Easter Monday

We won’t exaggerate this ‘surviving holy days without braais’ thing, so Easter Monday we drive to Andre & Tears for – a braai. This is again a special one, because Tears has to go through adding another year to her age. Not that it shows on her – once she starts selling her secret, she’ll be filthy rich.


Tears decided on a small celebration, only the kids, the neighbours and us. While the grandson works up an appetite by exploring the swimming pool, Andre takes care of the braai and we’re free to sit around the table chatting & drinking. It’s good that makes you hungry also, because there’s a mountain of yummy food: loads of braaimeat, chicken tjap tjoy, fish, bean salad – delicious!

Easter Sunday

Two braais in a row might be overdoing it, so for Easter Sunday we decide on the Dutch pancake thing. The event starts with Maud teaching Bashi how to make this Dutch delicacy. He’s a quick student; his first pancake already looks excellent. Here’s a good (grand)son for you: he’s learning because he wants to treat his mom and grandma by baking them pancakes on the lands. Meanwhile Maud tries to be a decent wife by making the good old bacon variation.
Bashi says we should start a pancake restaurant, it’ll be a sure hit. It would be good to have a Dutch mess again, now that Morwa has to survive without Hille’s patat friet (French fries). But we’re very busy with the diversification of our business plan as it is, so we won’t branch out that far (yet).
Being heavily influenced by the Americans, we can’t do pancakes without ice cream anymore. Jeff’s banishments to the bush prove to be excellent for ice cream diversification. While suffering in a remote mining camp, he dreams up beautiful recipes for our homemade icy produce. We’re still hunting for ingredients to visualize his Black Forest dream, but the white chocolate & coconut, and the peach & cream turn out quite palatable.
The puppies by the way behave excellent during their first party, we’re ever so proud.

Easter Count Down

Saturday before Easter we celebrate two important events. Early in the morning we discover we still have three puppies sleeping on the porch, so they survived their first night in their new yard without getting disoriented. Their mother isn’t that happy about this new sleeping arrangement. She recently moved in with us to avoid her offspring, only to be followed by the three bitches.


In the afternoon we walk over to Jeff & Pelo for, as you can guess, a braai. The Master of the House has been in the bush too long, so the homecoming must be commemorated properly. On top of that LJ finally returned after 8 months in the American bush. Imagine having to drive 60 miles to get cell phone reception and supplies... We’re glad the old man survived the US of A!


Celebrated it is, with excellent beef, nice salads, Bram’s Viking-vodka and good company. The most eligible bachelor of Morwa, mister Edo Zachary, takes care of the entertainment by being a charming Terrible Two. When he finally falls asleep on top of Brrrram and Maud, we make do with telling jokes around the fire. Carbon footprint or not, most evenings are so cold now you really need the heat of burning wood.

Impressions

Thanks to Annette, who wrote down her impressions for our blog, we can start our new series: ‘How is it to be a first time visitor in Botswana’. It’s very special to get Annette’s first impressions, because we can never ever have those again ourselves; we can only relive the feeling through a guest. Although some things stay the same, like how Annette and we feel in and travelling from South Africa.


My first impression of crossing the border from South Africa to Botswana was a kind of relief! The difference between the two countries was striking. From feeling a latent fear in SA – the fear kind of disappeared the moment we crossed the border to Botswana. And that feeling of safety and confidence remained all through the weeks we were in Botswana.

People
First of all – everybody was very kind and helpful – that was my overall impression!
Then…most Botswana-people seem to have plenty of time. Coming from a more or less stressful everyday life in Denmark, the people seem to have much more time…for a foreigner….to do “nothing”. Knowing that there is a big difference in culture, many things seemed to be very ineffective – but on the other hand – everything succeeded in the end. Suppose I could learn a thing or two in slowing down?


Village Life
The massive invasion of corncrickets was one of my first impressions of village life in Morwa – not that I liked them, but I got used to having them all over without getting hysterical! And Maud killing hundreds of them every day by crushing them with shoes, brooms or even (thinking of) shooting them will always be a very good and satisfying memory.
But also: The calmness in the village, the light, the view over the small hills from your house, the sunset, the baboons nearby, the goats, cows and donkeys walking around in the village and the close neighbour ship you have to the people in Morwa… everything has become a very good and special memory. And of course spending some very good time with you!

Serowe
Serowe was one of the highlights of the tour (down memory lane) – and although it was not my memory from 30 years ago – I sort of felt and enjoyed the memories that you have shared!
Seeing all the old places where Bram and Peter were 30 years ago – meeting the nice people from Printers Office – doing the restaurant trip with the employees of Printers – that was great fun! Meeting Skobie at the Museum of Serowe – a very charismatic person – and an unforgettable meeting.
So…the fact that I, as a new visitor in Serowe, had the opportunity to visit so many local people, was very special and a very nice experience.


