Saturday 16 September: So we make it to Lephalale to fill up with fuel and head to the Stokpoort Border Post. All goes well but on the Botswana side, they confiscate some veggies from each vehicle. Not a thorough raid, just a few entries into the log..1cucumer, 500g tomatoes, 1Butternut; sign here please.
Onward on the dirt road to Pahalape. Busy market town on a busy Saturday. We hit Checkers and Tops to rebuy the veggies and the buy the drinks. We are probably running pretty late by the time we leave town and it's a long, long drive to Nata. We arrive at Elephant Sands after dark but the ellies are all at the water hole for us and we enjoy the steak dinner washed down with lots of wine.
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| Elephant Sands Water Hole |
Sunday 17 September: We start with a full English breakfast and then we head for the Panamatenga border into Zimbabwe. With patience and quite a bit of form filling in we get through both borders in well under 2 hours. No hassles.The border on the Zim side is in Hwange Game Reserve, so it feels exciting to be adventuring into the wild unknown immediately. And it's super hot. After a roadside picnic for lunch, we head to Robin's Camp to check in and pay park conservation fees. The camp itself is pretty run down and no longer has overnighting facilities. (We were headed to Masuma Dam picnic sight for 2 nights.)
Some details: All Zim Park fees are in US Dollars, which actually makes it pretty expensive. For the private campsites, like Masuma, it costs 24USD per person per night; for very basic facilities. The Conservancy fees are on top of that and prices vary from a few dollars to about 15 USD per person per day depending on the park and whether you are local, African or foreign. If you want the best private camps you are going to have to book almost a year in advance.
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| Bar raid... |
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| A camping trailer with a full bar...Andrew's our man... |
Monday 18 September: Masuma has an amazing hide built above a waterhole, no need to game drive if you don't want to. The hide can be used by other vehicles during the day but after 6pm you're on your own.
Tuesday 19 September: We have to move to Shumba Camp for our 3rd night in Hwange and
so we get to experience another area. The camp is a short drive from a beautiful waterhole and hide. The camp facilities are in great need of repair but there is a loo and a hot shower. We are getting into the swing of things; setting up camp, enjoying our gourmet meals and sitting around the campfire with copious amounts of good wine.
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| Shumba |
Sable at Matamba
Campfire Sauvage at Matamba to celebrate the beginning of the trip
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