Another trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana. It’s a repeat of what we did last week. Except there are 82 of us which means a much longer queue at the border. The Swiss try and do a bit of queue jumping on account that they’re Swiss and contribute a lot of money to Botswana. So they delight in telling us. They melt away from the main queue to enter the immigration building by another door to supposedly bypass us plebs. Soon snigger when they’re ushered out by officials and told to queue with the rest of us. Who have now shifted up to form an orderly queue. Swiss try and integrate themselves back into the queue by shoving into the front. Canadians get shirty. There’s a certain amount of tutting and standing ground to prevent Swiss from getting in first. This soon becomes a theme.
Same old boat trip as last week.
Again see elephants crossing the river at pretty much the same point as before. Still an impressive sight.
Passports and money collected at lunch so one of the guides can exit Botswana and obtain Zimbabwean visas whilst we all trundle off for an afternoon game drive. Seems highly sensible as processing 80 visas at the end of the day will take hours. Technically in Botswana without passport now.
Same old game drive as last week. Herd of elephants walk parallel to the jeep for a few hundred metres only about 20-30m away. Incredible to be so close.
Return to the border and passports complete with Zimbabwe visas returned so we can exit Botswana. No need to queue for Zimbabwean immigration now as we’re all stamped and good to go. Apart from the Swiss. Who though not needing a visa do need to be stamped in. They have to queue whilst we drive back to the train. It’s not going well for the Swiss today.
It’s rapidly becoming clear that there are, quite frankly, a number of mentally unstable women on this trip. Wonder what sort of “community” they all come from. Later learn it’s a gated community and not sure if that’s to keep people out or to keep them in?!
The power cuts continue on the train. 80 odd people turning up at once switching on AC, having showers and putting lights on overloads the system. You could probably hear the moaning from them back in Toronto. The normal Canadians tell me it’s embarrassing to be Canadian with this lot.
