be able to repair somehow next week. We have to drop it off with him on Monday. Fingers crossed that he can come up with a plan that will stop this from happening again.

Will carry on soon xxx

Woke up on 23rd and it was Martin's birthday. He was already up so went out and sang to him - poor Martin!! We rang my folks so that they could wish him a happy birthday and catch up with them. All good back in NZ which is fantastic!

Packed up and then headed to Susuwe Station to pay park fees, it is quite a long way into the office, saw loads of ellie tracks along the way. Got there and paid for our stay in the park, all really nice people, but no one ever has any change!! Whats knew!

We headed off towards Katima Mulilo and then onto Sesheke to cross into Zambia. Nice road all the way and crossing the border out of Namibia was a breeze. Got to the Zambia side and thats when the fun begins. Firstly fill out the immigration card and pay for visas (double entry $80US each), then fill in the entry book, followed by buying insurance for the vehicle and trailer about 1500 Rand, then go onto the next office to pay carbon tax about 320 Rand, then outside to the far office to pay $20US for road tax I think and then lastly go to the beat up caravan at the front to pay $10US for don't really know what - phew seems to be all clear now and we can make our way across the bridge.

It is about 200kms to Livingstone and the road is mostly okay, not quite as nice as the Namibian side, but still only a few potholes. Stop for lunch along the way and get into Jollyboys at about 4pm - Sue just rushing out to the council and Kim on a conference call to Ireland. Go to the bar for a well earned drink.

Girls finally free and get to have big hugs and kisses. Both are looking great as usual. We discuss plans for this evening (Martins birthday) and also where we will stay for the next few days. Also tell them a little about what we want to do in Zambia.

Lucky Martin he gets to stay in the backpackers for his 52nd birthday, bet not many people do that! Sue picks us up a little late so its a bit of a rush ride to see the sunset over the Zambezi - I take our last bottle of french champagne with us to toast Martins birthday. We have a few drinks at Zambezi Waterfront after polishing off the champagne and then Martin is asked what kind of food he would like? His choice is Ocean Basket (yes in a landlocked country, but happens to be the 3rd best Ocean Basket around).

We have a fabulous meal and drinks - all in all not a bad birthday I think, well I hope as I couldn't do much else at short notice.

Speak soon xxx

Sorry had to go and walk the dog! We are house and dog sitting at the moment. The property is right on the edge of the Zambezi River in Zambia and the dog is a little dashound called Pickle - quite a delight and very comical!

So we arrived at the office and met our guide, who happened to be the grandson of the last bushman chief in the region. He was very knowledgable and quite amusing at times. We decided to do the Rhino Trail which should take about 2 hours. It involved walking along the front of the Female Hill and then across the middle and up and over to the other side.

We saw heaps of bushman paintings which were to be honest quite stunning. The walk was great and all sorts of tracks were pointed out along the way. We also saw caves that used to be lived in at some stage. The bushman paintings we saw were mostly in red, but a few were in white as well. We also saw Van Der Posts panel which is quite awesome.

The walk through the middle saw loads of guinea fowl and tracks from all sorts of mammals. Going down the other side was a spectacular view out across the plains, as far as the eye could see - beautiful.

We also saw one of the waterholes, and on the way down to the waterhole we saw tracks permanently in the rocks of eland and pthyon (apparently God wanted the people to know the way to the waterhole so he made some of the rocks soft so you could follow the tracks)!

Anyway we had a great walk, quite tricky in places as some of the rocks are very slippery. We got back and then looked through the museum and also all the information plaques - it is all done extremely well and about time that they actually charged people to see this amazing spot. We only had to pay 50 Pula for the guide. We made a donation to the upkeep of the museum and hopefully one day soon someone will make sure that more revenue comes into the area - via entrance fees and camping fees from tourists.

We got back to camp and had lunch and then Martin went to collect fire wood - which involved dragging almost a whole dead tree back to camp! He also secured the tent down really well so that we don't have the problem of a sleepless night again!

After dinner I heard some noises and saw a porcpine not far from camp - very cool to see, but very timid as the people eat them around there. Wind not so bad tonight so had quite a good sleep.

We left early the next morning and made our way back to the main road to Mohembo, Namibia. Had a very good crossing through the border, very hassle free which was great as our insurance had run out for Botswana about a week ago - the guy didn't even want to check - YIPEE!!

Drove through the National Park and saw kudu, zebra and steenbok - lots of evidence of ellies, but we didn't see any today.

We were making our way towards Katima Mulilo where we thought that we could cross into Zambia on a ferry with less hassle than at Kazangula - quite funny really as we fouond out today that there is a bridge at Sesheke which has been there for about 5 years - much easier than a ferry (I didn't even know there was a bridge)! We had lunch along the Caprivi Strip with stunning views over the river and back into Botswana.

We got to Kongola around 3.30pm and pulled into BUM HILL Campsite - great!! It is a community run campsite and very nice indeed. We had the Exclusive Campsite which has your own toilet and shower along with a viewing tower and basin and also kitchen sink to do dishes.

We had hippos serenading us all night which was quite cool. We didn't pull into the Susuwe Station before getting into camp so will have to call in tomorrow morning as we are in a National Park and need to pay fees.

Speak soon xxx

Well we headed out to Tsodilo Hills and in the late afternoon after driving through bush you could see these hills seemingly appear from nowhere! Quite a stunning sight, we arrived at the main gate where we were told to drive through to the office inside the reserve. The Male Hill is directly behind the main entrance gate and what an imposing sight. The Female Hill lies to the left and seems more approachable.

We arrived to be told that we could camp in which ever campsite we preferred and there was no charge! We also were told that the office opens at 7.30am and we could get a guide to take us on a walk then. We decided to stay at Malateso Campsite which is around the Female Hill - Clint had told us it was one of the nicest sites.

A bit of deep sand, narrow roads and not so many signs later we arrived in camp. Quite a beautiful spot. We were right up against the side of the hill. We pitched camp and got a fire started. What a fabulous spot, we had a lovely meal and then went to bed early - this travelling is a tiring business.

Well must have been one of the worst nights sleep we have had! Late evening/early morning the wind started and boy did it keep going. Well the tent was flapping and billowing and generally making such a racket that sleep wasn't an option! Pretty cold too! Martin got up at one stage and tried to tie down the flapping bits - sort of worked.

Anyway I was up around 7.30am and got the coffee on - scratchy eyes with huge bags under them and all - boy did I need my coffee this morning! Martin didn't appear until about 9am and seemed to still be asleep on his feet. Didn't really want to talk or anything for about half an hour.

He suggested that we stay an extra night here, but I said that would probably mean that we would have 3 sleepless nights instead of just two! Well we finally got moving and drove back to the office around 10.30am.

Will finish later. xxx

Well we had another entertaining afternoon. Mike, Clint and Mike all went guinea fowl shooting and I was the designated driver! So we drove in and even saw an ellie on the way.

Unfortunstely due to the rains last week there must still be alot of water around and we only saw 3 flocks of fowl (one being a flock of 1)!!!

Had a lovely braai and this morning we are heading off to Tsodilo Hills. Not sure if I will be able to keep in touch until we get to Zambia now.

Love and hugs xxx

Well we have just had a fabulous time with Mike & Karin. Yesterday Martin and I did a day trip to Lake Ngami. It is about 80-90km outside of Maun and you turn at the door! It's really funny getting directions here as there are no road names etc.

We got there and drove down towards the Lake and came across what looked like a huge crop of burrs. They were higher than the car and seemed to get into everything. We finally found a road which ran along side the tree line which was much better and finally found a place where the cattle go down to drink to the lake.

We had a picnic and I think I clocked up about 30 species of bird there - lovely and peaceful and all you can hear is the cow bells and the birdlife.

We picked Mike & Karins brains the first night here and I think we have got a great itinerary worked out. We will have to finalise a few things once we get over to Zambia.

Mike and Martin are going guinea fowl shooting again this afternoon with Mike's dogs and hopefuly Clint will be able to make it as well. Should be another entertaining afternoon! I have got the important job of driving Martin & Clint - so will fill you all in next week.

We should be in Zambia ob Wednesday or Thursday next week so will have to get the wireless all set up for another country again. Hopefully I will be able to keep more up to date there - all depends on how remote some of these places that we will be going to are.

Well hope everyone is well as we both are. Love and kisses to all xxx

Wild Dogs Lebala Camp.

So all in all Botswana is a fascinating country and with so much to offer. The remoteness of some of these magical places is what makes it that way. We have loved our time here and will definitely be back to see more next year!

We are off to stay with Carin & Mike Bullock tonight - they are the Zambian experts and we want to pick their brains for the next part of our trip.

We have both loved Botswana and all it has to offer, but I also think it has alot to do with the wonderful people here as well - thanks to everyone who has made this trip to Botswana so memorable.

Will try and keep more up to date as long as I can get reception. I think that I will also remember more little stories over the next few days so will come on from time to time to enlighten you all.

Hope your all fit and well. Love and hugs to you all miss you xxx

Hopefully the serval pouncing!

Anyway who ever heard of horrendous rain storms in June in Maun???? It caught everyone out and was bloody cold to say the least! Needless to say quite a few people around Maun have got colds flu etc. The rain lasted about 4 days I guess and was unbelieveable. Can't do much in the rain, except make a list of things to fix and do before continuing on our adventure.

We got back and took some our friends out to dinner - Clint & Pieter, Lorraine & Leah, Grant & Kirsty had a lovely meal and night out. Thanks to them all for all their help, advice and hospitality whilst we have been in Maun. We stayed at Clint & Pieters place for 2 nights and then I found out that Gazza was still in town.

So we moved to the campsite so that I could catch up with Gazza and Graham. We had 2 nights and on the last night Gazza put a lamb on the spit as he was leaving Maun on Monday and not coming back! Had a great night with loads of the Maun crowd and managed to catch up with so many people.

We then moved on to Grant & Kirsty's place, we had promised Josh (their son) we would stay with them at some stage. We have had 3 wonderful nights with them and even celebrated Grants birthday last night with him. Thanks a million!

Hopefully the baby leopard cub! (2 months old)

Hard to see what the photos are I think the battery is getting a little on the flat side and think that I may have to plug into the mains for awhile.

Well we had a brilliant time at Lebala Camp, the last night there we had an amazing rain storm, lightning, thunder and unbelieveble wind quite spectacular! In the morning it was still raining extremely hard so no one went for game drives, we were meant to be flying out and just as we were saying our goodbyes a hail storm.. yes you heard right hail storm hit camp! Well our guide was saying look snow snow, we laughed and said no its just hail. It was actually big hail as well about the size of my thumbnail.

Anyway the plane landed at Lagoon Camp instead and waited for the storm to pass over. Then he came back to pick us up. We got to the runway and it was not flooded, but in places was very close. The pilot said the runway was slippery and he wouldn't taxi with us in the plane, so the other 2 passengers had to get out and get a ride with us to the other end of the runway. We all then jumped into the plane and it wouldn't start. He tried about 6 times and was shaking his head as he needed to take off soon as another storm was about to hit.

It finally turned over and we were off. I have to say that it was the scariest flight I have had and after finally lining up in Maun and sort of landing sideways I was very pleased to have 2 feet on the ground. The pilot was also very pleased and overjoyed that he didn't have to fly again that day!

One of the bridges at Little Kwara.

Sorry it seems that the serval cat didn't upload I will try later. We had a fantastic sighting of her and she was so relaxed. Martin even got a fabulous shot when she was pouncing!

Anyway back to the dogs - well it took around 17 years for me to finally see wild dogs and let me tell you it is worth waiting for. So far we have seen three different sightings on this trip and I don't think I will ever get sick of watching them!!!

We also had a great sighting of an African Wild Cat at Lebala, once again very relaxed and not too worried about us watching and taking photos. I will try and get alot more photos on, but they do take an extemely long time to upload.

The wildlife in the Kwando regions is just stunning and the scenery is also fab, so many very different areas and loads of birds of course. I will have to count up in my bird book how many species I have actually logged this trip so far - obviously I have missed heaps, but as Clint says I am a relaxed birder!

Serval Cat at Little Kwara.

Your days are made up of very early mornings, back around 10.30-11am for brunch. Then it is relaxing time (siesta) until 3.30pm which is high tea and then off on an activity. Back about 7.30-8pm for dinner. You don't seem to stay up too late as your wake up call will be at around 5.45am.

I tend to either read, watch birds or just relax and watch when it is siesta time, as I am always scared that I might miss out on something. Martin on the other hand sleeps whenever he can! So I guess I get really tired and need more recovery time after being on safari.

We had a fabulous time at Little Kwara and Keith & Lesley were great fun. The last night at sundowners we had Keith up in the trackers chair with the spotlight and Lesley was funny. She started dancing around in front of him, using arms and wings and jumping all over the show - the 'blue breasted roller' she announced!

It was truly incredible how quick the water moves when it is on the way down. The morning of the game walk we walked through an area which was bone dry and then later on the same day we drove through the same area and there was already about 3 inches or more of water!

On our last morning before flying to Lebala, we asked if we could go back and see if the leopard was at home with the cub and she was. We managed to see the cub and I got some nice pictures as well. So cute, suckling, playing with a cobweb in the house, and trying to make the hole bigger by digging around. It was lovely to just sit and watch - the Mum eventually came out of the 'house' and sat just outside in the sun.

We were flying to Lebala at around 11.15am so just time to get back for brunch and then off to the airstrip. Had quite a good flight across (takes about 40 minutes) and saw loads of ellies on the way. Not too many bumps either which is a bonus.

We arrived and were met by Spencer (guide) and P.D. (tracker). We were lucky as there weren't so many people staying and we had no one else in our vehicle until the last afternoon we were there.

Got to camp which has been totally revamped since I was there about 2 years or so ago. When we went for the afternoon game drive Spencer was asking what we had seen and what we hadn't yet - what we would like to see if at all possible. So of course the 'dogs' were mentioned!

Well it was decided to check our for wild dog tracks as there are a few packs that frequent the region and all the alpha females were pregnant and they all started to think about denning soon. They don't usually den in the Lebala region, but one can only hope.

We did find some tracks which belonged to the pack of 12 that were quite fresh. So we were told to buckle up and take care with our cameras. Once you actually find dogs the guides don't stop until the dogs do. We finally saw 2-3 dogs which was magic and then we were racing off following them. The 2-3 became 4-5 and then 6-7. We thought that they may be hunting so were following them - bumpy as hell and a bit like a roller coaster ride really.

After awhile we saw some more and then there was much excitement as they all went through the greetings to each other. Finally we managed to see the whole 12 including the alpha female. They all decided to lie down for a rest and catch up with each other - was just awesome! It was going to be a full moon that night and they would definitely be hunting.

We finally left them and moved away to try and find some nocturnal life as the sun was fast going down.

Warthog going through our camp at Ihaha.

So after much joking around, giving Izzy heaps over the mishap and laughing we all made it back to the Little Kwara boat station. We then had a game drive back to camp. The meals at the Kwando properties are fabulous - always filling and plenty to eat.

We then had a game walk the following morning, these I love. It's where you learn all about the little things. Tracks and spoors, plants, insects and any manner of things you come across. It is not really about finding the Big Five on foot, more about experiencing everything at the same level as the wildlife around you.

Nevertheless we did get quite close to some elephants. We learnt about the trees, medicinal values and what the local people use them for. We had a great walk and got back to camp. Keith & Lesley had decided to then go for a ride in the mokoro's so Martin & I went back to the room to have a shower and relax a bit.

