Our original plan for the last week of the "Three Js" visit was to travel to a remote northwestern corner of Botswana and visit our missionary friends living there, but the plans changed when our friends were delayed an extra week in South Africa...So, still wanting to visit that area where the San Bushman are prevalent, we revised our trip plans.
After the "Three Js" left Victoria Falls on July 12th, they traveled through the Caprivi Strip of Namibia to the Mahangu Lodge where we were to meet them the next evening. We departed Maun fairly early on the 13th, so we could spend some time in Sepopa with Pusetso and take her more Sunday school materials, food, and some warm clothes. Driving north, we found lots of flooded areas as the water levels are much higher this year. Crossing the bridge at Toteng, we found water beginning to flood over the road as you can see in the photo below.
When we got to Sepopa, we were disappointed to find that Pusetso had gone out to work in the fields and the phone network was not working. Even though she knew we were coming, she apparently had lost track of the time until after we had continued our travels...We did go to the church and visited with Pastor Reuben and his wife Gaamangwe, and left the supplies with them to pass onto Pusetso.
Shortly after crossing the Namibia border, we were traveling through the Mahango National Park and came upon a herd of Sable [see photo] in addition to numerous other plains game.
Leaving the reserve, we found that the sand track into the lodge was flooded and a levy road was being used.
Driving across the road there were many water birds to see, but our favorite to watch were the Kingfishers as they hovered and then dove for fish. The one in the next picture seemed to be posing for us as we passed by.
We arrived just in time to greet the "Three Js" before they headed out in a river boat to another game reserve across the river. Then they were transferring to a vehicle for a game drive. We were a bit tired and decided we would catch up on their travels later at dinner.
During dinner we heard about the great time they had been having, but we also became aware that the truck they were using had a small fuel tank and limited range for the trip we were planning together. We had also found out that the small village of Tsumkwe, where we counted on getting gas before crossing the Botswana border, was out of fuel. Even though we were both carrying extra fuel in containers, we realized we would not have enough gas to travel north to south through the remote national park of Khaudum if there was no petrol in the village of Tsumkwe. That meant we had to make a large detour to the nearest main town of Grootfontein. The hope was to be able to get gas there and make it to the village of Tsumkwe by dark the next day. Then we thought we would have enough gas to do a short game drive in the park and get back through the remote northwestern corner of Botswana to Gumare for more fuel.
It took a lot longer to get to Grootfontein than we had hoped...Once at the nearest gas station, we happened to notice the shocking front page news on a Namibian paper. We have scanned it below for a laugh...figure out your own caption.
As late afternoon was settling into evening, we all decided that we were not going to make it to Tsumkwe before dark. At the turn off for the village was a lodge that we had stayed a year ago last January. Luckily, Roy's Rest Camp had rooms available for that night.
It is hard to explain the atmosphere of Roy's Rest Camp. The owner has purposely used old junk to decorate the rooms and surrounding grounds. The place has a rustic, old west feel and we were amazed at the creative use of old junk to individualize the bungalows. To give you a feel for the place, the two photos to follow are of the conference meeting area.
The photo below is the pool by the lounge and dining room. The unfinished brick wall was newly created to look like part of a broken down building.
As darkness drew near, we all sat behind the rock wall blind by a waterhole to watch for wild game before going to dinner.
The next morning was cold and clear as we prepared to depart for Tsumkwe. Julie is standing outside of the bungalow we stayed in.
Once at the lodge, we calculated the gas usage and kilometers we still needed to travel to get back to the nearest gas station in Gumare, Botswana. After putting in the reserve fuel we were carrying, we realized there would be enough gas to get to Gumare or Maun, but not be enough to also explore Khaudum Park.
Without enough fuel to explore the park, Jerry graciously arranged for us to take a game drive the next morning with a lodge vehicle. To our surprise in the morning, the tour vehicle was a giant green army style truck.
Colin was surprised to see the battery just loosely tied down under the truck and shot the next photo before climbing the ladder up into the truck.
It was a bit chilly in an open truck, but we all had prepared with warn clothes and blankets. We entered the park boundary and headed for the park office to pay entry fees.
The picture below is the office that our driver went into pay the money due. When he returned, the truck would not start. The battery was dead. With the truck on a slight incline, we all tried to push the giant truck fast enough for the driver to pop the clutch. That strategy did not work.
As the men were thinking of another option, a couple of tourist in a rented truck pulled up and they were carrying jumper cables. It was not long, and we were on our way again.
It is the dry winter season now, and the diversity of yellow grasses over the land created a feeling of autumn colors as we drove through the sand-track roads of the park. Pictures never really capture the beauty of the land or sunsets here in Africa.
