Early start (racing the gate to exit our friends)  we head to Livingston. A smooth (by Zambian standards) 6 hours later we arrive in Livingston. The only hiccup on the way was a speeding fine in which husband had to sign an admission of guilt form, as neither him or the police actually knew the speed he was doing.  Livingston was very very very wet. The boys didn’t care and enjoyed messing around in the pool.

After a compulsory visit to the falls which are pretty much dry this time of year we spent a soggy night listening to hippos before another early start.

Straight into Botswana. Well I say straight…  There was of course the normal border crossing shenanigans, and a ferry trip over the mighty Zambezi.

As we drive south into Botswana center it finally stops raining. Our first dry day in a while. A dutiful police officer pulls us over and spot checks all our lights are working, we passed the test and were allowed on our way (luckily we fixed the light I smashed reversing before we left).

We made camp at elephants Sands, an enjoyable lodge situated next to a waterhole in the heart of elephant country.  The place definitely lived up to its name. Setting up our tent in the sand with a view of the waterhole we enjoyed a night watching elephants coming and going.

After a slightly nervous night, the tent felt a very flimsy structure to sleep in with so many elephants trampsing around, we took down the tent in yet more rain.  “Mummy why is it raining in the desert?”

Heading further south, the furthest we have been on this continent we push on to the south African border.

Having a delightful lunch in Francistown town we set of to find our campsite a bit late. It also turns out to be a lot further than I thought.  The roads are good in Botswana but the speed limit is up and down as the roads go right through the town centers.

With about 30mins of day light we hunt for the turn off described on the campsites website.  On the third time of passing we find the sand track required. The last 24k on the track took forever. The road was flooded in multiple places and just to add to the fun it started raining again. With the sun setting, the fear that we would be sleeping in the car really set in. But thankfully 5 mins later we find the campsite.

Sheltered under massive trees we set up our tent with a view of the river. The grounds man built us a much appreciated fire. Thankful we had a safe spot to sleep we enjoyed a family hot chocolate around the fire.

Tomorrow we would head into South Africa. Having become close friends with so many south African we were excited to see their home country.