07.30 It's full speed on the feathered wildlife outside house number 5 where we are staying. It is the last Saturday morning on African soil for a while. A week from now we should be back in Sweden if everything goes as planned. We remain, for now, at Okavango River Lodge, Matlapaneng, Botswana.

08.09 It is for sure a variety of bird calls here. It is common tweeting but also the dove that we think shouts "pole-vaulter", another that sounds "HOOO" and then a little drumming sound, I have named the bird "snorer". Now we need to figure out what we're having for breakfast. It would certainly be good if I remember what is offered here.

08.42 We have ordered breakfast. It will once again be English breakfast. Speaking of English things, a British lady just took the olympic bronze medal in the judo 78+ kg. Her name is K Bryant.

08.58 Now a Chinese woman, Tong Wen, also took bronze in the same weight class. Is it two bronze games in this genre?

09.14 There was no more Olympics-watching for us. Some South African guests would like to watch the pre-talk to the rugby final, Chiefs-Sharks. Another guest absolutely wanted to smoke. The joy though was the beige dog with pleading eyes and saliva floating, begging for food from our breakfast table. We checked about possible excursions tomorrow after we had paid for the breakfast. We are hooked on a canoe trip in the world's largest inland delta. Now we're back in the room/house making plans and strategies.

Peter in front of the bar/restaurant at Okavango River Lodge.

A dog is relaxing in the morning sun.

Peter is standing at the sandy entrance to Okavango River Lodge.

We are waiting for the public transport to Maun.

Christer in a dry and sunny environment.

Animals passing by, but no bus yet.

10.37 We opened our door and looked out. There, outside the house were two goats looking at us. Now we left our house and we're standing on the side of the road. A few cars pass, but also more goats. Tickets will be bought on the minibus we go with to Maun. We have also seen a donkey and a bird with long tail feathers and curved beak.

10.58 The minibus number 1, the one we're waiting for, has passed us on its way from Maun. Now it will to go to the end of line and come back. Will we be able to go with it as it returns?

11.09 Minibus with number 1 came back, flashed right, flashed left and drove past. It was fully loaded, damn minibus. Now our hope is the other one that just passed here on his way from Maun.

11.15 Gape 10 can be read on the yellow jersey that the bus conductor is wearing. We are finally in a minibus on the way to Maun. In fact when it came, another mini bus came right after.

12.13 We also read Kaizer Chiefs on the bus conductor´s football jersey. Now we have reached Maun and started to walk around to see what is available here. We have bought some postcards and soft drinks at a petrol station. Now we are sitting down and are thinking about our next move. We have seen a small hairdressing salon, a small simple shack with tin roofs along the sidewalk.

Cheap hairdresser in Maun.

Maun

A happy donkey in Maun.

People with more money than we have, see Africa from this kind of vehicle.

Peter is having lunch at Nando´s.

Some Swedish travelers drive all the way here.

13.10 The next move was to exchange more local money. We got new pulas and was offered free internet, great service here. I found nothing about a gold medal to Botswana in the Olympics but three Swedish silver medals so far. There had been a medal in eventing, some shooting discipline and the women's triathlon. Now we are waiting for our lunch here at Nando's, one of the few reasonable restaurants here in the center of Maun. There are more of them close to the airport but it is far away.

14.03 Lunch was as usual at Nando's, great. We finished it and went outside. In the parking lot outside of Nando’s stood a yellow car with Swedish license plates, SXK 871. On the car it was written, OnTheRoadAgain.se, Stockholm to Cape Town. Now we have walked out of the town, crossed a bridge and came to the entrance to the wildlife park we planned to visit. We will not get to see any herbivorous mammals today. The park is just as we feared yesterday closed. It is because of the flooding in the area. The water is still high here despite the dry season. It's really hot today.

15.37 We went to the supermarket Shoprite to do some grocery shopping. We bought sodas and some chewable stuff for the future, especially for tomorrow's day out. The journey home was supposed to be by minibus. It was, however, difficult to board one with everything purchased. We took a taxi instead. Here at home we have booked and paid for a trip tomorrow. Christer has received a text message from his dad. Abdullah from Sundsvall bought his old SEAT car. We found out that alcoholic beverages are sold in special shops here, just as we previously thought.

