Hi all from Botswana,

the last few days has been pretty busy and more like the experience that i thought the overland would be. We have visited Namibia's Etosha National Park where we braved the cold overnight to watch the black rhinos, elephants, giraffe and more springbok then i care to mention. The best viewing was when they came to the campsites man made dam that is floodlit so you can watch all night. We were also were lucky enough to see a pack of seven lions attempt to single out some prey from a herb of zebra, though the younger lions were a bit to eager and directed the herd away from the waiting lioness.

Some of the great things that we have done in the last week have included a bushwalk with the San Bushmen, a 20 000 year old group that still teaches their native 'clicking language'. hugely entertaining day with an elder healer taking us through the bush and gesturing all the illnesses and treatment including the undeniable international gesture for diarrhea (cramps in the tummy then fingers out shooting for the back end with a large raspberry - we all had a good laugh at that one). The bushman survive off tourism income and also welfare that all 15yo+ Namibians are entitled to due to the wealth of the diamonds mined in the country. That night at the campsite bar we asked Alex the bar who a diamond belongs to if its found, his answer 'it is your's, but you must hide it'. We stocked up on foods from the local Pick and Pay but all the locals seemed to be happier to shop at the local Cola Cola hypermarket or the OK FOOD WAREHOUSE.

From Namibia we crossed to the Okavango Delta, a network of channels and marshes that the Okavango River empties into and is trapped by surrounding desserts. thus you have a 16 000 square kms of wilderness that elephants, crocs and hippos thrive in. We got to ride in traditional mokoros (canoes) to our camps and even got to try to steer they ourselves, Mark the spy from Canberra managed to tip his and near drown his poler (the poor b***** still had his mobile on him- note the reception for mobiles is prefect in the delta? who knew). The most exciting part about the delta was when the truck got bogged up to the chaise. Between the cook, driver, guide, the ten local polers plus a little help from the aussie contingent of the group we moved about 2 metric tonne of sand and dirt. When this didnt work we waited two hours before a massive catapillar front plower came from no where and pulled the truck out (literally no where the farmers in the area cow plow the crops so we were completed screwed if they were in the area doing road work)

Now we are relaxing in Botswana on the edge of Chobe National Park. Next stop Livingston and the Victoria Falls