A bump in the road, then smoothed over

We left Victoria Falls yesterday morning and crossed over to Kasane, but not without some dramatic moments. When we reached the Botswana border, we were told that we could not enter the country on a 90-day tourist visa because we had already used our days in 2010. This was different than what we had been told previously and we plunged back into an Immigration deja vu nightmare. We finally produced our expired residency permits and other assorted papers, then explaining that we needed time to sort it all out. She gave us ten days, which was not nearly long enough to do what we wanted to now in Chobe and later in Maun, and especially not when we need to tie up loose ends before leave the country in May.

A little shaken up, we decided to camp one night on the Chobe River and then leave in the morning, which would still give us eight days on the visa. It was a good decision. The campsite was one of the best we have ever been to; it’s attached to the schmancy Chobe Safari Lodge with full use of the facilities (pool, restaurant, bar, internet, lounge). We booked passage on the afternoon river cruise and it was an amazing spectacle of animal sightings so different from other safaris we’ve been on. We watched numerous elephants and hippos play in and out of the water along the lovely riverfront, and then watched the sun set. When we got back, we ordered burgers and chips from the restaurant, and it was the tastiest (if not priciest) hamburger since leaving the US.

We slept relatively well last night despite roaring lions, trumpeting elephants, grunting hippos, and sounds we could not make out surrounding the campsite. After packing up in the morning, we stopped off at the local Immigration office to see if they could extend our days (they couldn’t, but were incredibly friendly and helpful). Resigned to the fact that we had to leave, we filled up the petrol tank (back to cheap gas thanks to Botswana’s subsidy) and stocked up on groceries to head into the Caprivi Strip.

When we reached the Ngoma border post, the officer stamped our passports, and I threw out the question of extending our days. She said she couldn’t because we were leaving, but if we were to return, then she would give us the 90 day tourist visa. Ok! So we promptly crossed into Namibia, and then did a u-turn in order to return to Botswana later this morning. Thankfully, this is a four-corners of sorts where Zim, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana come together. Four hours and 130 kilometers later, we went back to the Safari Lodge and found an even better campsite. Then we crashed at the pool. We will be here for a few days. Chobe reportedly has the highest concentration of elephants anywhere in Africa and we are keen to see them. But the pool, river sunsets, and burgers are attractive reasons as well.