Our debris does not form part of the ecosystem.
We have visited Mabuasehube, Botswana previously, however, when our friends, Heinrich and Wendy, invited us again to join them, we said yes.
That meant cancelling our pre-planned holiday to Thailand, and instead of sipping the cocktails in the sparkling pool, we were to test our endurance for the January heat in Kalahari.
Our route was planned via Bray border post, overnight at Cornwall farm, 6 nights at Mabuasehube, then take the Nossob track to Kgalagadi and drive down to Rooiputs.
By the time we sat in our camp chairs at Mpayathutlwa camp in Mabua, drinking in the scenery together with ice-cold gin and tonic, the tension of urban living had lifted from our shoulders.
This Camp is famous for its resident pride of lions who apparently like the campsites as much as campers do, and some have developed a peculiar fetish for car tyres. Indeed the lions were waiting for us. Either vocal or visible in the close distance during our stay. At the next-door campsite, the lions occupied the A-frame most of the day and using the camp chair as a urinal. There they “owned” the camp during the heat of the day while the campers were either driving around or forced to drive around because of the lions.
We saw notably fewer antelopes compared to our previous trip in March 2014. Most likely the harsh heat and lack of rain had driven animals to migrate to less hostile grounds. However it is not the number of animals that make an enjoyable game viewing, but often the small things like blooming desert lilies popped out from the bare sand.
Sustainable tourism
There are not many wild and natural places left, let’s cherish them.
The next three days we stayed at Lesholoago no2 campsite. It had all the camp “luxuries” (water and ablution ) and in my opinion one of the best views over the pan. The flat horizon over the pan made a 180 degree stretch of the sky into a magnificent sunset tableau. Distant rain clouds painted the sky in hues of pinks and purples with streaks of rain appearing red. Every sunset is different, and I have seen many spectacular ones, yet I feel this one would have been priceless if on the art gallery wall.
As expected, the days were boiling hot, with + 36 degrees at 6 in the evening. The best way to prevent heatstroke was to hibernate under a shady spot, depleting our stock of liquid refreshments. During our stay, we encountered quite a few uneaten carcasses of Gemsbok who probably have died from the drought.
At the Lesholoago campsite, we were expecting to meet the tyre fetish Lion as encountered during our previous visit. However, Lions were replaced with a gang of Hyenas; raiding our campsite every night in search of takeaways. Of cause, we left out of their reach, but in the morning we found a massive bag of wood dragged into the bushes and our car tyres tasted, – out of revenge (maybe). Swarms of termite nymphs appeared in the evenings for their suicide mission. It was fascinating to see the nymphs fly under the camp light, wiggling off their wings and join to move in a clockwise motion. The merry-go-round wheel got bigger and bigger, and BIGGER on the sand as millions of them joined in. By the morning the campsite ground looked like a termite nymph mortuary. It was the most bizarre activity. I am yet to find an explanation for it.
The next day a deep sandy road was waiting for us on our way to Nossob, – a challenge that we have been looking forward to. Beautiful terrain with changing vegetation and bouncy dunes.
To sum up, our Mabua to Nossob trip was a leisurely holiday. We had a great time without any let-downs from our cars or other possible mishaps. The only disappointing and annoying factor was finding cigarette-buts and other confetti such as cut cable ties; tins and beer caps at the campsites. My husband with our friends and I are regular 4×4 travellers and have noticed that lately, these findings become more prevalent.
It takes just a common sense, that beer cans will not burn to ash in the fire and ain’t going to disintegrate into the sand. More appalling was a discovery at the Matopi no2 wilderness campsite, – in the centre of the campground stood a hundred years old tree, a magnificent beauty ravaged by selfish campers for firewood. I cannot comprehend why would anyone go for 4×4 camping in the wilderness who does not respect nature and promote conservation. I hope that people would come to realise that we do not own nature and our debris does not form part of the ecosystem. https://ecoexploreafrica.com/what-is-ecotourism/
Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), Botswana
9-day Eco Safaris Trip planner:
Central Kalahari Google Map link here.
From Johannesburg,
DAY 1 – Khama Rhino Sanctuary (7hour drive from JHB) Offers camping and self-catering chalets. Camping sites have good ablution facilities. *If you arrive early enough, take a drive around the park where you can have a good chance for rhino sightings on eco safaris.
DAY 2 and 3 – Passarge Campsite, Campsite no2. An Adequate shade under the trees and camp overlooking the distant open plane. Basic reed shower and ablution. There are 3 campsites.
DAY 4 and 5 – Piper Pan, Campsite no1. Campsites well apart for privacy. Piper no 1 where we stayed was close to the Pan and waterhole, it was also larger than No 2. In true eco safaris style, Ablution is though little further away from the camping place. (No 2 is more secluded and further away from the water-hole) The waterhole had a constant procession of birds and animals.
DAY 6 and 7 – Sunday Pan, Campsite no 3. A shady tree in the middle of the campsite, Ablutions is close by. Also a great view over the pan for perfect sunset views.
DAY 8 – On our way back we stayed over Khumaga Campsite on the Boteti river, Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pan National Park.
DAY 9 – Kwa Nokeng Lodge just before Martins Drift border post (Botswana side). / or on South Africa’s side has numerous places to stay.
