Border-less Wildlife

On the little stretch of Caprivi, where the colonial politics of the
past have arbitrarily divided the land into Namibia, Botswana, Zambia,
and Angola, wildlife knows no borders. The river here serves as the
divide, and its name changes every hundred miles or so. Birds here are
as colorful as I’ve ever seen. Carmine bee-eaters sunbathe on low
branches, and I photograph them in all their... [Read more]

Caprivi People

Namibia differs from Botswana like day from night, except for
Namibia’s Caprivi Strip. On a map, it looks like the neck of a guitar,
and stretches for over three hundred kilometers west to east, although
it’s only thirty to seventy kilometers wide. Along its seldom used
roads are scattered tiny mud-huts and skinny livestock. Most of the
structures are round, with a frame of thick... [Read more]

Budget Botswana

Given the cost of reaching Botswana’s tourist attractions, I’ve been
watching my budget closer than usual, though I still didn’t think it
would have come to dumpster-diving. Well, I was wrong – I did end up
at the city dump. Contemplating alternative access options to the next
and last of Botswana’s overpriced national parks, I and my teammates
were driving through... [Read more]

Back to the Kalahari Desert

I’m back to the Kalahari Desert, now in Botswana, trying to remind
myself that my feelings about authoritarian governments and regimes
are not to be confused with my feelings about Africa. Travel is harder
here. The National parks are expensive to access, and bush-camping is
dangerous – too many elephants walking around. I try not to get too
annoyed with the armed men who stop the car... [Read more]

The Great Kalahari Desert

I’d walk the Kalahari Desert if they’d let me. Herds of springbok would race by, pronking in the insane and magnificent way they do, showing me how strong and healthy they are so I wouldn’t even attempt to catch and eat them. Oryx would watch me carefully, then run off, and turn back to see what I’m up to again and again. Hartebeest and wilderbeest would lie on the blonde grass in the shade of trees,... [Read more]

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