THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED........ 
The past month was just spent on a safari through Botswana. We were able to share the experience with two good friends, Jay and Karen. It was definitely a great experience, and a safari (in my opinion) is a MUST DO for anyone.
For those of you who don't know, we rented a 4 x4 Land Rover defender in Johannesburg, and began our drive/camping from there. In Jo-Burg we met Jay and Karen and started the LONG drive to the border. 
Midnight Drives dodging donkeys and cows.
The first night we stayed in Mokopone and were able to sort out some last minute details (Ryan and I NEVER leave things to the last minute! HA!). We stayed just outside of Mokopone at a near by game reserve. At this point the only animals we had seen were LOADs and LOADS of donkeys and cows. Most of them like to hang out on the road and aren't afraid of vehicles. The locals farmers don't fence of any land so the animals are free to roam, and just like us they like using to road to get from point A to B. It made for amusing daytime travel (some even laid down in the middle of the road for a afternoon map). Night time driving on the other hand..... just plain scary. It wasn't recommended driving at night in this area, but due to poor planning, poor time management and well crappy road conditions we ended up negotiating through hundreds (or at least it felt that way) of donkeys on the road while driving. Miraculously we didn't hit ANYTHING! A few close calls but no actual contact!
Running the Botswana Border
We arrived in Botswana and I almost got us arrested by accidentally running the border. We got all our stuff stamped and I thought we were through, so drove off. While driving on the wrong side of the road I missed the last stop. The border policeman was running after us , yelling for us to stop. When he realized I was just a clueless tourist he laughed , and joked about arresting us, and let us carry on. This was our first taste of the friendly, kind nature and jolly Botswanians. The country is a peaceful and you can sense it as soon as you cross the border. The roads are well maintained and everywhere you go you are greeted with a smile.
First encounters with Elephants
Our first few nights camping we did a few drives with one of the lodge owner's (in the maghapakdiei game reserve). We saw hippos, loads of birds, impala, kudu and even an African wild cat. While finishing up supper dished one night, I heard the boys shouting to come and see. At the watering hole right next to our campsite 10 elephants graced us with their presence. We watched them water and cool themselves at the small pond. It was quite amazing to see them walk in single file when they were through. (sorry no pics, too dark out). They did come by another day while we were eating lunch. Note: Jay scrambling for his camera. This picture is actually from Moremi, where we did a boat ride on the Okavango delta.
When the Lion Sleeps
Making our way through Maun, sorting out campsites we finally ended up in the Moremi National Park. At this point we hadn't seen any big cats (just one little African wild cat, a wild version of the common house cat). While checking in at our campsite we enquired about lions in the area. The conservation officer said "We have one." I had been pretty pessimistic that we would see lions due to it being the end of rainy season and the grass was very very long, so it was difficult to see cats unless. The warden guy asked us for a lift to his hut, because he and his friend were afraid to walk near the lion. What we didn't understand was that the lion was right beside the road leading to their hut napping. We gave him a lift and he showed us the lion napping. Here is a photo, he seemed pretty harmless while sleeping, but one quick movement and our hearts were beating faster and I put the truck in gear and we were out of there. Sadly, this ended up being the only lion we saw on our trip.
Hostile Takeover by Vervet Monkeys
Upon arriving at the Xhang campsite in Moremi GR we were thrilled to see little vervet monkeys. They would come so close, and were so cute. We couldn't believe people were just walking by then as though they were a common cat or dog. We snapped off photos then proceeded to set up camp. It didn't take long for us to experience the disinterest or even dislike or these little monkeys. They managed to orchestrate a hostile takeover, during the attack we lost 1 lb margarine. They were smart enough to first surround us, then carry out a distraction (one of them trying to get in the truck), meanwhile a foot soldier moved in to take the margarine! We watched as they made they way off with the margarine, sitting in the tree just out of reach, peeling the foil down and having supper. An hour later Ryan was chasing some of with a stick (see how quickly our love for them changed), and the monkey who stole the margarine was finished with it, and didn't like Ryan harassing his friend, so threw the margarine at him. Boy did we ever laugh. I am still amazed with how brazen they were, managing to go in the truck (while I was in there) only one door open and steal a bag of chips. Although we did loose some margarine and chips, the monkeys gave us tons of amusement and it was fun interacting with them.
Late night mouse raid
In Savuti, we were greeted at our campsite by a heard of impala. We watched the lead male, heard the female impala using different grunts, snorts and squeals. The same night, we were awoken by some little rodent friends in the truck. They wanted in on our food. Jay search every crook and cranny and never found them. Ryan and I were sound asleep on the roof of the truck.
Road Race with Ostrich
On our way up to Chobe National Park we saw a lone ostrich on the side of the road. It was pretty cool to watch him run, but he wasn't interested in taking off into the bush. Every time we would try to pull ahead of him (we had been driving slowly beside him for some time), he would get back onto the road to run faster. We would slow down and he would go back into to field/ditch. Thinking it was okay to advance ahead of him, Jay would pull ahead. The ostrich, wanting to run faster would come onto the road again running ahead of us. This carried on for ages! Finally he tuckered out and let us pass...
We ended our camping trip in Chobe national park, this was one of the most beautiful parks we had been to. The density and variety of animals in such a small area was great. The drive into the campsite took us several hours because we had stopped so much to see all the animals. The amount of incredible looking birds, zebras, wart hogs, giraffe, water buffalo, impala, lizards, elephants.... the list goes on.
Every night camping the Botswana sky gave us great sunsets, but I think our last was one of the most incredible.
We finished our trip with a little R&R in Victoria Falls and Cape Town... and now we are back at it in Lagos.
DQ
Note the front end loader demolishing shacks in the center of this photo. This village is only a small strip of sand between the Kuramo Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean. All the people are only able to stand by and watch their homes be destroyed. 
Sandi and I braving Delirium Dive at Sunshine.
