Thursday 8 November

Dirk mounts the spare alternator definitive.

We disconnect the startbattery, we are going to drive with the lighting on, so we can check if the voltage is really too high, then the bulbs will burn..

It is cloudy this morning, very nice after the very hot day yesterday.

We stop at a coffee place with a very big shovel tire.

shovelband

After the coffee brake it’s time to change cars, we drive the modelT.

DJ+Inge

ostrich

In Nata we do some shopping, Dirk takes some pictures of African ladies with the Ford, this is for the calendar of PreWarCars.

african lady

Along the road there are many small saltpans.

salt pan

To go to the ElephantSands campsite we have to take a piece of very loose sand. Trudy films how we go trough this, pedal to the metal!

At 13.00 we arrive.

off road

They created a drink bassin for the elephants in front of the terras.

It’s now the driest period of the year so many elephants are waiting until the bassin is filled.

elephants waiting

20 driving from the campsite is a well with sweet water, they use a truck with a 5000L can, to pick up this water, 4 to 5 times per day.

watertruck

The biggest bull is already waiting in the front, with his trunk for the waterhole.

Foto trunk before waterhole

5000L means 30minutes of a big elephant party!

drinking1

drinking2

Elephants keep coming.

walking

It’s very beautiful to see, they are pushing each other, waving with their ears and making lots of noise.

watching

little elephant drinking

After the 1st water session we take a dive in the (very salt) pool, the elephants keep waiting for the next 5000L, the truck is already left

pool

In the evening they use a water hose to let the elephants drink. Some take the hose with them, fun to see!

waterhose

A leppard arrives in the field, we cannot see him very good, he walks around waiting for a change to drink some water. In the end he hides in some bushes.

We putted the LandRover with rooftent beside a Lodge, no sleeping in the tent on the ground today, too many big animals around…

Today we did 158km.

Tomorrow we go in the direction of Francistown.

DJ

Wednesday 07 November

Today we make our first day in the direction of Campsite Elephant Sands.

We want to do it in 2 days. Today we want to drive about 200km. 

We leave Maun at 8. That’s a good time, its already hot.

During the trip we pass 2 National Parks. 

ostrich

ostrich with the model T

Its very flat and a lot of strong wind. We see 2 small cyclones. 

cyclone

Today it’s really very hot. Dirk drives the Ford below the 60km per hour. That way the temperature of the car stay just below the 100 degrees.

During the lunch Dirk-jan cools down on the Ford. 

relaxing at the model T

Inge works in her office.

office

We pass several disinfection stops. After a fridge-check and washing the shoes and tires we can go on. 

disinfection

It’s not always refreshing in the open car.. 

ash cloud

At 1500 we arrive at the campsite in Gwetse. There is a pool!!

First a fresh dive! 

nice beer

At the campsite is standing a Dodge Brothers.  

The steelwork is still very hard, and the engine and drive line are fully complete, a nice project.. 

dodge brothers1

dodge brothers2

The Ford is equipped with a start battery and a backup battery.

Dirk mentioned this morning that the Ford was not starting on the start battery only. With the backup batteries no problem.

So we check the voltage of the start battery, this is very low. We also check the voltage when the motor is running. The multimeter shows a very strange high Voltage. We call our electrical helpdesk, Bart.

He thinks the regulator is broken. This is built in the alternator, so we change the alternator with the spare one.

Still we have the strange high voltage. It´s a strange story. 

alternator

Today we did 240 km´s.

Tomorrow further in the direction of Nata.

DJ en Inge

Tuesday 06 November 

At 5.30 we start for a 3hours walk through the bush, today Inge has 2 guides. 

inge+guides

We say good morning to the zebra’s. 

zebra’s

We see more animals than yesterday.  

pumba

Elephants are eating the leaves with their curved trunk.

elephant

They create the leaves to enormous piles of shit. The termites create a hill out of it.

According to the guide a hill as on the picture takes 30years under the ground and 35 years above the ground 

termitehill

During the 3 hours sleep of an elephant, he likes to rest his very heavy head on a hill.