Campsites
Huge campsites comparing to what we are used to in Europe. And believe it or not – I have actually tried a lot of campsites in Europe – although many years ago! But none of them can be compared with the Botswana-campsites. I have never had that much space, never had such a good fireplace, never had so few neighbour tents, never had that much beautiful ‘noise’ during the night and never had such nice evenings with good food together with good friends.
And even the toilets were excellent – what more can you ask for?


Driving thousands of kilometres
Very hot – very, very hot for a Viking, but also kind of refreshing, sitting in the car with open windows and the wind blowing through the car. So, in fact – even from a Viking point-of-view it was no problem – in fact it was a true adventure to drive all through the country.
Meeting about 200 storks on the roadside was a swelling experience. Here in Denmark we are lucky to see one or two storks in 10 years – so seeing many hundreds in Botswana and knowing that the storks actually are on their way to Europe (and maybe Denmark) , that is just so good to know. I have told everybody here that they are on their way!
Seeing huge elephant dung on the road and, a minute after, seeing the big elephants on the roadside… a memory that remains in my mind for ever.

And finally – one more thing about the people – in fact mostly about women in Botswana: Very beautiful women – and how do they get that beautiful huge arses??


And now the last statement:
South Africa was beautiful concerning landscape, but very fearful, and I was not proud of being a white person in that country – I can understand that the black people have problems assimilating!
And about Botswana – I truly lost my heart to Botswana – no doubt in my mind!
And that is due to you, to Peter and to the people I met in Botswana.

Love from Annette

Sweatshop

As we’re still posting our trip with Peter & Annette, you might wonder ‘did nothing happen after that’? Actually we’re sweating our asses of, and not only because of the last of the summer sun. April 6 we drive to Pretoria, and April 30 we fly to the lowlands, so there’s little time left to wrap things up in Botswana. Wrapping up is not that interesting for our readers, we think; it concerns cleaning, packing, saying ‘see you, so long’, finishing a lot of assignments, and, most importantly, organizing some form of care for the puppies.


I could try to impress you all with my recently acquired knowledge of production versus ecological carrying capacity, animal unit (if 1 AU = 1 LU, domestic large Livestock Unit, one domestic cow or ox of 455 kg, than 1 springbok = x AU, 1 Eland = y AU, and etcetera), restaurant menus, garage equipment, the cost of solar energy compared to grid energy, generating income in poor communities, and much more. No lack of variety in our work, but more details will probably bore you even more.


We’ll try to spare you our zillion puppy stories & pictures, but we will post a ‘see you’ braai or two, and our next stay in our Serowe office. By far the most interesting and rewarding job we have now is our work for the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. It has it all: beautiful office, nice colleagues, interesting work, and the satisfying feeling you’re doing something worthwhile.

Full Bred

‘Not our dog’ Mussadi produced nine pure, full bred Tswana puppies. The five that survived the initial six weeks had their first big shock in life: a trip by car to the posh vet, who gave them their shots and other treatments. To make up for their suffering the vet also gave them a bowl with stock & meat – you’ve never seen puppies in shock come back to life so quickly!


Aisha, Moira and Nadia are exhausted during their first visit to their home to be, our yard. From now on they’ll have their breakfast and dinner with us. Their brothers Nelson and Desmond seem quite happy when we swap a plate of food for the three sisters.

Nata

Driving from Maun to Nata is always exiting. You might see a stray elephant at the side of the road, one that forgot it’s supposed to stay up north. We don’t encounter a stray elephant. We do encounter a herd, huge Matriarch and all, fabulous! Whether it is the abundance of water everywhere this year, or the growing overpopulation up north we don’t know, but we sure enjoy meeting them.


We are prepared for a difficult drive because the roads around Gweta, halfway to Nata, were flooded. By now the road is dry, but there’s loads of water left and right. Annette got excited when we saw many storks, preparing for migration, while driving up to Maun. Now Maud gets all excited, because we see real ducks. This is very promising for the pans in Nata Bird Sanctuary, where we are going to camp.


For people who live in the desert, this year the pans are even more breathtaking than last year. Even more water, even more real waves; it’s much more exciting to go swimming than to spot pelicans and flamingos.

Maun

Peter's seen a book about the 200 places you have to see before you die, and the Okavango Delta is one of them. We planned to drive up to Maun anyway, because it offers our guests loads of touristy things to do, while we hang out with Piet and Klaas & Toots.
Maun is a strange little town. Being the starting point for the delta, the famous game parks Chobe and Moremi, and the northern part of the Central Kalahari, it’s ruled by the tourist industry. Guides and other safari-people, very young pilots; they’re all over the place. We don’t know if there is a connection, but according to some Maun-people it’s also the place where human driftwood ends up.


