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Boundless 21

Boundless 21

Date: 2018-04-06

We're still transfrontiereeng across Mama Africa, she's as beautiful as ever, we're out of Caprivi and back into beautiful Botswana, more wild dogs at Savuti as we head for the River Khwai, the road's flooded, difficult going, abnormally high water, deep river crossings - we camp on the riverbank next to the soccer field that's once again been prepared by volunteers.

Next day it all happens. Speeches in the 'Kgotla', the chief's meeting place, Khwai River water is added to the symbolic calabash, this time by two lovely traditional Basarwa San ladies. On to Xakanaxa in Moremi Game Reserve - more flooded river crossings, elephants galore, a great leopard sighting. Ross' voice over the radio: "Another leopard across the mopani pole bridge under the sausage tree."

A hardwood fire at night, the unfenced sounds of the wild, the roar of a lion, red-billed francolins heralding the dawn, the cackle of a hyena, the cry of a jackal, and the true Transfrontier travellers, the ever present elephant who need no boundaries - some 250,000 of these silent giants that wander across the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Park.

Time marches on. We add Okavango Delta water to the calabash and water from Tamelekane in Maun where we have a wonderful community day at the Botswana Wildlife Training College - Maun is a great place to re-supply. We head out for the 52,800 sq/km Central KalahariGame Reserve, bigger than Swaziland and Lesotho combined. It's a paradise.

After so many bustling and frenetic community days, the feeling of solitude and tranquillity is unbelievable, the Kalahari, largest mantle of vegetated sand in the world, is endless. The Kalahari lions are magnificent. Park Manager, Dimikatso Ntshebe, writes these words in the Boundless Scroll:

You know Kingsley, we shouldn't view nature as an adversary to conquer and destroy, but rather a storeroom of infinite knowledge and experience linking man to the past, present and the future - Just as your team cross national boundaries, so may conservation areas also cross boundaries - Nature knows no limits.'