There was a couple of big bull elephants around camp who love all the seed pods ande fruits that the plants produce at this time of the year. When it came time to go up for brunch we literially had an elephant roadblock. We watched from the back stairs as one came closer and was almost on his knees trying to pull the branches down from the big trees - amazing to watch.

After about 15 minutes our guide, Izzy came to look for us and found our roadblock. He watched for awhile and asked us if we were ready to go eat? He then started clapping his hands and trying to shoo the ellie away, easier said than done! Was very funny to watch as this most beautiful beast kept looking at Izzy as if he were mad. The ellie finally moved far enough away so that we could scoot across to the neighbouring tent and then use their path.

Fabulous fun and it always amazes me for the size of them how quiet they really are - you can easily come across an ellie without realising it if you are not very alert.

Clint's tent at Khwai!

We had a great first afternoon/evening drive as we saw a female leopard and got some lovely shots. She had a cub, but no one seemed to know where she was hiding it at this stage. There was alot of water around and the game viewing area around Kwara/Little Kwara had decreased quite a bit.

Izzy and Gin & Tonic proved to be excellent and we really enjoyed their humour. The following morning we also went for a game drive and this time we saw the leopard in the hollow of a fallen tree, we watched for awhile and then Izzy said 'oh my God there's a cub'! So we all got very excited about that, although I didn't see it that morning.

In the afternoon we went for a motorboat safari, which was great fun. Just the 4 of us with Izzy and Gin & Tonic. We were just about to get out the sundowners for on the lagoon when the boat was revving and not going anywhere. Izzy tried several times and then said 'the propeller is gone'. Lesley and I who were sitting down stairs at the time thought isn't Izzy such a joker, then we heard Gin & Tonic say 'Jesus' and thats when we knew that the prop had really gone.

Keith & Martin who were up top came down and had a look, was very funny actually we couldn't stop laughing. Gin & Tonic started poling our boat towards the big lagoon as the SA family were also out on a cruise. Meanwhile Martin got up top and in his big booming voice shouted out: Jacob, Jacob,... help! God we couldn't stop laughing.

Jacob, Kenneth and the SA family came across and of course there was much laughter then especially from the guide and tracker. We moored the boat up in a fashion on the edge of the lagoon and had to transfer all our us including our sundowners and photographic and warm gear across to finish the cruise all in the one boat.

Sorry got to just go and sort out some stuff, back soon. xxx

We flew on a 5 seater to Little Kwara, we had a SA family with us and although I hate flying it was not too bad a flight, very scenic! We were meet by Izzy (guide) and Gin & Tonic (tracker). We had to wait for another flight which was coming in from Lebala Camp with an Ozzie couple on board.

Keith & Lesley arrived and the 4 of us were going to be together for the 3 nights at Little Kwara. They are a lovely couple and we had loads of fun with them. Got settled into our tent and were to meet again at 3.30pm for tea before our afternoon/evening drive.

Sorry got to go to town now, will try and get some more updating done when I get back.

Love, kisses and hugs to all xxx

Well at least I had got all the photos downloaded in a fashion! I ran out of space on the computer and it all puzzled me for awhile, even phoned Martin to get his advice. In the end I found that every time I download the photos and then I put them in a file you should then delete the transfer as they are still there as well - so you have got all the photos saved twice.

Got that all sorted, but still no way to do email and blog - frustrating. Martin arrived back and had a good day at Clint's doing all the little things he wanted to get done. We then got ready for the show as it was early. Arrive between 6-6.30pm at Sports Bar for soup or hotdog and roll and show starting at 7pm.

Loads of Maun people there which was cool as I managed to almost catch up with most of the people I know. Anyway this show fabulous. Maun really know how to put on a show and the talent in such a small 'village' (it still is only classed as a village at the moment) is incredible.

Show went for about 1.5 hours and was followed by a party which was great fun. Dee was fabulous, very sexy in the tango and the can can well what can I say??? Sue Smart was a surprise strutting her stuff as one of the air hostesses - brilliant show all round.

We were flying out the following day to Little Kwara, but not early which was a good thing as we didn't get home until 12.30 that night. Had a great sleep and fab breakfast before heading out to Clint's place.

Clint drove to the workshop that was going to fix our bumper and we meet him there, he then drove us to the airport for our flight to Little Kwara. Can't wait to get there as I think the Kwando properties are just great and love their style of guiding and tracking.

Will get back to you all real soon. Love and hugs to all xxx

Ellies crossing the river from Namibia.

We had a lovely night and got up early to drive to Maun. Got to Maun and went to see Lorraine first as we (well Martin mostly) decided that a little bit of luxury might be nice now. We booked into the Tree Lodge for 2 nights and then Lorraine got us 3 nights Little Kwara and 3 nights Lebala Camps out in the Delta (Kwando properties).

Maun was having it's annual/biannual show and Dee (Clint's sister) was in it and lucky for us he managed to get tickets for us too. We had a lovely night at Tree Lodge. I decided that I would prefer to stay at Tree Lodge and do all the downloading of photos, update the blog and emails. Great idea and the first part worked perfectly. But I just couldn't get the blog updated and emails done - Maun is quite annoying when it comes to communications.

Leopard in Savuti.

