Botswanna Safari

The Swahili word Safari translates to journey so technically I have been on safari ever since leaving Stockholm almost 9 months ago. In the English sense of the word though I havent really done much safariing apart from one day on bicycle in Kenya but that was all to change once I had joined Radovan and his boys.
To begin with I had just planned on getting a lift across the border but when we reached our first restpoint in Kasane I realised sleeping in the backseat of a landrover wasn't too bad. So the following morning I tagged along with them to Chobe National Park in hope of spotting some wildlife. We saw hundreds of elephants, giraffes, hippos and loads of other animals you would expect in Africa, but my lifelong dryspell with wild big cats continued as we failed to see any. We bushcamped that night and at dawn I got up to sort my morning duties out, a while later the boys got up and asked me if the lions roaring had woken me as well, luckily I hadn't heard them as I am pretty sure I would have literally shat my pants, then we found their footprints and they had passed less than a meter from the car, close but no cigar allthough on this occasion I think I preffered not seeing them. Our next destination was Khama Rhino Sanctuary where we spent a full day looking for the large mammal and finally got to see a few of them before the sun had gone down. Then we drove to Central Kalahari Game Reserve where we would spend the next five days.
The Kalahari Desert covers 85% of Botswana's landmass and the name of their currency is Pula which means rain and used to be the most valuable resourse in the country... before they discovered diamonds and gold. The wildlife spotting was sparse in the arid landscape apart from the occasional group of springbok or gemsbok, but we had a good time celebrating a traditional Swedish midsummer complete with foolish dancing, boiled potatoes with different types of canned fish and meatballs made from corned beef. Then one morning when we least expected it we came face to face with a pride of five lions attacking a honey badger. Needless to say the legendary badger with a fierce reputation came out of the scuffle unharmed and if anything the lions should be happy to still be around. It was impressive to finally encounter these giant cats at such close range and made the days spent staring at dry grass and shrubs completly worth it. After this we left the desert and drove to the town of Maun where four filthy, dusty and sweaty guys could finally take a much needed shower. Now I can't wait to crawl into a warm and soft bed after nine nights spent sleeping in the backseat of Radovan.