So our Put Foot Rally 2013 was drawing to an end, but we had two nights before we were to meet up with the rest of the crews who had gone on to Malawi and were also by now, making their way south wards towards Palapye in the Southern part of Botswana and the venue for the final checkpoint party.

Once again the Mav’s had done the research and found us a place to stay for the night and we left Maun in the direction of Makgadigadi Adventure Camp “right near” Lethlekane.  After a day of driving through donkey and goat territory we got to Lethlekane and phoned the manager of the camp as instructed – “no problem” he said, “we are only 168km from Lethlekane on a dirt road. The sun was about to set. And, of course, we were driving our beloved Lulu. This was not happening. We decided to look around town for some accommodation. Not a lot was happening.  After getting the run around here and there – Amy and Guy came back and said they’d met the nicest man in Botswana. His motel was full, but he said we could camp at the bottom of the parking lot under a lapa. Happy just to have a safe place to put our heads down, tents went up, the girls cooked up another fantastic dinner and we headed over to the bar for a few cold beers.

The next morning we packed up camp in new record time and left the armpit of Botswana, Lethlekane, and drove with speed the short distance to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. The thought of camping in a reserve, especially set up for the protection of rhinos was, of course right up our ally.

The Khama Rhino Sanctuary is a fantastic place. There is a healthy population of white rhino in the reserve and several black rhino too.  We settled in and relaxed for the afternoon and went for a late afternoon drive and sundowner. We hadn’t driven too far and came across a crash of white rhinos. This was brilliant. We are all extremely passionate about rhinos and about the terrible slaughter that they have found themselves caught up in.  We left this group after some good viewing and moved on to a hide for a drink. On our way we saw another group of about 4 way in the distance but moving towards a large pan. We had a quick beer and drove around the pan hoping to catch up with this other group.

When we rounded the edge of the pan we were treated to a magnificent site – 4 rhinos jostling with each other and frolicking around the edge of the pan, kicking up a red cloud of dust just as the sun was setting over the Kalahari scrub. This was amazing. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to (nearly) end our trip around Southern Africa, raising awareness for these majestic creatures.  Quite quietly we made our way back to camp – I think we all quietly new we’d just had the most memorable sighting of our trip.

After a very windy night in the Khama Rhino Sanctuary all that remained was for us to drive the short distance to Palapye and to meet up with the other teams again and for the long awaited Final Checkpoint Party! 

As the teams rolled in to iThumela Camp after miles and miles of driving and the most awesome times with friends – it was time to reunite with teams we hadn’t seen for the good part of a week. And ………….. time to blow a new A*$@ hole in Palapye!!  Although we were now miles from the Mozambique coast and well within a land-locked country, the pirate party theme was a hit and there were beards, scars, eye-patches, pirate-hats, bushy eyebrows and hooks everywhere!  After nearly three weeks on the road with stories to last a lifetime and friendships made to do the same, this party rocked hard! 

Ask any Put-Footer about the experience they have just had and I bet most will find it hard to put it into words. So much has happened in the last few weeks. Getting to the start line. The sheer excitement of registration day and meeting fellow put-footers at camps bay ahead of the rally. The absolute buzz at the start; all of us thinking about the 18 days of unknown adventure that lay ahead. Driving though the streets of Cape Town at sunrise, hooting at everyone, people waving back at our ’73 wagon and giving the thumbs up – an emotional moment for the men in the D-Tours Combi. The long roads and interesting conversations. Driving into camps in between the checkpoints and bumping into fellow Put-Footers. The spirit of the rally was unmatchable and the camaraderie unbelievable.

The annual Put Foot Rally is unique and it brings together like-minded people. Adventurous philanthropists are given the opportunity to travel around Southern Africa, whilst raising money or awareness for causes close to their hearts. It’s an opportunity to get out to the places we always talk about –but seldom get to see. It’s about friendships. Sharing the experiences with good mates. But also about finding new friends – people from your own hometowns, meeting for the first time.
It’s about our Continent. It’s about our people. Africa is bedded deep within our souls. It is so much more than a place. It is a part of each of us and always will be. (Pete – we’re also talking about you too! We know you’re really an African trapped in a Kiwis body.)

