Overlanding BOTSWANA | Okavango Delta & the Moremi Game Reserve | Adventure In the Wet season | Ep1

we are back in Botswana an amazing Place stay tuned as I take you on this series into the okavango Delta the naopan area and then onwards to a place I've never been the Thule block I'm really excited to bring you this Adventures so stay tuned and enjoy as Ed and I get out there and experience the wild that is Botswana it's so good to be back in Botswana I tell you and I say it and I say it and I say it you cross that Limpopo and you're in a different place foreign s with woken up this morning nice and fresh the sun is rising behind us we've got quite a big day today we've got to go through tonight and then on to mount and we're going to pick up a couple of Odds inside some things that we either missed or we need to get sorted like the park fees and um yeah man I'm just so happy to be here what a privilege [Music] thank you foreign good to be traveling with you mate Ed this is gonna be something Epic Man Epic welcome to cinema we've just come off of the cut line foreign traveling in the month of Feb in 2022 with my good mate Ed we head for the Garden of Eden in Botswana that is the moremi game reserve having been warned about heavy thunderstorms bring we head for Woodlands Lodge and Bush campsites we then travel to Nato bird sanctuary with the hopes of being able to get to mount a goal is to make it to third bridge in the morami a place I've heard so much about and always wanted to explore enjoy the moremi magic and the adventure [Music] foreign [Music] this trip would be one that has stretched over 18 days as we Adventure new and old places during the rainy season and cover a total distance of 3245 kilometers after leaving Johannesburg at 3am we arrive at Woodlands just after 2 pm in the afternoon A Long Day's drive but there is something very special about crossing the South African Budapest and heading out on an adventure to a place that is simply spectacular [Music] foreign [Music] stopover and Lodge drove through yesterday easy Drive got you around one two o'clock and spent the day just chilling we had quite a few things to do because we left in a rush so we had to do all the camera gear and charge and what's nice is they have electricity points here so we charge everything up got the fridges down to temperature and woke up early this morning made a coffee now we're heading to my own [Music] give me [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] we've been driving two hours and yeah just taking it easy we're on the way from Woodlands Bush campsite to NATA we want to try and put into the Nita bird sanctuary we've heard that there's water out on the pans and when that happens the bird life on the makarikhari pens just transforms so looking forward to trying to find some flamingos hopefully they're fairly close and then we push on through to mount right so we've made it to the United bird sanctuary I've never been and I always think it's quite exciting to see what the maharihari pants look like with water on and just the kind of bird species that it attracts and with all the rains that we've had and Botswana has had a lot of rain so is South Africa you know what that does is literally transform the Salt Flats into a lake and I believe it's quite special it seems like we are we've got a drive to it a little bit further out always fantastic to be on the maharikhari pants Botswana looks absolutely amazing I mean it's so green it's just different man and there's a funny smell in the air you know once you've been here you I think you'll know what I'm talking about the spirit of it and uh you know the sights The Sounds the smells yes your body comes alive and uh yeah just really enjoying it good to be traveling yeah let's get there not a bird sanctuary is a 230 square kilometer Reserve in the maharihari Salt Flats area a mere 20 kilometers from the town of NATA this Reserve was formed in 1992 with the goal of preserving both wildlife and huge number of bird species and the large Flamingo colonies that migrate to this area to breed in the rainy season the this place is truly something special when in flood and a once in a lifetime opportunity for Eden myself to witness with the Salt Flats full of water a moment we will never forget this is amazing absolutely amazing water on the pants spoon bill I think I just saw a um Flamingo we've got Bluefield our best skies are clear wow the contrasts are just amazing you enjoying this head loving it man let's head to the viewing deck I can see it there okay lucky let's do it so we've just driven through the maharihari pan Salt Flats and we were directed to go left we went straight and we drove literally right through the pans and we're now here at the viewing deck it is a viewing deck and have a look at this [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] amazing absolutely amazing we've seen the pans before with a bit of water on and no water but never flooded like this it's just absolutely unbelievable it is an absolute scorcher of a day the cloud buildup is looking really impressive we've just come and visited the deck at the NATA bird sanctuary I highly recommend it it is absolutely fantastic especially when the rains have fallen the month now is February so botswana's had a lot of rain so has South Africa and yeah just what a privilege what a privilege to be in a place like this and enjoy what can only be described as pure beauty it's a very special place we've got a whole lot of pelicans that are on the water and the flamingos a little bit further out but the serenity of it is just yeah something special hey [Music] me please [Applause] [Music] [Music] went through some water and there was quite a deep hole and it almost seems as the the um it's it's throwing the fridge a little bit loose because it was quite a bad hole and it looks like the tire has slipped off the bead but on the inside so I just chatted to Ed now and the suggestion is to maybe try and Pump It Up over Pump It Up and see if we can get it to slip back on the bead [Music] otherwise we just change it light is not too far from here worst case scenario will just need to pop in and see someone and try and get it sorted out there