Oh Brother where art thou?

Heerlijk frisse nachten rond deze tijd. Het doet me denken aan het mooie nazomer weer wat we zo nu en dan in Holland hebben.
Nice crisp nights this time of the year. It reminds me of the beautiful late summer weather we sometimes have in Holland.


En als dan ‘s ochtends het eerste rood aan de hemel verschijnt hoor je een voor een allerlei verschillende soorten vogels de dag toezingen.
And then, when sunrise starts, you hear one after the other many different species of birds welcome the day.


De impala’s, gemsbokkies, neushoorns, giraffen, wildebeesten, zebra’s, olifanten, bavianen, koedoes, leeuwen ... en al die prachtige vogels, ik zal ze missen wanneer ik weer terug ben. Het is zeker opzienbarend hoe dicht je alles kan benaderen.
The impalas, gemsbok, giraffes, wildebeests, zebras, elephants, baboons, kudus, lions … and al those beautiful birds, I will miss them when I’m back home. It is amazing for sure how close you can get to everything.


Lekhubu Island, het eiland midden in de zoutvlakte waar het tot de einder helemaal vlak is. Op het eiland een bos van reusachtige Baobabs die te traag voor de evolutie zich hebben gehandhaafd.
Lekhubu Island, the isle in the middles of the saltpans where it is totally flat up till the horizon. On the isle a forest of huge, ancient baobabs that, too slow for evolution, managed to survive.


We waren daar tijdens de volle maan en iets sprookjesachtigers is bijna niet voor te stellen.
We were there during full moon and something more fairy-like is hard to imagine.


In de Okavango delta werden we in mokoro’s (uitgeholde boomstammen) rond gepunterd door een aantal plaatselijke gidsen.
In the Okavango delta we were poled around in mokoros (dug-out canoes) by some local guides.


Met hun geoefende ogen en oren hebben ze ons zoveel laten zien.
With their very experienced eyes and ears they showed us so much.


En nu zit ik weer in de relatieve drukte van Morwa dit stukje te typen.
And now I’m writing this back in little ‘crowded’ Morwa.


Achter me wordt lekker doorgebouwd aan het nieuwe huis van Bram en Maud. En nu ik het hier gezien heb is het duidelijk waarom ze dit avontuur zijn aangegaan.
Behind me the builders make good progress with Bram & Maud’s new house. And now that I have seen everything here it is clear why they set out on this adventure.


Groetjes van Henk-i

Back in Morwa

Poes & Maud at Schiphol, enjoying their last cigarette & summer son before the endless trip back home starts. They don’t look forward to about 6 hours waiting at Cairo airport, and the same at Joburg. And they don’t like sitting in airplanes like sardines in a can.


It’s sure winter in Joburg – one by one scarves, jumpers and coats get unpacked.


Back home in Morwa we shift from trying to stay out of the sun as much as possible to get as much warmth as we can. To take care of the evenings, Maud is invited to join a firewood-expedition into the bush nearby. Sitting around the campfire at night sure makes up for the cold!


Our sweet little puppies are sweet adolescents now, almost as big as their grown-up sisters. They even seem to recognize us…


Bashi really made progress with the building project while we were away! The store rooms (down left) are finished – one for Bram and one for Maud, so we won’t have to fight over ‘why the hell are you storing this???’ The bedroom walls are up to roof-level.


The crisp cold nights guarantee we sleep very well, but getting started in the morning is like plunging into an icy swimming pool. We might redesign the fireplace in the new house – should it be a bit bigger?


Getting back means visiting neighbours left, right and centre. Rachel & Melvin will be right next to us in the new house.


Just before we left end of April their Anele was born – he’s like twice as big already.


Another reunion: Poes finally makes it back home to Duncan and Kleine Poes.


Let’s hope the visitors – Bram’s brother & girlfriend & daughter – are really prepared for winter in Africa!

Safari

After a week of unpacking & settling in again, starting the next building phase, and, most important, hanging out with the dogs, Henk-i, Harriet and Jolin arrive. Their first days we spend at home, showing off our surroundings. Though we didn’t manage to spot the promised baboons and green monkeys, we had an encounter with other game then goats, cows and donkeys while walking to the red rocks. This expedition, ten minutes by foot from our house, brought us kudus. Again, for Maud, and finally Bram believes she has seen those antelopes there before.


When we hit the road in our old Hilux our first goal is Khama Rhino Sanctuary near Serowe. That’s a sure hit for the tour guides cause those rhino are breeding like rats, and we always see lots of game there.


