Botswana

BOTSWANA October 16, 2006 - Entry Botswana Today while entering the country we got “cooked” in the real sense of the word. It again became pretty hot. Here the temperatures climb up to 50C°. The entry procedure was relatively easy and we had no fee to pay. No visa- and/or other dues. The “cow” however required a road permission which meant 40 Pula or 60 South African Rand. (1 Euro = 8,1 Pula). We drove till Gabarone - abbreviated also Gabs. The scenery is as in South Africa. Prices for meals are ok. With the Chinese: 2 main-dishes, 2 veggie-rolls and 3 cups of green teas cost 60 Pula. October 17 - 23, 2006 - Ride to Kasane and repair of the “Cow” The second day in Botswana we went delinquent... Chri oversaw a speed trap. “Tztztz“. Ostensibly there was a sign 60 km/h and we were driving 77 km/h. Fine 115 Pula. As the officers had no change, we got away with 100 Pula (12.50 Euro). I -Chri- was asked, when they noted the particulars, for my employer. I told them, I do not have a job. Consequently I was self-employed. On 18th Oct we took off for Kasane. Covering 550 km a day it was a quite strenuous ride. About 110 km before Kasane we were caught by a heavy rain-shower. That really was a nice cooling. After we canvassed several campgrounds, we found accommodations in the Thebe Safari Lodge. When we started to drive the “cow” to the camping site, we got scared seeing oil dripping out of the final drive. Bullshit! And the “cow” already had been inspected in a biker-garage in Pietersburg, because we had heard noises from the drive. Never mind for the present. We had to hurry pitching up the tent, as the rain clouds above us were more than black. Chri quickly discharged the oil out from the final drive and then it already poured down. About two hours it poured like out of buckets. Fortunately our tent was leak-proof. The shock with the defect “cow” made us finish the evening with Gin-Tonic! (Very dangerous, as only 11 Pula…). The next morning passed with organizing: where to place the bike and taking apart the final drive, to find a garage, booking a safari and checking, what else has to be done, in case we have to stay here longer than originally planned. We could store the cow in the so-called workshop of the campground. This work-shop was only a little roof with a lot of garbage underneath. But better than no cover at all. Chri then disassembled the rear wheel. While doing this the closing ring with parts of the bearing fell apart. Bad luck, but it could be worse: if it would have been a damage of the gearbox or a toothed wheel of the final drive. Then we tramped to Kazungula taking the cover of the final drive and the closing ring with us. To tramp is quite common here to get from A to B. Just standing at the road side and showing wild hands as soon as a car approaches. Right off the bat we were picked up and there we go. It is funny and absolute safe. That is the same manner you ride with a bus. If a minibus shows up -- wave your hands and ask where it is going. A one-way ticket is 2.50 Pula. In Kazunglua we went to Marios Garage in Teemanestreet (Mobil Mario 717 52 785). We first had the impression we dropped into a cluttered hobby garage. Chri and Mario hauled out the complete bearing out of the case. Then the real difficult part started, where to find such a bearing? Mario took the phone and called all kind of shops. Then “the bearing man” in Gabs found in his computer a bearing of the right size. However it still was in “Jo´burg” (Johannesburg - South Africa). Today it was Thursday, we first had to transfer the money and fax the voucher to Gabs to the “bearing man”, if everything works out, the bearing and the closing ring could be here in Kasane Monday or Thursday next week. Great! October 20, 2006 Early in the morning right away to the bank, to be the first when they open, to transfer the money as soon as possible. At 9:05 am the money was paid into the bank. Next, quickly find a fax machine to send the voucher to Jon. After we settled the financial matter we visited miscellaneous internet cafes to test them. The key requirement for internet was: quick and being a bargain. October 21 - 22, 2006 For this weekend we had booked a game drive (watching animals sitting in a car) in the Chobe National Park and a boat trip on the Zambezi river. The game drive was frustrating. We only saw three warthogs, three elephants and some mangusts and three lions in a distance of a couple 100 meters. Reportedly the Chobe NP should be the park with the most dense population of elephants. Hmmm? At least we had good news from Mario. The ordered parts had arrived in Gabs and he would pick them up at the airport the next morning. On Sunday Rita did not feel well. She had heavy bellyache and always felt nauseous. The weather also turned dirty. Heavy and low clouds did not promise the best. We could cancel the boat trip, which was a good decision. Rita had not recuperated 110 % and it started raining during the evening. But anyway, this day was a real success, as Mario did get the spare parts from the airport! Tomorrow “handcrafting” was the motto. October 23, 2006 I - Chri - drove to Mario only by myself. When I arrived, the parts already had been assembled into the case. The closing ring, however, was one (1) mm too large and it had to be trimmed to the proper size. But everything looked good. I had borrow a 7er allen key, to be able to mount everything back to the cow again. The onboard tools of the BMW do not contain this size, because BMW does not want everybody to do everything. The first test drive was successful. Well - tomorrow we will starting back towards Nata and then off we go to Maun into the Okavango Delta. October 24 - 25, 2006 Thursday we had planned to cover a longer distance. In Maun on the Audi camp ground we did not believe our “eyes and ears”. There were twenty (20) caravans (!!), which built a German colony. During the ride from Kasane we already met several “Mauis” (the name of “rent a Mobil home” company). But that there were that many on tour we never had thought. Today en route from Kasane we saw our first gnus in Africa! A beautiful view. Unfortunately they disappeared in a short time. In Maun, yesterday we saw an outdoor shop, while driving through. As our tent is rotten since some time, all the zippers are gone, we decided to buy a new one. No sooner said than done. According to the data sheet the dimensions were ok. Only the data sheet did not correspond with the reality. Our camping mats next to each other did not fit into the tent, even the length of the tent did not fit to the mats. We were quite “sour”, because we had been back on the campground, when we could check the sizes, driving back to Maun and to get the tent replaced. We drove back to Maun, the heat was terrible, and wanted the tent to be replaced. After “never ending” discussions the boss of the shop refunded the money!!! October 26 - 28, 2006 - Okavango Delta and ride towards Namibia For the time being we drive a lot of kilometres. From Maun to Shakwane. Actually we had planned to make a tour with log-boat into the Okavango Delta. But they charged too much. Besides that the log-boats are very shaky. We were not afraid, but the camera would not “survive“. In Shakwane we pitched up our tent in Drotsky Camp. Here again we met Bianca and Joerg, who passed us today and had taken some fotos from us. They were quite excited about us. Joerg said: "A motorbike, which makes that distance in such an environment, without major problems, that only can be a BMW". He is so right!! ;-) The campsites are in a forest and monkeys are all-around, who steal everything, what they can grab. Foolish animals. On Friday we were lucky to fetch a seat on a boat loaded with Frenchmen. It was a 4-hours tour in the morning as well in the afternoon. During the morning-tour we saw a lot. The Frenchmen obviously just arrived because they were enchanted about every bird. Seeing the hippos they only were whispering to each other. Although hippos don´t get bothered, if somebody is talking. They only dive away. Diving away they fart like hell, that the water is bubbling. Very funny! :-) In the afternoon we could enjoy the nice scenery in the light of sunset. Saturday we again drove a couple of hundred kilometres. We left Botswana. We were heading for Grootfontein in Namibia.