I think I speak for all the men on the D-Tours team, when I say that I think it’s going to be hard not to relive those memories and think back to an epic journey of a lifetime when we hear those first few drumbeats of the song that became synonymous with Lulu driving into a campsite at sunset – Toto’s “Africa”.

Today is sadly my last day on tour. I have other commitments back in South Africa with Dtours where we offer tours to Africa for friends and family on a shared cost basis. The Put Foot rally dates conflicted slightly with our July trip so I have to miss the last few days. However, last night as I mentioned in yesterday's blog, we met Nic in the bar and when he found out about our passion for saving the Rhino, organized a meeting for us with his boss.

Wow, what a meeting!

We sat down with Map Ives from Wilderness Safaris. Map is the key person involved in Rhino protection and conservation in Botswana. He has lived in the Delta area since the 80's and is likely one of the most knowledgable people on conservation in the area.

Map gave us a comprehensive rundown of the situation in Botswana. This country clearly takes poaching very seriously with the president Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama personally backing conservation. He has assigned one of his three Brigadiers to spearhead anti poaching efforts and this Brigadier works directly with Map and his team so all efforts are coordinated.

33% of the land area in Botswana is under conservation and game areas are not enclosed by fences. In fact there is no fence between Botswana and Zimbabwe so game may traverse the border. Luckily for the Rhino in Botswana the prime grazing or browsing areas are in the upper north west so are not tempted to wander into the less protected areas of Zimbabwe.

Of most interest to us is the news that Wilderness have a project to translocate Black Rhino into Botswana in play. They still have a lot of work to do and a significant part of this would be funding. Map is excited about the prospect of us looking to secure a major sponsor to help.

The plan seems extremely well put together and is also a long way down the track. From what I already know about translocating Black Rhino it is a minefield of red tape and animal welfare issues. One of the huge advantages this project has is the full backing of the Botswana Defense Force another advantage is that Wilderness have already translocated White Rhino from South Africa.

These Rhino will be flown from South Africa directly to the Okavango Delta. This greatly reduces the stress on the animals by reducing the time they need to be sedated for safe travel.

The plan is to translocate Rhino from South Africa to Botswana. The requests and offers through the official channels are being worked through and the boma's to house the animals when they arrive have been built. These boma's are very strong enclosures that are needed to settle the animals after arrival in their new environment. They stay in these for up to 6 weeks so they can be closely monitored for disease as well as introduce them to their new vegetation. This settling period helps prevent the Rhino from bolting when they are released as ideally they will stay together as a group, speeding up the breeding process.

Once the Rhino arrive they will need constant monitoring to see where they go to make sure they stay in groups and breed. This monitoring will also ensure they don't move into "danger areas". As a last resort Rhino moving into danger areas would be darted and relocated. This monitoring will also provide invaluable information around their movements and habits for researchers, as surprisingly little is known about Rhino in this area.

We talked about funding and although this type of project is out of the league of our Imake a Difference fund, we will try to facilitate this through sponsors. This would be a very high profile project and I am confident that we can pitch this to the right people and get the sponsorship. I think Dawdy sparked the idea of the "All Black" Rhino originally and those people that I have talked about this too have been very excited about it.

Why shift Black Rhino in Botswana? 
Botswana is probably the safest place in Africa for Rhino. 
Botswana was once home to many thousand's of Rhino before they were hunted to extinction back in the 70's
Botswana offers a perfect environment for the Rhino to breed.
Botswana already has decades of dedication to conservation and with the president personally committed to the cause this is likely to last.
More Black Rhino to augment the 5 that already exist in the wild in Botswana will be enough to create a stable breeding population that could in 50 years time produce a significant population.
This would be hugely significant for world rhino populations.

Any sponsor could look forward to a significant legacy as well as huge publicity. Imagine the next generation viewing Rhino in Botswana along with the abundance of all the other game. The world population of White Rhino were grown from a very small number in 1895 to 18,000 odd today.
Rhino are really the only animal missing from this country, which is rich in every other species appropriate to its ecosystem.

