The big road trip has started!
Day 1 – Johannesburg
Distance: 161km
Cumulative Distance: 161km
Bushlore is the most reputable rental company for good quality overland vehicles in Southern Africa. We rented a LandCrusier with a rooftop tent for 77 days. These things are built like tanks, and should have the capability to go anywhere. It might cost a bit in fuel though with the 4.2L diesel dragging us around.
Travis picked us up from the airport and took us to the Bushlore depot. There we got a full run down of everything the car was equipped with. Highlights include:
– Winch – using it could be fun, could be stressful
– snorkel – for swimming
– 2 spare tyres, high lift jack, puncture repair kit – I think they expect a puncture or two…
– Compressor – for doing the tyre pressures of course
– Dual battery system and controller – can see the power level on both batteries and if/when the fridge is using too much power
– rooftop tent of course, with all bedding etc.
– Fully equipped kitchen – two gas stoves, and a can opener ☑️
– system powered lights – no recharging the batteries!
– towels – we are amazed they provided new towels!
– 60L water tank and tap. 20L solar shower which we weren’t expecting.
– 2x20L Jerry cans and a 130L tank for a 1,000km+ range.
The afternoon was one big stockup at the supermarket. We bought everything you could imagine, from a thermos flask to a frying pan. More mosquito repellent than strictly necessary. Plenty of tinned goods as we won’t be able to get anything fresh over the border to Botswana. I know you’re worried but we also got some beers in too.
We spent so long shopping we missed our window to an avoid rush hour.
Our accommodation was an hour and a half north from here, past Pretoria and up to a town called Modimolle. The drive in the dark wasn’t going to be fun. Especially the 6 lanes of N1 traffic around Johannesburg.
Signs along the N1 warned travellers not to stop in crime hotspot areas. As the sun was setting a traffic warden or policeman stepped into the road, and flashed his torch at us indicating for us to pull over. Now I certainly didn’t set out to fail to stop for a policeman, but this place was a real shady place to be pulling people over. There was no reason to pull us over, we were the slowest vehicle on the road, driving cautiously to get used to the new vehicle, and certainly under the 80km speed limit posted a few hundred metres before the trap. We did however have a rooftop tent, and an obvious rental vehicle, fairly conspicuous signs that’s we were tourists. These reasons coupled with the fact there were many signs warning motorists not to stop for any reason, I pressed on past the attempted stop. If they followed us, we would drive directly to the nearest police station and deal with them there. They did not follow, we do not know whether they were scammers, corrupt traffic cops, or even real police. My guess is in the middle.
Bush lovers lodge near Modimolle was a lovely stop over. But it was only a flying visit.
Entry to Botswana
We had a fairly lazy start to the morning, getting up at 7:30 for a beautifully prepared breakfast. We’d planned to cross quickly into Botswana.
Groblers bridge was a couple of hours north from our B&B near Modimolle. The drive was less eventful than the evening before, and the border crossing just as straightforward. The immigration officers were fairly moody, and needed to ask for details of every place we weee staying in Botswana. The customs officer was more interested in chatting football, as an Arsenal fan he was eagerly awaiting the premier league finale tomorrow.
Another hour up the road was Palapye and more shopping. ‘Food lovers market’ is the best place for fresh produce in Botswana, and with ten nights between us and Maun, we needed to stock up. Only small towns lie in between here and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve so the food on offer might not be the best. We also spent far too long getting SIM cards, the agent in the shop tried entering our passport details at least ten times, but was successful in the end.
Khama Rhino Sanctuary is where all the rhinos in Botswana are. It was our campsite for the night, but after our delay in Palapye we turned up after dark. We thought this might be a problem but the guards let us in anyway. The campsite is a 2.5km drive from the main gate, so we had our own little night safari on the way. We saw nothing.
Driving in the dark is something to be avoided in Africa. Potholes and animals are the main hazards, our average speed reduces significantly. Anything above 80km/h is risky. Not that it was relevant in Khama. The road was very sandy.
At camp, South Africans nearby were chatting away over their Braai. There was a nearly full moon overhead, and in the distance the rumbling of the road noise from the main road. It didn’t feel particularly remote, but was a great introduction to camping in the bush after dark.
A bush baby visited our campsite after dinner. I never knew they moved so fast and jumped so far. A small chinchilla like creature it looks small and cut close up, but boy do they leap energetically between the trees. You can first spot the bush baby spotting their eyes looking at you, reflecting the light of your headtorch. A small antelope passed by the camp as well, probably an impala or something.
Wildlife:
Bush Baby leaping between the trees.
Distance: 402km
Cumulative Distance: 563km
Khama Rhino Sanctuary
We didn’t actually know when sunrise would be. Despite spending ages yesterday procuring a SIM card, there was no mobile signal in the rhino sanctuary.
Our 5:30 alarm was too early. At 6 it was still dark. 6:20 was a little too late to leave before sunrise.
Khama rhino sanctuary is 8,600 hectares and like many other national parks and reserves, is just a large patch of land where animals are left to their own devices. Apart from the rhinos; they get a 24 hour armed escort.
Our morning drive yielded precious little wildlife. Zebra, wildebeest, springbok and impala were abundant, but nothing bigger. Except giraffes, but somehow they don’t count as big. There were also some tiny young giraffes startled by our engine and seeking cover behind their mother.
As the heat of the day built, we decamped to the bird hide overlooking a small waterhole. We watched mongooses and go-away birds drink, as well as a majestic waterbuck who visited us twice.
Returning for lunch we took one last detour to the pan viewpoint. A couple of giraffes were play-fighting. We almost left when we noticed that directly behind the giraffes were three white rhino. There were two adults and a baby, all of them enormous. The two adults still had their magnificent horns intact.
In the afternoon Sarah made yogurt. Mike did some fuel economy calculations. All was normal.
We headed out for sunset drive, just before we reached Malema Pan we came across a stuck car blocking the road. A white Isuzu pickup, it was a surprise to us that it was only a 2WD, and they were well and truly stuck.
Day 3 and we already had to use our winch. Well it was to rescue someone else. I’m sure we could have freed them with mats and a spade but the winch was easier, and the South Africans stuck behind them insisted we use it. To be fair one of the passengers in the stuck car insisted on remaining sat inside the vehicle whilst we helped free it, so I’m glad we didn’t resort to the mats.
Once the car was freed we chatted to the South Africans. They had just come from the CKGR and used the following phrases in a single sentence: “waste of time”, “no wildlife at all” and “wild dogs ran through our camp”. So we really didn’t know what to make of that information. The CKGR is our next planned stop. I guess we’ll find out.
Wildlife: white rhino x3, zebra, giraffe, waterbuck, slender mongoose, bush babies
Distance: 50km
Cumulative Distance: 613km
(Nb: you’re not really supposed to post photos of Rhino or their whereabouts, but given that these rhino are in the small and obviously named Rhino Sanctuary, and they have a 24/7 armed guard, I think it’s ok to share)
Rakops
Today we drove from Khama to Rakops. Our morning game drive in Khama Rhino Sanctuary yielded no rhino or anything else, except for the young giraffes we’d seen the day before. We headed out. First we did some shopping at the Boiteki Junction shopping mall in Serowe. We also stopped for a takeaway Nando’s in Lethlakane. The mall here is rather nice. Rakops river lodge was our camp for the night. It was actually a lot better than expected and recommended as an easy stop on the way to the CKGR. Sarah made granola to go with her yoghurt, and befriended the massive tomcat. If nothing else at least we’ll have seen one giant cat of the Kalahari.
Distance: 377km
Cumulative Distance: 990km
Small Holiday Big Dream 
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