A hearty lunch was provided on the drive, and we stopped to eat in an animal viewing blind overlooking a water hole.
While we ate, we watched a large group of female Kudu drink water with their young.
Toward the end of the day, we began to see lots of elephant. We had been warned that the elephants in the park are not used to many people visiting, and could be "rather cheeky" or in other words, full of contemptuous boldness. When we came upon the elephant in the next picture, it began to charge our big truck and forced the driver to go quickly in reverse until the elephant stopped.
It was a full day, and we returned at dark to the lodge to enjoy another great dinner. The friendship and fellowship experienced with each other was truly the highlight of the day.
After breakfast the morning July 17th, we headed for Botswana border. Whenever and
wherever we travel, there always are people and children walking long distances. Their legs are the most used mode of travel. Colin and Jerry both enjoyed stopping at times and giving out sweets to both young and old along the way. Jeannine is pictured below with a group of San bushman children that was walking along on the road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.
Just before getting to the Namibia border post, we came across another "cheeky" elephant. Colin waited to pass for some time after the elephant crossed the road, as the elephant remained by the side of the road and was showing signs of aggression when the car crept too close. Finally, Colin decided to move past...
The "Three Js" choose to follow close behind in their truck, and the elephant decided to charge. The picture below of the charge does not do justice to this angry giant. But considering the race to get by him, it was a pretty good snap shot by Jeannine.
We safely arrived at the remote Namibia border post and filled out the necessary papers to exit Namibia. The Namibia post is pictured below.
At the Botswana post, we realized there had not been another vehicle passing through for three days. All of the border guards thoroughly did their job, and the crossing took much longer than most places we have traveled. The post was just a simple small cabin that is pictured next.
Once cleared to enter back into Botswana, we traveled on working our way over deep and rutted sand tracks.
Even though we knew our missionary friends were still in South Africa, we followed GPS coordinates to find their house and church. At a crossroad of sand-tracks, we saw the hand made wooden sign pointing the way to the "Word to Africa Mahopa Church".
It was a lovely piece of land where the house and church are located. The young family has been living in the solitude of the bush for over seven years and minister to the San bushman in the area. They have been able to not only offer spiritual help to the people, but also basic needs such as water and community gardens.
The going was slow through the bush roads, but we finally got back on to the tar road and headed north again to Gumare for fuel. We had called ahead to make sure the station had gas, or we would have needed to complete our days travel by returning to Maun. Instead, we refilled our tanks and continued north to Sepopa. We were able to briefly see Pusetso, before settling in at a local lodge to watch the sunset over the Okavango River.
Leaving Sepopa early the next day for Tsodilo Hills, we passed the usual road obstacles and hazards. Such as loose roaming donkeys...
And people using donkey carts to travel and transport goods.
Once at the Tsodilo Hills world heritage site, we checked in at the small museum and were assigned a local guide to show us some of the more easily accessible bushman archeological paintings.
Our bushman guide in the picture below, is pointing to paintings of a penguin and whale that were used as a sign to the San ancestors traveling from the southern coast of Africa. Sort of like a sign post saying you are on the right trail...
The name of our guide was Xontae. The "X" in the San language is pronounced with a click of the tongue. If you look closely on the face of the rock wall or click the photo to make it bigger, you can see there are more paintings from the past.
The painting of in the next photo can be seen a bit better and is of a Cape Buffalo.
Jeannine and Joan climb up on the rocks to get a closer look at some paintings. They are pictured standing by a Paper Baobab growing in the cracks between the cliffs.
As the warmth of the sun increased into midday, it was time for us to pack ourselves back into the vehicles and head to Maun. Here we are pictured before starting our travels home.
At the entrance gate, we stopped to buy some jewelry made by local ladies of the village. Most of the necklaces and bracelets are made from seeds and ostrich shell beads.
Traveling on the tar road to Maun, we had the usual continuous road hazards mentioned earlier, along with cows....
Elephants...
Slow and overloaded vehicles...Notice the Coke can that was used as a flag on the long piece of plastic pipe...
And more cows....
By dark on July 18, we had stopped for a quick chicken dinner and were settled back at home in Maun. The next day was the last full day for the Alaska gang, before they were to begin the long trip back to the states. We went to the basket shop of my neighbor nearby, and the gang purchased many of her incredible baskets.
The "basket lady", as we affectionately refer to her, has three boys that Julie takes to Sunday school each week. They are pictured together in front of the basket shop. Julie had the oldest as a student when she taught Standard 4 a couple of years ago.
