Beryl Morwesi Andersson and Melinda Victoria Elvenes ready to head downtown Maun. It is a modern Botswana scenario - both are born in Botswana and met in Oslo, Norway - where they work and study. What better way to visit home - two friends rediscovering their home. Friends and family on both sides were happy to meet them and enjoy their fine company.

David Young

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October Ending Wet

The rainy season has begun in Maun. While the Thamalakane River is dropping fast, it is still at record hights for the last 25 years. How much will local rains help in keeping the fiver full? The floods from Angola will not arrive here until June of next year.

The average rainfalls in Maun for the last 75 years, for the months of October, November and December are approximately 20-40 and 80 mm. We are off to a good start in October. With steady rain falling on the last day of the month, rainfall will be over 40mm. Pula!

Afro Trek Safaris is offering every Botswana citizen/resident an opportunity to visit the famous inland Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve and to experience a scenic flight over the Okavango Delta. This is an all in one package of two nighjts and three days. The activities commence from Sedia Riverside Hotel. Click/Link to Afro Trek Safari Tours for details.

While on a recent safari with AfroTrek Safaris, we came upon this young leopard. It was nicely hidden and we assumed waiting for its mother to show-up with some food. Our Safari Guide stopped because of noise that birds were making and we slowly came to realize the leopard was close at hand. We saw other leopards on the safari, but this one was the most relaxed.

Okavango Delta - Into the Bush      Part 1

Maun is in the north of Botswana and is the capital of Ngamiland. The last 500 kilometers of tarred road arrived in the early 1990s. It has a reputation of a frontier town and a growing list of colorful characters. Some of the old hunters are legends in their own time, although they are a dying breed of rugged individuals. They could take care of themselves and others in any situation. They were often isolated and operated in harsh environments that were hard on people and equipment. In the Maun safari industry some of the famous hunters I have met are Lionel Palmer, Dougie Wright, John Dugmore, Willy Phillips, and Harry Selby. These men are great story tellers and, in their day, were sought after by clients. For an in-depth sense of their life and times I recommend a book about Harry Selby called Horn of the Hunter by Robert Ruark. It is a classic, true African hunting story.

Charlie is a friend of mine. Several years ago, we shared a house. He is a hard-drinking, ebullient, funny man. An opportunity for a two-day trip into the bush with Charlie is not something to pass up. He wants to go toward Moremi Game Reserve for a couple of nights and invites me along. I accept. A trip with Charlie is well known in town as a guaranteed adventure. Maybe even better than Steinbeck's Travels with Charley.

We shop for supplies in the morning, fill up with diesel, have a quick lunch, and head toward Moremi. The trip in is surprisingly smooth. We have seen some game -- giraffes, kudu, and impala. Before we find our camp, I spot a brown hyena. It is lying up to the neck in water and mud. The hyena is waiting for some game to come down for a drink. It is disturbed enough by us that it gets up and slinks away. Supper is eaten and there is a full moon shining. After sharing some stories, Charlie goes to sleep on top of the Land Rover. I sit in front of the tent and have a nightcap.

We break camp at 8:30 and start following the watery perimeter of the delta south of Moremi. Charlie has this customized '68 Land Rover that he calls Sally. When the going gets rough or the sand gets soft, he gives her all the encouragement he can. We are moving through and over bush, like the elephants we encounter. Before lunch and some rough going, where we have to go back, around, and through some rough terrain, it happens.

Sally has almost gotten us out of the heavy going, when a slight miscalculation puts her down. We are out of the vehicle looking at the two wheels on the passenger side. They are in a water hole made by elephants, with the weight of Sally resting on her undercarriage. Charlie starts to swear, gets out the 30kg jack, and goes to work on the front wheel. I am watching out for lions and elephants, gathering branches to put under the tires.

Charlie becomes demon-like, and the air becomes purple. The jack is not in top mechanical shape. Twenty minutes of jacking the front end results in us getting the jack stuck in the mud. The two of us pulling, slipping, staggering, and cursing finally break the suction and get it free. Charlie turns to me and says, "Well, Dave, at least when we are doing this, we are not doing anything else."

We move to the rear wheels, which appear to have a more severe tilt than the front -- the other back tire isn't even touching the ground. I continue to collect wood, and Charlie continues to swear at the jack because it won't go up or down. Looking at the angle of Sally's resting spot and the amount of water and the sizes of the holes, I'm not too optimistic. I'm thinking we may be spending the night here, or longer.

