My last proper blog was in Botswana - it was Maun and that was the last time I had really good internet....well let me qualify that - it was the last time I had internet that I didn't have to really search for or line up for - but here we are again and the connection is better.
My last week in Botswana included a fantastic flight over the Okavango Delta - the world's largest inland delta. Seven of us got into a small plane and enjoyed a one hour flight at just 500 feet above the amazing landscape. I won the seat beside the pilot - it was a win from the best 2 out of 3 Paper, Rock, Scissors - and it was the best seat on the plane. We could see hippos, and giraffes and I even spotted elephants mating - whoa - that is not something you see everyday! I had never been in a small plane so I really loved the hour off the ground - it made a nice change from the bike.
The rest of the riding in Botswana was pretty uneventful. By that I mean not much happened - really - the roads were long and flat and the days were very, very long. The only thing we really had to look was rain. We didn't spot a single elephant - well at least the group I was riding with didn't see any. I am sure that many parts of Botswana are incredibly beautiful and populated with loads of animals - Chobe National Park for instance, or the Okavango Delta but on the road things were pretty quiet. My plan for Botswana was to join a place line of good riders and to ride fast and hard and that is exactly what we did. I rode most days with Rod, Juliana, Big Dan and sometimes a few other riders and it meant I got to know them a whole lot better and got to camp faster than I would on my own. We covered between 800-900km in the last five days in Botswana - wow - I didn't think I would ever ride back to back days between 160-200km and we did a lot of those during the Elephant Highway section. It was hard riding but it was also incredibly satisfying.
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