We set up camp had lunch and then headed out for our afternoon game drive. Loads and loads of ellies here. We watched a breeding herd for quite some time, there was a real wee one which was playing around in a hole, keep falling in and rolling around in the dust - very cute.

We saw buffalo, puku, red lechwe, impala, warthog, kudu, giraffe, hippo, crocs and loads of things - also heaps of birds! Had a fabulous drive and got back to the river for an amazing sunset. All the sunrises and sets are magical over here - so much colour and the sky is huge.

Got back and the monkey's had been into the rubbish - little pests that they are. Had a great dinner and a male buffalo starting making his way towards our camp which was pretty cool, although there is alot of bush around and you have to be real careful that you don't spook them.

Had a good sleep and went for an early morning drive to see what was around. Saw heaps of lion tracks, but once again we didn't spot them. Got back to camp and packed up then it was off to the Kasane airport to drop off Clint. We were going to drive back, but call in at the Nata Sanctuary on the way.

Dropped off Clint, filled up with diesel, got some cold drinks and headed out. The first 100-150km is not too bad, but then the road is terrible for the remaining 200-150km to Nata. What a horrible drive! We finally arrived and were trying to find the Nata Lodge, it was 10km out of Nata on the Francistown road. Unfortunately it is not finished and therefore we decided to stay in the Nata Sanctuary instead.

We drove out to the pans to see flamingos and the water birds - what a sight! Had lunch and then tried to find the various campsites around the place. Unfortunately it is not well sign posted and we couldn't find any, but the girl on the gate said you can camp anywhere. So we drove around until we found a good hard site, didn't want to loose the trailer and car on the pans overnight.

Hippo.

We got up the following morning and had breakfast, packed up and headed to Chobe. We were going to stay at Ihaha Campsite. What a drive, loads more sand, but fortunately we didn't get stuck... BUT we did get stuck in a big mud puddle!! OH no I had thought we were clear of all that.

Anyway once again Clint taught Martin loads as you do the rocking thing - forwards and backwards until you can get going again and then just put your foot down and go which ever way you are going. Well alot of mud did we take with us, but at least we were out.

We drove through a few villages and Clint was desparately trying to find some 'fat cakes' to buy so that we could try them (local speciality). But it seemed that we were not finding the right shops. We got to our campsite which is right on the river - fab sight, but in this region apparently the Namibians come across by boat in the night and hold up the tourists to rob them - great!!

Buffalo herd the lion pride were following.

Martin decided to stay in camp and do a few things on the trailer - we all know how much he likes to potter! So Clint and I headed out for a game drive, we saw a 'journey' of giraffe drinking from a waterhole which was cool and a lovely group of kudu as well.

Passed through a breeding herd of elephant which was funny, one of the younger ones decided he was going to be the big protector and starting trumping at us and flapping ears etc - quite a show!

Clint had told Martin that if a breeding herd of ellies came near camp he was to climb a tree and stay there - not sure if he can even still climb trees - anyway when we got back he was as we left him pottering around. He did see another 3 bull ellies cross the river though.

We had a great dinner and went to bed listening to lions, hippos and ellies around us just beautiful.

Lions at Xakanaxa.

We set up camp and had a late lunch. Just before we were going to go on a game drive some bull elephants started to cross the river from Namibia - got some great photos of about 4-5 crossing. Clint got me to sneak down to the river behind a little bush to get better photos which was all very cool until a younger bull decided to not take the normal road out of the river.

He instead decided to come straight for the bush we were behind, we moved rather promptly to another vantage point and decided we had to take a different route back to camp - meanwhile the ellie decided he was also taking the same route.... so we had to do a quick reverse and take a very circular route back - quite eventful I tell you.

Anyway all the time Martin was up on a huge fallen tree and the ellies were passing right in front of him. They are just so relaxed around this region - thank God!

Sorry that last entry got a little muddled! After the game drive we went back to camp to find a bull elephant shaking the huge camel thorn trees around us to get the seed pods - they love them!

Had a fab dinner and then went for an early morning game drive the next morning. We managed to get the leopard again and also a honey badger which was cool. Now we can carry on with the Linyanti story....

Well how are we going to get out of this one Mr Allen??? After several attempts we unhooked the trailer and winched the car out first. Then we had to winch the trailer out. After about an hour we were back on track again and I had even found some great firewood as well!

Then further along the track we got stuck again, Clint said to let the tyre pressure down and it worked this time. But alas we got stuck again further on - more air was let out of the tyres, but unfortunately it didn't work this time. We had to winch the whole unit this time and once it started going on its own Martin had to keep going until he got to hard ground again. Meanwhile Clint quickly unhooked the winch from the other cable and ran ahead of Martin, my job was to jump out of the car at the bush where the second strap and D clamp had been left!

I managed to finally get the strap off the tree and ran along behind although the car was out of sight by now. We had great fun (not really I hate getting stuck and it was really hot as well) - just pleased that there were not any hungry predators around that morning! We finally made it to Linyanti which is a stunning campsite overlooking the river into Namibia.

Back soon xx

We also saw some Dwarf Mongoose which were playing around - very cute to watch. Saw evidence of buffalo, but we couldn't find them and there were lion tracks everywhere as well, but they were very elusive! We had a very relaxed African Wild Cat, fabulous views of the Giant Eagle Owls - so all in all a great drive.

Got back to camp and packed up to get on our way to Linyanti. This was a road Clint had not been on for years, but we had seen a few cars take it the day before. So we duly headed off with Martin driving under Clint's instructions. Martin has learnt so much from Clint about the driving conditions out here, how to cope with sand, mud and everything.

Well we only got about a km or so down the road and we were completely stuck in the sand, trailer and all!

Had a great sleep and got up for an early morning drive. Got back to camp and had a great brunch, then set off for Savuti Public Campsite. This is the place where an elephant has destroyed a roof tent in the past... also Clint told us stories of the elephants putting their trunks through the window in the shower and drinking the water whilst you are in the shower... should be interesting.

We got there and put up camp overlooking the Savuti Channel (although it had not had water running through it for a few years I believe). The abultion block has been elephant proofed although Clint did say in the dry season the elephants can smell the water and when you leave the abultions through the gate there can be several around trying to get to the water!

We didn't have any incidcents though and went for an afternoon game drive. We had a fabulous drive - Martin heard impala snorting and Clint said it was an alarm call, we went to check it out and found a female leopard walking through the park - just stunning. We followed her for quite some time and got some fabulous photos.

Typical Delta!

We ended up staying the night at Clint's place. Pieter was visiting friends in SA so Clint's Mum, Lynne was staying. We had a lovely dinner with Lynne and a great hot shower to boot.

Got up nice and early the following morning to make our way back to Khwai and see that our trailer had made it through the night okay?? Driving to and from Maun involves driving through Moremi Reserve which is great - loads of wildlife around and especially elephants.

We arrived back to Khwai in good time and got all hooked up again for the continuing journey to Khwai. We drove through some fabulous landscapes and saw a diverse amount of game. At one stage we saw vultures circling and sitting on an elephant carcas. Martin & Clint walked out to have a look - I stayed at the car and got some photos of them cautiously making their way out. Fortunately no lions in the bushes resting after eating this time round.

We got to our campsite in Khwai which is covered in elephant poo (it's literally everywhere)! Also 2 bull elephants were in camp when we arrived, we had to put up camp with a watchful eye on where they were. What a fabulous place Khwai is, it must be one of the few wildlife areas left where there is a huge amount of wildlife and not so many people around.

We had lunch under the watchful eyes of several bull elephants passing through camp to the river. Also the birdlife is great here as well. Late afternoon we went off on a game drive and saw vervet monkey's trying to destroy another camp where they had managed to get some bread rolls out of the tent - very funny.

We saw loads of elephants, kudu, impala, hippos, giraffe and all manner of amazing habitats and sights. We got back to camp and had a fab dinner and then decided to do a night drive. We saw a genet, spring hares was great fun, although as Martin sat in the front and decided to control the spotlight I mostly saw his big bum!

Martin & Clint in the boat at our campsite at Chief's Island.

We got up next morning and had coffee and rusks, then packed up for the return journey back to the boat station.

From Mboma we carried on through to Khwai for our next two nights. Loads of elephants on the way. Unexpected noise coming from car/trailer ... after checking it out we found that the weight of the trailer (bloody heavy) and the Botswanan road (very up and down and bumpy) had played havoc with the bumper. It had started to tear the steel bumper off the car!!!

The decision was made to drop the trailer at the game scouts post and make the journey back to Maun to get it repaired. Martin asked if I wanted to stay.. excuse me, but not safe - I am still trying to get him to think Africa and not UK. We all set off for Maun. We had some crackers and cheese in the little cooler bag which I was able to dish out to us all along the way - lunch on the run.

On arrival in Maun we went straight to Nico the man who could fix our problem. It seemed that it had done alot more damage than we first thought - had bent part of the chassis and we were lucky to make it to the game scout post at all. Nico managed to get his boys to repair it enough so that we could continue on with the trip. We also discussed him redoing the whole thing once we finished with Clint - a big job which will reinforce the whole thing.

Back soon xxx

Elephant crossing the channel in the Delta in front of us - awesome!

Well sorry I ran out of money yesterday! We are on pay as you go here in Botswana and it is proving a little more than we expected.

So anyway we got to the Mboma Boat Station after plenty of wildlife encounters, the interesting one a breeding herd of elephants when we came around the corner.. fortunately Clint was driving (as we were towing the trailer) and no incidents which was great. Had lunch at the station and then loaded our things on board for our second boat trip into the Delta for the night.

Shaba was our boatman/guide and we had a fabulous trip out to the campsite. He put up a tent for us with 'beds' in it and also dug a loo with a stool toilet chair which is a bit of luxury in the bush! We collected some firewood for our fire later that evening and then set off on a boat safari.

What a fabulous place the Delta is, especially when you get deep inside. The bird life is always spectacular and the wildlife stunning. Lots of elephants around this time which is lovely, also red lechwe. We had sundowners on a lagoon with hippos popping up in the distance. Just perfect!!!

Got back to camp and Clint started making a wonderful dinner as usual. We sat around the camp fire and were all mesmerised as one is. Had a lovely night and turned in for bed. Woke in the middle of the night to find an elephant munching the trees and bushes close by to our tent - fantastic.

Baines Camp at the pans - close to Nxai Pan fabulous campsite.