What a way to end the trip for me. Map and Nic came to the airport to see me off. I am on my flight to Durban to meet my son who has come from New Zealand.

I can't help but feel that this last meeting is probably the most significant meeting I have had since trying to research the right way to actually make a difference and not make a mess as so many overseas organizations are apt to do in Africa.

Imagine in 100 years time when rangers are showing guests at the delta a crash of 20 Black Rhino peacefully drinking as the seasonal waters start to flow. Regaling stories of the legend Map Ives and his team, the forward thinking then President of Botswana and a band of aged hippies in a 'fried up' Kombi forming a loose alliance to bring Black Rhino back to Botswana. Okay so we are way overstating our part in this but at the end of the day this is a blog and we can and do and say whatever we want. 

For more information please readhttp://www.wildernesstrust.com/projects/current-projects/botswana-rhino-relocation-and-reintroduction

Waking up to the luxury of Nata Lodge we just didn't want to leave, we enjoyed a breakfast fit for a king and very reluctantly packed up and got on our way.
Traveling west now we head toward Makgadikgadi Pans where Matt has arranged camping. LuLu is now starting to go through quite a lot of oil. There might be two problems, yesterday she was smoking a lot and today she seems to be smoking less but leaking heavily. Stew has contacted some friends in Maun who will be able to look at her tomorrow in Maun.

Today we are traveling through arid savannah, this changes to dry pans as we cross the Ntwetwe Pans. We again see lots of game in spite of the arid conditions. Giraffe on the road, ele's in the distance, impala, Kudu and zebra. Again I am amazed at the game everywhere. I am not familiar with this open concept of game reserves. The whole of Botswana is open for game to move wherever they want. We have to get more Rhino up here.

The camping turns out to be a bust when TeamMaverick arrive at a ferry crossing that was going to cost P130 each way but LuLu might struggle to get from the ferry to land as this ferry doesn't have a ramp as such. You actually need to drive into the river to board the ferry. 
I also need to get to the airport tomorrow so don't like the idea of being reliant on a ferry as part of that trip. We weigh up all the issues including our shortage of petrol and head for Maun.

Arriving at Maun we settle into the Okavango River Lodge, LuLu has arrived first after checkpoint troubles for Team Maverick. #Justsaying This is the last stop for me and we are now leading the rally so I guess we won. . It was also nice to be Team Mavericks admin for a change although the facilities here are poor quality, the bar and restuarant are top quality. Two out of three ain't bad.

We opt for safari tents so don't need to set up camp and head for the bar, some friends have heard on our blog that we are in Maun so come to say hello. We quickly jack up a garage for LuLu and also a very exciting meeting at Wilderness Safari's head office to meet the top man in Botswana for Rhino relocation. I am extremely excited by the news that there are currently plans in place to relocate some Black Rhino from SA into Bots.

The Bagpipe Whisperer made an appearance at the bar which was a lovely send off for me on my last night as well as a random girl Katie who was celebrating her birthday. Chill then shocked everyone with his prowess on the pool table. This man is clearly multi talented.

Another nice lie in this morning and a relaxed start. We all feel sorry that we didn't make Lake Malawi but have so much enjoyed our time with TeamMaverick spending time in Chobe both on the roads and on the river. It is Sunday today so Kasane is not so busy, Botswana is very religious so we presume many are at church. 
We have been eating very heathy but today we succumb to junk food and fill up before heading into the unknown. We need to be in Maun on the 2nd so will look for something on the way there. The road passes through acacia savanna and we see quite a lot of game. Of particular interest to me is the abundance of game and the lack of people. There is so much untamed land here that the animals roam free on. We saw ele's, kudu, giraffe, impala and even ground hornbills just at the side of the road. These roads are very dangerous to drive at night as animals walk on the road and can be very hard to see.

The road from Kasane to Nata was excellent at first but we came across large sections of road works where the whole length of road is being worked on. They make a temporary road next to the main road to take both lanes of traffic, unfortunately the trucks drive as if it is a single lane and they do so at full speed nearly driving us off the road several times. This temporary road is still much better than the roads in Zambia however.