While taking the photo of the boys, some other neighborhood children trotted by on a donkey. Julie could not resist snapping their picture.
After basket shopping, Colin was able to take the group to meet with the famous hunting guide, Johan Calitz. Jerry and Colin are pictured below with Johan at his office in Maun.
Returning from town, Colin stopped by the "old bridge" to look at the rising level of water on the Thamalakane River. See how fast the current is in the picture to follow of the "Three Js."
Three weeks went by extremely fast and before we knew it, the "Three Js" were on the Air Botswana flight and on their way back to Alaska. What a pleasure it was to spend time with them, and we will have many treasured memories to add to our time in Botswana.
As we mentioned earlier in the blog, there has been a lot of high water and flooding again this year. Each year we have been living in Maun, the levels have increased substantially.
While the Alaska gang was in Zimbabwe, Julie went to teach Bible Club and the school was beginning to flood for the first time in decades. Many of the property staff had dug trenches to channel the water through the property. The photo below shows one of those ditches and if you look at the right corner you can see trailer Julie had as a classroom.
The students had to go to the back end of the property to take the bus home, as the front gate was totally flooded. Julie had driven in with a friend to teach Bible Club, in a 4x4 vehicle. Leaving the school that day, she caught a ride with the Setswana teacher in a small Toyota sedan. The sand-tracks on the back road were too deep for the little car to travel, and it got stuck until someone came along who could tow the car to more solid ground. As the ladies were getting assistance, a donkey cart easily cruised by. If you enlarge the photo, the backside of the cart can be seen in the right corner of the picture.
Two weeks later, Julie returned to teach Bible Club and found the back side of the property fully flooded. In the center of the photo is the white trailer that had been Julie's classroom two years ago. The school had made new roads to get into the main school area, and most of the classrooms were not affected by the water so the students could still attend daily.
Just to give you an idea of the additional water flooding down from Angola this year, the next picture is of a dirt bridge last year that goes into Island Safari Lodge. Compare it with the two photos after from this year.
The next picture was taken last year looking to the left as you cross the bridge.
Below is the same area this year.
Just after the Alaska gang left to go back to the states, Pusetso came to Maun to take care of some business. It was good to get a quality visit in with her while she was here for almost a week. She is pictured with Patricia outside our office, just before Julie took her to the bus rank.
Over the last three years while living in Maun, we have tried earnestly to surrender our will totally to the will of God in our lives. In doing that, we have felt so richly blessed by the people and experiences that have taken hold of our lives here. Please continue to pray for us, and that we can remain available to whatever service and plans the Lord has for us during our last 11 months in Botswana. Through following Him, we can genuinely state that He came "....that [we] may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10.
Shortly after crossing the Namibia border, we were traveling through the Mahango National Park and came upon a herd of Sable [see photo] in addition to numerous other plains game.
Leaving the reserve, we found that the sand track into the lodge was flooded and a levy road was being used.
Driving across the road there were many water birds to see, but our favorite to watch were the Kingfishers as they hovered and then dove for fish. The one in the next picture seemed to be posing for us as we passed by.
We arrived just in time to greet the "Three Js" before they headed out in a river boat to another game reserve across the river. Then they were transferring to a vehicle for a game drive. We were a bit tired and decided we would catch up on their travels later at dinner.
During dinner we heard about the great time they had been having, but we also became aware that the truck they were using had a small fuel tank and limited range for the trip we were planning together. We had also found out that the small village of Tsumkwe, where we counted on getting gas before crossing the Botswana border, was out of fuel. Even though we were both carrying extra fuel in containers, we realized we would not have enough gas to travel north to south through the remote national park of Khaudum if there was no petrol in the village of Tsumkwe. That meant we had to make a large detour to the nearest main town of Grootfontein. The hope was to be able to get gas there and make it to the village of Tsumkwe by dark the next day. Then we thought we would have enough gas to do a short game drive in the park and get back through the remote northwestern corner of Botswana to Gumare for more fuel.
It took a lot longer to get to Grootfontein than we had hoped...Once at the nearest gas station, we happened to notice the shocking front page news on a Namibian paper. We have scanned it below for a laugh...figure out your own caption.
It is hard to explain the atmosphere of Roy's Rest Camp. The owner has purposely used old junk to decorate the rooms and surrounding grounds. The place has a rustic, old west feel and we were amazed at the creative use of old junk to individualize the bungalows. To give you a feel for the place, the two photos to follow are of the conference meeting area.
The photo below is the pool by the lounge and dining room. The unfinished brick wall was newly created to look like part of a broken down building.