Some goats on their way to town.

Thamalakane River outside Maun.

Christer and some donkey friends.

As we feared. today's destination is closed.

16.36 We have ordered afternoon coffee here at Okavango River Lodge. The Olympics are showing the ladies double trap and things are looking good for two ladies from the Apennine peninsula. It's an Italian lady in the lead and a lady from San Marino who have a chance to win the bronze.

18.01 We managed to drink our coffee. We don’t know how things went for the shooting ladies. Another thing we know is when the bus from Maun departure on Monday. We got this valuable information from the man who works at the bar.

20.56 Today's dinner has been eaten. Once again, we are satisfied and happy. Now, we look at athletics from the London Olympics on TV here in the restaurant. Soon it's the final in long jump with the Swedish athlete Michel Tornéus. Now a Croatian woman threw a discus 68.11 meters. It is enough for the moment to lead the competition.

21.48 We returned to the room and now we have packed most of the things for tomorrow's adventures. We're going out on an early excursion. We will also switch home tomorrow. It is time to leave our house (chalet) for a more simple accommodation, a tent.

22.59 There were no less than three British athletics gold in the evening, the men's long jump and 10 000 meters and the women's heptathlon. Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran home the women's 100 meters gold and we have seen a large spider on the wall in here. It is, according to our guidebook, the small spiders that are dangerous so we take things easy. Tomorrow we will get up early. Imagine, we are on vacation and still get up at the time we do when we work.

Afternoon coffee at Okavango River Lodge.

We are watching the Olympic competitions in the restaurant.

Sunset over the Okavango.

A large spider came to visit us.

Mosquito nets are down, time for another night in Africa.

Sunday 5th of August

06.35 Outside the daylight is slowly returning and so are the birds. Today it will be an exciting day. We have booked an excursion. We will on top of that also have a new temporary home during the day.

07.05 Now it's time to go down to the restaurant to eat a hearty breakfast. I think I'll have the pancakes. I do know that I might/must have coffee.

07.21 There will be no pancakes and no coffee either. The key to the kitchen is unfortunately locked up in the office. The guy who has the key to the office is not here yet. At 08.00, we will confirm our trip, check in and begin the journey by boat from here. We want to have breakfast before that. How are we going to solve this?

07.39 Now we have definitely left the chalet number 5 behind us. The man with the key is here. Our backpacks are left in the office. It has been a choppy, less pleasant start of the day. I hope it will get better now. There seems to be this summer's curse, things get ever so complicated every time we want a quiet start and a hearty breakfast before a full day of adventures. First it was in Livingstone and Victoria Falls, then in Senga Bay and an early bus trip and now this and the day trip. I'm hoping for some peace and quiet now.

08.21 Our breakfast is finished. We just received the news that the first boat of the day is on its way here. Have they waited for us or what? We have filled in the responsibilities of liberty declarations for today's outing. In other words, we can be eaten by crocodiles or drown without anyone taking responsibility. The key to our house (No. 5) was on the bar counter as I left the papers. Has anyone already moved in?

The start of today´s big adventure.

The first leg of the trip is with a motorboat.

We are overtaken.

We have arrived to NG32, a wildlife area in the Okavango inland delta. Here our mokoro trip will start.

08.32 Now things happen fast. OK 2424 is written on our boat's license plate. It is a flat-bottomed almost rectangular vessel with an engine of 115 horsepower. On board this vessel are seven adults and two children. There are, beside us, French and Dutch tourists on board.

08.42 The boat slowed down and it was noticeably quiet on board as we slowly passed a half-sunken boat of the same type as the one we are travelling with. I wonder how long it has been here and what happened?

09.03 The boat has reached its goal and docked at the NG 32 jetty, in a wilderness area of about 1000 square kilometers here in the delta. The captain has jumped ashore and asked us passengers to remain until he has found the right person to take care of us here.

09.18 We and some other flock around a huge termite mound. We are all waiting to start our mokoro trips into the delta.

09.22 We have taken the opportunity to make a quick visit to a toilet. It's smart because we are about to sit in a mokoro for a few hours.