The lions were still following the herd, but had not made a kill at this stage. So all through the night they had just been letting the buffalo keep a few steps ahead and walking into the wind, the buffs still had no idea that the pride was there. The two males were missing we presumed off doing their territorial things or sleeping under a bush somewhere!

We went off to Paradise Pools to check out that area, loads of dead trees, small pools of water and just an amazing area. We saw quite alot of wildlife including hippo, impala, red lechwe, kudu and loads of birds. We started to head back to camp and were told by Brad (a friend of Clint's) that the 2 males had taken a buffalo calf at the side of the runway when the herd crossed. When we arrived they were lying down and one appeared to be sleeping whilst the other was eating - only one problem the sleeping one was obviously lying on his half of the kill! It was really interesting watching the one try and pull it out from under his brother, but to no avail and there was a bit of growling at each other.

We left and then carried on looking around the reserve. Moremi is a fabulous reserve and there are loads of elephants around, lots of bulls who was so relaxed and great to watch. Also some breeding herds that you have to watch more carefully as the Mum's are very overprotective of their babies - more likely to get aggressive and charge than the old bulls (unless of course they are in musth).

We had a fabulous time and started out early next morning to get to Mboma Boat Station as we were doing another boat trip, this time to the islands. It was a bit of a hectic ride there as the road is quite rough and a couple of bridges to cross. These consist of logs up and over the waterways a little hair raising when you weigh around 5 tonnes!

Will get back to you soon quickly publishing once the photos upload.

Meerkats in the Kalahari - we stayed at Deception Valley (yipee it did work)!

Well I am trying to upload some photos onto the blog at the moment, but it looks like it is not going to work so sorry for that and it seems that you are just going to have to have me prattling on about our trip.

We got back to Clint & Pieter's place and I was able to have a lovely hot shower whilst last minute things were being arranged. We then took off for Moremi Game Reserve where we were spending 2 nights at the Xakanaxa Public Campsite. We got into camp and set up and then went for a game drive.

We came across a huge herd of buffalo and following along behind the herd (unbeknown to them) was a beautiful pride of lions. We managed to get some fantastic photos of the 2 males and also the females and sub adults, I think in all there was about 14 of them - fabulous to follow and watch.

We had a fabulous dinner that night (lamb shanks in the potjie) and got up early to see how the lions got on during the night.

I will quickly publish this so that I manage to get at least one photo on.

We had a good old laugh on the way back as the beaters were driving the safari vehicle back ahead and every time we caught them up we had to stop for a beer. We also stood and admired the fabulous huge big sky above which is one of the things that is magical about Africa - so much bigger, clearer and full of stars than in the UK.

Well we had about 30kms to go along the cut line when the safari vehicle stopped and waited for us - they thought they were running out of fuel. Try as you like Martin was keen to show off some more of his gadgets, but to no avail as our car has an anti theft device on it so no fuel was able to be pumped over. Decision made to carry on and see how far it got.

Gauge probably faulty as we made it all the way to the main road and then onto Clints farm as well. A good day was had by all - thanks to all the Maun crowd who made it happen.

Next day was another early morning and Clint had a surprise for us - he wanted to do an exploratory to Chief's Island in his boat to spend the night at the campsite at the bottom tip - did we want to be guinea pigs ... you bet!!!

We drove to the buffalo fence and put in (James drove the vehicle and trailer home) whilst we took off up the Delta. Motor boats are much better than mokorro's (only my opinion of course), you get much further into the Delta, see more wildlife and don't have to worry as much about the wildlife encounters. What a fabulous trip up - loads of elephants, birdlife awesome of course. It took about 3-3.5 hours to get to Chief's Island, we did stop on the way and have lunch which was cool.

The camp had a fabulous big lagoon in front with loads of hippos around (we could only hear them at this stage), elephants and birds. We set up camp and then went to look around the other side of the island at the other campsites. We then floated around our lagoon for sunset which was awesome.

We had a great fire, only incident being two suicidal mice.... they must have been living in one of the pieces of old wood we had collected, but they were very reluctant to leave the fire - we found out it was due to the large amount of termites also living in the wood who were all desperately trying to escape being burnt along with their homes. The 2 (by the end of the evening) very fat mice munching them all as they appeared!!! Quite funny as these mice were so tiny and I was very scared that someone was going to stand on them - Clint even scared them away into the bush twice only to have them appear back about 10-15 minutes later.

What a fabulous night we had and then it was the return journey the next morning with another load of elephant, hippos and birdlife to be seen. When we got back to the buffalo fence there was a hippo right there where the village collect water, wash clothes and themselves - very interesting. Clint then took James & Morgan (Clint's workers) on a little ride in the boat up the Delta so that they know what it is like - they loved it.

We got back to the farm and left for Xakanaxa almost straight away. I will try and finish the update tomorrow.

Love to all xxx

Well it seems that I am still unable to attach any photos which is a real pain as there is so much to show you all! Oh well I suppose at least I can tell you about what we have been up to??

Now where was I...oh yeah the guinea fowl shoot - what an absolutely lovely entertaining day that was - certainly not to be missed! And the guinea fowl do very well as not many are actually shot!

We went with Clint, Mike Bullock and Albert along with about 12 or so 'beaters' all dressed in their blue overalls against the ever present thorns. It was an early morning with Mike meeting us at Clint's place. We then met Albert on route who had bought his son along Reece (or could be Royce) who was a lovely kid. We drove out on the same road to Deception Valley and once we reached the cut line we were on the look out for the elusive quinea fowl.

