The Okavango Delta has its peak floods during the winter (June to August) which is the dry season, hence attracting animals from great distances. The summer is hot and wet giving rise to tall grasses, making some animals more difficult to see and is therefore the low season for tourism. In addition to land and water dwelling animals, the delta hosts approximately 400 species of birds during the year.
The Okavango is the largest of only a very few inland delta systems. It is created by highland waters from Angola reaching shifting tectonic plates. Each year approximately 11 cubic km of water spreads over an area around the size of Wales. The high temperature of the delta causes rapid transpiration and evaporation resulting in three cycles of rising and falling water levels.
The nature of the geography is such that many lodges are best reached by air as they are on “islands” surrounded by water and marshes. Flights between islands might only be 10 minutes long with the schedule being determined the day before, depending on arrivals/departures from the logdes. Our first flight had five stops, of which ours was the third. There are dirt roads in the region, but the land distances are not indicative of the time it would take nor the feasibility at a particualr time of year.
The traditional mode of transport is the mokoro, a canoe dug out from a tree trunk and propelled through the shallow water and vegitation using a pole. The ones used by the lodges are made of fibreglass to prevent unnecessary tree felling in the area.
Chobe National Park lies in the north of Botswana and covers 11,700 square km, larger than Devon and Somerset combined. It was created a national park in 1967 and is known for its large population of elephants estimated to be over 45,000. The destruction caused by elephants is such that culls may be considered. We stayed at a lodge just outside the park with views across the Chobe River to Namibia. Our activities were consequently both land and water based.
Our first lodge in Botswana was only a 20 minute drive from the border with Zimbabwe, one hour from Victoria Falls. The border crossing is very close to the world’s only quadripoint where Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia all meet – some locals refer to it as BoNaZaZi. We could see Namibia from our lodge and during our trip to Victoria Falls we walked across the bridge to Zambia. This could be done on a “day pass” used by locals for shopping/trade and tourists to avoid the need to pay for a second Zimbabwe visa.
The first European to discover the falls was Doctor David Livingstone who first saw the falls on 16 November 1855. He named it in honour of Queen Victoria, its local name being Mosi-oa-Tunya – the smoke that thunders. It sits between Zimbabwe and Zambia on the Zambezi River and is classified as the worlds largest falls, based on combined width (1,708 m) and height (108 m), with other falls claiming the spot based on different combinations of measures ! The volume of water varies considerably by time of year; when we visited it was considered around a mid point.
As part of the grand, but unfulffilled, vision of Cecil Rhodes to build a railway from Cape Town to Cairo a bridge was built over the outlet gorge of the falls. The bridge was prefabricated in Darlington and completed on site in 1905. It consists of a single lane road, railway and two footpaths and has only ever needed minor repairs and painting since its construction.
Botswana is a country, approximately the size of France but with less than 2.5 million people making it one of the world’s least densely populated countries; 70 % of its land falls within the Kalahari.
Botswana became independent in 1966 and is the longest uninterrupted democracy in Africa, although until the 2024 elections it was governed by the same party. In 2024 a major change in politics resulted in the election of a left of centre coalition, promising to better distribute the country’s wealth.
Botswana has one of the fastest growing and highest GDP per capita in Africa derived from its natural resources and tourism. The country’s largest diamond mine is 50 % owned by the government.
After a 400 km drive lasting just over four hours we arrived at Sandton, a suberb of Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. The city was founded on the back of the gold rush in 1886 and within 10 years it had a population of 100,000 people.
We stayed for a couple of nights prior to flying to Botswana, but took the opportunity to visit The Wanderers to watch Johannesburg Super Kings versus the Durban Super Chargers in the SA T20. The Wanderers, built in 1956 to replace the old stadium, has a capacity of 34,000 and is known as the bullring because of its intimidating atmosphere for visiting teams. We could see why – although the stadium was not full, it was extremely noisy with most people having whistles. It is one of the highest international grounds at 1,640 m; Kingsmead in Durban which we visited earlier in our trip is one of the lowest at 3 m. The game we went to in Durban was rained off, however this match was a first for us – play delayed by lightning , but no rain. After the lightning delay of almost an hour, Durban managed to win (against their recent lack of form) in a 16 over second innings run chase.
Nambiti Game Reserve is a private reserve of 10,000 hectares created in 2000 by the purchase of six farms by two businessmen. It has all the Big 5, with only leopards not having been introduced. Leopards are the most difficult to see (and we did not) as they had been hunted by the farmers for 200 years to protect their livestock and so still have a fear of the sound of the game drive vehicles.
A number of the animals are tagged for research and safety purposes (in case of escape from the reserve). The tracker locations are not shared with the guides, so seeing the animals with smaller populations depends on the guide’s knowldege and skill.
There are a number of lodges in the reserve, but each is relatively small and during our visit, not fully occupied. This together with the guides’ respect for the animals, mutual cooperation and size of the reserve means that the guests enjoy the animal sightings in a calm natural environment.
Sani Pass is the only access to Lesotho on the eastern side. A tar road leads to the South African border control. The actual border, with the Lesotho border control, is a further 8 km away and at 2,876 m. It was soon clear why the South African border control is not on the border. The 8 km between the crossings is a single lane rough track, very steep with winding hairpins and only accessible in a 4×4 with a local guide.
Once on the Lesotho side of the border, the road leads onto a vast open plain, with small settlements and populations earning a subsistence living from sheep farming. Rather incongruously the road becomes new high quality tar. Paid for by the Chinese, we were told; part of the vast infrastructure spend reaching into all corners of Africa.
The views were well worth our “African massage” journey and early start. As well as a visit to a local village (a little touristy, but very few tourists and an important source of local income) we enjoyed a short walk and a pub lunch at the highest pub in Africa.
Lesotho is perhaps a geographers dream; some facts
Lethotho means “kingdom in the sky”, justified by its mean elevation of 2,161 m.
The beginning of the 8km “no-man’s land”
Cleopatra’s Mountain Farmhouse sits on the Mooi River in the foothills of the Drakensburg at approximately 1,500 m. Accessible only via dirt roads, with the route options being rough with lots of potholes or very rough with worse potholes. We took the former on recommendation, although the latter is shorter (and shown on google maps). Although only 40km from the closest town, Nottingham Road, the journey is over an hour, but worth it for the stunning scenery and isolation (hardly surprising). Cleopatra’s mountain has to be viewed from the right angle, with a little imaginination, to see the resemblance.
Close-by, at just below 2,000 m, is the Highmoor Nature Reserve with hiking trails and fantastic views of Giant’s Castle mountain in the Drackensburg. On the day we visited there were only two other walkers in the reserve.
The right horn of the Zulu army (4,500 men), held in reserve, sought its own unauthorised share of the glory, travelling 10km back to Rorke’s Drift to attack the British left at the outpost. Rorke’s Drift was a former trading post, operated by an Irishman with a drink probelm who had killed himself, subsequently serving as a mission. Chelmsford had left 105 British officers and men (mainly of the 24th Warwickshire, now Royal Welsh), 36 men sick with fever and dysentry and 14 ancilleries including a doctor and a pardre.
On hearing of the approaching Zulus the officers in charge Ltds Chard and Bromhead, built makeshift defences between the hospital and storeroom using wagons, bags of meal and tins of biscuit rations. The Zulu attack began at 4.30pm and continued through the night. By the times Chelmsford’s advance force arrived at 8am on 23rd January, the Britsh casualties were 17 dead and 15 wounded with the Zulu dead around 500. Against the odds, Rorke’s Drift had been held and subsequently 11 VCs were issued to the defenders.
Shilli-Fully Travels 