Gael back in Africa.

[Drumacoon Lad.]

I left the Nata campsite yesterday after waddling through the sandy drive to get to the main road. I filled the tank to the brim, as I had over 300km to go to Maun, and there may be no petrol at Gweta. Gweta has a filling station but you can't rely on it. I've called in at least once, when there was no fuel. The first part of this road is very low lying and suffers from flooding and the resulting damage. This means there are stretches where the surface is broken up, other sections with potholes and sections where there is no tarmac at all. Going has to be slow.

This poor road surface caused Simon and I a dilemma a few years ago. Leaving Maun for Nata, not knowing if there was petrol at Gweta, and not knowing if the road was passable, we would not have enough fuel to return to Maun if the road was blocked. Our plan was to ride to Gweta, if there was fuel we would go further and see if we could get through. If no fuel at Gweta, we would have enough petrol to return safely to Maun. Happily there was fuel at Gweta that day and the road was passable, as it was yesterday.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

After about 50km the road surface improved and speed could be increased. There was another hazard, as the WhatsApp group of the animals along this road, seemed to have decided that crossing the road in front of the blue motorbike, may be fun. It would slow him down and get him a bit annoyed.

I had cattle, donkeys, goats and even a tortoise crossing the road!
The Jackal tried to join in but sadly, some got to him first.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

With the recent rain and the flat terrain a few ponds had formed to the side of the road. This pair of stilts caught my eye. If ever a bird was so aptly named!

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

These Spoonbills were also doing their stuff, walking along moving their beaks side to side, filtering out some tasty morsels.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

These Western Cattle Egrits were not surprisingly, close to some cattle.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

...and, for the day that's in it...

A love bird!

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Deise]

Love this -

proper plumbing ?

With the outdoor en-suite.View attachment 524775

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

There were a few scenes of locals enjoying their Sunday in various ways, out for a walk, racing a motorbike on a donkey or riding in a cart pulled by 3 donkeys. I know the Russian name for a three horse carriage is a troika but not sure if that also applies when it's three donkeys?

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

Love this -

proper plumbing ?

Yes Deise, and quite effective. The ground water there, has a slight sulphur odor and invigorates the skin.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

A large part of this route from Nata to Maun is through a national park. So I wasn't looking out just for cattle and birds but bigger animals, along the side of the road, I was not disappointed. This elephant had found some water and was having a splash and a wash. My stopping disturbed him and he strode off and I left him to it.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

This magnificent specimen had rather magnificent tusks and I was a bit more wary of him. The first photo is from over 100 meters with a zoom lens. He noticed my arrival and started to watch me carefully, even though I turned the engine off. In the end I thought it was best to ride on, but had to pass the elephant as I went. The second photo is from my helmet camera as I passed and he's clearly up for a fight, if I want to take him on. I was already in second gear and speeding away with all of my 20 bhp deployed.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

I thought this tree was rather grand and worthy of inclusion.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Northern jock]

Looks great. There used to be far too many elephants in the area, do you think that is still the case?

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

Looks great. There used to be far too many elephants in the area, do you think that is still the case?

Because of the good rains I was told not to expect many elephants near the road but there were still a few. In Kasane they were coming into the town too. There was an agreement a few years ago to cull some, by allowing hunting in Botswana but I'm not sure if it was ever carried out. Covid and lockdown may have put that on hold.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Archie Adv]

Lovin the ride along Jim stay safe.

 

[Britishbeefy]

Came across this trip a few days ago, have now caught up and able to say, fantastic. Perfect mix of detail, wildlife, photos etc for me.
Didn’t get to see the rugby this weekend Jim? France look untouchable and Wales turned the page on Scotland’s forever Groundhog Day story of failing to back-up anything other than disappointment. Stay safe, good health.

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

Cheers guys, the ride is nearing a close now, but was all I hoped.

Yes missed the French game, was in a campsite with very poor WiFi. Only got to hear the result by borrowing someone's WiFi hotspot. Well France were playing at home and the French crowd are worth a try at least. Let's see how they travel.

Sent from my SM-T500 using Tapatalk

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

I've been in Maun for a few days now. Staying at the Old Bridge Backpackers. I think it's my forth stay here. Last time was in a drought and the river had dried up, just leaving the large pool. His time the river is flowing keeping the pond fresh. I'm staying in an en-suite cabin, overlooking the pond and this is the view from my terrace.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

I was greeted the first day by one of the residents(1.5 meters) who wandered by my terrace, I assume, to say welcome. There's lots of monitor lizards around and others have ambled by since. These haven't bothered me but I did get a fright seeing the head of what I thought was a snake peeping out of the bush in front of my door. In fact it too was a monitor lizard, climbing the bush easily, and settling in for a few hours.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

I have a small colony of Village Weaver Birds in front of the cabin. They are quite noisy birds but are not at night. The male builds a nest and seeks approval of it from a female. If she dosent like it she rejects, and he has to start over with another nest. The woven nests are fascinating and I noticed one bird pecking at the buds around the nest. He seemed to be cleaning the branches to make them as smooth as possibe, close to the nest. I can think of two possible reasons for this behavior, to make it look good for the female or to make it harder for predators to sneak up on the nest.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk