Soup and Scotch Pancakes

Dinners and breakfasts at Garden Lodge (www.thegardenlodge.com) are an institution, with Gabi never sitting down to eat (so that is the secret of being super slim!!!) and Phil amusing us all. (That's Gabi on the left of this picture as the rest of us are sitting at the table - well, I am taking the picture!) There is no menu, as it is treated more as house guests than hotel guests, with everyone sitting at long tables together. When I got there new managers had recently arrived, and both spoke excellent English, although they are both German. I was made very welcome - after all there were no guests, it being the end of the season, and I was good 'practice' for the staff. This was Barbara & Guido with Phil supervising the harvesting of the bananas from the tree in the garden.

The rest of the staff have been there with Phil and Gabi for years, and I was taken aback when I was told how they all remembered me from my previous visit. I think this was a bit of flannel, it being more likely that they actually remembered Vic and Terry, and I was just the idiot woman who had come up with them before! I don't have illusions! Gabi assured me that when she told them I was coming they said that they remembered my laugh! Well, maybe....

On that first morning, as I said before, I went off on my first Game drive of my stay. As you know from my last posting and photos we had seen the snake which the driver had told me was a Green Mamba. When I showed the photo to Phil later, it turned out to be a Boomslang and Phil laughed and told me that to the African, if a snake is black it is a Black Mamba, if it is green, it is a Green Mamba! Simple as that. However, it still has a very potent venom which will kill from internal bleeding, so not to be taken lightly! Truth of the matter is that the average African is terrified of snakes and will not go anywhere near one at any price - hence the reason you will only see white people handling them. The African is very superstitious, and there are many and varied superstitions bound up with snakes.

We continued up into the Reserve, and the rewards came thick and fast. My video camera was being used most of the time, but I did take a few stills shots with you lot in mind! Sorry if some of you are disappointed in the quality of my photography - David Bailey I am not, nor do I claim to be good, so you will just have to bear with the best I have for you to enjoy.

After the excitement of seeing the snake being captured, we were into the Reserve and the first thing we saw - and this is by no means a common occurrence, let me tell you now, was this ...This was a wonderful sight - and there were 7 or 8 others sitting inside that bush! They were shy, though, and despite my calling 'Here Kitty, Kitty' they refused to come out and enjoy the 40°C temperature! She was just sitting there languidly on guard, watching for any passing impala with which she could enjoy a snack along with the rest of her family.

This young Lioness was obviously on guard duty for the others.

Elephants are a great favourite of mine and this one, enjoying a juicy mouthful of new grass, came out just beside us to say hello. And to hear an Elephant trumper next to you, is deafening! It is certainly not a sound I am ever likely to forget.

There are these graceful Impala everywhere, and I never get fed up with seeing them! There are big herds of them some days, and other days you might only see half a dozen.

A beautiful female Kudu

I had, as I have said before, delivered a 4x4 for Barbara and Guido, and then they told me that if at any time I wanted to use it, I just had to tell them and I could. This meant the world to me, because Phyllis sans voiture is unbearable! It meant I was able to go to the shop and buy ingredients to start teaching the kitchen staff some recipes, too. This is Mimi, who is the under manager for the Lodge, and the daughter of a Chief. We spent many happy hours laughing together, and she taught me lots of things about the Botswana culture that I would never have learned anywhere else. I count her as one of my dearest friends.

What a lot of fun I had in that kitchen. They are good at cooking main courses, but their knowledge is limited when it comes to starters and desserts. Although it is summer in Botswana, it is also the rainy season. Yes, albeit warm rain, it is still wet stuff and welcome a blessing as it is, it still can dampen spirits! So, being an adopted Scot, I set too to teach them how to make soups. You would not believe how quickly 5 gallons (yes! gallons!) of soup can get consumed. It is something they are just not used to making - well, after all, Botswana is hardly the Heilan's o' Scotland wi' the dreich days that have encouraged Scotswomen to be able to make a pan o' soup oot o a bunch o' heather and a haggis leg, is it?

First things first was a search around for all the surplus vegetables that were laying around the place. You know how it is, a couple of carrots, 3 onions that are beginning to sprout, a few wrinkling potatoes, 5 courgettes, a manky sweet potato etc. Chucked into a pot and some chicken stock added, 2 hours later you can produce the most delicious soup and the cost really has been virtually nil, as all those veg would have ended up in the bin normally.

There followed a number of variations on a theme, and each went down equally well. The chef makes the most delicious tomato and olive bread, so we were feasting in no time at lunch times. The equipment in that kitchen is basic - and when I say basic, I really do mean it. I think I had more equipment in mine the day I got married, and how I longed to have all my myriad gadgets to ease the way. However, they were 6000 miles away, and I just had to improvise. With no scales or measuring devices, I just had to remember being a girl guide (as opposed to a Boy Scout (!!!!) Writing down the recipes was a little more difficult. After all, how you write 'and a bit of baking powder to a handful of flour and a knob of butter' does seem a bit hit and miss.

I was surprised I could not buy oranges in Kasane. Considering we had supermarkets full of South African citrus fruits, I never thought of NOT being able to buy anything. How we forget the seasons for things. We are so used to having everything from everywhere in the world, that we forget how lucky we are. It was a salutary lesson to me. We take so much for granted, don't we?

I wanted the oranges because I make Orange shortbread, which makes a pleasant change to serve with tea and coffee, but it was not to be. Eventually I did find orange oil, but it is not quite so good - but it worked insofar as no-one there had ever tasted the real thing, so to them it was very good. The same with Scotch pancakes. I was making them by the hundred! I would make a few dozen, butter some and leave the others plain. Putting them on the reception counter, the next time I would look, they would all have gone. It is such a compliment to have people enjoy what you make, and as they had never tasted them before, I soon had them addicted. I worked on the premise that if I am fat, then they could be too and I would feel less of a hippo around the place! Treacle tart became another favourite, as did proper English Custard! Not the stuff out of cartons, but genuine, egg enriched, thick, creamy custard. Baked custard as well got introduced - oh yes, there in Botswana, you can now get a few old English favourites! At least you could whilst I was there, and I trust that they have continued making them - I did leave full instructions for everything I did.

Needless to say, this was not all about me going up there to cook. No, that was a by-product of my boredom at times. Boredom? Far from it. I was out in the Game reserve most mornings and what incredible sights I saw. Botswana is Animals - of course it is. Animals and birds, butterflies and moths, fauna and flora - a total immersion in mother natures bounty, really.

And there is always Gabi's dogs - here is Knudle and Tokolosh, the Irish Wolfhound.


It is said that the first time you go to Africa you only notice the Animals, the second time you notice the birds, and then subsequent visits you notice the butterflies and vegetation.

I love the birds, and this Bee Eater enjoying his meal was a glorious sight.
This is an African Fish Eagle.
My bedroom was usually made up with flowers tucked into the towels and pillows - such a pretty touch when I walked in at the end of a day!

Soon it would be time to go out onto the Chobe River for the evening cruise but that can wait until next time...

Game drives and river cruises

Waking up that first morning was wonderful. At least it was, once I had untangled myself from the Mosquito net! It was the first time I had slept in the room right next to the garden, so my view was of the Canna Lillies with the Sunbirds and butterflies on them. Sunbirds are glorious tiny birds with long thin beaks - rather like the Humming birds, but larger. The colours are metallic greens and petrol blues, with white and pink banded throat strips. The butterflies were unlike any I had seen before - now it was their mid-summer, so different ones were about than I had seen last time I was there. There were large ones and tiny ones, some with the most delicate lavender margins to their wings, others with huge eye-like markings on them. It is said that the first time you go to Africa you only see the animals, the 2nd time you notice the birds and butterflies, and from then on, you see everything. I must say that it depends on the time of year that you visit. The dragon fly had transparent wings with a black dot on the end of each one, so as it flies towards you, you think it is five insects flying at you at once.


This was my room at the foot of the steps on the left. It was raining and the dogs (a Jack Russel called Knudle, a German Shepherd called Hunter, and two Irish Wolfhounds, the elder called Guinness, and the puppy(!!) called Tokolosh - which is Setswana for Ghost or spirit) were not exactly happy. Fortunately, rain doesn't last day in day out as it does here, but comes down in an almighty deluge, then goes away for a few hours!

I had a day's rest, then it was going to be great fun going on game drives with either Phil, or Kelvin, who works for them and does wonderful game drives. He is very knowledgeable, and is a great asset to The Garden Lodge.

As I said, the butterflies and moths were outstanding, and when you consider that most people only stay up in that area for 2 days, I was supremely lucky to have the time to photograph some. The large one was up on the rafters of the Lodge, and the white mark is nothing to do with the Moth - that was from the Owl who flew around at night feeding her young who were in the owl box that was attached to those rafters.

There were various other insects, like the large green Praying Mantis, not to mention the rather large Dung Beetles that were more like birds flying around at times. (Urgh! no, I don't like Dung Beetles whatever anyone tries to tell me!)

That first full day was ended with a trip to a neighbouring campsite bar with Phil and Gabi. It was really great to meet so many friendly people - and these are residents in Kasane, as January/February is the low season there. We were surrounded by people who actually wanted to chat with someone who was going to stay for a week or two, and who had been before 'with Vic'. That man is known just about everywhere and by everyone. Of course, the fact that he had installed Security systems, TVs and even fire protection systems into every Hotel in the place does mean that every hotel manager knows him - and asks after him with real affection. You could say that Vic is one person no-one ever forgets, and all for the right reasons. He never changes for anybody. He is fun, but more importantly, he does a good, reliable job with great integrity.

This was, as I said, the low season. What a pity that more people don't go then, as the country looks beautiful and the animals are almost as plentiful as later in the year. All Game drives are chancy. No one knows what you will see when you set off. It is hard to convince people that these animals are in the wild - it is a Game Reserve, purely to protect the animals from poachers and is not a Zoo. Some tourists were even heard to ask 'What time do they let the animals out?' as though someone rounds them up at night and keeps them penned up so that they can be 'viewed' by passing tourists. It doesn't work like that - not at all. You may be lucky and see lots of the Big Five - Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Leopard, and Lion, or you could be years before you see a Leopard or a Rhino. It is a case of you pays your money and you takes your chance.

Kasane offers every level of accommodation, from the wildly expensive Chobe Game Lodge, where Liz Taylor married Richard Burton for the second time, all the way to campsites. The only small, intimate Lodge though is Garden Lodge. It is run on the lines of a House, and you are house-guests. There is no menu, just everyone eats the same food at night (unless you are Vegetarian, in which case something would be cooked specially for you), and it becomes a big party and once Phil gets into his stride, he can keep everyone enthralled for hours with his true stories of his fascinating life. No-one stays up terribly late, because game drives have to be on the road by 9am, in time to see the elephants going to the river to drink. It is definitely a memorable and unique experience to stay in such a beautiful house - and where else could you imagine watching a Hippo grazing in the garden?

I fell into bed tired, but with my head reeling with the warmth of the welcome I'd received - and ready to get up for the first Game Drive of my visit.

As we drove off up the hill to the entrance to the game Reserve, the police were stopping everyone. There was some sort of a problem ahead, but very soon we saw the cause of it! It was a Boom Slanger Snake that had just been caught.

I have included these last two photos of the Entrance to the Chobe National Game Reserve to show the contrast from October drought to February lushness.

We were about to enter and see whatever the Gods had decided we would be allowed to view this time.

Back North to Kasane alone for the first time

I had been so lucky insofar as Terry had asked if I would like to deliver his 4x4 up to Kasane to the couple who manage the Lodge where I had been invited to stay. What a daft question!!! Would I LIKE????? Who could turn down such a fantastic offer? Certainly not me! It also gave me the opportunity to stay a night or two at Francistown on my way north, with the friends at the school I had talked at last October. I had with me close on 20Kg of gifts for the school and this gave me the chance to deliver all these. A lot was make up which had been requested to facilitate the Plays to be put on at the school complete with make-up. My friend just could not believe how much stuff I managed to reveal from my suitcase. There were about 50 knitted hats (yes, the Motswana (the collective name for those born in Botswana) love woolly hats!!!) then dozens of pairs of knitting needles, and about 50 balls of assorted wools, tapestry kits, embroidery threads, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, plus a lot of other things. She said it was just like all her Christmases rolled into one.

I stayed two nights there, then in was time to set off on the more interesting part of the journey. I know that Vic drives this road very often, but to me it was just wonderful. The chance of seeing animals I don't get to see in Gretna is an ever present challenge. The rivers which had been dry water courses in October, were now proper rivers with water, the land, which had been arid and totally barren looking, now wore a mantle of green. Trees had their leaves and looked completely different. The whole land was transformed into the most beautiful, unrecognisable landscape. Of course it was still flat, but this time I did notice there are small valleys and rocky outcrops (all of which are actually sacred sites in Botswana {Something I learned from my Francistown Friends!} and no-one is encouraged to build on them.

Every hundred kilometers there are Vet or Foot and Mouth Fences. This usually entailed being stopped, asked to show my driving licence, and then driving the car through a disinfectant trough and getting out and putting my shoes through a small sort of tin-tray arrangement that was also filled with disinfectant. I had a laugh and a joke with each official on my way north - they seemed intrigued by this mad Englishwoman driving on her own off up to Kasane. They are used to local residents driving themselves alone, but not many female holidaymakers do the journey alone. I loved every inch of that journey, I can tell you. I know lots of people hate Baboons, but I enjoyed seeing these playing in the roadside grass.






Eventually I reached the top of the hill that leads down to the Zambezi, and the view is Zambia in the distance. Indeed, the Mobile phone coverage on this stretch of the road is from the mast in Zambia, so it is always good to reach this point having been without any sort of communication for the previous 200 Km. The figures on the road in the distance are Baboons once again. By the time I drew level with them though, they had taken cover in the long grass at the margins of the road.




I was nearly at my destination, and would be very happy to drive into Garden Lodge's car park and see it's little path to the door.


It was going to be wonderful to have the chance to stay with Gabi and Phil for more than a couple of nights, as I had done last time. Since it was now low season for them, they would have more time to show me many of the things that most tourists just don't get to see. I could hardly wait for the morning! First of all, though, there were the really warm welcomes, both from Gabi and Phil, but also from the staff who amazed me by remembering me from my visit in October.

Start planning again and a quick nip over to Germany!

I had arrived home happy to have met so many wonderful people, and to have had the chance to see a lot more of Botswana than I had ever imagined when I arrived there. I had christened Vic Mr Botswana, as it seemed that wherever we went, people knew him - and even more special, they all liked him. It had made my stay even more enjoyable to be with people who were there because they loved the country, not just as a place to work or just pass their time.

The view from just by the Border with South Africa lookinig into Botswana

My visit to Clifton School had opened my eyes to how difficult it must be for teachers who could not always buy the resources they need - even though, in their case, they had the money to purchase whatever they wanted, provided it was available. How much worse must it be for those children and schools who had very little money, and lived a long way from any towns were they could buy the things they needed.

World Book Day at Clifton School, where each child dressed in a character from a book. Teachers too!

I asked at my local Women's Rural Institute (the Scottish version of the Women's Institute) if anyone had any old make-up they would be willing to donate, plus any craft materials or pens and pencils. They had had a competition to knit babies hats and bonnets, and kindly offered them to me as well. I was inundated with the most generous gifts, and was able to start planning my next visit when I would be able to take all these to the children who would benefit most.

Soon I had booked my next trip - this time going in January and returning in March of 2006.

This is L to R Gernot, Terry, Benita and Vic standing on the Mkadgikadgi Pans

I had also had an invitation from the German couple I had met whilst staying at Kasane, to go and visit them, so the week after New Year saw me on a plane to Nuremburg, where they live.

As we were flying over Germany I was struck by how moonlit everywhere seemed to be. I could clearly see the fields and darker patches, which I took to be trees and forests. (I was on an evening flight and it had been dark leaving Manchester). As we came into land, I suddenly realised that the fields had not been moonlit It was snow. Everywhere. and lots of it. Why I had not thought about that defeated me, but I was completely taken by surprise. Gernot and Benita, my new friends, were at the airport to meet me, and in a very short space of time, we were back at their wonderful home about 10 Kilometres from the Airport. I was made wonderfully welcome, and we had a splendid supper, before tiredness overtook me, and I went to bed. Most of the snow had disappeared by morning, so we were able to start touring around. Southern Germany is very picturesque, with lots of very pretty villages and some very good eating places too.

The following day, they had both taken time off work to show me around their part of Germany. What beautiful scenery they drove me through - to visit the towns of Bamburgh, and Nuremburg, and to eat Sauerkraut as only the Germans can make it, and also to drink Gluewien from the specially deisgned 'boot' cups.

We had a wonderful 5 days, and amongst so many other things, they took me to a huge cinema complex (http://www.cinecitta.de/main.html) that had been developed by a friend of Gernots, in Nuremburg. We seemed to go down and down and down, and the screen was the size of the ones you see at Imax cinemas here. Apparently, when he first built the cinema, it was an 'ordinary' one, then he could not get planning consent to extend it in the conventional way, so he decided to build downwards. I cannot remember exactly how many cinemas were in the whole complex,but I seem to think it was about 18 screens, and it was huge and contained restaurants and other facilities as well. The web link is, naturally, in German, but you will soon see the scale of the place from the pictures. http://www.cinecitta.de/main.html
We also went to Rothenburg - all these beautiful very old towns were a joy to wander round.

All too soon it was time to leave, and get home to more packing, as I was due to leave for Botswana again 5 days later. This had been a fascinating interlude, as well as the chance to meet up with a couple who have become good friends from our meeting in The Garden Lodge, at Kasane. www.thegardenlodge.com
Gernot and Benita

Promise to return

It had been superb having the chance to see Jo'burg with Terry, especially as it is somewhere that I would not visit alone. I would feel very vulnerable, as there is a certain undercurrent of violence in that city. I have heard many horror stories about Jo'burg, but must make it clear that I personally felt safe and unthreatened, thanks to having a 6ft something ex-sailor beside me! In the shops people were so courteous and helpful - something that staff in shops here has long ago abandoned for the most part.

Returning to Vic's for the last couple of days before it was time to go home was lovely. The boys had decided to take me to the Mokolodi Game Reserve, which is just a short drive out of Gaborone. I was fascinated as we drove along, seeing the animals again beside the road. This time it was warthogs that all seem to be out for Sunday foraging sessions. We turned off the road near what appeared to be a forest of radio masts. I was soon put right on that score. As we drove along, there were the most magnificent thatched houses, and the masts were in fact lightening masts to protect those thatched roofs during tropical storms. The sheer ferocity of those storms is something I had never experienced, and indeed on that trip I had not been in one of those events.

The Acacia trees are everywhere - and their thorns are vicious. Anything up to five inches long. Seeing those for the first time made me realise what the Crown of Thorns would have actually been made of, since these tree grow in all the hot countries.

Soon we arrived at the entrance to the Game Reserve. Normally one has to stop and register at the gate house, but on this occasion, we had no time to drive round the reserve, but had gone just to have lunch. We had a lovely lunch, and a lot of laughs at the badly translated menu. After lunch we had a short walk to see two vultures which Terry and Vic had adopted, and which were kept in the 'nursing' enclosure as they were both unable to be set free due to having been found badly injured. There were very few animals in the 'hospital' wing, and a game drive round the reserve would have to wait until another visit.

This is a glorious tree that rejoices in the very apt name of a Flamboyant tree. There were very many, and some in Vics garden too, but this was the best example I saw.

We returned to Gaborone, and in what seemed a very short space of time but in fact was two days, it was time for me to say goodbye to my friends. They both took the time off work to take me to the airport (Terry had to drive some 50Kms to do this). Of course, they both teased me that it was to make sure that I did go home. Terry turned up with a carrier bag containing lots of lovely gifts for me, including some Botswana T Shirts, and a beautifully made Botswana grass basket. They are famous for their lovely baskets, and it holds pride of place in my home.

This garden fence is made entirely of Cable drum sides and was just up the road from Vic's house.

It was very hard to say goodbye, but I knew that now I had been there, I would return. Vic had been a wonderful host, and we had all got on like the proverbial house on fire. Their last words were to make me promise to return, which I did with enormous pleasure.

I could not resist the temptation to photograph this sign in the airport. What an apt name for goodbye! (well, I know it is Setswana for Departures, but to me it was very amusing).

As the plane was coming into Jo'burg airport, it was interesting to see this golf course from the air - especially since it was the only sight of any green I had seen since I left Kasane 2 weeks before.

I arrived back in Birmingham and my dear friends, Ena and Andrew were there to meet me. I had left my car at their house, so I could have a nights sleep before setting off on the drive back up to my own home. If I could sleep on a flight it would not be a problem to arrive back and get in my car and drive the 250 miles home, but travelling for 20+ hours without any sleep makes the drive home something that is not to be undertaken unless all else fails.



I arrived home the following day, and once I had had another good nights sleep in my own bed, I started to plan how I could gather all the things the school had asked for. And, of course, start planning my next visit.....