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June 12th – 22nd, 2022

Kukonje Island

Jenny and I landed in Maun on a sunny warm afternoon. After a week of getting spoiled by our friends in Cape Town we were ready for the bush. Jenny was in particular jonesing to get out there as she’d been away for a month, three weeks home with family and a week in Cape Town. 

A day in Maun had us fueled, watered and provisioned and we hit the road, making the relatively short drive to Planet Baobab. I had so enjoyed my solo Kubu Island visit that I wanted to take Jenny there, and from there we’d have a few more days of free form exploring before our bookings in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR).

Planet Baobab was as I’d left it. This quirky campsite has been bought by Natural Selections, a safari company that owns numerous high end safari properties and camps. Why they are bothering themselves with a campsite and some, relatively, less expensive bungalows I’m not sure. Camping here is $10 USD a night, and bungalows are around $100. This comes with a good restaurant, hot showers, a pool (a bit chilly this time of year), electricity at the campsites and expensive wifi at the bar. As a comparison, Natural Selections owns a high end safari camp a few hours into the bush from here that is over $1000 per person per night. 

This campsite is ideally located to jump off towards Kubu Island, close enough that we didn’t have to rush. Come morning we topped up on diesel at nearby Gweta before striking out on the 100 kilometers of bush track to Kubu. I’ll not bore you with a description of that road again, other than to say that even though I’d driven it twice (once each way) in the last few weeks we ended up taking a third route, there being such a maze of forks in the road.

Kubu was still excellent, and almost deserted. This allowed us to snag the prime campsite number 6 with a sunset view. We spent two days here, clambering over the rocks and amongst the sentinel-like baobabs, wandering out onto the stark white sheet of the salt pan, and generally enjoying some top quality, low stress camp life.

Here I debuted my anniversary present for Jenny, a set of USB powered string lights. These draw less than half an amp (I know you were concerned about their power draw) and provide wonderful ambiance to camp. It’s not just photographic perfection, the diffused light also seems to attract less insects, and reduces the need for a headlamp for every task. Jenny is a big fan. 

After Kubu we wanted to check out something new for both of us. After reviewing the map one day we set our sights on Kukonje Island, another island at the edge of Sua pan. Kukonje is reportedly similar to Kubu, but less visited and on the opposite side of the pan.

Striking out south from Kubu we enjoyed a day’s drive that was almost entirely devoid of any tar road, wandering around the edge of the pan for much of the distance. The golden grassy hummocks and white flats of the salt pan are really attractive and the day’s drive was a pleasure.

Around the eastern edge of Sua pan we found the roads to be little less reliably mapped and some exploration was involved, but eventually we found the right road. 

On this drive we had to cross Botswana’s Veterinary Fence twice, once southbound and once northbound. The vet fence is ostensibly to control the spread of foot and mouth disease among livestock, separating wild ungulates from Botswana’s high value beef industry. In practice long stretches of vet fence have collapsed andin any casesome animals simply jump through or over the fence (we witnessed kudu doing just this). On top of that neither of the vet fence gates, where vehicles are theoretically inspected and meat is not allowed to traverse in a southerly direction, were manned at all. 

This is salt in the wound. The vet fences have killed off huge populations of wildebeest, denying them from their old migration routes to seasonal water. If the fences are not being maintained and control points not being manned, they are just limiting wildlife movement while not serving their original purpose. There is some evidence that the vet fences were not required in the first place, as foot and mouth transfer from wild ungulates to the beef industry isn’t even a problem. A google search on this produces a myriad of articles and conflicting views.

The turn to Kukonje is right at one of these veterinary control points. After slow rolling through the abandon inspection facility we hung a left and headed out towards Kukonje. This island lies further “offshore” than Kubu. Kubu is connected with higher ground by a thin strip of grassland, though the road does flood in the wet season. Kukonje is much more an island, lying 5 ½ kilometers out into the pan from any surrounding land. 

As we’d be driving across quite a bit of salt flat, and out from the drier edge, we had had some concern whether it was too early in the season. If the road hadn’t dried out enough we risked breaking through the firm crust of the pan into the quagmire beneath. 

There were relatively fresh tire tracks so we figured it was probably okay. There is always a seed of doubt though, as our vehicle weights 3.5 tons, more than the common rented Hilux that might have pioneered the tracks we were following. Along the way I could feel the softness of the road and we didn’t dare deviate an inch from the track. Our concerns turned out to be warranted, for half way to the island there was a huge depression in the road, about the size of a truck. There was a heap of dried mud adjacent to the hole, and a bunch of the vet fence posts had been taken out of the fence and used as traction aids for whatever big vehicle had broken through here. We delicately drove around this and made it though, arriving later than expected in wonderful late afternoon light. 

