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Here we are, wild (but very quiet) camping in Botswana’s Makgadikgadi pans. We have set up our tents in the middle of a dried-up lake with yet another magnificent sunset!

Botswana

Cora
2004-02-19 20:10:38

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Here we are, wild (but very quiet) camping in Botswana’s Makgadikgadi pans. We have set up our tents in the middle of a dried-up lake with yet another magnificent sunset!

Peter, our Zimbabwean driver, left us at the border, but not without giving us a last present. When we saw a couple of lions lying under a tree, Peter drove us as close as possible. The lion and lioness then became restless, got up, and went hiding behind a bush to keep a watchful eye on us. These were the first lions we saw in the wild. Thanks, Peter!

Kubu Island

On the westside of the Sowa Pan lies Kubu Island, on a low, narrow, treeless peninsula.
The history of Kubu Island is still a mystery. There are remains of stone walls on the island, of which is said that they belong to the culture of Great Zimbabwe that seemed to have reached very far. Even the potsherds that were found here have not revealed their origin or anything about the people that could have lived here.

After a long, exhausting ride, we arrived at Kubu Island in the hot middle of the day. We had nothing else to do here but ‘fight’ over the little peace of shade that was offered by the one baobab tree on the island; and fight against the ‘sticky grass’ all around it.
Kubu Island used to be a real island in the middle of a salt lake. With the lake dried up for millions of years now, Kubu Island is no more than a small slope in a desolate scenery; too hot and nothing to do ( if you decide to go there on an organised trip, please, do not ruin it by taking a quad ride!).
It was only at the end of the day when the heat was decreasing, that we could fully enjoy this surrealistic landscape. The Island appeared to be a lot bigger than we thought and we had a beautiful walk around it.

In Botswana we changed our bus for some four wheel drives, an absolute necessity in this ...