April 26, 2016

Today marks nine months since I left San Marcos, Texas on this trip. It seems like yesterday. The places I’ve seen, the people I’ve met, the memories I’ve made….it all flows together and feels like it could go on forever. 

I spent two days and two nights in Kasane, Botswana at the campgrounds of the Chobe Safari Lodge, which allowed me time to take a three hour game drive in one of their vehicles through the northeastern end of Chobe National Park. I saw a lot of buffalo and impala, a couple of lions, some giraffe, and an elephant. But still no leopard. Of the “Big Five”, that’s the one I’ve missed. 

I did see a lot of guinea fowl though, and I saw them in Etosha as well. But here they call them Chobe Chickens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I was packing up to leave Kasane, the baboons made an appearance at the camp. The wildlife just in the campground is pretty amazing, if you can be satisfied with warthogs, mongoose, monkeys and baboons walking around you at all hours.

I also met a family from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) who were traveling together in a 4×4 on a two month journey. Baz saw my bike and the Texas registration, and stopped to talk. While his sister, brother, and sister-in-law still live in Africa, he’s lived in Canada for 25 years, working for Toyota, and has an XT250. Like most others, he never thought of riding it any long distance. Now he’s having other thoughts. 

I headed back across the border to Zambia on the Kazungula ferry, and east to Livingstone. As I left Kazungula, the road condition improved and I had nice pavement with painted stripes all the way to Livingstone, where I intend to camp for two nights.

On the way into Livingstone I see a t-shirt with a great saying on it:

In America, they call it SURVIVOR.

In Africa, we call it CAMPING.