On 1 May 2007 I drove with a rental car and Michael Dörries from Johannesburg (South Africa) coming over the border to Botswana (Gaborone). We had the game parks as our destination. Especially the Okavango Delta and the Chobe National Park (together 1.4 million ha) with its many animals attracted us. Have also visited other parks. This sparsely populated country with its beautiful landscape is breathtaking. The freedom addictive. Spent a total of 20 days in Botswana, almost always at new places, always in a tent. From Kasane we drove to Zambia to the Victoria Falls.
In 2009 I was with Heiner Rahlfs again for one week in Botswana, from Vic. Falls via Kasane and Kubu Islands and Francistown back to Bulawayo. It is a breathtaking landscape with such nice people and the freedom of off roads. Had received a car from Zimbabwe privately that did its duty outstandingly and it was not so problematic if it was scarred and muddy.
2011 via Lobatse the road to Ghanzi and via Namibia Caprivi (Ngoma Bridge) back in. A total of 9 days in Botswana because of project (Ghanzi at Gus Barnes: Holistic Management and Government in Gaborone) with Heiner Rahlfs.
In the national park Moremi I drowned the car in the river in Mababe. It wasn't easy to tow the car out of the bush through the sand tracks and have it drained in Maun. Otherwise always the fear of getting stuck with the vehicle in the endlessly long sand tracks and nobody nearby who can help you. It happened to us only once, but often we were close to it.
The varied landscape cannot be packed in here sufficiently. Michi and I both spent our 45th birthday in Africa, 18 years after our stay together in Zimbabwe, which we found so great.
In 2009 and 2011 we made a comparable tour with Heiner Rahlfs. Once from Vic-Falls in Zimbabwe via Kasane to Francistown back by car from Clifford (Sabine Homanns Mann), once via Lobatse, Ghanzi to Namibia to Judith, via Ngoma-Bridge back to Kasane and Gaborone back to South Africa. A 30 week tour.
2012 with Michi in February and with Fritz Wodarz and Heiner and Birgit Rahlfs in June twice the tour from J'burg via Gaborone to Francistown, from there shortly to Bulawayo, then to Kasane, in February through the Chobe to Maun, Ghanzi, in June via Kubu-Island to Gaborone (in February a workshop for a big Africa-Project HoMa took place). From there back to Johannesburg.
2014 in March for one week in Ghanzi, Maun and Kasane, once with her to do the tour I like so much. It was a heavy rainy season, so Moremi and Ghanzi were quite flooded. Passing through the Chobe was not possible. In Kasane tourism is increasing, in Maun stagnating to decreasing. But there are still animals everywhere.
2017 with Klaudia again 9 days in Botswana, again with off-road vehicle from Jo'burg, Gaborone, Rhino Sanctuary, Kudu Island, Chobe, Maun, Ghanzi.