We left Elephant Sands at 8:15am for the 250km’s to Kasane – The first stop off that did not have pre-booked ‘pet friendly’ accommodation waiting for us. There are scattered picnic areas alongside the road north of Nata that are very nicely positioned, clean and in good repair – an improvement on the others seen along the road. Truck drivers use these stop off’s extensively.
Giraffe and zebra on the side of the road! The first game we have seen.
It took nearly an hour to travel through the Department of Crop Production’s cordon with vast fields of ploughed land. A few subsistence and small scale farmers were also living and working around the agricultural hub of Pandatenga.
The strait ‘Roman Road’ started winding gently just outside Kasungula. A slight rise in the road allowed us to appreciate the depth and richness of the vegetation rolling on as far as the eye can see. We arrived in Kasane at 12:15; the search for accommodation begins. It appears as if there is limited camping and very few caravan sites in the area. The formidable Chobe Lodge looked so expensive we turned around without even asking their fees. We were on the point of driving for the boarder to find accommodation in Katima Malilo or just pressing on to Mukolo lodge when a little sand road led us to The Big-5 Chobe Lodge. A pet friendly ‘affordable’ caravan park right on the Chobe river! We booked in for two nights to allow for a river boat cruse on the Chobe which had been recommended to us. The lodge offered a small (8 seater) boat at P300 per person. The Rand/Pula exchange rate has risen to 1.58. A new Shopright has opened and we purchased braai meat for dinner but unpacked the gas braai when we found out that wood costs P100- P150 per bundle!
The following day was spent housekeeping, washing and bird watching. Very enjoyable and the time passed quickly until our boat ride at 2:30pm. The lodge supplied a shuttle service and we were lucky enough to arrive first to grab the front seats. The river trip was like a movie scene. The elephant unbelievable and the entire experience a lifetime memory.
We were quiet through our fish dinner and into bed with hearts and minds reliving the experience.
Itchy Feet! 