Ga Gona Batho

Maud’s ‘Jill’s Garden’ at Jack’s Pan. Yes, She knows it’s kindo nutty to take all these cuttings when one still has 9 days of driving & camping in the desert before going home, but hey, it just would be too nice to have a ‘Jill’s Garden’ in Morwa to not give it a try. And Yes, we managed to find Jack’s Pan. We were very, very lucky that Jill got us permission to camp there because it was just like paradise. Jack’s Pan is situated in a private concession that belongs to a friend of Jill, 150 k’s from Tsabong, mainly via a sandy dirt road. The road was good because it had been raining; we weren’t ploughing our way through deep sand but had a nicely compacted track. The only tricky thing was to find the sidetrack that leads to Jack’s pan. We had a maybe right, maybe not estimate in k’s, and luckily someone had planted a stick that obviously wasn’t natural, otherwise we would never have found it…

Bram made a contraption that enables us to sleep in the car. We discovered we still have to pitch our tent, because all the food and other stuff has to be kept out of reach of the hyeaneas and jackals, but if there is nobody else around sleeping in the car is stunning. When you wake up you immediately enjoy the starry, starry night skies or the amazing southwestern Kalahari desert.

The pan is packed with game round the clock. Gemsbok, eland, red hartebeest, springbok, ostrich, and even some kudu and bat-eared fox - no need to go for a game drive, we just can sit in our chairs and watch. The first evening Bram went for a (illegal) walk while Maud was preparing dinner, and bumped into a cheetah and a caracal. (Illegal cause we agreed to not wander off since there are a lot of lion around.) Note the jackets & trousers – the first day was cold & rainy, quite special when 36 degrees Celsius in the shade is considered a cool day!

Yeah, rain! We had a box packed with books just in case, and really enjoyed reading Ice Station Zebra here in the desert.

Another amazing sunset – but our books were just too fascinating to pay attention.

Thanks to the fire the jacket is off – and the book is still fascinating.

Altogether Jack’s Pan was a stunning experience; beautiful, lots of game, no people but us – ga gona batho, so the only thing you have to wear is sunscreen.