Hi All

I returned about a month and a half ago from a 6day trip to Botswana.... all I have so far is a report on the first two days.... Will update as and when i find time again.... enjoy.

So, have been home for a week now which means that this report is 7 days stale.... my excuse is that I am a single working mom with a social calender to rival that of Paris Hilton!! I'm not complaining.... I love my new life - it's awesome!!
 
Now the thing about writing about an unforgettable trip is the problem of where to start, because as I think about the 6 days that I spent in Botswana, the memories come flooding back and I wish I had the ability to transfer all of those thoughts into an email message as fast as I am able to recall them. For those who know me well would know that my brain has the ability sometimes to make a Pentium Quad Core blush!! I'm finding it impossible to keep up with myself!!!  The best, then, is to simply start at the beginning... on Day 1...
 
I woke up all puffy-faced and totally groggy at 04h45 on the morning that we were to fly to Botswana. Under normal circumstances, waking up at this time of the day (or night???) wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that I stumbled into the hotel room just 4 hours earlier after flexing my voice muscles at the Lionel Richie concert.... that is a report that I will keep for another time.... those memories won't fade too fast....  Anyway, I managed to pull myself together, re-pack the suitcase properly on the first try without leaving anything behind - yay!!
Rushed down to the hotel reception where our chauffeur was already waiting to transfer us to the airport.  We checked in for our flight to Gaberone at O.R. Tambo International Airport.  The place was dead!  I swear I could hear that proverbial cricket. The airline chicky who checks you in for your flight and tags your luggage politely asked me if I had any valuables in my suitcase to which I replied, "Yes!  My clothes".... just wanted to see what her reaction would be so early in the morning.... she took it in her stride, I guess or maybe she was just fast asleep...
 
Anyway, after flying JNB/GBE/BBK, we finally arrived at Chobe Chilwero around 13h30 - just in time for lunch!!  On the menu was pizza with toppings of our choice!!!  I thought that I would start the trip out well and made a vegetarian pizza - shoulda added pepperdews..... but it was still good....
We enjoyed our relaxed lunch overlooking the Chobe River and a view of Namibia's Caprivi Strip on the other side.  We could see hippos grazing on the island and what I think was an elephant in the background.  However, the reality that we were in the bush hit us as we ducked, bobbed and weaved to avoid the dung beetles - I did not know those things fly!!  And they are stupid as hell!!  One second they are flying and then for no particular reason at all, they just drop to the ground, inadvertenly landing on their backs.... for the next 10 minutes they struggle to flip over, looking as if they were performing some new kick-ass break dancing move.... eventually they fly off and the process repeats itself....
There were also centipedes all over..... huge spiders, colourful dragon flies and a whole lot of other insects - flying and crawling - that I had never seen in my life before.  Our take on the insects - its all goooooddd..... we're in their territory now.... but lets just keep our feet off the ground when we're sitting... just to be sure we don't offend them in any way....
 
The accommodation at Chobe Chilwero (http://www.sanctuarylodges.com/chobechilwero.htm) was superb!  Spacious bedrooms with all the mod cons that most of us live without, a humungous bathroom with all the toiletries that most of us should use more of..... lol .... just kidding... y'all smell like roses.... and an outside shower.
The service here was excellent!! 
The evening of our arrival we embarked on a boat safari along the Chobe River.  We encounterd hippos, Nile crocodiles, baboons, impala (which we soon learnt were around every 'corner', being the most successful breading species in the region), lechwe, warthog and elephant.  We also saw numerous bird species including the African Kingfisher Eagle!!! 
On this first evening we enjoyed sundowners whilst silently watching a batchelor elephant.  We returned to a plated 3 course dinner at the lodge. Superb!!
 
The next morning we went out on an early morning open vehicle game drive into the Chobe National Park.  The game viewing was excellent!!  Five minutes into the drive, we spotted to lionesses chilling it out under a bush - their bellies were too full to be bothered with us gawking tourists... another five minutes into the drive and we came across the lionesses leftovers - a buffalo kill - surrounded by vultures who were 'cleaning up'.  On the rest of the drive we saw more impala, puku, buffalo, elephant (batchelors again), and numerous bird species.
 
After the coffee/juice/tea break, we returned to the lodge to check out and transfer back to Kasane for our first light aircraft transfer to Savute.  I had never flown in an aircraft this small.... 6-seater...  and I thought that it would be a piece of cake - I mean, I've flown a countless number of times before on a commercial aeroplane... I definately was not afraid of flying so was looking forward to it, especially since our pilot was so yummy..... tall, dark and definately handsome...
Anyway, 10 minutes into the flight and I wanted to JUMP!!!  We encountered a bit of turbulence which made the flight feel like an endless ride on the Cobra!! I swear I was gagging on my own stomach which migrated to my throat and my heart was wedged between my ears.  I think all the blood had rushed to my head cos it felt like it was about to explode.....  This was the longest 20 minute flight of my life.... I could have kissed the ground when we landed except it too was covered in centipedes in the Savute!!!
 
We arrived at Savute Safari Lodge (http://www.desertdelta.com/index.php?viewtype=searched&id=19&mysearcher1=Savute_Safari_Lodge&pricefrom=&priceto=) in time for lunch - had salads again and some bread.  After High Tea we went out on an afternoon open vehicle game drive.  Once again the game viewing was mind-blowing - we encountered a breeding pride of lion with one male, two females, two 11 month old cubs and 2 3 month old cubs... too cute... and just a little bit scary.  Other game encountered included a batchelor heard of elephant, impala (no kidding) and birds, including the fisheagle.  We also stopped at a Baobab tree estimated to be about 180'000 years old.  Got my 'Glamour' snap-shot here....
Accommodation at Savute Safari Lodge consisted of timber and thatched chalets with glass fronts overlooking the dry Savute Channel.  We had visitors to the waterhole just below our chalet - ellies and, guess what..... impala!!