Friday, September 5, 2016

Third Bridge Campground, Moremi National Park, Botswana

Map

It was a hard day.

We left Drifters and headed back into Maun for some supplies we had forgotten and then started for our next campsite – Third Bridge in Moremi National Park. This is in the heart of the Okavango Delta.

It was a hard drive. The first part was OK – pavement. About 15 miles outside of town, the pavement ended and we were on a sandy road. It was very wide, but the center was very washboardy and the edges were deep sand. 30 mph was about the best we could do. This went on for another 20 miles or so when we got to the park entrance. After paying our entrance fee and having lunch, the real driving began.

The next 30 miles or so was spent mostly in 2^nd gear. We would get in deep sand and then it would improve to a hard packed surface. It was always bumpy. We nearly got stuck several times. 15 mph was about our average. The maps had the road going directly to the campground, but there were many forks and other roads. Several wrong turns were made. We did see wildlife, though:

And, too far to photograph were zebra and a crocodile.

Around 4:00, we made it to the campground and got set up.

We hadn't been there long when, from behind some trees came a wild dog, and then several more. They went right past the edge of our campsite. We scrambled to get the cameras and managed a few photos:

Later, an elephant and her baby went through the next campsite:

Finally, just as it was getting dark, baboons climbed the trees in our site.

Safe to say, we're not in Kansas anymore.