Gorilla De Ville Goes Camping - Botswana

“Precious” promised himself he would go to the bush in 2014. Reservations were made with Banks, the Camp Official at the Khwai Community Camp. This is bush camping at its best, hard to beat and hard to find. We camped for eleven nights.

The Khwai Community Camp is in Khwai Village, on the Khwai River, at the northern boundary of Moremi Game Reserve. Five years ago, all hunting was banned. To compensate hunters, the Botswana Government launched an initiative to encourage people to become independent by granting them use of the land surrounding their villages. 15 campsites were established along the river; these are bush camps without facilities.       

Our friends had the luxury of a fully kitted-out off-road trailer with a rooftop tent, a well-appointed kitchen setup, and tents and side tents. After our experience with the caravan, we decided less was more and opted for Queenie’s setup: a Gazebo with a small dome tent inside. We slept in the dome tent, kept our books and a few essentials inside, and had good lighting, but the bulk of our luggage, supplies, and equipment was stored in the Gazebo with all its sides attached. This setup made us feel comfortable and prepared, even in the wild.

We had extra tables and chairs, two refrigerators and a deep freezer, a chemical lavatory, and a shower cubicle with hot water.

What I haven’t mentioned yet is that we had two young camp attendants, delightful men who looked after our campsite while we were out game viewing; we’ve had encounters with monkeys and honey badgers that’ve ruined our campsite and made life difficult.

Banda (AKA Dr. Banda) and Mr. Brown were both amazing and knowledgeable about the bush. They helped wherever they could, pitching tents, fetching water from the river, and filling our solar water bags. We highly recommend their services to anyone visiting the Khwai Community Camp. Banks was a regular visitor to our campsite and often stayed for a cool drink or supper.

Our days were spent game-driving, often at sunrise, which filled us with awe. We weren’t too regimented, and on occasion we slept in. We had plenty to laugh about, much to learn and overcome, and Marie even overcame her fear of elephants as we had friendly visitors in our camp every day.

Our meals were simple, uncomplicated affairs, usually a meat dish with a vegetable or two, or a salad in the evenings, with leftovers for lunch and gorgeous, freshly baked bread. Mine burned!

We would pack picnic baskets for tea, sundowners, or cocktails. On one occasion, I got out of the car with my camera to take a photo of Chris doing a water crossing. To my dismay and Precious's amusement, a troupe of baboons was so overwhelmed by me that they panicked and ran helter-skelter, grabbing their children and babies by the scruff of their necks. They jumped the river, losing some of their children in the process, and the noise they made was deafening. After that, I was christened Gorilla de Ville, and Precious is convinced this encounter will be retold for baboon generations and that baboon children will kowtow at the mere mention of my name.

Our Route was as follows:

Day 1: Worcester on the N7 (roadwork, stop-and-go) to Molopo Lodge near the Kgalagadi Game Reserve

Day 2: Entered Botswana at BOKSPITS, travelled along the B211, and slept near Kang at Kalahari Rest Lodge

Day 3: Stopped at the Ganzi Hotel for breakfast. Trans Kalahari Highway A3 to Maun, where We stayed at a new guesthouse, the Queness Inn. We did last-minute shopping and headed to our destination, the Khwai Community Campsite.

Day 8: All went well until day 8, when our Land Cruiser’s alternator failed, and we had to hotfoot it all the way back to Maun. The Land Cruiser went in for service at the very competent Delta 4X4. We spent the night at Maun Lodge with a “loaner” Cruiser called “Norrafok” – apparently there’s a town in Russia called Norrafok - who knows?

Day 12: Return trip. A2 Highway. Then off to the Namibian border, Chris’ vehicle overheated! A border crossing from hell, especially after sunset, as all the cargo vehicles stop over for the night so they can make an early start in the morning. Stayed at Zelda Game and Guest Farm, just off the National Road. Thank goodness; otherwise, we’d never have found it. A popular destination for hunters.

Day 13: A good trip through beautiful Namibia on the B6 to Gobabis, where we slept at the White House near Grunau.

Day 14: From Gobabis, we took the C20, then C23 to Stampriet, then B1, which becomes the N7 in South Africa, and home, James, it was.

We travelled many thousands of kilometres; everything went relatively well, except that we lost Chris and Marie. Fortunately, we kept our wits about us and met up at our campsite in Khwai.  

In conclusion: Gorilla de Ville reports from civilization. It's one thing to go to the bush; believe me, it's another to get the bush out of everything. Fortunately, things can be laundered, washed, pedicured, manicured, tweezed, waxed, snipped, and shaved. Just holding my thumbs, I can get rid of the smell of the campfires (strooi's), the lashings of sand and dust, and the bugs and critters (I'm thinking there could be a mouse in the picnic basket).

SPECIAL SIGHTINGS:

Wild dog - A pack of resident African Wild Dogs

Hyena Den - we tracked and observed the goings on at a Hyena Den at daybreak, when pups were frolicking

Lions, large herds of elephants, and a leopard with its kill.  We marked 89 Bird Species.

N.B. Here's a link to "YouTube link to animal sounds in the bush". Enjoy it whilst perusing this blog.