As darkness drew near, we all sat behind the rock wall blind by a waterhole to watch for wild game before going to dinner.
The next morning was cold and clear as we prepared to depart for Tsumkwe. Julie is standing outside of the bungalow we stayed in.
Jerry and Joan had a bungalow next to ours that was similar. Despite the chilly morning, Jerry was out early loading their truck for the next day of our road trip together.
The drive to the Tsumkwe Country Lodge was just a few hours, and we found the lodge accommodation to be clean, simple and a bit more conventional than Roy's Rest Camp. Jeannine is pictured by the cottage of canvas and wood.
The drive to the Tsumkwe Country Lodge was just a few hours, and we found the lodge accommodation to be clean, simple and a bit more conventional than Roy's Rest Camp. Jeannine is pictured by the cottage of canvas and wood.
Once at the lodge, we calculated the gas usage and kilometers we still needed to travel to get back to the nearest gas station in Gumare, Botswana. After putting in the reserve fuel we were carrying, we realized there would be enough gas to get to Gumare or Maun, but not be enough to also explore Khaudum Park.
Without enough fuel to explore the park, Jerry graciously arranged for us to take a game drive the next morning with a lodge vehicle. To our surprise in the morning, the tour vehicle was a giant green army style truck.
Colin was surprised to see the battery just loosely tied down under the truck and shot the next photo before climbing the ladder up into the truck.
It was a bit chilly in an open truck, but we all had prepared with warn clothes and blankets. We entered the park boundary and headed for the park office to pay entry fees.
The picture below is the office that our driver went into pay the money due. When he returned, the truck would not start. The battery was dead. With the truck on a slight incline, we all tried to push the giant truck fast enough for the driver to pop the clutch. That strategy did not work.
As the men were thinking of another option, a couple of tourist in a rented truck pulled up and they were carrying jumper cables. It was not long, and we were on our way again.
It is the dry winter season now, and the diversity of yellow grasses over the land created a feeling of autumn colors as we drove through the sand-track roads of the park. Pictures never really capture the beauty of the land or sunsets here in Africa.
A hearty lunch was provided on the drive, and we stopped to eat in an animal viewing blind overlooking a water hole.
While we ate, we watched a large group of female Kudu drink water with their young.
Toward the end of the day, we began to see lots of elephant. We had been warned that the elephants in the park are not used to many people visiting, and could be "rather cheeky" or in other words, full of contemptuous boldness. When we came upon the elephant in the next picture, it began to charge our big truck and forced the driver to go quickly in reverse until the elephant stopped.
It was a full day, and we returned at dark to the lodge to enjoy another great dinner. The friendship and fellowship experienced with each other was truly the highlight of the day.
After breakfast the morning July 17th, we headed for Botswana border. Whenever and
wherever we travel, there always are people and children walking long distances. Their legs are the most used mode of travel. Colin and Jerry both enjoyed stopping at times and giving out sweets to both young and old along the way. Jeannine is pictured below with a group of San bushman children that was walking along on the road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.
Just before getting to the Namibia border post, we came across another "cheeky" elephant. Colin waited to pass for some time after the elephant crossed the road, as the elephant remained by the side of the road and was showing signs of aggression when the car crept too close. Finally, Colin decided to move past...
The "Three Js" choose to follow close behind in their truck, and the elephant decided to charge. The picture below of the charge does not do justice to this angry giant. But considering the race to get by him, it was a pretty good snap shot by Jeannine.
We safely arrived at the remote Namibia border post and filled out the necessary papers to exit Namibia. The Namibia post is pictured below.
At the Botswana post, we realized there had not been another vehicle passing through for three days. All of the border guards thoroughly did their job, and the crossing took much longer than most places we have traveled. The post was just a simple small cabin that is pictured next.
Once cleared to enter back into Botswana, we traveled on working our way over deep and rutted sand tracks.
Even though we knew our missionary friends were still in South Africa, we followed GPS coordinates to find their house and church. At a crossroad of sand-tracks, we saw the hand made wooden sign pointing the way to the "Word to Africa Mahopa Church".
It was a lovely piece of land where the house and church are located. The young family has been living in the solitude of the bush for over seven years and minister to the San bushman in the area. They have been able to not only offer spiritual help to the people, but also basic needs such as water and community gardens.
The going was slow through the bush roads, but we finally got back on to the tar road and headed north again to Gumare for fuel. We had called ahead to make sure the station had gas, or we would have needed to complete our days travel by returning to Maun. Instead, we refilled our tanks and continued north to Sepopa. We were able to briefly see Pusetso, before settling in at a local lodge to watch the sunset over the Okavango River.