LuLu has picked up the bad habit of smoking, mostly during the middle of the day and early evening when she is hot/stressed. Chill thinks she has blown another o-ring in the rocker shaft. There isn't much we can do out here so we will just keep a close eye on the oil. She did the rally with this o-ring missing last year so it is no biggy.

Matt manages to get a booking at the Nata Lodge for us and their plan was to travel on but we arrive at the lodge and find them beside the pool enjoying cocktails. Team Maverick couldn't resist the luxury at affordable prices when they saw the chalets with private outdoor showers and deep freestanding baths. It was the equal of high quality lodge Accommodation and well worth the money. There is a lovely, well stocked bar and a nice restaurant, we take full advantage of both while Hayley and Amy take full advantage of the bath and outdoor showers.

It was one of those special evenings in an oasis of luxury found in the least likely place.

Luxury, another day in the same spot. We decide to stay put and have a relaxing day in camp and go on the evening cruise on the Chobe River. Stew is still pretty sick we discuss upping his medication to antibiotics but decide against it. Between us all I think our range of drugs is better than the stock in most african hospital pharmacies.

We dropped into Kasane to get some supplies and things were extremely busy as it was end of month and most get paid at the end of the month. The queues in the supermarket were about 30 mins long which blocked up all the aisles. I managed to get a micro sim for the iPad so we are back up and running with Internet.

We were picked up from the camp at 2.45 and driven to the double decker boat for our cruise, after a quick stop at the park entrance which is a little pontoon at the side of the river to pay our fees it is into the park properly. One side of the river is Namibia and the other is Botswana so as we head into the park we have the Caprivi to the north and Chobe to the south.

There are quite a few islands in the middle of the river and these are loaded with game, big rafts of hippo's and buffalo and huge numbers of ele's. The bird life is amazing, again with huge numbers of everything. We were able to get right on top of the hippos and right next to the ele's. they are very chilled next to the boat.

The birds we saw included Purple heron, Malachite kingfisher, Pied kingfisher, Wire-tailed swallow, Yellow-billed stork, Open-billed stork, Spurwing goose, Squacco heron, Reed cormorant, Grey-headed gull, Blacksmith lapwing, Long-toed lapwing, African fish-eagle, African jacana, White-faced duck, Marabou stork, Lesser jacana, Little egret, Great white egret, Sacred ibis, Glossy ibis and an incredible sighting of African skimmers.

After the cruise it was back to the camp where Dtours organized the meal, vegetable parcels on the Braai, marinated fillet on the Braai and potatoes wrapped in tin foil in the fire. Very nice and a great chance to be able to show Team Maverick that we can indeed look after ourselves. Feeling quite content we were once again blown away when Team Maverick casually enquire would we like a marsh-mellow. As if it wasn't enough to have marsh-mellows in the bush, they pull out cane skewers and offer us either plain or coconut. These guys are so sorted.

With great excitement we get up early for our day in Chobe National Park. A quick breakfast of muesli and rusks and we are ready to go. We hadn't arranged another night in the camp so checked at the booking office if we could stay again. The bad news is the site is already booked for tonight. The good news is that another is free. Our quickest campsite change ever and we are away into the park.

We would love to stay in the park tomorrow night so first checked out the campsite bookings. In true African style the booking agent gave us a rundown on rates, sites locations and facilities then asked us which one we would like to stay at. Carefully picking the one that was halfway through the camp we were told that one was full, asking for any that were available we found the park was fully booked. Not sure why that bit of information wasn't shared first.

Botswana parks are supposed to be very expensive so I was surprised to find that the park fees were quite reasonable. Not sure if SA residents get special rates as I didn't make it clear that I wasn't an SA resident. Our fees for LuLu (who was declared as 4x4) and 4 people were P530 about NZ80 or R680.

We had been told by fellow campers that LuLu wouldn't be able to drive the river roads as the road requires 4x4. In fact your not allowed into Chobe in 2 wheel drive cars at all. At the first intersection we had the choice of the main road or the river road, you guessed it, straight to the river. The roads are indeed bad but we are committed now and with a 4x4 in front and behind we think we are pretty safe. We quickly realised LuLu might need some air removed from her tires so stopped on a hard patch to do this.