On our way up we get afraid we might have to catch a couple of donkeys to pull the car. The Hilux can hardly make it uphill, and the engine sounds like it will die pretty soon. So we phone our Serowe friend Thusi that once again we will be driving a car in need when we visit. And once again the solution is very simple and extremely embarrassing: engines need oil.


It has been years since we saw so many giraffes at Khama Rhino.


While Maud practices her driving skills on girl’s highways (meaning dirt roads), and Jolin has a go at balancing on the roof rack, we see loads of other game also. Hand raised black rhino Noddy adds to the ‘wild Africa’ experience by roaming our campsite at night.


Actually Botswana is like staying at the beach without the see: sand in your eyes, food, luggage – everywhere. Since we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn the days are warm, and a sea would be appreciated, but the nights are still nice crisp & cold.


Driving on to Lhekubu Island we have to cross the saltpans, which makes this outing only possible in winter. The summer rains will make the soil so soft that whole trucks can totally disappear… Even now there still is some water in the pans, so we just have to walk to the beach to cool down our feet.


Lhekubu Island is stunning: an isle formed by rocks in the middle of the pans, covered with baobabs. It’s peak season, so there are a lot of other tourists, but since they rather drive around the isle via the pans, we can walk all over it undisturbed.


After surviving two camps it’s time to move on to Maun and have a luxury stay with Pietje.


The relatives must be disappointed by now. We promised them nothing but palatshe or bogobe (maize- or sorghum pap) with mopane caterpillars, but even chef Klaas serves other stuff in his Cuisine Rouge.


This one is still way too small for a braai.


Maun is the starting point for an outing into the Okavango delta. The river and the delta are extremely full with water this year due to heavy rains in Angola. We’re poled over what we know as dry land to the island ‘Mama don’t cry’, where we set up camp.


Again no caterpillars but fresh tilapia caught by our poler & guide Freddy.


Freddy teaches us how to make a bush braai: dig a hole, fill it with red hot coals, and make a grid out of sticks over it.


Being poled around is really nice, but the absolutely fabulous part is the game walks. Sneaking up on zebra, wildebeest, elephant, giraffe, and etcetera is like a dream come true.


Though some sweeties we prefer to spot while driving around… While camping east of the delta we hire a guide to drive with us and hunt down highlights.


Finding those lions took so long that we drive back in the dark, which gives us the chance to spot some nocturnal game, like the African wildcat.


On our way back south we have a stop over at Nata Bird Sanctuary. The pelicans & flamingos are not around this time of the year, but we spot cranes, and the pans are always amazingly spacey.


Francistown – the second town of Botswana, close to the Zimbabwean border. We have our French fries & burgers at the busy bus station. How many of those big bags are on their way to help out the relatives in Zimbabwe?


Final stop over: Moremi Gorge, close to Palapye. It’s a un-Botswana like landscape: a lush green forest down the gorge, around the stream and pools and small waterfalls that flow from a spring high up.


Directed by our guide we go halfway up the gorge. The forbidding, straight-up rock wall at the other side houses the famous gorge-vultures, and a flock of other prey-birds and their preys.


Next stop: back home down south.

Almost Spring

Hurray, civilization! After two weeks of dusty bush camping a day at the Gaborone Sun Hotel pool is a must!


Back home, back to building, and starting our masimo. For now we only do the layout, because the gate is not goat-proof yet – and goats just love to nibble baby trees. Keeping the goats out is doable, but how to keep the baboons and green monkeys away from our future papaya, guava, mango, avocado, lemmetjes, tomatoes, and etcetera?


Next winter we’ll have baked potatoes, melted marshmallows, heat, and other goodies from our own Jetmaster!

Poes!

Meet our most important travel companion: Piraten-Poes! Poes is Duncan’s mate, but she’s a bit naughty, so when they were visiting Granny Scotland, Poes was still roaming the estate when Duncan (4) really had to leave to catch his plane. Now Poes will be keeping Maud company while travelling to Gaborone July 22-23, via Cairo and Joburg. This means we’ll use our Dutch cell-numbers till July 22 around 15:30. We should be back on our Botswana cell-numbers July 23 after 16:15. Yes, it is a long trip; actually we’ll leave our Dutch house around 11:00 am July 22, and arrive at our Botswana house around 17:30 July 23 (supposing nothing goes wrong).
Maud: +26771219954
Bram: +26771219936


Preparations for leaving: making the boat rainproof so it won’t become a u-boat again while we are away.


So little fun trips through Leiden’s canals are over now.


In between cleaning & packing we squeeze some last fun appointments, like this meeting with Maud’s uncle’s new puppy.


We had a great summer in the Netherlands! Just wish all those goodbyes were a bit easier…