BOTSWANA

October 16, 2006 - Entry Botswana
Today while entering the country we got “cooked” in the real sense of the word. It again became pretty hot. Here the temperatures climb up to 50C°. The entry procedure was relatively easy and we had no fee to pay. No visa- and/or other dues. The “cow” however required a road permission which meant 40 Pula or 60 South African Rand. (1 Euro = 8,1 Pula).
We drove till Gabarone - abbreviated also Gabs. The scenery is as in South Africa. Prices for meals are ok. With the Chinese: 2 main-dishes, 2 veggie-rolls and 3 cups of green teas cost 60 Pula.

October 17 - 23, 2006 - Ride to Kasane and repair of the “Cow”
The second day in Botswana we went delinquent... Chri oversaw a speed trap. “Tztztz“. Ostensibly there was a sign 60 km/h and we were driving 77 km/h. Fine 115 Pula. As the officers had no change, we got away with 100 Pula (12.50 Euro). I -Chri- was asked, when they noted the particulars, for my employer. I told them, I do not have a job. Consequently I was self-employed.

On 18th Oct we took off for Kasane. Covering 550 km a day it was a quite strenuous ride. About 110 km before Kasane we were caught by a heavy rain-shower. That really was a nice cooling. After we canvassed several campgrounds, we found accommodations in the Thebe Safari Lodge. When we started to drive the “cow” to the camping site, we got scared seeing oil dripping out of the final drive. Bullshit! And the “cow” already had been inspected in a biker-garage in Pietersburg, because we had heard noises from the drive. Never mind for the present. We had to hurry pitching up the tent, as the rain clouds above us were more than black. Chri quickly discharged the oil out from the final drive and then it already poured down. About two hours it poured like out of buckets. Fortunately our tent was leak-proof. The shock with the defect “cow” made us finish the evening with Gin-Tonic! (Very dangerous, as only 11 Pula…). The next morning passed with organizing: where to place the bike and taking apart the final drive, to find a garage, booking a safari and checking, what else has to be done, in case we have to stay here longer than originally planned.

We could store the cow in the so-called workshop of the campground. This work-shop was only a little roof with a lot of garbage underneath. But better than no cover at all. Chri then disassembled the rear wheel. While doing this the closing ring with parts of the bearing fell apart. Bad luck, but it could be worse: if it would have been a damage of the gearbox or a toothed wheel of the final drive. Then we tramped to Kazungula taking the cover of the final drive and the closing ring with us. To tramp is quite common here to get from A to B. Just standing at the road side and showing wild hands as soon as a car approaches. Right off the bat we were picked up and there we go. It is funny and absolute safe. That is the same manner you ride with a bus. If a minibus shows up -- wave your hands and ask where it is going. A one-way ticket is 2.50 Pula.

