It seems hard to believe now, that the first time we visited this beautiful country the only thing I wanted to do was go to Gaborone. It’s not far from the SA/Bots border and I’d read so much about it in the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency books. I just wanted to see it for myself, and maybe catch a glimpse of the Tiny White Van.
We’re now visiting Bots for the 4th time and each time we fall a bit more in love with the place, the people, the incredible scenery and the overall ‘vibe’. And we keep on finding more places to see and more reasons to visit.
We crossed the border at McCarthy’s Rest/Tsabong yesterday and almost as soon as we’d arrived in Bots, we relaxed and heaved a sigh of something close to relief that were back here. Our last full day in Sth Africa had been a bit of a trial – the last big town before the border, Kuruman, is a rough place and we were glad to get out of there. Then the first place we tried for a campsite didn’t offer camping any more, despite multiple signs on the road advertising same. And then when we got to the next place, OppiKnoppi, we got our first flat tyre. At least we were able to spend the night there, in a nice cabin that cost us R150pp – around $30 total.
Last night we stayed at the Tsabong Eco-Tourism Camel Park, which is about 10kms out of Tsabong, and 30kms from the border. We have a powered campsite, which has a braai (of course!), huge stack of firewood, outdoor sink and we also have our own bathroom area with toilet, shower and fancy washbasin. And plenty of hot water! We got here early enough yesterday afternoon that we were able to do a load of washing, Greg got some stuff done and I had an afternoon nap. A couple of groups of camels wandered past our campsite, but otherwise we had our space to ourselves. Lovely place, I’d recommend it to everyone visiting this area
We’re heading ‘bush’ and will be off the air for about a week. Going to the eastern part of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park at Mabuasehube, then west to Kaa, leaving the park and heading to Hukunsti, where we’ll have internet access again hopefully, Kang and then north to Ghanzi. Sadly we’ll miss the Heavy Metal Festival in Ghanzi, but we’ve read about it and it looked like a hoot! Then to the CKGR – Central Kalahari Game Reserve. That’s the plan.
See you in a week!
So exciting!
Funny to have a camel stroll by!
You’ll enjoy the week of being unplugged for sure – looking forward to the following stories and photos!
Have a wonderful time!
Thanks Lisa, we did have a wonderful time. I think the passing camels were getting us accustomed to the idea of sharing space with other wildlife. After our lion experience a few nights ago, we’re a lo more careful about not wandering too far from Clancy after dark!
Nancy Aitcheson is a second-year Infectious Disease Fellow at HUP. She grew up in Atlanta, and then attended Dartmouth College, where she studied English and Environmental Studies. After four years teaching high school English in Istanbul, she moved back to the US to pursue a career in internal medicine. She completed her post-bac studies at Bryn Mawr, then attended medical school and residency at the University of Pennsylvania. During her time at Penn, she has completed tracks in medical education, global health, and primary care. She has worked abroad at clinics in Cameroon, Tanzania, and Botswana—in addition to serving at Philadelphia-based clinics focused on Refugee care and Suboxone administration.