Disaster and Gweta rest camp
Tuesday 7th September, 2004Mechanical failure!
Both of our hire 4x4's had started to act up. Our white Toyota would no longer start without a push start. No major problem, unless we stopped or stalled in thick sand, then we would never have the muscle power to get it started. Of course we could tow it out with the other 4x4, but it had begun to develop a terrible noise in the front right wheel, and didn't sound like it would be long before it seized.
After a discussion around the fire over dinner, we decided to change our itinerary. We'd head for Gweta today, spend the night at the Gweta Rest Camp and then early the next morning head for Maun, on the edge of the Okavango Delta, but big enough to have a Toyota repair shop.
The roads to Gweta were unreal. Hundreds of crisscrossing faint tracks that ran to every point of the compass. So we followed a basic heading NNW and hoped we'd find Gweta. After 40 or so miles, these tracks began to consolidate into the semblance of a dirt road, leaving us with the feeling that we might be heading in the right direction.
Roger spotted a spec circling up high, that might have been a vulture, but on closer inspection appeared to be a Tawny Eagle. This inset of a Tawny Eagle I took a lot later on in the trip at Moremi, but I think it was the same species, so included it here.
Digital photography has rekindled my passion in wildlife photography, and the freedom from having to carry dozens of spools and then develop them is wonderful. The 4000 pictures I took this trip would have needed well over 100 films, but this all comes at a price. The price of power. My Canon EOS 10D needs a battery change after 300 photographs (or less when I use fill-in flash). Then add previewing of shots on the camera and the battery really is the limiting factor. On top of that, the off-camera flash needs AA-cells and then the laptop (essential for storing, editing and presenting the photos) is a real power hog. So the most critical addition to my toolkit was a power-splitter that allowed all the battery chargers to be plugged into the cigarette lighter simultaneously. All the kits on the dashboard are evidence of our travel priority .... this is recharging time, not just travel time!
We reached Gweta in record time, notwithstanding the screaming wheel-bearings and meandering roads, AND we managed to find a place to phone the Toyota repair shop in Maun to book the vehicles in the next morning early! But somehow or other we were unable to convince the girls that they really should buy their co(s)metics here too.
Now we could revel in the well earned rest and wash after 4 days of dust and dirt at the Gweta Rest Camp. Sheer luxury, except "er ... We are sorry Sir, but the town's water has been off since this morning, and will be off until late tonight." No problem, they had a swimming pool and a Bar with chilled drinks ..... we survived very well thank you.
We were the only patrons of the Rest Camp it seemed, and we decided to spoil ourselves with a 'Restaurant' cooked meal that evening, which took just over 2 hours from ordering to serving, but was rather good. The steaks were possibly not cow (but we weren't asking what they were) and the sadza or stiff maize porridge that is served a bit like mashed potatoes was excellent.
And so, off to bed under mosquito nets (without tears or holes) in preparation for a very early start. We needed to have the cars at the Toyota garage in Maun by 8:30am (170Km away).
[Complete Safari and wildlife photo index]
Both of our hire 4x4's had started to act up. Our white Toyota would no longer start without a push start. No major problem, unless we stopped or stalled in thick sand, then we would never have the muscle power to get it started. Of course we could tow it out with the other 4x4, but it had begun to develop a terrible noise in the front right wheel, and didn't sound like it would be long before it seized.
After a discussion around the fire over dinner, we decided to change our itinerary. We'd head for Gweta today, spend the night at the Gweta Rest Camp and then early the next morning head for Maun, on the edge of the Okavango Delta, but big enough to have a Toyota repair shop.
The roads to Gweta were unreal. Hundreds of crisscrossing faint tracks that ran to every point of the compass. So we followed a basic heading NNW and hoped we'd find Gweta. After 40 or so miles, these tracks began to consolidate into the semblance of a dirt road, leaving us with the feeling that we might be heading in the right direction.
Roger spotted a spec circling up high, that might have been a vulture, but on closer inspection appeared to be a Tawny Eagle. This inset of a Tawny Eagle I took a lot later on in the trip at Moremi, but I think it was the same species, so included it here.
Digital photography has rekindled my passion in wildlife photography, and the freedom from having to carry dozens of spools and then develop them is wonderful. The 4000 pictures I took this trip would have needed well over 100 films, but this all comes at a price. The price of power. My Canon EOS 10D needs a battery change after 300 photographs (or less when I use fill-in flash). Then add previewing of shots on the camera and the battery really is the limiting factor. On top of that, the off-camera flash needs AA-cells and then the laptop (essential for storing, editing and presenting the photos) is a real power hog. So the most critical addition to my toolkit was a power-splitter that allowed all the battery chargers to be plugged into the cigarette lighter simultaneously. All the kits on the dashboard are evidence of our travel priority .... this is recharging time, not just travel time!
We reached Gweta in record time, notwithstanding the screaming wheel-bearings and meandering roads, AND we managed to find a place to phone the Toyota repair shop in Maun to book the vehicles in the next morning early! But somehow or other we were unable to convince the girls that they really should buy their co(s)metics here too.
Now we could revel in the well earned rest and wash after 4 days of dust and dirt at the Gweta Rest Camp. Sheer luxury, except "er ... We are sorry Sir, but the town's water has been off since this morning, and will be off until late tonight." No problem, they had a swimming pool and a Bar with chilled drinks ..... we survived very well thank you.
We were the only patrons of the Rest Camp it seemed, and we decided to spoil ourselves with a 'Restaurant' cooked meal that evening, which took just over 2 hours from ordering to serving, but was rather good. The steaks were possibly not cow (but we weren't asking what they were) and the sadza or stiff maize porridge that is served a bit like mashed potatoes was excellent.
And so, off to bed under mosquito nets (without tears or holes) in preparation for a very early start. We needed to have the cars at the Toyota garage in Maun by 8:30am (170Km away).
[Complete Safari and wildlife photo index]