Leaving Sepopa early the next day for Tsodilo Hills, we passed the usual road obstacles and hazards. Such as loose roaming donkeys...
And people using donkey carts to travel and transport goods.
Once at the Tsodilo Hills world heritage site, we checked in at the small museum and were assigned a local guide to show us some of the more easily accessible bushman archeological paintings.
Our bushman guide in the picture below, is pointing to paintings of a penguin and whale that were used as a sign to the San ancestors traveling from the southern coast of Africa. Sort of like a sign post saying you are on the right trail...
The name of our guide was Xontae. The "X" in the San language is pronounced with a click of the tongue. If you look closely on the face of the rock wall or click the photo to make it bigger, you can see there are more paintings from the past.
The painting of in the next photo can be seen a bit better and is of a Cape Buffalo.
Jeannine and Joan climb up on the rocks to get a closer look at some paintings. They are pictured standing by a Paper Baobab growing in the cracks between the cliffs.
As the warmth of the sun increased into midday, it was time for us to pack ourselves back into the vehicles and head to Maun. Here we are pictured before starting our travels home.
At the entrance gate, we stopped to buy some jewelry made by local ladies of the village. Most of the necklaces and bracelets are made from seeds and ostrich shell beads.
Traveling on the tar road to Maun, we had the usual continuous road hazards mentioned earlier, along with cows....
Elephants...
Slow and overloaded vehicles...Notice the Coke can that was used as a flag on the long piece of plastic pipe...
And more cows....
By dark on July 18, we had stopped for a quick chicken dinner and were settled back at home in Maun. The next day was the last full day for the Alaska gang, before they were to begin the long trip back to the states. We went to the basket shop of my neighbor nearby, and the gang purchased many of her incredible baskets.
The "basket lady", as we affectionately refer to her, has three boys that Julie takes to Sunday school each week. They are pictured together in front of the basket shop. Julie had the oldest as a student when she taught Standard 4 a couple of years ago.
While taking the photo of the boys, some other neighborhood children trotted by on a donkey. Julie could not resist snapping their picture.
After basket shopping, Colin was able to take the group to meet with the famous hunting guide, Johan Calitz. Jerry and Colin are pictured below with Johan at his office in Maun.
Returning from town, Colin stopped by the "old bridge" to look at the rising level of water on the Thamalakane River. See how fast the current is in the picture to follow of the "Three Js."
Three weeks went by extremely fast and before we knew it, the "Three Js" were on the Air Botswana flight and on their way back to Alaska. What a pleasure it was to spend time with them, and we will have many treasured memories to add to our time in Botswana.
As we mentioned earlier in the blog, there has been a lot of high water and flooding again this year. Each year we have been living in Maun, the levels have increased substantially.
While the Alaska gang was in Zimbabwe, Julie went to teach Bible Club and the school was beginning to flood for the first time in decades. Many of the property staff had dug trenches to channel the water through the property. The photo below shows one of those ditches and if you look at the right corner you can see trailer Julie had as a classroom.
The students had to go to the back end of the property to take the bus home, as the front gate was totally flooded. Julie had driven in with a friend to teach Bible Club, in a 4x4 vehicle. Leaving the school that day, she caught a ride with the Setswana teacher in a small Toyota sedan. The sand-tracks on the back road were too deep for the little car to travel, and it got stuck until someone came along who could tow the car to more solid ground. As the ladies were getting assistance, a donkey cart easily cruised by. If you enlarge the photo, the backside of the cart can be seen in the right corner of the picture.
Two weeks later, Julie returned to teach Bible Club and found the back side of the property fully flooded. In the center of the photo is the white trailer that had been Julie's classroom two years ago. The school had made new roads to get into the main school area, and most of the classrooms were not affected by the water so the students could still attend daily.
Just to give you an idea of the additional water flooding down from Angola this year, the next picture is of a dirt bridge last year that goes into Island Safari Lodge. Compare it with the two photos after from this year.
The next picture was taken last year looking to the left as you cross the bridge.
Below is the same area this year.
Just after the Alaska gang left to go back to the states, Pusetso came to Maun to take care of some business. It was good to get a quality visit in with her while she was here for almost a week. She is pictured with Patricia outside our office, just before Julie took her to the bus rank.
Over the last three years while living in Maun, we have tried earnestly to surrender our will totally to the will of God in our lives. In doing that, we have felt so richly blessed by the people and experiences that have taken hold of our lives here. Please continue to pray for us, and that we can remain available to whatever service and plans the Lord has for us during our last 11 months in Botswana. Through following Him, we can genuinely state that He came "....that [we] may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10.