Elephant eat about 250kg per day, and drink 250L water. 

bushwalk

After a 3,5hour walk we return to our camp, the chef creates a lunch. 

chef

And after that we have the real African feeling, we have to wait in the shadow of a tree until we leave the island.  

waiting

At 13.00 we break down the camp and load it into the mokoro´s. 

crew

Dirk-jan+Inge

During the very peaceful boat trip we meet the hippo’s again.

One of them shows his new dentist workshop. 

Hippo’s

After this boat trip we enter the noisy bumping LandRover of the campsite. For a 2 hours drive. 

car

The car quits halfway, and the driver fix it with a table-knife.

Back on the campsite we take a refreshing dive in the pool. 

Tomorrow we go in the direction of Nata 

Dirk-jan en Inge

Monday 5 November

Today we leave the campsite at 7:30. With a big car they bring us to the Mokoro’s in the Okovango Delta.

car

It’s about 2 hours driving, last 1,5 is off road, including very loose sand and bridges made of trees.

bridge

When we arrive at the boats, all our stuff is put in to the small canoos, Mokoro’s. 2 boats for us and 3!! For the equipment, unbelievable.

dirk+trudy

When we start the boat trip we come across a Hippo family.

hippos

The boat trip takes about 1,5hr. Its very quite.

in the mokoro

At an island in the Delta, we put up our camp and do a Lunch.

camp

After lunch Dirk and Dirk-jan tries to row the Mokoro’s.

powlers

The fisherman of the group catch some nice fish.

fisherman

fish on the fire

At 5 we make a bushwalk.

bushwalk

It is a very special feeling, walking in between al these animals.

elephant

When the sun goes down we go back to the camp.

sunset

The cook creates a nice diner.

dinner

After diner it’s ‘Disco time’. They sing and dance some Botsana songs.

And Dirk and Trudy sing they’re Mongolian song.

dance

Then early to bed, tomorrow a bushwalk at 5

Inge

Sunday 4th november

William, Agnes and Pim travel for 1 year trough Africa, William rebuild a ‘Dakar’ truck special for this trip.
You can follow them at www.3travel2africa.wordpress.com

businesscard

William shows us the truck, he’s build all facilities in it. Even a washing machine.

truck

Dirk is sitting behind the wheel. Feels just like the model T, just a bigger steering wheel….

in the truck

Dirk has a new colleague. Dirk works on the Ford and William on the MAN truck.

collegue

During working on the Ford dirk has a new friend, Peanut the dog of the campsite.

new friend

Inge en Trudy do the laundry and go for shopping with the taxi to the supermarket. That’s luxury.

taxi

It’s an easy day, we work at the reports, take a dive in the pool. We arranged to go into the Okavango Delta tomorrow, where we stay for 2 days and one night.

DJ en Inge

Saterday 3rd November

In the morning our Campsite is full with animals, goats, chickens and cows. It’s a cosy breakfast.

breakfast

We don’t have to brake down the tent so we can leave early today.
The interior of the house is even decorated with some piece of art, it’s unbelievable!

living

At 8 we leave for Maun, about 300km.

lets go!

Dirk changed the hood, now it’s only covered at the top, ‘intermediate cooling’ now we go very fast!

new hood

After the lunch we change cars, now Dirk and Trudy drive the Land Rover and Inge en DJ the Ford.

DJ+Inge

There are a lot of donkeys on the road in Botswana.

donkeys

Right before Maun we enter a disinfection point, we must stand in a water tile for our shoes and our wheels are disinfected

checkpoint

clean the tyre

They hope to prevent serious livestock diseases. You can transport dairy and meat from North to South and from West to East but not from North to South and from East to West.

At 16.00 we arrive at Audi Camp. We find a nice spot in the shade.
Today we drove 298km

campesite

Our neighbours are from South Africa, in the evening we have a nice beer and whiskey with them. Lots of strong stories of course..

by the campfire

From this campsite they organise safaris into the Okavango Delta, tomorrow we go check what we want to do.
So, no driving the next days.

Inge en DJ