Like last year, when we travelled with Joost & Cristina, we could stay in Pietje's house. A beautiful plot, just outside Maun, close to the river, and 7 dogs – what more do you want? Klaas & Toots around the corner, but that’s where they stay. Officially anyway, because work requires them to kind of live in Klaas’ restaurant, across from Maun International Airport.


Annette & Peter decided to fly into the delta and spend a night at Gunn’s Camp. It is summer here, not the best period to see animals because the grass is high and there’s water everywhere. But the delta is always stunning, and you’re sure to meet some game, at least hippos. Together with the crocodiles these innocent looking veggies are involved in most wildlife-human accidents because they’re very aggressive. Then again most accidents are caused by the stupidity of tourists who don’t do as the guide says, so who’s the aggressor?


Next to seeing friends, our Maun-visits always include Good Food. A dinner at Klaas’ Bon Arrivee (we’re now producing the new menu), Toots’ home-cooking, and Pietje’s fully fitted kitchen give us a nice break from ‘suffering in the bush’. During this visit, Toots finally managed to force Bram into a palatshe-cooking lesson. The funny thing about palatshe (maize pap), and bogobe (sorghum pap), is some people produce absolutely disgusting glue-like substances, while others cook something delicious. Bram now knows the basics of cooking it lekker.

Tropics of Capricorn

Another ‘must do’: pictures at the Tropics of Capricorn. The little bar where Maud had a guava juice to commemorate her first overland crossing almost twenty years ago is a ruin by now, so we party with coffee & snacks from the car-bar, after the obligatory posing around the plaque.

Sightseeing

De first two days with Peter & Annette we spend in & around Morwa, to show them all the tourist highlights. Botswana’s claim to fame is game, so it took some thinking to invent a couple of ‘must see’s, but in the end we thought up more than was doable.
A sure must is the visit to Mochudi museum, located on a rocky hill in the old village-centre. Thank the gods for tourists, because we always think we are too busy to go there just for us. We really needed to catch up with Hardy, the artist who’s running the museum’s workshop, and the rocks are the perfect spot for a picnic or sundowners.


A must for Peter is seeing Patrick van Rensburg (see Wikipedia). Patrick started the Botswana Brigades, where Peter & Bram were working some 30 years ago.
By chance we discovered two other highlights. Odi Weavers, one of the first development projects after Botswana became independent, started by Scandinavians, is still alive. We don’t know for how long, because the old women who keep the place going say the new generation isn’t interested in learning the skill. Which is a pity: the workshop is really worth the visit, and they make beautiful, internationally renowned tapestry. It’s all done by hand from scratch, the ladies even spin and dye the sheep wool themselves.


At Bokaa Dam we come across the Tourism Village. Here’s an intriguing project! There’s a bar, restaurant, nice shaded terrace, braai-area, and the beginnings of an attractive garden, all located next to the dam. But there’s no marketing whatsoever, so we, who stumbled upon it, are the first and only visitors since long.

Serowe

After two days of sightseeing in & around Morwa, we leave for the real trip down memory lane: Serowe. First stop: the red rocks, just before the village, where Peter and Bram spend many wild hours. Whatever Annette and Maud try, details are not unveiled...


In Serowe we find Peter’s house, Bram’s house, the brigade-buildings where Peter worked, the bottle-store, and more. We visit Patrick’s son Motushi who lives in Patrick’s old house, where Peter used to visit. We meet Zaba Watson, who helped Peter’s printers brigade sell cattle to get cash for equipment. We have a nice morning with the Serowe Printers Coop, where two of Peter’s trainees still work. Thanks to the strong euro, Peter can invite the whole coop for lunch in Tswaragano Cooperative Hotel – another old van Rensburg project, now managed by the Watson’s.


Peter brought a lot of old pictures for the ‘history of Serowe’ exhibition in the Khama Memorial Museum, run by Maud’s vegetarian brother Skobi (we’re probably the only two veggies in Botswana). Looking at the pictures brings up so many stories from Skobi, and some from Peter and Bram, that we get ideas for books. The hunt for sponsors is opened!


After each eventful Serowe-day we return to our beloved Rhino Sanctuary, where we camp. The game-drives are even more amazing than usual. Next to rhino, impala, kudu, wildebeest, gemsbok, zebra, giraffe, ostrich, and etcetera, we see two herds of eland. This biggest African antelope is extremely shy and very hard to spot, so this is really a miracle.
In the evening we loiter around the campfire and look at the stars. This being our home in Serowe we also have visitors: Motushi and family hop over for an afternoon game-drive and loitering at the campsite.


The Sanctuary is not only home, but also our office. During our morning meeting with the Chief Game Warden at our campsite we realize once again how incredible lucky we are. Compare this environment with an office in Haarlem Schalkwijk or Amsterdam Oost... The rhino’s want us to make this, and that, and more, so we’ll just have to come back in March to finalize designs.

Home Office

Just another working day


for the Sun Design management team / janitors / designers / gardeners / writers / drivers / whatever needs to be done