Botswana

We went into the okovango delta and it was b-e-a-utiful! Well worth the kidney. We went in on a mokoro, which is a traditional canoe, with a local community trust. Had to get a speed boat there and back, which I think has defiantly been St Johns Botswana highlight. We then travelled up top Chobe national park seeing lots and lots of elephants on the way, and an aardvark, and warthog… its animal central here! As I type a gecko is on my computer. So cute!

We are now in Zambia after a rather stressful border crossing. I will never ever complain about the form filling in at Essex County Council again! We had to get a ferry over the Zambezi, which only took 3 cars at a time with tonnes of people crammed in the gaps. As we waited for the ferry the Botswana police came up and warned us that we must be very careful on the other side and not let anyone rip us off. We knew then it would be tough. You get sent to loads of different people to pay different fees and fill out forms and some you pay in US dollars some in local currency (which you can't get outside the country). So you have to change money but there is no where to change money but with some random man, which is illegal but then they give you no choice, nonsensical. All while a hoard of people swarm round you… very stressful but we got through and where not ripped off. I wish I could have taken a photo or two but its not permitted and the guards have AK47, so I thought I best not chance it. Then ten minutes into Zambia we get stopped by police and told we need to buy car insurance for Zambia even though we have full insurance. You start to wonder when it will end and who is telling the truth! But it turns out the policeman was telling the truth and we were lucky he didn't fine us. So we have all the correct papers now and after a night in Livingstone swapping 'border crossing stories' with fellow travellers we are off to see Victoria falls!