Charlie's expansive Yorkshire vocabulary is down to three words. I've collected wood and am taking a smoke break. Charlie quiets when the jack starts working again. I jam some of the wood under the back wheel and it all but disappears into the mud. Then the jack starts to slip sideways. The next thing I see is Sally sliding uphill! Sally is tilting on a 30-degree angle, sliding uphill. Darnedest thing I'd seen in a long time. We get inside and drive away, amazed at our good fortune.

 

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A look at water flowing into the Hippo Pool, Maun, Botswana on July 9, 2009. Just after the video was shot we discovered that water was finally flowing into the 5th pipe. Along with catching some of the people fishing off the 'Old Bridge', we were fortunate to catch the inimitable John Allott doing his own research. Maun's most well known pilot is seen walking over the 1st pipe.

This is also the same day as the Boronyane River started to flow into the mighty Thamalakane River.

Breaking News:
July 9, 2009 - 9:30AM the Okavango Delta Flood found an old route to Maun. The Boronyane River, which last flowed in 1992, 1988 and 1974, passed under the Maun road to Moremi Game Reserve. By 12 noon it had pushed down and into to the Thamalakane River.

Houses on the Boronyane River malapo or floodplain are in danger of flooding. Notice the houses on the top right of the photo. Increased flow rates below the Hippo Pool will put added flood dangers for  Maun floodplains and futher down stream. Is the Sashe River far behind?

The Okavango River Lodge is becoming like a yacht club. With river levels not seem like this since the mid 1980's, the mighty Thamalakane River is filling up with power boats. The picture below was taken while flying over the Boro Junction on the 26th of June. The flooding of homes close to the river could well start in the next few weeks.The near side of the river is the flooded cricket pitch.

Business Transactions   June 2009 Newsletter Making Successful Business Transactions Receive the Greatest Lifetime Value Per Customer Email Marketing Campaigns Attracting new guests to your lodge/hotel or safari trips is a costly marketing activity. Get the most benefits out of your marketing dollars by making it easy and enjoyable for previous guests to stay in contact with you. Annually, or twice a year, send a professional newsletter about what is happening with your business and special event that are coming up soon.

Mining Guests Who Have Already Experienced Your Services Let your guests relive the best of their visits with you and encourage them to share that experience with like-minded friends. Make it easy for them to share with their family members, best friends and work associates. Give them the opportunity to stay in touch with your latest developments, current news and future plans. Stay In The Mind Of Your Guests Email Marketing allows you to send customized messages, photos and videos to specific segments of your market. It allows you to do split testing on a small portion of your list and send winning emails to the rest of your list. Email Marketing gives you detailed statistics and reporting - email open reports, link click tracking, email bounce and unsubscribe reporting. Stay in the top of mind of guests who have used your facilities and services. Give them the opportunity to expand your future sales growth. Stay in contact with guests who are happy to hear from you on a periodic basis.Give them a beautiful newsletter full of fond memories that reflects the quality of the visit/safari they have already experienced. Give your customers the links to visit your website so they can easily review all the choices that are available to them. Give them another reason to return. A warm invitation is hard to refuse. Make them an offer they can’t refuse. Help your customers to revisit and explore afresh. Memories are made of this! Email Newsletter Marketing - Key Points Quality Newsletter guaranteed - you approve all Newsletters Confidentiality guaranteed - your list will never be sold or shared All statistics and reports reviewed with you Attracting new customers can be up to 6 X's more expensive Returning Guests allow for increased cross-selling of related services Leverage what you have already done Mine a proven reserve Get the biggest share of your customers – over their lifetime Allow customers who like your services to increase your occupancy Encourage visitors to your website to request your newsletter Contact Business Transactions and find out how to use your customer database to increase sales to experienced customers and the important people they communicate with on a regular basis. Feed your customers passion for Africa to help them relive one of the greatest experiences of their lives, so that they will become part of your marketing strategy. Get started today. Article by David Young, Director, Business Transactions Copyright 2009, Business Transactions Newsletter Template by Interspire

Enjoy a boat trip on the expansive, beautiful Okavango Delta. View the highlights of a trip from Maun to Eagle Island.   .