Mike was travelling in our car with us then Albert behind and Clint following with the beaters in the safari vehicle. We had been going about 30 minutes when Mike & I heard guinea fowl when we stopped for a pee. So we waited for Clint who took along time catching us up! When he arrived he was frustrated as we hadn't spotted a flock back further - said we must have been all talking too much.

Nevermind we all got ready for the first drive which was going to be the beaters going in on either side and doing the famous 'zulu' buffalo formation..... guns lined up on the road and waiting, waiting - only to see the flock fly off way too the left outside of the beater cordon - oops they had out smarted us from the beginning!!!!

Oh well back to where Clint saw the flock 'right by the road' but alas not to be found - so 2 nil to the guinea fowl. We came upon another group quite quickly and decided to go for plan B or was it C???? Where everyone walks up together into the bush - beaters in between the guns - why not? Only to be outsmarted by the birds again - God these birds are good!

Lots of laughter and scratches later all returned to the vehicles. Funniest thing is that the African beaters with us all think the white people are mad - why make the birds fly when they are so much easier to shoot on the ground - I ask you??

So we carried on and in the course of the morning I guess we had about 6 drives and bagged about maybe 8 birds. Plans B, C, D, E and F all got tried and then we decided to stop for lunch. Clint raced off to find the 'local knowledge' a couple of local farmers who joined us as beaters in the afternoon run.

My God I don't think I have laughed so much in ages (this was certainly one of the best days out for me). The other really funny thing was that the local guns:- Clint, Mike & Albert all wore shorts - Martin and I oopted for long pants and thought they must have known something we didn't.... only to be probably the only two at the end of the day that didn't look like they had been wrestling with the guinea fowl instead of shooting them - all cut to bits by the vicious thorns.

Well we had a magic day and one that we will remember for along time to come, although I don't think we will try any of these tecniques at Leighfield! We took a bottle of Sloe Gin with us and on sunset it was duly drunk by guns at a mighty pace I might add! I only managed to get a tiny bit... what a surprise to you all.

Loads of love and hugs to all xxx

Well my goodness - it has been a bit of a nightmare trying to update this blog for the last 2 days!! Only to find out that the credit had run out due to Martin downloading his emails from Outlook Express. Nevermind I finally think that it is all sorted and I can update you all about our marvellous adventures...

Kubu Island is in the middle of the pans and quite spectacular - everywhere you look you see the salt pans. The island is made up of kopje's and loads of baobabs which is pretty awesome. We spent the night and got up early to see the sunrise over the expansive pans which was an amazing sight.

After breakfast and packing up we drove across the vast pans and through mopane woods to our next stop which was in the Nxai Pan regional. We stayed at Baines Baobab Camp which was situated on another island and surrounded by pans although not to the extent of Kubu.

Clint was going to sleep out under a net until we saw some huge lion tracks right across the campsite which were from the morning. Needless to say he chose to put up his tiny tent instead! He arranged our meal out on the pan that night which was pretty magic including a fire. We had a drive over to some of the other islands to see the sunset and came back to a beautiful dinner.

The following day we went for a game drive to Nxai Pan which was very cool - it is a stunning area with alot of diffirent habitats - not so many animals around, but we had a great time. We had lunch in the Nxai Pan campsite and spent about 2 hours watching the birds around the campsite which for me was brilliant - so many different varieties in such a small space. We then went for another drive in the afternoon and then made our way back to our campsite. Another fab dinner was had and we sat and listened to all the night sounds - loads of jackals about.

We then made our way back to Maun and then I had to do the supply shopping whilst Martin and Clint went and arranged the gun licence for Martin as we were going guinea fowl shooting the following day. We had a fabulous dinner back with Clint & Pieter before turning in for the night. It was lovely to see Polly, Lucky and Kelly again (their most 'royal' beautiful dogs).

We then moved on to Kubu Island which involved driving across the pans, quite an experience. The drive was fab and we collected firewood on the way before crossing the pans. Clint has been teaching Martin the ways of the bush. What is good/hard wood for cooking with and soft wood for ambience! He is slowly learning and enjoying the camping more than he thought he would which is a bonus.

Our campsite Kori 3 was stunning with views out over the valley and for 2 nights out of the 3 we had a big black maned Kalahari lion serenade us - magic! We even managed to spot him one day even though he was hiding out in a bush which made us think that he had a kill there - very protective of the spot and didn't move for 48 hours or so. We did manage to get some photos, but they are a little far away.

We had 3 wonderful nights at Deception Valley in the Kalahari which was awesome, the harshness of the area makes you wonder how any wildlife can survive out there, but to our amazement we saw meerkats, oryx, springbok, lion, bat eared foxes (one of my favourites) and a whole lot more.

Okay after about 2 hours or more this is really driving me insane!! Just to let you all know that we are going away again tomorrow out to the delta for 6 nights with a little bit of luxury this time. We are going to Little Kwara for 3 nights and Lebala Camp for three nights, so won't be able to use internet or blog until we get back.

We have just had a wonderful three plus weeks with Clint on our safari through Botswana, what an amazing country!

I am having great difficulty getting anything on the blog which is very annoying!!!