09.26 Forward, sits Christer, aft is our guide Steve and his pole. We ride in a mokoro. It is a long, narrow traditional canoe used here in the Okavango delta. Originally, it must be a hollowed tree trunk but I think our blue mokoro is a more modern material, fiberglass. There are more and more mokoros of such material to save nature's own materials.

09.42 Our mokoro glides ever so slowly through the reeds. Sometimes you see a white water lily. We hear birds and distant conversations. There are no thwarts in the boat we are sitting on legless plastic chairs. Now we meet a group of four mokoros.

10.01 There has been a short visit ashore. The sun shines on us, we are lucky to have clips and sun glasses with us. Now we are on the move again.

10.32 This is truly peaceful. It is almost silent. The only sounds are birds chirping or taking off from the reeds. We also hear a light splashing as the surface is broken by the hull and Steve’s poling. Unfortunately some sounds are from insects.

10.43 We have left the reeds and are for a while out on the open water. The wind blows nicely.

11.14 It isn’t just land ahoy but also land below us. We have stepped ashore and shall soon start a hike. It actually feels good. The legs are stiff and the bottom, well aches is just the beginning. During our walk we will look for wildlife. We landed on a large island here in the delta.

We leave for the day trip in a mokoro.

It is calm, quiet and peaceful, a wonderful nature experience.

A mokoro meeting.

A piece of open water for a while.

We pass lots of beautiful water lilies.

11.35 We hiked on the island whose name I do not know. It gets hotter and hotter and the sun bakes us. It's really lucky that we brought water bottles with us. We have seen a nest of an anteater and droppings from impalas. Moreover, we have seen tracks and droppings of elephants. Now that we are by a waterhole and can also see an elephant in the distance. It stands on the other side of a small lake. We had never been able to see it without Steve's trained eye.

11.54 Between the last water hole and the one we see now, we have seen tracks of a small cat. At this river we see a large flock of antelopes, red lechwe. We have also been joined by the other we travelled with this morning. They came with their guides. We seem to have drawn the winning ticket with the guide. Steve is incredibly talented and amazing at spotting animals. The others have some youths as guides.

12.57 The red lechwes we looked at suddenly got a jolt and ran away. It was an amazing experience to see and hear all the animals sprint through the water when they crossed the water hole. We also had time to see the big bunch of zebras and wildebeest before we started walking back. We got to see another elephant on the way back. Now it's actually nice to sit down in the mokoro again. Steve has promised to take us to a shady spot for lunch.

13.17 An occasional bird sound, no insects buzzing. We sit on a new small island, on an old tree and eat our packed lunch. Steve has gone off on a hike to talk to someone who struck his tent a few hundred yards away. He has visited us that we need to leave here by 14:00.

13.49 The lunch break is over. Now Steve pole us over the water and through the reeds. We have not seen any crocodiles or hippos, probably because there is plenty of water here right now.

Elephant droppings.

Using the camera's zoom functions, we could capture this elephant.

Steve is finding tracks from various animals.

Antilopes of the "red lechwe" type.

This African buffalo is not feeling well.

What would an African excursion be without striped horses.

14.13 Steve has now taken us through to an area where there usually are plenty of hippos. Not a hippo in sight. All we see are water lilies.

14.58 It feels like to go on a canal. We travel through an open area in the reed sea. Tomorrow there will be completely different views. We just heard the sound of a hippo. It almost sounded like a grunting pig. It is difficult to determine how far away they are. They are somewhere in the reeds.

15.39 So we were back on the mainland in NG32's boat jetty. It feels good to straighten our legs. We hear cowbells from the other side of the water. One of our French friends has walked into the nearby village. The rest of us are just waiting. You feel numb after a day sitting in a mokoro.

16.06 OK 2270 can be read on the boat that will take the same company back. The boat’s engine has, after some trouble, finally started.

16.09 OK, 2270 is not OK right now. We have driven towards land. Something is wrong with the boat. Now they seem to fill up with petrol. The passengers are joking about an overnight stay here.