The island is much bigger than Kubu, taller and mostly covered in grass, and the baobabs are more spread out. There was broken down evidence of old staff facilities, and a faded sign stating it was 100 pula per person to camp here. However it looked like nobody had been here in some time. Perhaps the covid downturn in tourism meant it wasn’t worth it to staff.

With not much time to spare we made our way to a campsite, landing at Campsite No. 1, set back from the edge of the pan by about 100 meters, with a panoramic view over the pan. There are picnic tables at these sites, cast from concrete with a sort of gothic motif. Combined with the bare limbs of the baobab and the pale white knurled branches of another unknown (to us) species, it felt like we were camping in some sort of Harry Potter land. 

The grass around camp was high, but the site had been at least mostly trimmed back at some point. Still, we could hear something in the bushes that turned out to be mice. Nothing to be afraid of, right? Wrong! Apparently mice have an occasional taste for the insulation around vehicle wiring. Many a vehicle in the Kalahari has been disabled by mice chewing through various electrical wires, so I was a little anxious about this. 

Fortunately the Land Cruiser is fairly simple, with less wiring to chew compared to a more modern vehicle. There is many a home remedy for this risk, moth balls in a sock in the engine bay, leaving the hood (bonnet) open at night (I’m unclear why this is supposed to work. Is it because the mice are exposed to risk of owls or something?), chili oil, and lastly, Marder spray. Marder spray is a sort of anti rodent spray you can supposedly buy at the auto parts store, but we don’t have any. It is now on the shopping list.

Our camp at Kukonje was elevated from the pan a bit and the stars were fantastic. When the moon came up it reflected off the surface of the pan, making a bright silver sea at our doorstep. The whole effect was magic, and I kept laughing at the gothic themed picnic table that added to the throwback feel of this place.

In the morning we took it easy, with no big plans for the day, not even a destination in mind yet. After a proper leisurely morning we winced as I turned the key on the cruiser, but it fired right up, surviving a night surrounded by fearsome mice. We did leave the hood open last night, ipso facto that is the solution to all mice problems hence forth. 

We took a turn around the island, following a track right at the edge of the pan. About 30 meters from the shoreline we could see a darker grey color, not the same as the white of the hard baked surface we’d been driving on. Walking out there we felt that this part was not yet dry, so we carefully kept the vehicle on the old tracks and close to shore. 

On our drive we saw jackal and some raptors about, but otherwise wildlife was quiet. On our tour we happened upon campsites 2 and 3, which were both good, particularly for bigger groups, but gained a demerit in our eyes for not having a sunset view. Number three in particular had an excellent huge baobab. All the sites were fitted with gothic picnic tables, so no worries on that front if you are trying to choose. 

There is a track that runs along the edge of Sua pan, south from Kukonje, and we spent the afternoon exploring it. On the way back towards the edge of the pan we stopped at the big hole that we’d seen on the way in, and imagined how that drama must have unfolded. Jenny stepped down into the hole and she broke through the crust, her foot covered in juicy wet med. This was eye opening, because Jenny isn’t very big! We renewed our diligence in sticking to existing tracks close to the edge of the pan.

The track heading south along the edge of the plan was not easy to find, only a few vehicles have traversed it this season. However, once we made it out there it was wonderful following the edge of the pan. So wonderful that we decided to wild camp some kilometers south of Kukonje at the edge of the pan.

With binoculars we scanned the horizon of the pan, thick with shimmering heat. Three black specs danced across the horizon, ostrich running across the pan in the distance. The heat made their form look like a painting, I wondered where they were running to.

That evening we saw another mouse around the car. After chasing him around for a while, and noting that there was no other life out here on this rocky point, we wondered whether he had hitched a ride out here with us. He kept retreating under the car when we chased him, not away from camp. Fearing our wiring again, since he kept climbing up under the vehicle, Jenny dispatched him. We suppose, hope, this was an act of mercy to a mouse transported far from his original happy home in the tall grass around Campsite No. 1 at Kukonje. 

The stars were particularly epic that night. We walked out into the darkness of the pan and laid down on the salt flats, staring up at a breathtaking milky way.  

The feeling of solitary aloneness out here, with the vast expanse of the salt pan at our feet, was powerful. In the morning we walked out onto the pan for 20 minutes or so, until the Land Cruiser was a little spec on the shore, and it felt a little alarming, like balancing on a high-wire, to be so far away from the Cruiser, surrounded by nothing but salt pan and the Cruiser itself so far away from anything else. 

After our bush camping success we made our way north, with the plan to perhaps camp at the Nata Bird Sanctuary or Nata Lodge. Unfortunately we had noticed new cracks in the canopy, crap! These were not the ones Aliboats had repaired, but in a new place altogether. I was totally disheartened by this development. 

