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23rd april - 9th may

Overlanding across Afica in our Land Rover Defender: Botswana

Andy Lees
2006-05-16 15:19:02

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was no chance of us sinking in and losing the land rover. in the distance we could see a line moving slowly through the heat haze. we were mystified as to what it could be. as it neared, we were surprised to see that the line was made up of horses. where they were going to, where they had come from we had no idea.

it didn't take long to reach the island of pinkish-grey granite rising 20 metres from the pan surrounding it. huge baobob trees littered the outcrops, it was a surreal sight. the island is run by a community trust and whilst extremely basic it is a beautiful, atmospheric place to stay. you can clamber over the rocks, camp amongst the baobab trees and watch the changing hues of the island at sunset and sunrise.

the 'locals' regard the island as being a spiritual and sacred place and at dawn we experienced this for ourselves. as we made our way round the island, seeking the best place to view the sunrise we came across a most unusual sight. a group of people, dressed head to foot in bright red or green hooded cloaks, embroidered with bold crosses on the back were gathered round a fire, chanting. it sounded and looked mysterious - almost pagan, and we retreated back the way we had come. they too retreated deeper into the island. a short while later, a van drove past, the locals waved and smiled, they had removed their hoods and cloaks - perhaps it wasn't so sinister after all. we needed a shower - it was time to move on to the kalahari - where the shower would come from we were not too sure.

central kalahari - 7th may

as we left the pans our fuel was running low and we stopped to top up from one of the jerry cans. when we went to set off again, for the first time ever the landy wouldn't start. we were relieved to at least be beside a road, rather than the many middle-of-nowhere's we'd been lately. still, it wasn't a good place to break down either; if such a thing even ...