Very soon we came to the water, the arid dry Mopani gives way to lush green riverine landscape, there is plenty of water in the Chobe river and the game and bird life are everywhere. One thing that you notice immediately is the huge numbers of everything, ele's buy the thousand, hippo's by the hundreds, crocodiles line the banks, impala and lechwe(a first for me) mixed in big herds, buffalo, sable, roan (a herd of about 12 and another first for me), Kudu everywhere and a myriad of bird life. white browed coucal, white browed scrub robin, babbler, black wing stilt, Jacana, yellow billed stork, African, spoonbill, white faced duck, African darter to name a few.

We saw lots of vultures circling in different places, one group were on a young elephant carcass and we got great shots of a Lappet-faced Vulture. We drove along the river toward the Ihaha camp hoping to get a nice lunch when we arrived. The drive took 3 hours and LuLu didn't get stuck once. Justin however managed to get the 4x4 Hilux stuck 3 times.

Arriving at the camp we found it to be very basic indeed. What a lovely place to camp, no fences, no power and certainly no Wimpy restaurant. The campsites are well set out along the river and it certainly isn't crowded. For a park at full capacity it certainly isn't crowded like Kruger in the peak season. With no food available, it was into Team Maverick's snack box. Eish they could feed a small African nation from their snack box.

We didn't manage to see any predators throughout the day although a leopard was reported in the Ihaha camp just after we left.

Today we are packing up and leaving Livingstone but before we do, we have the opportunity to help greenpop.org plant some orange trees at the local hospital.

Greenpop are from Cape Town and have been active in Zambia for 6 months planting trees in schools and hospitals trying to combat the deforestation problems. The work they are doing is like a drop in the ocean of what is needed but a great start with education around the need for and value of trees essential.

We met up with Juliana who is Geenpop's representative in the area and Uncle Ben who is a retired Zambian national that has volunteered to help them. They showed us how to plant the trees and we had to each dig a hole, add manure, water and then decorate the ground around the tree and then name it. It seems like such a small effort but these orange trees will grow and provide fruit for the patients as well as provide a green area for patient recuperation.

It was well organized, there was a representative from the hospital and two reporters from the Zambian Times. I was interviewed by the reporters as the leader of the group as we didn't have anyone official from Put Foot there. I hope we get a positive write up for Greenpop. It was a shame that Put Foot had not got back to Juliana when original approached months ago as we could have planted trees at the school during shoe drop while we had the whole team.

During the drive back to camp, Juliana asked if we had seen the Rhino in their game park. They have 4 Rhino their which is half the Rhino population in Zambia. These 4 are said to be the most protected Rhino in the world with 24 hour guards. Is this a glimpse into the future and is this the only hope for the species worldwide?

Following the tree planting we again ate at the beautiful Indian restuarant in the stunning colonial house. We took Team Maverick there as well and the staff were delighted to see us again. Our second meal didn't disappoint either so with full bellies we made our way to the border.

The border was hectic to say the least. When we arrived there was a grader working on the dirt roads so parking was the first issue. As with everywhere in Africa there seemed to be many people just waiting. i have no idea what they were waiting for and wonder if they do? There were street vendors and hawkers trying to relieve us of our last Zambian Kwacha. Understanding that we would need Botswana Pula to enter Bots, we changed some US dollars. Border crossings 101, know the exchange rate before arriving at the border. We received an appalling 5 to the USD when it should have been 8. That was just lesson number one. Lesson two is to not accept help from quasi officials. We were "helped" to the front of the queue by one guy when I am sure there wasn't a queue for cars and he relieved us of another US50. One other guy with a semi official looking ID helped us with our paperwork but disappeared after I found out that he had made me fill out the wrong form. My exclamation of "Oh F@&k" silenced the whole place for probably the first time since it had opened at 6am. Once again you seem to need to pay everyone behind a window. We had no idea what most of these charges are for.

The method of crossing the border at this point is by barge and there are hundreds of trucks lined up each side going one at a time onto the barge. The cars fit in around the trucks so we managed to get on very quickly in spite of the hundreds of trucks lined up. The crossing itself is very quick, probably 5 minutes. You then drive off the other side into Botswana. LuLu had a problem getting off as her tow bar hit the steep barge ramp. She was left stranded with both back wheels spinning in mid air. A couple of rocks under the wheels did the trick and LuLu was also into Bots.

We found a nice campground about 10 minutes from the border and settled down for the night feasting on an excellent stew courtesy of Hayley. We are now about 5 minutes from the entrance to Chobe and we can't wait. So glad we only drove 1 hour west from Livingstone and not 12hours east toward Lusaka like the rest of the rally.

Activity day but none of us are all that keen to go rafting, some of the crew went big last night! It was fantastic that they still managed an episode of Master Chef Zambia at the end of the night. The winning entry being eggs boiled in the kettle with Aromat and pepper. In a surprising move these weren't all shelled proving some essential calcium in the meal.

After a slow start we got mobile and went down to the falls. There is still a lot of water passing over these falls even though the surrounding countryside is in drought. At its height in summer, 50 million litres per second flow over these falls. The Zambezi forms the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. This results in part of the falls being in Zambia and some in Zimbabwe. The Zambian name for the falls is Mosi-oa-Tunyu mean's the cloud that thunders. The noise from the water thundering over the falls is deafening, and the mist/rain rises up in the air and can be seen for miles. The falls were formed as a result of a massive seismic shift. This left a zigzag tear in the landscape where the falls drop between the banks. This means you can walk on the other side of the bank and look right onto the falls. When you get close to the falls the spray is like rain.

Health and safety in a first world country would have a fit. I wonder how many lives have been lost when people slip over the bank in the wet slimy conditions with no fences or barriers. The Zambian side is much shorter than the Zim side but it is impressive none the less.

All the spray makes a permanently wet area around the falls creating a very different micro climate from the arid landscape typical of the area.

We were hoping to eat at the falls but there really isn't anything there except very expensive hotels so we made it back to town and had the nicest Indian food I have every had.

We had booked the evening cruise on the river which took us up the bank of the island opposite the Zambezi Waterfront where we were staying. We didn't see any Ele's but did see Hippo's, Crocodile, Green Backed Heron complete with tiger fish in its mouth along with Dikop's, Jacana's, Cattle Egrets, Bee Eaters and many more birds.

Being an "all you can drink cruise" the boat soon became very festive as we were mostly put footers including The Crestfesters, The Calendar Girls, Team Maverick, Sargerofti, Fanaticus, shotgun front, Team Afreeaka, The Retro Soles. It was hard to believe that it was only 7.30 when we excited the boat.

A few more festivities later and a serenade from the Bagpipe Whisperer and we decided to go into town to check out the Fezbar. This was my first experience of an African bar and it was pretty hectic as the crowd built up. I had my first strawberry lips and a tequila shot, I swear I only had one of each . Departing early I was asking for a taxi and a couple of locals gave me a lift home which is typical of this very friendly frontier town. I must say I am amazed at the friendly people and the safe feeling around this town, in fact everywhere we have been has felt safe.

Today is shoe drop day, this is the centre cause of the put foot rally. For us we are just trying to raise awareness of Rhino poaching but the put foot rally is about helping disadvantaged kids in Africa.

They do this by finding a school of very disadvantaged kids and putting shoes on their feet. We were asked to assemble at 8.30am and all the cars formed a convoy ready to head off to the school. We assembled in order of interesting cars and LuLu lined up third today.

After forming the convoy, we all grouped together for a briefing and were told of the unrest in Mozambique which is suddenly so serious that we would be at significant risk if we entered the country. Being a kiwi I would probably be seen as a high value target so I was doubly happy that the organisers had decided to change the route. We were now to finish in Botswana, a country that I have been keen to visit for a very long time.

Once the briefing was over we set off in convoy and it was very festive with police escorts and roadblocks giving us the run of the town. Livingstone isn't that big but I am sure we drove every street. The people came out and waved and cheered us through.