Jenny kept me from going to pieces over this, and we got in touch with Aliboats once again. Instead of spending two nights at Nxai Pan and two nights at Makgadigadi National Park as planned we’d drop one night from each and head back to Maun, again, and they’d make more repairs. 

This development had us push on to Planet Baobab for the night. The following day we made for Nxai Pan National Park’s South Camp, and after that Aliboats could squeeze us in. 

You might recall that Nxai Pan is where Baines’ Baobabs is, where I camped solo a few weeks ago. North from Baine’s is where the actual Nxai Pan is (Nxai Pan is the name of the entire park and a pan within the park), home to the majority of wildlife in this park. 

South Camp is not the atmospheric magic that Baines’ Baobabs is, but it’s nearest to the wildlife. Since it doesn’t hold the same level of prestige as the campsites in Moremi have, it is fairly safe to show up here without a booking. 

At the gate they sorted us out with a campsite for the night and we headed into the park. Jenny had the privilege of driving this ~35 kilometers, deep sand, corrugations and sometimes both at the same time. The 35 kilometers seemed to draw out into interminable agony, but at least we were getting the canopy repaired after this road, as I’m sure this wasn’t helping. 

There are two ablution blocks at South Camp, and the elephants have wisely figured out where the water lines are and dug them up. Thus there are very often elephants just outside the ablutions, with the campsite in-between. Being flanked by elephants is a little disconcerting, but it was also cool to have some camp elephants. At least these fellows were well accustomed to being so close to campers and were very relaxed. Our campsite No. 7 was occupied by two browsing bull elephants, so we switched sites for a lunch break and then headed out on a game drive.

Our game drive wasn’t particularly fruitful, but we did enjoy a wonderful sunset at the watering hole with a sizable herd of elephants. The next morning we got up pre-dawn and went on a game drive as early as allowed, 0600. Normally driving at night isn’t allowed, but we had earlier confirmed with the staff that it was okay to leave in the dark as long as it was after 0600. 

We hoped to catch lion or leopard at the watering hole in the dawn, but had no such luck. In fact nothing at all was at the watering hole, all was quiet. It was pretty dang cold, so I’m guessing the animals had the good sense to stay holed up until the sun was up while we shivered in the cab of the Cruiser. 

In chatting with a few other tourists we learned that it had been a quiet few days here at Nxai Pan, with no predator sightings for a while. This is just part of safari, sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don’t. Still it is a wonderful wilderness, and we saw wildebeest, ostrich, lots of jackals, decent birdlife, giraffe, buffalo and elephant. Also we saw both impala and springbok, which do not normally live in the same habitat, but Nxai pan is where their territories intersect. 

To Maun Again

The repair at Aliboats was booked for the next day, so after the morning game drive and coffee with our camp neighbors we left the park for Maun, out that interminable road. I don’t think I’d recommend visiting Nxai Pan for one night, the transit in and out is a bear.

Back in Maun once again we thought we’d try a different camp, just to mix things up. We settled on the Sedia Riverside Hotel, which had been recommended by a friend. The campsite here has all the things, electricity, washing up station, small shade shelter, nice trees, but at the same time was not particularly atmospheric. The campsite is separated from the river by a chain link fence topped with razor wire, which does not exactly contribute to the ambiance. Sedia does have the fastest wifi we’ve found in ages, for whatever that is worth.

In the morning we dropped the Cruiser off at Aliboats and headed to the Dusty Donkey for breakfast. The Donkey is a hip cafe near the airport that serves excellent food and coffee, well frequented by locals. Many a safari industry professional stopped in as we whiled away the day here, blog posted, checking in with family and drank too much delicious coffee. The staff are apparently used to people camping out for the day, they were wonderfully accommodating while we were homeless. Jenny walked over to the DWNP office in Maun and paid our park fees for the CKGR with a credit card, saving us time at the gate and having to carry a lot of cash to pay at the gate.

From Maun the plan was to continue on our truncated stop at Makgadigadi National Park, where I hoped the zebras would still be in attendance, and then head to our long anticipated bookings in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. This would mean we’d need to effectively provision for nine days (1 night MNP, 7 nights CKGR, 1 night somewhere outside the CKGR), the very limit of our endurance, limited chiefly by water and fuel.

To prepare for this Jenny walked down to Meat Boys, next to the venerable Riley’s Garage, and purchased some chicken and beef fillet, which they put in the deep freezer and we’d pick it up the next day, frozen hard. This would save us from what we refer to as “the meat sprint,” when we have to eat all our meat in rapid succession before it goes bad, since we don’t have a freezer. When we can get meat hard frozen Jenny strategically keeps it in the coldest part of the fridge and can keep it frozen for many days, so we can alternate between meat and vegetarian meals, as is our preference. 

