Elephantastic

After two nights in Kasane, from which we visited Chobe National park, it was time to explore more of Botswana. We wanted to drive south, towards Nata. Here we wanted to visit Elephant Sands Camp. We hoped that there would be some space for us. 

The day started out with our new ritual. Completely emptying the car, inspecting it for new rat poo and rat pee, cleaning every place we could reach and repacking. The upside, we didn't find new droppings this time. Downside: since returning to Africa we have seen rain every day, including in Botswana. The campsite looked nice and grassy, but the rains made our camping spot like a mud bath. This meant quite some difficulty to put everything outside without it getting wet whilst cleaning the inside of Gigi, but we managed. Everything was cleaned, we had some breakfast and we were off!

The first stop was Kasane town. We were in Botswana for about two days, but we still didn't have a Sim-card. We went to the Orange shop to buy one, but apparently, their system is linked to the immigrations-system and the salesperson informed us that the immigrations-system hadn't properly processed our entry. The salesperson told us to go to BTC, and gave us some vague description of how to get there. The final comment: 'Best go to the Shell fuel station and ask again'. 

At the Shell fuel station, we received some new vague instructions. We got lost immediately, until we saw a stall and Emma asked the girl at the stall how to get to the BTC shop. With these instructions, we were on the right track and we quickly found the BTC shop. Efficiently, we were helped simultaneously and we were on our way again within 15 minutes. We bought some groceries and were off to Elephant Sands camp. 

The road was quite nice and without any issues, we arrived at the campsite. We were informed about a speed trap along the way, but saw no police at the given point. Some kilometers further, Emma suddenly shouted COFFEE. There was a pop-up stand with coffee to-go. After some debating, we turned around for the coffee. There was a police car there, with police officers getting a hot cup as well. Were those the officers that should have been at the speed trap? We'll never know, although they did leave in the direction of the supposed speed trap. Just before reaching our destination, we saw our first free-roaming elephant in Botswana, right along the roadside. 

Upon arrival, we were informed that there was more than enough space for us. We chose a spot and positioned our car in such a way that the tent had a nice view over the watering hole. Elephant Sands is a lodge & campsite surrounding an artificial watering hole, that is frequented by elephants (and the lodge's horses). As it was rainy season, there were no large herds to be expected. We didn't mind, any number of elephants would already be nice. Before we were even able to set up our camp, we were greeted by several horses. They were clearly not interested in petting, all they wanted was food. We were quite careful around them as we did not want them to do anything unexpected, and we didn't offer them any food. After some time, they left and we were able to set up our camp. 

Jeroen cleaned out the car again, to see if there was any rat activity. Fortunately, no activity yet, so we could go to dinner semi-careless. During our dinner, we suddenly saw an elephant approaching the watering hole. Just as we made our way to have a look, another one came in. We watched as these majestic creatures came close to the patio overlooking the watering hole. It was beautiful and exactly why we came here. Just before going to bed, we did our cleaning routine. Looking for (the absence of) rat activity did have two great advantages. Firstly it meant that we cleaned Gigi twice a day. Secondly, we had a lot of opportunities to perfect our storage system. 

The next day was a chill day. As Emma made breakfast, Jeroen performed the cleaning ritual. Still no rat activity, meaning the latest activity spotted was the last night in Kasane. We were getting slightly optimistic, but we did realize that it still didn't mean we got rid of the rat. It might just be hiding for a few days, or it might be going outside at night to scavenge. Anyway, after breakfast we went straight for the swimming pool. This was everything we wanted for today. Resting, reading, doing sudokus and swimming. At the swimming pool, we met a nice Dutch family who were on a family holiday. We chatted with them about our travel experiences and enjoyed the relaxing day. Just as we were getting ready to leave the swimming pool, a lot of people arrived to the camp and lodge. They went straight for the pool and it became very busy. That was our cue to leave and go to our tent. After chilling at the tent for some time, a lone elephant came to the watering hole. It was wonderful to see the ellie quite close while sitting next to our car instead of inside. 

We had dinner outside and again we were treated with several elephants. Just before we were about to be served our desert, the rains came pouring down again. The outside patio was firstly flooded with people, then suddenly with water. We sheltered in the dining area with a roof, but the wind blew the rain everywhere. The Dutch family had a bush braai and we felt so sorry for them. When they arrived at the lodge, soaking wet, they told us that fortunately the bush braai had just finished when the rains came. The open game vehicle was not ideal for the rains though, so they still got wet on the way back to the camp.