In Kazunglua we went to Marios Garage in Teemanestreet (Mobil Mario 717 52 785). We first had the impression we dropped into a cluttered hobby garage. Chri and Mario hauled out the complete bearing out of the case. Then the real difficult part started, where to find such a bearing? Mario took the phone and called all kind of shops. Then “the bearing man” in Gabs found in his computer a bearing of the right size. However it still was in “Jo´burg” (Johannesburg - South Africa). Today it was Thursday, we first had to transfer the money and fax the voucher to Gabs to the “bearing man”, if everything works out, the bearing and the closing ring could be here in Kasane Monday or Thursday next week. Great!

October 20, 2006
Early in the morning right away to the bank, to be the first when they open, to transfer the money as soon as possible. At 9:05 am the money was paid into the bank. Next, quickly find a fax machine to send the voucher to Jon. After we settled the financial matter we visited miscellaneous internet cafes to test them. The key requirement for internet was: quick and being a bargain.

October 21 - 22, 2006
For this weekend we had booked a game drive (watching animals sitting in a car) in the Chobe National Park and a boat trip on the Zambezi river. The game drive was frustrating. We only saw three warthogs, three elephants and some mangusts and three lions in a distance of a couple 100 meters. Reportedly the Chobe NP should be the park with the most dense population of elephants. Hmmm? At least we had good news from Mario. The ordered parts had arrived in Gabs and he would pick them up at the airport the next morning.

On Sunday Rita did not feel well. She had heavy bellyache and always felt nauseous. The weather also turned dirty. Heavy and low clouds did not promise the best. We could cancel the boat trip, which was a good decision. Rita had not recuperated 110 % and it started raining during the evening. But anyway, this day was a real success, as Mario did get the spare parts from the airport! Tomorrow “handcrafting” was the motto.

October 23, 2006
I - Chri - drove to Mario only by myself. When I arrived, the parts already had been assembled into the case. The closing ring, however, was one (1) mm too large and it had to be trimmed to the proper size. But everything looked good. I had borrow a 7er allen key, to be able to mount everything back to the cow again. The onboard tools of the BMW do not contain this size, because BMW does not want everybody to do everything. The first test drive was successful. Well - tomorrow we will starting back towards Nata and then off we go to Maun into the Okavango Delta.

October 24 - 25, 2006
Thursday we had planned to cover a longer distance. In Maun on the Audi camp ground we did not believe our “eyes and ears”. There were twenty (20) caravans (!!), which built a German colony. During the ride from Kasane we already met several “Mauis” (the name of “rent a Mobil home” company). But that there were that many on tour we never had thought. Today en route from Kasane we saw our first gnus in Africa! A beautiful view. Unfortunately they disappeared in a short time.

In Maun, yesterday we saw an outdoor shop, while driving through. As our tent is rotten since some time, all the zippers are gone, we decided to buy a new one. No sooner said than done. According to the data sheet the dimensions were ok. Only the data sheet did not correspond with the reality. Our camping mats next to each other did not fit into the tent, even the length of the tent did not fit to the mats. We were quite “sour”, because we had been back on the campground, when we could check the sizes, driving back to Maun and to get the tent replaced. We drove back to Maun, the heat was terrible, and wanted the tent to be replaced. After “never ending” discussions the boss of the shop refunded the money!!!

October 26 - 28, 2006 - Okavango Delta and ride towards Namibia
For the time being we drive a lot of kilometres. From Maun to Shakwane. Actually we had planned to make a tour with log-boat into the Okavango Delta. But they charged too much. Besides that the log-boats are very shaky. We were not afraid, but the camera would not “survive“.

In Shakwane we pitched up our tent in Drotsky Camp. Here again we met Bianca and Joerg, who passed us today and had taken some fotos from us. They were quite excited about us. Joerg said: "A motorbike, which makes that distance in such an environment, without major problems, that only can be a BMW". He is so right!! ;-) The campsites are in a forest and monkeys are all-around, who steal everything, what they can grab. Foolish animals.

On Friday we were lucky to fetch a seat on a boat loaded with Frenchmen. It was a 4-hours tour in the morning as well in the afternoon. During the morning-tour we saw a lot. The Frenchmen obviously just arrived because they were enchanted about every bird. Seeing the hippos they only were whispering to each other. Although hippos don´t get bothered, if somebody is talking. They only dive away. Diving away they fart like hell, that the water is bubbling. Very funny! :-)
In the afternoon we could enjoy the nice scenery in the light of sunset.

Saturday we again drove a couple of hundred kilometres. We left Botswana. We were heading for Grootfontein in Namibia.