June 9-11: Maun Family Reunion

At long last Nancy joins the expedition, along with brother Mark and Kirsten! After my brief stay in Makgadikgadi National Park along the mostly dry Boteti River, I headed to Maun to reunite with family. Mark and Kirsten arrived a day before Nancy on a typical beautiful sunny warm day. Here is my baby bro coming out after a quick no-hastle and free pass through customs and immigration. Don’t you just love countries like this that aren’t paranoid about terrorisim!?

For some reason my picture of Mark and Kirsten together coming out from customs didn’t save (????) so I can’t show you Kirsten’s smiling face, but she was delighted to be here in Botswana as well. Mark and Kirsten have toured all over Kenya but have never visited Botswana, which was on their bucket list – so check! Our first order of business was to pick up their overland vehicle from the rental company (Bushlore). We spent a couple hours with the Bushlore representative going over all of the vehicles many incredible features. It is a Toyota Hilux truck with only a 2.8 Liter, 4 cyclinder engine, but you would never know it from all the features this vehicle has. It can comfortably sit and sleep 4 adults and has every amenity you can think of. The camping features on this vehicle kind of make the Green Dragon look like a poor man’s version.

Anyways, we are well equipped for our journey into the Okavango Delta (more on the Delta in my next post). After completing the vehicle review we headed downtown to see the hub of Maun.

Maun was founded in 1915 as the capital of the Batawana people (as the local people are called) and administrative center of Ngamiland, which is the northwest section of Botswana. It is located along the Thamalakane River, which is another river like the Boteti that receives its water from the excess floodwaters of the Okavango Delta later in the dry season. Consequently, like the Boteti, the Thamalakane River is dry this time of year and only supports scattered water holes or pools that intercept the water table. Unfortuntely, even these pools that provide an important water source for both domestic and wild animals are being pumped dry by the construction companies for use in mixing concrete.

Maun is considered the gateway to the Okavango Delta and, as such, has many lodges and businesses supporting the safari business. You can find just about anything needed for a safari here in Maun. Overall, Maun is a rather delightful city, with a population of ~60,000. It has a small but bustling downtown section extending for 1 block with businesses of all kinds and numerous streetside vendors selling produce, clothing and all sorts of stuff. The people are super friendly and I have never felt in any way threatened or concerned for my own safety or that of my vehicle and possessions. There are NOT thugs waiting to mug you and steel from you at every opportunity. I feel safer here for myself and my possessions than I would in any big city in the US. Here’s a picture of downtown Maun:

After a brief visit to downtown Maun we headed out of town to the Old Bridge Backpackers Lodge and Campsite where we set up camp and enjoyed a nice meal at the Lodge. Mook and I had spinnach-feta pizzas while Kirsten enjoyed a vegie burger and fries. Here’s a shot of Mark and Kirsten enjoying a drink at the Lodge before dinner.

Oh, and in fairness to the Green Dragon, I have to report that she is not the only vehicle that sometimes needs a little TLC. Here’s Mark and Kirstens Toyota Hilux in the shop after the first day with a squealing sound come from the front suspension. Unfortunately, the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency was not around to help solve the puzzle, so we had to let the Bushlore mechanics figure it out. It turned out to be a minor dust in the wrong place issue which was easily and quickly resolved.

The more important concern of the day was how and where to get wine for the trip on a Sunday in Maun. None of the regular liquor stores are open on Sunday. Fortunately, Kirsten is an experienced African Expat and knows how things get done in Africa. She asked the mechanic if there was a way to get alchohol on a Sunday, and of course there was if you know where to go. We ended up at a bar/liquor store that was rather teeming with business, and they were more than happy to sell us the required – or should I say, desired – quantity of both red and white wine for the upcoming 14 day bush journey, and what’s that bottle of bourbon mixed in with our stuff (Mook!):

Finally, at long last, Nancy arrived and we ended up back at the lodge/campsite for a drink (or was it 2 or 3?) and another round of spinnach-feta pizzas:

OK, that’s it for our brief stay in Maun. It’s off to the Okavango Delta tomorrow and 14 straight days deep in the African bush. SO, that means no more blog posts for at least 14 days – I’m sure you are all ready for a break – unless by some crazy miricle there is wifi at Khwai Village along the way. Cheers!