An African Safari - Day 2 – 11 March 2022 - Serowe to Goo Moremi Gorge - 115 km

The stay in Rest and Digest guesthouse had been pleasant and restful. While showing me to the room Sego had told me that it would get cold in the night and showed me where the blankets were kept. I did not believe her as it had been sweltering hot then. Into the night I woke up to switch off the air conditioning and it was cold. I woke up early and completed the left over documentation over hots cups of coffee. There was still a slight nip in the healthy air when I went out for a small jig in the compound of the guesthouse. I had two large sandwiches of multigrain bread and smoked ham for breakfast with yet another cup of hot coffee.

By 9.30 am I was ready to embark on the second day of the African Safari. I met Margaret, the owner of the guesthouse, paid the dining charge and gave her feedback of the stay at her house that had eight rooms on rent. Last night she had promptly attended to a glitch in the wifi connection. This morning I told her that she had to fix the shower cubicle and curtain. She was aware of the matter and said that she had decided to replace the present one. She told me that she wished to travel to India and I gave her my contact details if she wanted someone to be her host.

I had to backtrack 40 km to Palapye via Morupule to get back to the A1. I travelled about 35 km on the route to Francistown before branching off to the right for Moremi, which was another 40 km after the turn off. I had been told that Google Maps would lead me to the Moremi Village and not to the Goo Moremi Gorge Resort. I found a couple of ladies waiting at a bus stop and asked one of them for directions to the Resort. She told me to turn off after the local school and "drive on till you arrive". The Goo Moremi Gorge Resort was about 5 kms from the village along sandy roads. At some places I wondered if my small car would get stuck in the sand. Mercifully it did not and I arrived at the gate of the Resort where I was registered and asked yet again if I wanted only the basic camping tent. The lady at the reception told me that I would find the beds "tiny". I was not going to pay top dollar for a bigger bed and confirmed the camping tent for the night stay The basic tent accommodation cost BWP 580 along with another 55 for vehicle entry and another 10 as tourism tax. A Nature Walk was part of the package rate.

The receptionist told me to go through a 3 km trail of sandy road to do the Nature Walk before going to the camping tent. Along the road I wondered what I would do if I came across another vehicle in the opposite direction. I would not be able to go off the main track as I would get stuck in the sands. Exactly that happened in a short while. Fortunately, the car reversed a fair distance and let me pass knowing my predicament. At the end of the 3 km drive is a large parking area where I was met by Zuma, my guide. The next 90 minutes was fascinating. The legend of the Gorge, the many plants and trees in them, the origin and end of the water source, the three waterfalls and the vultures breeding there were all part of the most informative walk with Zuma. Before the walk began Zuma told me that venomous snakes are a part of the landscape and that I must tread cautiously. The Mamba and Spitting Snake are the most common ones here.

It was hot and sweaty. The walk has to be taken carefully because of small streams, tree nettles, slippery rocks and steep climb. The Moremi Gorge is considered to be one of the most spectacular gorges in Botswana. The Gorge is part of the Tswapong Hills and is a geological phenomenon of weathering over 1700 million years. The Bapedi tribe who lived in the area found the spring a source of water for themselves and their animals. The Bapedi believed that the spirits of their ancestors live in the Gorge and hence, swimming in the pools formed by the streams is prohibited. Even to this day the villagers seek mediation with their ancestors through a process called Komana. It is a protected site and therefore, nothing can be removed from the Gorge, including stones and plants.

Zuma turned out to be a very informative guide. He showed me wild figs that grow stubbornly even through rocks. The figs turn brown when they are ready to be eaten. Wild fern and a type of grass grow only beside clean water; their presence indicates that the stream contains clean potable water. The grass is used by villagers to weave baskets used for storage. Zuma showed me the white core of the grass that apparently keeps the water clean. The camphor plant leaves, when crushed gives off a powerful smell. Tribes’ people who lived in the Gorge smeared the paste on their bodies to mask their smell from predatory animals. On the other hand, the powdered lavender croton leaf was the source of ancient deodorant! Zebra and other wild animals ward off ticks by eating aloe vera. The aloe makes the blood bitter and poisons the tics which eventually fall off the animals. Nature has it all. Warnings have been put on tree nettles not to touch them. Zuma pointed out baboon poop, which was easily identifiable, for it contained leftovers of berries they mostly live on here.

The Nature's Walk culminates at the Third Waterfall. The waterfalls are not full of water. They are minor falls. But the setting is spectacular. The origin of the water is from atop the Gorge. It springs from the rocks and keeps flowing down perennially. The flowing stream does not end up in a river or pond. It disappears into the ground at some point. All in all, the Nature's Walk and the Gorge experience was worth the time spent.

A couple of fully grown kudus, the second biggest in the antelope grouping, almost ambushed me on the way back to the tent. They hopped, stepped and jumped across the road and startled the daylights out of me. I was bushwhacked by the time I got to the tent. Hungry and tired. I attended to hunger first. Sandwich and water. I was all sweat and dirt. The ablution enclosure, slightly away from the tent, has a wash basin, a toilet and an open shower area. The camping tent I was allotted stood in a cluster of three. The other two seemed to be accommodation for families. I discerned that the dry heat would be ideal to dry clothes. I had accidentally stepped into a stream and the pant and shoes had got dirty during the Nature Walk. I had a few other clothes to wash too. I was the only resident in the tent complex. I washed all the clothes and had a bath in the buff. It is when the water started running down the body that I realised that vultures feast on dead meat. Once the owner's pride and neighbour's envy, it is now the vulture's feast!

After a short nap I went to the restaurant for a night cap and dinner. The other reason was to charge all the devices and hook up on wifi. After consulting with Maya, my daughter, I ordered Seswaa with rice, tomato and onion sauce and veggies. Seswaa is boiled and pounded beef normally used at ceremonial gatherings. A couple of pints of St. Louis beer anticipated the dining experience. The restaurant overlooks the Gorge and is a very peaceful and serene setting to wind up the day. Three scoops of vanilla ice-cream in chocolate sauce rounded up the meal. I was charged and so were the devices. It was a lonely drive back to the tent in pitch darkness.