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| One of the baobabs in Nxai Pan |
With a long 11 hour drive ahead of us we didn’t want to waste any time, so it was up at the usual 5am and we were out of the campsite just after 5.30am. Not checking out the waterholes - just straight out. The 35 km drive to the main A3 road was largely uneventful although we did see a few gemsbok which we hadn’t caught in the park. And there were more giraffe as well, probably due to there being some nice green acacia trees for them to feed on.
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| On our way out |
Two hours later and we had a quick fuel stop at the new fuel shed in Rakops and then later a stop to grab some pies in Letlhakane to eat on the road. The road was quiet until we got to Palapye where we refueled and joined the main A1 to Gaborone. This is the toughest stretch in Botswana joining the 2 biggest cities in the country.
With it being the end of a long weekend it was packed with cars. And an extra level of difficulty is the cows, sheep and donkeys that graze on the side of 2 lane highway as cars go at 120km/h. And with no fence they are free to cross the road at any time so you need to be vigilant as a driver and preferably have the passenger watching out for cattle as well.
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| Always amusing to see what's on the road! |
Numerous times we had to suddenly slow down as an animal decided now would be the time to cross the road. And we had a flock of goats deciding that it would be a good idea to suddenly run across in front of us and an oncoming vehicle.
Luckily Dru was able to brake and actually swerve off the road to avoid them while they panicked, started running back, nearly causing an accident in the oncoming lane. That’s what driving in Botswana is. But we made it home safely around 5pm, just short of a 12 hour trek. But the long drive was worth it for the trip we had to Nxai Pan. The park really delivered for us and we’re already looking forward to our trip to the same place next year when the zebra migration is in!
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