We woke up quite early (5:00) as we wanted to do a final game drive in the Okavango Delta. We would do the drive with our usual guide and a couple that we had been doing other activities together. The flight was at 11:20 back to Maun so at about 10:30 we said our goodbyes to our newly acquired friends and made our way with our guide Emmax towards the airstrip. There was already another Land Cruiser waiting on the beginning of the runway with guests for the same flight. Emmax went to speak to the other guide and then drove towards the end of the runway. He told us he needed to do this as they always had one car on one side and the other car on the other side of the runway as their job was to clear the runway for the oncoming plane. As I was thinking about this logistic, one giraffe started to cross the airstrip. We waited about 15 minutes for the plane to arrive and had another giraffe and an elephant making their way through the airstrip. Fortunately as the plane approached everything was clear and it landed safely. We boarded and after some safety discussion we made our way back to Maun. It took us 25 minutes and it was a bumpy ride. This time I was abe to see some animals from the plane but too small for pictures.
We arrived in Maun, picked up our bike, car and luggage and ate in a restaurant just in front of the Maun airport. True to what we had heard about Botswana not stealing, everything was in perfect order and nothing was missing. The bike started first time.
We made our way out of very busy Maun towards Gwetta, a small little town in the middle of nowhere as we stayed at Planet Baobab for the evening. The special thing about this part of the world are these amazing trees, called Baobabs. There are 9 different species of these trees in the world and in Africa there are two. They can live up to athousand years or longer. I had heard so much about Planet Baobab but it did not meet my expectations. It was the weakest of the places we stayed in Botswana (actually in the whole trip), but the trees were impressive.
The ride from Maun to Gwetta was one of the toughest we did because of the heat and the state of the road. The asphalt was gutted for many kms and although i could weave through the holes, Paula had lots of difficulty with the car so a ride that should have taken us 3 hours took us nearly 5 hours. I got to Gwetta totally exhausted and wondered how I would do over 500 kms to Kesane the next day.
I was happy I decided to stop at Gwetta rather than go on another 100+kms to Nata. Waking up at 5:00, all the excitement of the day and the heat on the ride were taking its toll.
I needed a good night´s sleep and quick recovery.
There are always things that one does not expect in these trips and in Africa they seem to multiply. One had to constantly adapt which makes the whole experience a true adventure.
Make Life a Ride !
Facebook post with some photos of the DAY
Click HERE for all the photos of the DAY !
We arrived in Maun, picked up our bike, car and luggage and ate in a restaurant just in front of the Maun airport. True to what we had heard about Botswana not stealing, everything was in perfect order and nothing was missing. The bike started first time.
We made our way out of very busy Maun towards Gwetta, a small little town in the middle of nowhere as we stayed at Planet Baobab for the evening. The special thing about this part of the world are these amazing trees, called Baobabs. There are 9 different species of these trees in the world and in Africa there are two. They can live up to athousand years or longer. I had heard so much about Planet Baobab but it did not meet my expectations. It was the weakest of the places we stayed in Botswana (actually in the whole trip), but the trees were impressive.
The ride from Maun to Gwetta was one of the toughest we did because of the heat and the state of the road. The asphalt was gutted for many kms and although i could weave through the holes, Paula had lots of difficulty with the car so a ride that should have taken us 3 hours took us nearly 5 hours. I got to Gwetta totally exhausted and wondered how I would do over 500 kms to Kesane the next day.
I was happy I decided to stop at Gwetta rather than go on another 100+kms to Nata. Waking up at 5:00, all the excitement of the day and the heat on the ride were taking its toll.
I needed a good night´s sleep and quick recovery.
There are always things that one does not expect in these trips and in Africa they seem to multiply. One had to constantly adapt which makes the whole experience a true adventure.
Make Life a Ride !
Facebook post with some photos of the DAY
Click HERE for all the photos of the DAY !
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