Day 07 - Friday 19th July

This morning we were due to fly from Johannesburg to Botswana and so we decided to order room service for breakfast rather than going down to the restaurant to save time. We caught the hotel shuttle bus at 8am to go to the Gautrain railway station and only had to wait a few minutes for the train to the airport. We were at the airport by about 8:30am.

The first task at the airport was to go to the baggage storage office. Since we had a limit on the weight and size of our luggage for the Botswana trip, we packed the things we need to take with us into the kit bags we’d bought in Sydney and packed everything else into our big bags. The plan was to pick up the big bags again when we pass through Johannesburg on our way to Cape Town in nine days time.

Everything went like clockwork. By the time we’d checked in and been through customs, we had almost three hours to fill in at the airport gate lounge. We were glad we had our heavy coats because the wind coming through the departure gate doors was strong and cold.

The Air Botswana plane was a twin-propeller aircraft again. It held about 30 passengers.

Just over two hours later, we landed at Maun International Airport. I guess it is accurate to describe it as an international airport because planes from other African countries use it but it was much smaller and more primitive than any other airport I’d seen – including the smallest of regional airports in Australia.

We were met by people from Ker & Downey, the company that runs the camps where’ll be staying in the Okavango Delta area of Botswana. They then put us on a small airport bus to take us to where our next plane was waiting on the tarmac. There we met Michelle, our pilot for the journey.

Our planes are getting smaller and smaller. This was a single-propeller aircraft that could accommodate up to six passengers.

The flight to the Shinde Camp took about 30 minutes. It was a little bumpy at times but gave us a good view of the countryside – flat and barren with numerous creeks and marshes. Suzy spotted one elephant from her window during the trip.

The landing at Shinde was bumpy too because the runway is not sealed – it’s just bare earth in the middle of nowhere.

We were met at the airstrip by two staff members from the camp in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. One of them, Bee, would be our guide for most of the time during our three-day stay at Shinde Camp. He drove us on the five-minute journey to the camp through the grassland on a rough sandy track.

There was a reception committee waiting for us outside the camp when we arrived – five woman dancing and singing. One of them, Chena – a lady with a big beautiful smile – showed us around the camp building and then showed us to our room.

Our room is an individual hut with canvas top and sides, timber front door and timber flooring. It has electrical lighting but no power points. Just like our previous camp, the big king-size bed had a mosquito net covering it. Behind the bed area is a bathroom with a separate shower and separate toilet. A very nice layout.

Chena had explained that we were allowed to walk back and forwards between our room and the main building during the day but not at night. After sunset, we had to be accompanied by a staff member who would look out for animals.

Tea was served on the terrace and we set out at 4pm on an evening game drive with Bee. We were the only people on the drive. His vehicle is a Land Rover that can seat up to nine people in three rows.

At first, I wondered if we were going to see many animals. This area is open grassland with few trees – unlike the bushy terrain we’d experienced in the Kruger National Park area. 

However, we did end up seeing lots of animals and birds including baboons, warthogs, elephants, giraffes, impala, lechwe, tsessebe, wildebeest and zebras.

Just before sunset, we stopped near a lake and got out of the vehicle for a drink while we watched the sun set. It was a beautiful scene.

We got chatting to Bee. He has children and grandchildren from several different partners. His wife died during childbirth and his son from that birth is now 15 years old. His current girlfriend lives in the camp. His father was a witch doctor whereas he is firm follower of a religion called the Zion Christian Church which has many followers in Botswana.

We were back at the camp at about 6:30pm. Bee fetched us from our cabin at about 7:15pm. We sat around the camp fire on the terrace chatting to other guests until we went up to the dining area for dinner at 7:30pm.

The dining area is a very long timber table. There are no solid walls in the main building – just canvass flaps that can be raised or lowered as required. Some staff sat with us for dinner while others waited on us.

The guests included two groups from the USA and one English couple. It was a most enjoyable meal – good food and wine together with friendly people to chat to.

Jono, the camp manager said he has a TV in his cabin, partly because he is a mad keen sports fan. He gave me the bad news that Australia had been bowled out for only 121. I needed another drink after hearing that news.

His wife, Justine, told us that her brother is an opening batsman for the South African one-day international team.

Bee accompanied us back to our room at about 9:30pm. During dinner, the staff had been to our cabin to get it ready for us. Not only had they turned down the bed and lowered the mosquito net but they had also put a hot water bottle under the blanket. I’d brought winter pyjamas with me and we had a thick doona in addition to the blanket to keep us warm.

We were soon fast asleep.