Monday was a drive day again when we crossed into Botswana. At least all the roads are sealed here and not full of potholes. The problem here is the foot and mouth checks. The country has an agreement with the EU to sell it beef, provided it remains disease free. That meant for us stopped every 10 to 15 miles to get off the bus, walk through some soda ash to disinfect our feet and have the truck sprayed. It also meant hiding the meat from the truck's cool boxes under the tents in the back, as you're not allowed to transport meat around the country. Apparently.
Maun is the gateway to the Okavanga Delta. The Okavanga river, which starts 1,500 km away, never reaches the sea it just gets shallower and wider once it hits Botswana and then either evaporates of sinks into the sand. We had a bush camp last night. We used small dug-out boats called Mokoros to get to a small island in the delta. The boats are propelled by a geezer on the back with a pole. They don't feel particularly stable, but everyone just lowered their centres of gravity and hoped for the best.
We had a couple of game walks and camped the night under the stars. Sounds rough, but we'd brought the cook with us, so we had it pretty easy. "Sailed" back today.
Anyway, this internet use is ridiculously expensive so i'm off. Going for a flight over the delta.
Rich.
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