Botyburps

Well there’s an unexpected contrast; this morning we left a cute little thatched limewashed one bedroom clay cottage

this evening a 5 star hotel room in Jwaneng

130km of good wide roads with even wider berms (grazed by cattle ,goats, donkeys which roam out onto the road ) speed limit 120km so a keen eye is needed. Roadside bush is not dense and around 2 or 3m high so you can’t see through it. We made a side trip to a bird sanctuary but there were no birds! I think it had gone out of business. But the countryside gradually flattened out and the bush grew less dense as we approach the Kalahari. There is a wild life sanctuary here but it is not on our itinerary. We thought it might be worth a try. Turns out we needed a permit and it takes 3 days to get one, which is why it was not included. Well they let us enter the gate just to turn around but I will claim that as win! However, on the drive to get there (5km from the hotel) we saw a herd (parliament?) of monkeys and a warthog on the side of the road. So I am counting that as more ticks in the wildlife spotting diary.

Before we left Lobatse we visited a memorial museum for Samora Machel who was a Mozambique freedom fighter who took refuge in Lobatse in the 70’s and was killed in a plane crash in 1986. I had never heard of him but he is hugely respected here.

We are very close to the diamond mines and security to get in and out is strict according to all the signage – not sure they would even let me in just to turn around.

This is the more fertile and populated part of the country and has the rail line which passes through supporting industry. Most of the wildlife avoids this area as we will see much more as we turn north in a day or two.

Tomorrow night we are glamping in the Tsabong Eco Camel park. Search the name for the website if you want to see some photos. It looks rather posh.

Temperature today 23* and cloudless skies – hope you’re keeping warm😁