Botswana

Botswana was AWESOME !!

We only spent two nights there , but there is much to be said about the country.
So we actually left Vic falls a day early since most of us are budgeting and didn't want to do extreme life-threatening sports (bungi, rafting, ziplining, skydiving, etc etc) every single day- so we were basically hanging around doing nothing for a few days and our leaders decided to let us leave a bit early so we could get the most of our time!! we now get to see (at no extra cost) a wicked beautiful campsite with all kind of bells and whistles on the third largest crator in the world! woop woop!

So we didn't actually do much special in Botswana, we sortof just drove through it... but we saw loads. the first campsite was a bit boring but it did have a bar and a pool so that's easy to work around. We were laying by the pool in the fluffy grass marveling at the gorgeous 42.8 degree weather (omg !) when all of a sudden this dark cloud loomed over the crocodile infested river... it began to look a gloomy sight, so we all jumped to our feet and did rain-preparation just in case the rain hit our tents! we put up all truck windows, zipped everything up, put the additional canopy over top of the tent, put stuff in the centre of the tent, etc!!!! we did it super speedy and we also had to move all our laundry that was drying in the sun... it got darker and darker... we got more and more sure that the dark cloud was going to be a very large random storm and within 10 minutes (no joke) it was POURING like I haven't seen it pour before (except in monsoon season in Thailand..) but this rain collected so quickly that it actually looked like a flash flood!!! it was knee deep and running fast toward the river from all directions. Trees were breaking and falling on (other people's) tents. Some of our tents fell over, things were soaking wet, you could hardly see, there were logs floating down the newly formed river. The thunder clapped so loudly that it made every person jump, the lightening surely hit nearby-- it was a CRAZY storm!!! even more dramatic, I'd say, than the sand-dollar Sheet Harbour storm !! We were obsessing about all this random storm, looking at the now-knee-deep place where we had been tanning only 10 minutes before and we were shivering as well- it wasn't until we were physically shivering that we had a closer look and realized that it was HAILING. can you say crazy weather?!?!?!

It lasted under and hour and the sun came back out to play and we redistributed our wet laundry and reopened all the windows. our tents were muddy and sleeping bags wet... ugh what a bother- but what an INTERESTING quick storm!!!! Afterwards there were many new bugs, I guess there are loads underground during droughts and as soon as it begins to rain they all come out so that night we were swatting horribly!!

Everywhere you drive through in Botswana there are these weird "stops" (almost like a boarder... but not?) and you have to get out of the vehicle and disinfect your shoes (with this weird brown water that really just looks dirty? lol) and then they check your vehicle for meat and fruit and then you carry on. it's SO WEIRD. but it's basically to keep from spreading anything that you may have stepped on, ie. animal droppings etc. I guess it makes sense but it's kinda weird!

Night 2 of Botswana may be my most memorable of my entire trip here to Africa. We stayed at a hidden-away place where other tours don't go (I Feel blessed to have been on this tour with Riaan and Juliana- they know their way around so well and are such responsible , intelligent people). It was called Elephant sands, and it's run by a man who truly just loves elephants. He has already made his wealth and lived his life elsewhere and has chosen this area to come purely so he can be near elephants. sometimes he goes out into the bush with just a mat and pillow and sleeps beside families of elephants just to be near them. He's a very cool guy. He spends loads and loads of money each month filling up this small natural pond of water so that the elephants will come. We saw 50+ elephants come to the hole at different times-- it was AMAZING. we were maybe 30 meters away from them and they came to bathe and drink the water right in front of us- WILD ELEPHANTS !!!! aw it was magical. so so amazing. they walk right past our tents and into the water hole. they also like to drink from the pool (hahahaha) but while we were there, unfortunately, the pool was out of order because about two weeks ago there was an elephant fiasco!!!! a baby elephant fell into the pool and couldn't get out. He drowned there and the elephants were horrified and mourned the death by stomping all trees and buildings around them (this is how elephants often respect the deaths of their own kind, by destroying an area around) they were very stressed and upset elephants and the entire camp ground was destroyed. I took loads of photos of the damage. the owner said there haven't been incidents like that in years and years but it just so happened that it happened two weeks ago so we were there to see the remains. so sad :( but so interesting! and the elephants still came to the same water hole.

They also spotted a leopard twice this week on the camp grounds! SO COOL !!!!!!!!! so we were a little weary going to sleep that we might be trampled or attacked during the night by wild animals- but that is the excitement of sleeping in the bush, isn't it?

Now we have just entered South Africa- HELLO CIVILIZATION!!!! I am actually sitting in a MALL!! there are loads of developments, the roads are smooth, the boarder was CIVILIZED! It's good to be back. a good way to ease ourselves back into "city-life" hahahahaha.

OH also in Botswana, Matt and I met this great couple who live in Johannesburg, and they wholeheartedly asked us to stay with them while we are in Joburg- -YAYYYYY we have accommodation!!! Not only does this save Matt and I 150+ dollars, we also met great people, have a drive everywhere we need to go, and will have an inside source telling us the way around! woooooooooooo!!! now THAT'S lucky!!!!!

Still loving Africa. I can't wait to come back here again someday and explore it on my own terms . Missing home though, of course!

love love love always