16.13 Now we're back out on the wet and Christer and I just got a bottle. The skipper gave us a bottle of the South African beer Castle each. We got them secretly because it was just the two of us who would get them. It was included in the price when we booked our trip at our lodge.

Peter and a termite mound in the Okavango delta.

Christer together with today's means of transport.

We travel through a tunnel of reeds.

We are back at the place where the journey began.

17.24 We got, without further problems, back to our lodge. We went to the bar to get the facts about the new tent. At the bar we met a lady who greeted cheerfully at us. We thought it was nice with a guest who cares. Christer presented our case to the man behind the counter. Then the lady began to ask for my name and what room we had. Why did she want that? Well, she seems to be in charge here, anyway have some responsibility. It turned out that the guest in the house (chalet) 5 apparently somehow changed his mind. We had to get the backpacks from the office and are home in house five again. Here we have looked at today's pictures from the delta and drank the beer we got on the boat.

18.11 Let's go down and arrange a taxi for tomorrow morning. In addition, we will once and for all find out if we owe anything to the room or not.

18.28 Now all is set. I do not know if I am so very much wiser. They'll call us a taxi, so much I do get. The tricky part is the payment. I had earlier this year agreed that they could withdraw 780 pula from my account as payment for three nights. However, they drew only 470 pula. They do not draw the full amount if it could be a cancellation. What remained was to pay 3 nights a ' 200 pula plus 60 pula for bedding, a total of 660 pula. So, I just paid the remaining 190 pula. Sure, I should of course have checked how much had been withdrawn before.

19.45 Everything is ready about a taxi for tomorrow. It will be here at 7.30. Now we ordered dinner for tonight.

21.19 The last dinner here on the Okavango River Lodge is complete. After the meal we saw Usain Bolt slowly win the semi-final, but the most powerful of all was to hear all the night sounds outdoors. A concert of birds, insects, frogs, toads and ... yes what do I know? We were down by the water, listening to this wall of sound. It sounded like one million frogs out there.

23.05 It has been decided who is the fastest man in the 100 meters. The answer is Usain Bolt. He waited at first and then ended with a powerful finish. We will also end this amazing day.

I want food too!

Monday 6th of August

06.33 The last week of this trip has begun. Christer has just finished his first breakfast banana.

07.07 We sat and wondered while we packed. The Swedish birds which move to Africa during our winter, do they have other names there, or should I say here? Miscellaneous thoughts pop up in your head when you have a vacation and constantly meet with new impressions.

07.25 It's time for one final note here at the Okavango River Lodge. I am writing this on a mokoro which is turned upside down as a table. It is part of the restaurant's interior. We are waiting for the driver Alex and his taxi.

07.32 Alex showed up, the backpacks were loaded in, we sat down and Alex went into the lodge. This is where we are right now. Now he came back with information. OK, now we know. We are waiting for a third passenger. That guest had unfortunately not woken up yet.

08.04 No sooner had I finished writing when a Danish young woman came and sat in the back seat. She had brought a yellow Kånken backpack. I commented that she had a nice backpack. She thought that it was irony and criticism and replied briefly that she had her big backpack in the trunk. I explained that her Kånken was manufactured in my home area. Now the three of us and a lot of other passengers sit on the bus from Golden Bridge Express. There are many passengers which means Christer and I are sitting in separate parts of the bus.

08.34 All seats on the bus are taken and there are a lot of persons standing. A man in a yellow-green jacket with the text Traffic Inspector on, entered the bus as it started. He said something, laughed and walked off. Perhaps we were too many on board for him to motivate himself to check us out.

Landscape in northern Botswana.

09.51 We travel towards southwest. The landscape becomes drier and drier. The sand is spread out but still there are trees and houses. Kalahari is actually a lot of trees and shrubs. It does not look like a classic desert which lack vegetation.

11.11 A dark green sign welcomed us to the Ghanzi District. All passengers have been out and dipped the soles of their shoes in goo. It is another bacterial fight against foot-and-mouth disease. Another sign asks us to keep Ghanzi clean, you should not litter.

11.36 I read in the crime novel "Three Seconds" by Roslund and Hellström. Our journey will carry on for more than three seconds. It is about 90 kilometers to Ghanzi which is today's final destination.

