From Robins Camp in Hwange NP we took the gravel road to the border with Botswana, where we had the easiest border crossing so far at Pandamatenga. You are not allowed to bring meat into Botswana, but we had nothing with us. We only had to put all our shoes, or most of them, into the disinfectant to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease and drive our car through the same stuff.
On the way we (= Edi) had to take the tires down again and take one spacer out as it was worn out and made a problem. We will have to order new ones, being send to Botswana.
After the border crossing we spent the night at the Panda Camp. The next day was Monday and we tried to organise a SIM Card and found a garage called Humans Transport, where we could get our rim welded. Through a tiny crack we had lost air the last days.
Our next stop was at the famous Elephant Sands, a lodge and campsite. Many people love this place, where numerous elephants come to get some water from a tap, while tourists chat, swim and have a drink next to them. We now know, we belong to the people who don’t like this place.
It was nice to be able to watch them passing us on the way to or from the water, but we had much more enjoyed the solitude in Hwange, and where the elephants have a dam to drink and not just a trickle of water.
We can’t understand why they don’t make it easier for the elephants to get to the precious water. And if the restaurant wouldn’t be directly next to the water source, that would also be nicer in our opinion, but many like the spectacle of elephants trying to get to the water and the owners make good money with that.
We left the next day and drove to Nata, where we stayed at the lovely Eselbe Camp. We didn’t have any elephants next to us, but could take a kajak along the river and enjoyed the company of nice people and a meal shared together.
We will continue south from here, going into the salt pan – more next!