Khadoum National Park to Ngepi

After a reasonable but cold start, with wildebeest below us and an elephant in the distance, we went up to the office to register and climb the tall watch tower which provides great views over the plains. We decided to go and visit a supposedly nearby water hole that ended up being 15kms away through deep sand. Not an enjoyable experience. What made it worse was when we got there, there were no animals to be found as it had all been burnt out recently. There was however a very impressive secretary bird. 1/2 hour later we were back at camp, and heading out. The boys and I back on the roof as we drove back up the river plain. We decided to avoid the short cut which was supposed to be very sandy and drove the river beds which were really beautiful. At the end we came to the road out of the park, which we had been told was 40kms of heavy sand. They were right. It was horrible deep sand. 6 km's in, we came across the Belgians who were well and truly stuck. Luckily I had requested sand ladders with our car, so 1/2 hour later we managed to get the belgians out. They are travelling with a guide, who seems to have no clue about this type of driving. It took us 2 hours to then finish the rest of the road. There were a couple of villages we passed, and people walking. I don't know how they really get in and out, it looks like they must walk a lot of it. It was a real relief when we hit the main road and tarmac, the first time in a while. We stopped outside a village to reinflate the tyres and soon had the village people around us watching and chatting. It was an easy 90kms to our tree house on the Okavango River. It is like emerging into a different world, the countryside and people are all different, very reminiscent of Uganda. The petrol light came on after 10kms and with fingers crossed we rolled into the petrol station after 80ks. It was now mid afternoon, a lot later than we had intended to be there, but that always seems to be the case. The tree house we are staying in is better than expected. At the far end of the camp, with complete privacy, except for the boats passing next to us, it has 2 rooms and a bathroom opening onto the river. No doors or windows, just cane blinds as walls. The boys are in heaven. Within 10 minutes we found a baby crocodile underneath us, 2 otters and some hippo. It's very serene, and still. 2 hammocks are on the porch. We had a late lunch and hung around, before heading to dinner held in the heart of the camp overlooking the river. Hot solar powered showers were much appreciated. The place prides itself on being eco friendly. It really is a backpackers place, with the overland trucks going through but it's possible to avoid all that. The boys were a bit nervous sleeping with the blinds open with the hippos and crocs outside, but the beds were comfortable and we all slept well. still cold at night though!

Location:Ngepi