12.21 The landscape remains dry. There is no sand in sight but light brown grass. Ghanzi is getting closer.

13.02 The number of passengers just got fewer. It felt good to arrive at Ghanzi, a small town in the middle of the Kalahari desert. From here is a road west into Namibia. At the bus station there was a begging boy and he uttered clicks. There was nothing wrong with him, the local languages here has those strange sounds. Now we have walked to our hotel. It was not hard to find, the town is really small. There is no check-in until 14.00. Our backpacks are resting at the reception. We sit in the hotel's fine restaurant and wait for Hawaii and Mexico.

This is our new home for one night.

Our small round house.

Another nice swimming pool, unused by us because of the winter season.

Kalahari Arms Hotel, Ghanzi.

14.34 It was filling with pizza, both the Hawaii as well as the Mexico variant. After lunch we checked in and now we stay in house 22 outside on a grassy area behind the hotel building. Here we have a bedroom each. Right now two cups of coffee wait for us. Christer has also phoned to Sweden and congratulated his sister on her birthday. We are staying at the Kalahari Arms Hotel (http://www.kalahariarmshotel.com).

14.57 The TV picture disappeared as we watched TV from the Olympics. It is a power failure. Our shower room is equipped with containers of shampoo and shower gel as well as hot and cold running water. Perfect!

15.25 We left our house, passed the goldfish pond here at the hotel and went out on streets of Ghanzi. Now let's take a look at the small town.

16.42 We were back in the room, in the house. We have managed to do some stuff. We have been at the post office. The cost for Christer stamps first was 3,20 pula. That was changed when the cashier was told the destinations of the postcards. For simplicity the cost was evened 10 pula. A stroll around in the town was also included, not so much to see, we bought miscellaneous items at SPAR supermarket and finally we paid a visit at the bottle shop which is next door to the hotel. There, we bought beers for tonight. The post office also had internet but unfortunately they had no connection today.

Ghanzi

A nice peaceful but a bit boring town in the desert.

Condom information in Ghanzi.

19.20 Not much has happened here since the last note. We have looked at the television, I've taken a nap and now we are looking at the semi-final in the Olympic football between Japan and France. There are ladies who play. Japan has one soccer shoe in the finals by a 2-0 lead. They've kicked the ball for 67 minutes.

19.56 We left the house to withdraw money. The reception was passed, we went out and were stopped. The gate was locked. We went back to reception and asked to be discharged. The man at the front desk looked puzzled, embarrassed. He recommended the main gate at the rear. We followed his advice and soon withdrew more pula. It was really cold outside; we were the only ones in shorts and the only ones without a jacket in the town. Now we are in the restaurant. The small tables here in the restaurant were packed so we were placed at one of the larger ones. A South African couple have sat down by our table and asked if it was OK. We had no problems with that and have now on the man's advice, chosen a rumpsteak each. He claimed that the meat is at its best here in Ghanzi. There are cattle and beef industry in the area.

21.43 I have rarely eaten that much meat. The four of us had an interesting conversation during the meal. We talked about our lives, traveling and more. They were very fascinated that we traveled around in Africa without our own vehicles. The woman wondered if we took turns driving. Driving what, we wondered? When we told her that we used African coaches and minibuses we got a reaction as if we said that we had been on the moon or ridden a lion. The South African couple lives in Kempton Park, the neighborhood by the airport in Johannesburg, an area we know well. Now we are at home watching the Olympics. It's time for the finals of the men's 400 meter hurdles.

22.44 Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic won the hurdles gold. When the hurdles had been removed, it was Kieran James from Grenada who was fastest in the 400 meters. In semifinal 2 in the womens football between Canada and the U.S., it is 3-3 after 90 minutes.

23.36 USA scored in the final seconds of additional time of the second quarter of extra time. A perfect cross was headed in behind Canada's goalkeeper. It will be the U.S. against Japan in the upcoming finals.

Peter just finished a giant rumpsteak.