Being the first time the entire crew had been together since before Etosha, it was a special moment for the Rally. Once we arrived at the school, Chill left us to lead the convoy into the school grounds. The kids were all out on the playing fields sitting at their desks when we rocked up. 56 odd cars with all their stickers and themes and points of interest coming to the poorest school in the town was a huge occasion. The put foot foundation has already invested in the school with painting the classrooms and toilet blocks.

We were welcomed by the principal in an impassioned speech. This school only exists because a local Zambian selflessly made it happen. Education isn't free nor compulsory in Zambia so poor disadvantaged kids fall through the system. Us rocking up with shoes, pads and pencils was amazing for them, I actually got the impression that many of the kids were terrified of us.

The shoe drop itself was quite emotional. To actually put shoes on the feet of kids who may never have owned shoes was moving to say the least. These kids are used to classroom sizes of 50 to 100, they are often from households where there are kids looking after kids, such is the problem with AIDS here. It wasn't too surprising to see many Put Footers openly crying. I actually spotted a hardened Stanger Lawyer, shed a tear, while fitting shoes.

After the shoe drop it was a quiet afternoon before preparing for the checkpoint party. Tonight's theme is barefoot royalty and we are going in kilts and crowns. Thanks Shelley for preparing the kilts for us all.

We made quite an impression as the Bagpipe Whisperer piped us in to the venue. As is the case with all checkpoint parties there was an excellent meal put on as well for this party the camp owner provided free beer. This was going to be a good night. :-)

After the dinner we were all called together for an announcement and in a very emotional moment we were told of Madiba's death. It was a solemn moment of reflection and acknowledgement of a great man. I felt privileged to be in a group of South African's during this moment.

It wasn't long before it became apparent that the rumors of his death were untrue with the conversation then turning to why won't they let him go with some dignity. Such a great man deserves the ultimate peace now.

Another cold night in the tents, probably not as cold as other places because we were beside the river. However it seems to get very cold around 4am although this might just be when we were woken by the hippos who we know are very close after last nights cruise. One camper even saw one in the reeds on the bank only meters from the tents.
Another stunning sunrise and it is time to pack up. We are getting better at this now and Bruce is an absolute trouper getting up on top to pack the roof rack in these cold mornings.

One last trip to the toilets which all have a theme. We all had a turn in the garden of Eden toilet. Each shower and toilet has an eclectic angle. In fact the whole camp is an eclectic mix of artifacts and humorous anecdotes.

Shelley's rusks and tea for breakfast went down a treat with both ourselves and Team Maverick this morning as we strive to get away early. These guys are legends, we nickname them our support crew as they are always ready to help when we arrive in camp so late or book places ahead for us.

Once we were on the road we crossed the Okovango river, this put us into the game reserve or what they call a shared use road. The Caprivi highway is several continuous game reserves or national parks. We saw herds of elephant, a herd of sable, lots of cattle and goats and villagers, proof that people can coexist with wildlife. A great model for Zululand?

The border crossing went very well for a third world country. We seemed to have to pay everyone. Insurance, visa, customs, carbon tax, vehicle fees...... This took about an hour but went surprisingly well. Straight after the border we crossed the mighty Zambezi, arguably the most important river in Africa. This is the upper Zambezi as Victoria Falls separates this from the lower Zambezi. This river eventually flows out into the Zambezi delta in Mozambique.

Traveling through this next section we experienced the worst pot holes we had seen so far, this really slowed us down. Some of them would do you serious damage if we hit them at speed. We did spot Ground Hornbills at one stage and they weren't in a park or reserve at all which was probably as special as the sable earlier. Some Zambian kids will be writing with their new pens tomorrow as well.

Arriving into Livingstone at night we battled to find our camp at first. Eventually we made our way to the camp which is on the banks of the river about 3 km above the falls. Our excitement wasn't over yet as we jostled with Elephants getting in the gate. We don't appear to be in a game park so it seems Elephants just roam wild here. How exciting.

Once again Team Maverick has our back. They manage to travel at about twice our speed so get there ahead of the main pack and reserve a spot as well as cook us a stunning Braai.