Victoria Falls, Zambia to Maun, Botswana

Victoria Falls, Zambia to Maun, Botswana – 680 kms in 5 days.

I am missing my two travel mates, Jessica and Lianne. They sent their bikes back to Lusaka, rode the lunch truck with us across the Botswana border, took the Chobe river cruise with the Tour riders, before bussing on to Gaborone to see Lani, a friend from UBC Okanagan.
On the river cruise we saw elephants, hippos, a lion, Marabou storks, fish eagles, hammerkops, crocodiles, monitor lizards, kudus and more.
As we broke camp leaving Kasani in northern Botswana, we were told that we may see game along the road.
As usual, at the start of each day, the riders and racers spread out quite quickly.
On this day as we rode, Carol and Andra found themselves surrounded by a large pack of wild dogs who seemed very interested in them. The dogs circled and bayed.
Fortunately for the riders, a car approached from the rear, saw their dilemma and rode behind them for about 10 minutes. The dogs finally broke off and left, disappointed that their morning ‘meal’ was denied!
Many of us saw giraffe on the road. Patrick and Wayne saw elephants.
As I rode, alone, I saw an oncoming car flashing his lights on and off as he passed. A few moments later a safari game-viewing vehicle stopped me to advise that I was to be cautious. There was a herd of Buffalo on the roadside ahead. With that warning, he sped on his merry way. As I crested a small hill, looking down, I saw a dozen Cape Buffalo grazing on the left side of the road. About twenty feet from the road, watching vigilantly over his herd, stood the alpha male, menacing and mean. I know that the buffalo and the hippo are amongst the most unpredictable and dangerous animals on the planet. My first instinct was to look for calves – there were none. Calves would make the herd hyper-vigilant and potentially more dangerous.
Some years ago, whilst camping at a Provincial Park in British Columbia, a game warden came to advise campers that grizzly bears were in the neighbourhood. We should stay in camp if possible. If we did leave, we were to go in groups. In the unlikely and unpleasant …sic… situation that we did encounter a bear, we should stand upright and face him directly. We should raise our arms to look greater than life, and we should scream loudly. That was one’s only line of defence.
As I cycled down towards the herd and the watchful bull, I realized that my ‘grizzly bear’ moment had come. I pedalled to get maximum speed. As I approached him, I stood up and faced sideways, waving wildly, and screaming ‘yeahhhhhhhhh’.
The bull looked up, saw this strange apparition waving and shouting from moving cycle. He hesitated, and then, along with his herd, he bolted into the bush. If it hadn’t happened this way, I would not be posting this blog today!!
Reaching Maun on the edge of the Okavango delta, who of all people were there to meet me? Jessica and Lianne. They had borrowed Lani’s 4x4 and had come to join the Tour on our day off. We plan to take the flight over the delta today. Did you know that the Okavango and the Jordan are the only rivers in the world that do not enter an ocean? The Jordan with scant flow drains to the heavily salinated Dead Sea. The Okavango drains to the delta, the largest wetland in the world. The fact that it is not a saltpan is a testimony to the wonders of wetland regeneration of nature.
I’ve been riding now for 17 days, and my legs seem to get more painful and stiffer each day. The night’s rest before each ride doesn’t seem to allow me to fully recover. Apparently, this is what other riders felt early on when leaving Cairo. So……. I’ll just keep on pedalling, and maybe I’ll break through soon.