Central Kalahari, Botswana
Eco Safaris Notes and travel tips:
• Stock up at Letlhakane. Fill up with Petrol and Diesel @ Rakops it is the last stop for fuel and stock-up for basic supplies.
• Just after Rakops look out for the road turning left to Matswere Gate of CKGR.
• Take your own water with you to last during your stay as there are no water facilities. I would not recommend leaving the filling of the water tanks in Rakops as the water is precious in that area for the local community. (It was heartbreaking to witness how thirsty donkeys were chased away from the fresh water points). Fill up water tanks rather in Letlhakane.
• Also, carry all your firewood and charcoal with you to CK as there is no place to stock up. Keep in mind it’s illegal to collect firewood in the park because trees and fallen branches are nature’s property..
• Letiahau and Lekhubu do not have any ablution facilities.
• Be waste-wise as you need to carry and take back all your disposables. The rule, that not only Eco safaris travellers know, ‘do not leave your trash behind’ applies.
• The same cardinal rule applies for your leftover food, do not bury it, do not leave it under the bush for animals/birds, – It will just cause unwanted problems so please take the leftovers with you. ”If you love me, don’t feed me” article HERE.
Camping in Central Kalahari
• After your stay please remember to pick up all your litter that might have accidentally fallen to the ground (bottle caps, cable ties, cigaret buts etc.) it’s never pleasant to clean up the mess that other eco safaris travelers may have left behind.
• Please, also bury your fire ash properly and do not leave it for next visitors as campsites are not serviced and we all go there for a pleasurable experience.
• On the exit, at Matswere gate you will find a big container where to dispose of all your trash after your visit, or if you were a recycle wise, you would take it with all the way home.
• We have been in Central Kalahari in October as well as April, both were excellent times, warm to hot days, during both eco safaris we had some rain as well. Winter time is good but nights can be unexpectedly cold. Try to avoid mid-summer season as it can get really hot and with the rain, the driving will be slip-sliding on muddy roads. Real chance of getting seriously stuck.
CK Bookings: Best to book through Bigfoot Tours (campsites: Piper Pan, Letiahau, Lekhubu, Kukama, Sunday Pan, Passarge Valley and Motopi.
Mud driving in Central Kalahari
Mabuasehube Transfrontier Park in Botswana is one of my favourite places for Eco travel Africa.
On the road again.
Private unfenced camps, unexpected visitors in the form of lion or hyena, blessed peace and quiet makes any eco travel Africa trip to Mabua a memorable experience.
We decided to stay in one camp for the duration of our trip. The only camp available for a lengthy stay was Mpaya Reserve Camp. My travel companions had their doubts, but I was adamant.
One tree, no water, no facilities what so ever.
Water for our shower was collected each day at Scout Camp nearby. We managed to shower with less than 25 litres of water a day between the five of us. By standing in a bowl to catch the water, we could have a luxurious hot bush shower courtesy of Johan’s Kariba ingenious eco travel Africa shower.
To compensate for the lack of shade trees, Dennis erected his “African Tree” What an amazing invention. It allows a free flow of air and even rustles like a tree as the wind blows through it.
These are Eco travel Africa do’s and dont’s for responsible camping.
After setting up our camp our first duty was to collect bits of toilet paper that carpeted the campsite. Obviously very few visitors to Mpaya Reserve Camp took the trouble to research pooping in the bush! (By the way here are some excellent videos on YouTube about the subject.) Every morning Dennis dug a fresh toilet pit at the camp perimeter. The used toilet paper was collected in a bag, which we disposed of by burning.
Despite some negative comments on the internet, I realized that the Reserve Camp has one of the better views over the pan. Our bed in the trailer looked out directly over the Mpaya waterhole. From there we enjoyed an early morning lie-in while still observing the comings and goings at the waterhole.
Meeting unexpected visitors is why we travel to places like Mabuasehube.
The waterhole is about 500 meters from our campsite. Whenever we spotted something interesting, we jumped in the Landy and within minutes had a closeup look at lion, hyena, springbok and any variety of birds.
We left our camp only to fetch water and had one game drive to Letsoalaga pan. On our return from Letsoalaga, our fellow campers told us that a lioness walked right past the camp while we were gone.
We saw the Brownie every day, and on one occasion he visited while we were having supper. Very calmly he walked into our camp, gave us a look as if saying “What are you doing here” and ambled off into the night.
The entire night we could hear the lions in and around our campsite
During the day we were visited by the small creatures of Mpaya. Hornbills, crows, white-tailed and slender mongoose and red-billed spurfowl, were regular visitors on this unforgettable eco travel Africa experience. The hornbills made a real nuisance of themselves, even grabbing food off our plates. Obviously, they associate humans with a free lunch.
Great article to read about feeding wild animals.
On our last night at Mpaya we planned an early morning getaway. Not to be! The entire night we heard the lions in and around our campsite. It was a bleary-eyed group of travellers that eventually dared to leave the safety of their tents.Lion tracks crisscrossed our campsite. With one eye on the bush, we managed to pack up camp in record time.
Once again Mabuasehube lived up to its reputation. We will be back.
If, like us, you are a fellow eco-minded traveler and keen to explore the potential eco travel Africa, please feel free to contact us for advice and suggestions. Safe Travels