Part 2

We left Toteng and headed towards Lake Ngami, we got to Sehithwa and went to get some fuel. Only issue..... "Sorry sir, we are out of diesel the closest fuel is Maun".
Oh crap!
So we ended up back to Toteng and out to the mine site to fuel up there. Michelle ended up seeing the mine by defult.
Fueled up we headed back to Lake Ngami.
There are not many places to see the lake from as the water level is still quite high for this time of year.
We ended up down this little dirt track with a community of people living in tents near the water. They fish and sell their catch out on the road, and also salt and dry them on ropes between trees.

There was a mass of Marabou Storks in the shallows. They are an ugly stork, with a head like a vulture.

After consulting the map we decided to continue to Kuke. What a dry desolate area, quite a lot of cow carcases on the side of the road..
Kuke is the location of one of the foot and mouth tyre and shoe wash stations, not much else there.
Michelle asked one of the policemen what there is to see of interest in the area, his responce was
"Have you seen the hills in the distance? That is all there is around this area"

This is Kuke

 

Well he was close to being correct, as we where heading back i saw something a bit back off the road that had me on the brakes and turning around to investigate......

 



This is the Boabab tree, they live for several thousand years and are amazing to see!

In some parts of africa the locals place the bodies of the dead in the trees folds and the tree grows around them and they become part of the tree.

You all need to come and see it in real life.

 

The drive back was pretty univentful, saw a couple of ostrich on the way.

We had a bite to eat back at the creek at Toteng, very peaceful.

 



Trip to Kuke - Part One

Decided to go for a drive to Toteng and Lake Ngami, ended up as far as Kuke.... I can hear you all going, "Wow, you went all the way to Kuke" LOL.

I will do this one in two parts as there are lots of photos and places to explain.

Maun to Toteng is approx. a 1 hour drive.
Most of the trip is through dry arid areas only good for goats and donkeys. Plenty of skinny cows as well.

The locals mostly walk, carry lots of things on their heads.

 

 

Toteng is not a very exciting place as you see it from the road, poor area with a small shop and a bar. The camp for the mine is just out of town and is still under construction. Some of it is built and in use, I will stay there on night shift to save the drive.

The turn off to the mine is in the middle of town and reveals the most amazing surprise about 500 metres down the road........

The Greenery only lasts about 100 metres from the river,

Then back to the dry hot sands of the Kalahari Desert.

 

 The trees and bushes here have some of the most severe

spikes you can imagine 

The amount of birds was amazing, not sure what they all are,

Need someone with a keen interest in birds to tell us.... wonder who could do that?

There where also fish everywhere in the water.

 

We stayed here for quite a while watching all the birds and animals. A lot cooler near the water and it was so much to look at.

 

 

To Be Continued..........................





Town Wildlife

Michelle got a call from one of her new friends that there where 3 giraffes next to the road not far from home.
She woke me from my nanna nap, and off we went.

We found them easily enough, they where in an old animal reserve in town that is not open any more.
The giraffes are still there. The fence is right next to the road and they where right up against it.

They stayed in our view for a good10 minutes, bit of fun for the afternoon.

Our Home in Maun

Our unit is pretty good, kitchen is tiny but the rest is fine.
6 in the block, all with Discovery employees in them.
There is a small pool, good to cool off after a hot day.
The BBQ area has BBQ, fridge, bar, sun lounges and is a meeting point for us all.
If you feel likesome company you head down at about 4pm and see who is about.
The people are all good, we do not live in each others pockets, you get your own space and time.

Michelle has been meeting lots of the other wives, they have been very welcoming.
She goes for morning walks, has been for morning teas and afternoon drinks.
Lots of advise from people whohave been here for a while.

 

 

 

 

This is our neighbour accross the roads house

Saturday in Maun

We had an easier day today, did a bit of shopping.

Went on a local drive in the afternoon.
Stopped at a local basket weavers shop for a look, great work being done there. Michelle was talking to the lady, and she is now going to be learning basket weaving.
They soak the urns they make in water for 3 days and it becomes water prooffor storing their sour milk.

After that we cruised around the local area, getting the feel of where everything is.

Had a swim in the pool, beer and nibbles in the afternoon with the others here.

Start work in the morning so will have an early night.

First safari.... What a day!

Thursday was my first day off so we decided to get into the African way of life and go on safari.
Moremi game reserve is approx. 120km from our place.
We packed an esky, purchased a map and off we went.
The drive there was interesting, lots of goats and donkeys to dodge (that is normal here), when you come up on animals on the road you put your hazzard lights on to warn everyone, works well.
Our first stop was a village called Shorobe, not much here. There is a basket weaving shop where they show you how they prepare the palm leaves for weaving. They do great designs and they are acdually quite sturdy. We brought a small dish for 80 Pula ($11).
The tar road stopped hereso it was into 4x4 at off we went.
It is about 30km to the game reserve entrance. Life is tougher for the locals this far from town, they all had lots of plastic 20 litre drums on the road side awaiting on the water delivery.
Kids are the same everywhere, the little ones playing near the road gave us big smiles and waves.
The first thing we saw was an ostitch on the road, make an emu look small.
Once we arrived at the entrance, did the the required paperwork and got some tips off the ranger we where off........

First stop was the water hole 20km in ... WOW, it was amazing, animals everywhere.
Then we continued the 120km loop.
I think i will let the pictures do the talking!

To see them all in the wild and around you is amazing, you need to experiance to to know.
There had been lions at the water hole about 1hourbefore we got there, but we could not find them.

It was then onto the next stop, The First Bridge.
As we approached it I thought Michelle was going to wet herself, 2 Giraffe, one on the road.

The bridges are not quite to the standards we are used too.... we survived 4 of them on the trip.

Every amount of water you come accross, no matter how small, has Warthogs.
Not the most attractive animals, but they are so strong and just a ball of muscle.

You can also tell when you are getting near water as you start to see Impala.
They are delicate pretty and will stay when you get quite close.

We the went trrough a dry area and saw an ostritch. alot of sand driving and bouncing around, Michelle wants a sports bra for the next trip!

Also found some elephant bones in the dry area.

At the next water hole we spotted a croc, my first one in the wild.

The bird was game!

At the Third Bridge there was a giraffe that was posing for us, think he was checking us out as much as we were him.
There was a group of wilderbeasts onthe other side, their coats are beautiful up close, unlike their heads.

The trip back to the entrance was through an area with not much life at the moment, the wet season puts water there and the animals come back.

What a day, you all have to do this!
Close to our place, amazing animals.
180km of 4x4ing makes you sleep well but worth every bounce and bump.

We will be regulars here!