Aliboats finally finished the repairs at the very end of the day. The Sedia Riverside Hotel campsite had been adequate, but we continued our search for the best Maun campsite and tonight tried the Island Safari Lodge. This campsite was well attended, but also more expensive than Audi or Sedia and had a less atmospheric bar/restaurant area. As you can tell we are picky.

To complete our preparations for the Central Kalahari we left Maun the next day with the following provisions:

• 210 liters of diesel (130 in the main tank, 80 liters in jerry cans, the first time we’d filled up all four jerries. I was not excited about having this much weight on the roof rack, but we’d drive gently and transfer it as soon as possible)
• 87 liters of water. 60 liters was in our water tank, the rest in jugs and bottles. We’d been able to fill the tank directly from a hose from one of the many bottled water shops in town. Conveniently this was next door to Viking Gas, which also refilled our cooking gas bottles.
• 10 liters of emergency water. We always have this, stored deep in the vehicle and not to be touched, only if we have contaminated water or somehow get a leak and lose our main water supply (like that one time) [INSERT LINK TO KIDEPO].
• A lot of beer
• Food, mostly from the Spar near the center of town. We tried the brand new Spar at the north end of town and it wasn’t as good, and the Maun Shopright is also lacking.
• Firewood, lashed to the roof. You can buy firewood in Maun north of town for 10p a bundle if you ask around. In town, 20p a bundle. At the gate to the park, 30p a bundle. Bundle sizes seem to be inversely sized in relation to price, bigger price, smaller bundle. 

Loaded to the gills we headed out of town towards Makgadigadi National Park. We entered at the Phuduhudu gate in the north of the park. It’s deep sand right off the bat and we aired down and made for the Boteti river front to look for zebras. 

And Zebras we found! Thousands of them. Also some elephant, giraffe, wildebeest and impalas. We spent the afternoon and evening mostly just parked on the riverbank watching the cavorting, comings and goings of zebra. Just when you thought the zebra were finally done for the day, heading up the bank into the bush a new group would come racing down to the water, kicking up a storm of dust and splashing into the river to drink.

After sunset we made for camp. The Boteti River Camp lies just outside the park, across from the Khumaga campsite, and it is far cheaper (a little less than $20 USD pppn vs $50 pppn, plus the park fee for the following day). Since we were headed onwards to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve anyway we opted to stay at the Boteti River Camp. We’d called ahead and they had a spot for us. 

Often there is a ferry at the Khumaga gate, to cross the Boteti River. This time of year it is more of a “ferry-bridge,” where they just moor the ferry in the deepest part of the river. After checking out of the park we drove into a shallow water crossing, up the ramp, across the barge, and down the ramp on the other side into a second shallow crossing. Certainly it saves the ferry on fuel, though the fee for crossing is no cheaper. 

At Boteti it turned out that they didn’t have a spot for us. Apparently the number we called was the booking office in Maun who had not relayed our request to the camp. They took pity on us and showed us to a safari tent with parking in the back of the lodge. I suspect this was guide quarters. Most safari lodges and camps have different quarters for the guides than for guests, some sort of shared bunk rooms or simpler tents. This one was pretty nice, with an open air shower and toilet and we had a happy night in camp.

Since we arrived late we had a subdued evening, getting excited about our big week in the CKGR starting the next day. In the morning I bought more wood from the campsite (25p bundle for excellent wood), so now we we would be very top-heavy heading into the park.

The Nitty Gritty

Kukonje

I suspect that the season to access Kukonje is shorter than at Kubu, this side of the pan staying wetter for longer. The campsites have no facilities, save a couple dilapidated long drops at some sites. I would happily pay 100 Pula pp to camp here again, we enjoyed it, and it has a better sunset than Kubu. 

The drive from Kubu to Kukonje, including a lot of mucking around, sightseeing, and lunch stops was 8h 49m, 200km. 

Roads

All the tar roads we drove in Botswana were excellent except the stretch from Nata to Gweta, which is not great. In one section the tar is gone altogether, and most of the rest of it has quite bad potholes. 

The road along the edge of the pan south from Kukonje to the Tiapana Vet Fence is faint to invisible, depending on what part you are on. 

The road south from Kubu around to Kukonje was all in good shape, not corrugated and a pleasure to drive, though it is not particularly fast going. 

Nxai Pan NP

Many are happy to make a trip to Baines’ on the way in or out of the park, stop to snap a few photos and head onwards, but I think the camping experience is really unique here and is worth a minimum of one night. It’s completely different than just stopping for 20 minutes to see the trees. In the future I think I’d go for two nights at South Camp and two nights at Baines’.