Going to Chobe

The trip to Chobe went fairly smoothly.  Back the same way we had come two days before. More wonderful landscapes- autumny in colour. Lots of communal life going on. For the first time I saw vegetable gardens, fenced for protection against baboons and elephants and probably any herbivore that lives in the vicinity.  More fallen trees where if you look closely enough you can see birds, monkeys, crocodiles and even dinosaurs in the twisted branches. We learnt more about the Baobab tree (cream of tartar comes from the seed), how it is more like a succulent rather than a tree as it doesn't grow by rings you can only guess its age by its girth. A short stop for refueling took longer than expected but everyone didn't seem to mind as it was the first time we could connect with the outside world in two days. Cricket scores and rugby selections were now the topic of conversation.

It was getting hotter, early 30's as we hit the Botswana border. Dusty. We went into the customs office and got stamped out of Zimbabwe. Goodbye lovely country - we had a memorable stay. Walked 50 meters and got stamped in to Botswana.  Our luggage got transferred into another van (apparently expensive and time consuming moving vehicles across the border). Lots of vehicles stood derelict in the yard - testament to the high taxes - cheaper to desert even when cats travel from Ireland. It looks as though they are never moved on. A car grave yard in the searing heat of Botswana.

Suddenly the landscape is greener. Autumn leaves are few and we come alongside the great Chobe river the border between Namibia and Botswana.

No time to relax. Find our rooms, grab a sandwich and hop on the boat for an afternoon river cruise. Hippos, giraffes, mongoose, birds galore, elephants, impala, water buffalo and of course that romantic African sunset.