Tuesday 7th of August

07.16 Two traveling men have started to get ready for one of the last trips of this tour.

08.15 We have been to the hotel restaurant here at Kalahari Arms to get something to eat. It was not the tastiest or most hearty breakfast. However, it has been breakfast and it's always something.

08.59 A brief and refreshing walk took us the short distance from the hotel to the bus station. There was a bus there called JNG EXPRESS and with the destination Gaborone. This is just what we wanted.

09.08 We stepped into the bus and it was really nice to come in. It is a strong wind outside and it's not that nice in a city full of sand. Moreover, it was pretty cold for us who are summer dressed.

A windy morning at Ghanzi bus station.

Being very early to the bus has its advantages (you get to choose seats) and disadvantages (long wait).

09.36 Slowly but surely our bus filled up with passengers. During our wait, we enjoyed African pop music at high volume here inside the bus.

09.59 We have started the 700 kilometer journey to Botswana's capital, Gaborone.

10.39 We have reached the place where you should turn right if you want to go to Namibia. I asked the bus host if they would stay. This is because there were some urgent needs for me, not that I would go to Namibia again. This also seems to apply a lot of other passengers. The journey continues as soon as we're done with this.

11.04 The bus and its passengers are still in exactly the same place. It's apparently something wrong with the bus. They have called for another bus.

11.19 Another bus came and stopped in front of our bus. We got out of the stationary bus and made us ready. Then as suddenly as it came the incoming bus left. Some of the other passengers made a fire by the roadside to keep them warm. We enjoy the warm sun instead.

Our bus did not get further than this today.

11.43 After another wait a smaller minivan came. We are standing, crammed into it. You read that right, we are standing. It's worse than cramped. Is this how we will travel all the way to Gaborone?

13.46 After two hours of standing, we got to step out at an Engen petrol station. Diesel costs 8,85 pula, around US$ 1.20, but I don’t know where we are. Along the way, we have seen several flocks of ostriches. Last year we saw hummingbirds, the smallest birds and now ostriches the largest. The last few hours have been one long wait for the passengers to get off so that we could get some seats.

14.04 The travellers got to visit the toilet and our bus host wanted me to take a photo of him. We would show it and tell everyone in Sweden the nice guy we met. The bus started again and I can finally sit down. Pretty soon, we turned back to the petrol station. The bus host jumped out and returned. Now we go on again.

14.12 Some passengers have stepped out. It is a change of vehicle for them. It is lucky for them and also lucky for us. We are in the town Kang.

15.35 The journey through the Kalahari Desert continues. The bus host laughs and there are dogs outside the bus. We have made a new stop.

Our bus host wanted us to take a photo of him.

A Botswana-cowboy was riding along the road.

16.06 "Bula di fenstere Go Fokotsa kanomo Ya Maogare Wa TB", open the windows to prevent TB, says a sticker on the bus. It's a short stop here in Jwaneng, capital of a diamond district. Left of today's trip is now only 157 km. One of our fellow passengers, a man from Japan, has sprinted into the bus station to buy some food.

16.14 An accident has occurred. Christer dropped his bottle of pineapple juice and in the attempt to save the contents he poured juice all over his shirt. It will probably be some laundry tonight and the longing to arrive got bigger.

17.48 Today's last rays of the sun stretches out over a beautiful, flat landscape. A small mountain range is rising above the flat here in southern Botswana.

19.33 The bus rolled into the bus station. We jumped out in the midst of the bus chaos and have in the dark tried to navigate us towards what we believe is the right direction. On the pavement there was a pool table. Next to it we boarded a waiting taxi and went with it to our hotel Brackendene Lodge (http://www.brackendenelodge.com/home.html) here in Gaborone. Here we checked into the room 9. Before we went up, we ordered dinner in the kitchen. They promised to call the room when it was ready. They just phoned to confirm the order, that they understood us right.

20.37 The dinner was ready at the appointed time and is now closed. Now we watch the Olympics on our TV. It feels really good to be here. Tomorrow we have a new capital to see and today´s journey was the last real test on this year's trip. By the way, Gaborone is known as "Gabs" here in Botswana.

Our room at Brackendene Lodge.

A late simple dinner at Brackendene Lodge, Gaborone.