THE ENDLESS HORIZON

Wide, open spaces. Dark, humid jungles. Throngs of game. These are all things we immediately associate with Africa. Pop culture has imprinted a vision of this continent on our minds, but if, like me, you’re lucky enough to live in this remarkable place, you’ll know that there’s a whole lot more to it than that.

So diverse is this region, that the Kalahari description doesn’t even cover one type of habitat. If I discovered anything during my exploration of Botswana’s heartland, it’s that I should never again assume anything of Africa. The ‘Dark Continent’, as it was once ignorantly known, will take what you think you know - and invert it entirely. And, if you’re not careful, it’ll devour you, too.

The long haul

While we are incredibly privileged to have wildest Africa on our doorstep, let’s not fool ourselves. That long trek to our ever-so-slightly northern neighbours is a pain in the behind. Behind the wheel of a superbly kitted-out Ford Ranger overlander from Avis Safari Rentals, we set off from OR Tambo International lacking supplies, and very nearly lacking border papers, too.

Having corrected that mistake, it was time to stock up at the local mall, being mindful that fresh produce and meat would need to be obtained across the border. As fate would have it, that pit stop gave me the potentially life-saving opportunity to notice the Ranger’s severely-deflated tyres. I assume that some foreign first-timer had miraculously driven the 3+ tonne behemoth hundreds of kilometres on 1.5 bar, but I wasn’t about to take the same risk.

Lesson One: check your rental vehicle before you leave the depot.

The rendezvous point for the start of our journey