BOTSWANA by bus
Our radio crackled to life. “Guys, make absolutely sure you have engaged four-wheel drive.” Jannie Rykaart then repeated the message for good measure, and I glanced sideways at my mate Kobus – aka Kabous. We both wore a hint of smirk. For the last hour, we had been aiming the front wheels of our Mercedes Sprinter AWD at the thickest sand Botswana could offer, and the big Merc had been eating it up like a Dakar monster truck. Thing is, we had been cruising in just rear-wheel drive, hence the grins.
I’d better explain. This was a trip with Jannie Rykaart of Protea 4x4 Adventures. The plan was to go up to Maun and on to Moremi before heading down to the Makgadikgadi Pans Game Reserve, but, in the pre-departure phase, I’d received a slightly nervous call from Jannie. “I’ve managed to get a Mercedes Sprinter AWD, but the tracks in Moremi and the Pans often need low range… We are just going to have to be hellish careful!”
I’d never been to Moremi. If they had to organise a Trabant, I wanted in on this gig. As it turned out, I was now part of the story of a big white bus, a home on wheels, and a photographer’s dream wildlife-vehicle. I christened our Sprinter ‘The Studio’.
An advantage of the Sprinter became apparent on our first night in Botswana. We had driven from Joburg, crossed the border at Martin’s Drift, and headed up to Serowe. After stocking up with food, we carried on for 25km to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, our first camp on the trip. With the sun setting, we watched a rhino and her calf (surrounded by a large herd of eland) drinking at a small, almost dry pan near our camp. But rain clouds were building, and Jannie said, “Get your tents up: I reckon we’re in for a storm.”
The rain came down in buckets; and, of course, I smugly hadn’t put up my tent – I’d simply moved the Snomaster