The name Caprivi Strip is referred to a strip of land in Namibia that extends towards Botswana. It is mostly a junction area, swarming with villages and people who seem to spend part of their lives on the side of the road. Our route was from Etosha Park in Namibia, heading towards Botswana.
The first interesting site right after you enter Botswana is the Tsodilo Hills – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is the only upland area of the Botswana desert plain. The highest mountain, called “Male” hill, rises 400 meters above the immense space on the Northwestern border of the Kalahari region. There is also the “Female” and the “Child” hill, plus a fourth one which has not received any name yet. In this magical place, more than 4,000 rock paintings have been discovered; they represent the ancient San, who is considered by locals “the place of creation”. After paying only a few dollars fee, an expert guide will accompany you to discover this enchanting place. There are several routes to choose from, ours was the Rhino Trail. I still remember that, to follow our roadmap, we had told our guide (a boy of just over 16 yo) that we would have to make a quicker tour than expected. Said that, with his laceless Adidas shoes, he started climbing the rocks at the speed of light.
That’s where the competitive spirit of Alessandro came up: he, just to keep up with the boy and not be humiliated for being slower, risked breaking his leg. Then, after hearing my advice – “If you break a bone now, forget the rest of the trip” – he decided to abandon his personal competition (defeated).
Important advice when driving in Africa, try to avoid travel when after sunset: bad road conditions, lack of lighting and the presence of animals, makes it very risky (or extremely slow). We reached the Tsodillo Hills campsite 2 hours after dark and just finding a road sign was really challenging!
