D'Kar to Maun (Botswana) - June 24th

June 24th, 2008:

Short: Up early and drive to Maun, Pick up supplies, Setup camp at Back of the Bridge Backpackers, Internet, Interesting people, Relax

Long: The next morning all of us were up and on the road early. We arrived into Maun around noon and found it to be bustling. Maun is the gateway city to the Okavango River Delta, a network of waterways and swamps known for its wildlife. After taking on fuel and picking up supplies we drove to Back of the Bridge Backpackers, a lodge recommended by Damon and Jo. We were not disappointed. The lodge is fairly new and offers huts and campsites directly on bank of one of the waterways. They have a great outside bar and lounge area and the owners were extremely helpful. Niki and I have decided that we are going to join Damon and Jo on an overnight camp in the middle of the delta tomorrow. After scheduling the trip we headed back into Maun, briefly, to use the internet. In the evening we sat by the camp fire just outside the bar area and met a few interesting people. Scott, a native of Botswana is working as a guide and was very helpful in giving us further information on the parks. Cedric, a native of Zimbabwe, was staying at the lodge and has been working as a horse shoe repairmen on horse expeditions in the parks. He said employment is terrible in Zimbabwe and he has been flying into Botswana every four weeks to work on the expeditions. He also discussed the current political and economic situation in Zimbabwe, which we found very interesting. Basically, if you know the right people you can still get everything you need.