or in man I think we've got to start making way though to get to Mount because we're running a bit behind time [Music] it's really awesome and these things happen um is the fact that I can now gain access look the vehicle is quite jacked up now and as a result it's swayed more this way the nice thing is this RSI SMART Train canopy is just a method or the equipment that they've put here in order to hold the spare tire let's get this thing off foreign [Music] where are you I just think I've ripped my shorts bro I think I just split my shorts okay tires are not light man that's heavy eh what would you reckon it 65 kilos including near 165 kilos [Applause] foreign [Music] house the first time we have ever had not one but two tires go flat on us as a result of slipping the wheels off of the tire bead a hot day and time delayed we head for Planet bareback for an unplanned stop some 80 kilometers from NATA be wary that when this area floods some of the toll roads get washed away but truly adds to the overall driver's experience [Music] we're at the pink art Fork and we're gonna stand knighted planet planet bareback which is actually quite liquor I mean if you think about it this is a trip that's unplanned and we're just going with the flow so quite lacquer and um yeah it's very hot hey 42 degrees Celsius very very hot [Music] [Music] so what happened today well we got stuck at night to Bird Sanctuary of all places look I think the puddle we went through was a bit underestimated if I'm honest and yeah we had to replace a tire because it slipped off the inner thread or beading and sand got in so the sand essentially just didn't allow the tire to close up properly we try to pump it up and then yeah we we replace that tire which if I tell you guys at um I think it was 11 o'clock in the morning I think it was 38 degrees Celsius and so it was very hot and it was a big job we carried on tonight and then old Ed he realized that his tire had done exactly the same thing although his tire leak was a little bit slower so we spoke to the guys at the Shell garage station they're pinpointed that guy who could help us out with the tires it took half an hour maybe um wanted to charge us an absolute Fortune so we negotiated with him and although it is priced a bit to something a little bit more fair yo what a day hey but like a little spot it's not bad eh yeah nice campsite got power as soon as we can yeah cheers we've got a bit of work to do tonight all the footage I didn't expect to shoot that much yeah but we can set up here yeah we turn it into the office yeah I mean we've got power there that's quite nice Planet well done on the power yeah and we're very keen to go and test out the swimming pool I've pumped it up quite big because I've been here before so you came to get the old socks and feet wet eh yeah it's hot hey 40 degrees 42 so yeah it's always good to uh actually get quite luxury I mean the woodlands yesterday was luxury this is what's nice about this is actually the price I'm very what was it 110 puller that's very fair and I mean the campsites are clean got a nice they do have bright grids but you've got a nice bright pit um enough space for what you'd say it three vehicles at this one East yeah what are we at campsite three three I think yeah I think there's four sites we either number two yeah and we had number three so I think there's four sites here on this side so yeah so guys we're gonna head to the pool we're heading to the pool and enjoy your beverage cheers foreign [Music] thank you you know um and one of the Beauties to doing what we do is just the moments we experience you know like waking up and seeing a sunrise or witnessing a really great sunset look at the Moon behind me up here so the sunrise was very spectacular I just missed it um but I was up though I sat in the tent for a little bit and speaking of the tent I'm just really really enjoying it this desert Cruiser tent from wildlands sold by Jackal field equipment in Cape Town is the larger of the two and I tell you it's just phenomenal if anything the mattress might be a little bit thin for some but for me it's fine and the setup time and tear down time are just absolute game changers it makes so much sense but today we head to mount and we've got to pay for all our Park fees and tourist levies and then we push through to Southgate I'm really looking forward to it and we're hoping that the road conditions are decent but with a bit of water or better mud it might make for a really nice Adventure and um yeah I think time to get the day started [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] five kilometers from Guetta stick to designated speed limits and enjoy your drive easy going as we arrive mid-morning in Mountain [Music] we begin to feel the lure of the okavango Delta maun is a mere 99 kilometers from the muremi and as per the norm we are getting excited to get there what are we here for to pick up some Maya little connector for the light for the 12 volt light broke so we're gonna see if we can get one of those and then also a red Anderson or Brad Harrison plug for Ryan to connect the solar panel and stuff [Music] welcome [Music] thank you so much I really appreciate it [Music] I don't think there will be anyone at third Bridge or pan or whatever but you never quite know so I'm sure it'll be fine hello how are you yeah thank you so much that's where we're going campsite number eight third Bridge which is the next night it'll be amazing we just stopped in at the for my group and booked all of our bookings we got all the campsites we wanted it's obviously very quiet but what a fantastic group of people helped us we've been here for about 10 minutes friendly their campsite's always amazing we are now at the wildlife department and we are going to pay for our tourist levies and call levies uh to gain entry into the muremi national park so far been all good [Music] we are just filling up at the Shell on the way out of Mount and um yeah so lucky to pop into to my I think it's a much better option for booking literally as you come into man opposite Woolworths their little shop is there and it just seemed a very smooth process to book so I'd advise that I'm so lucky to meet Rachel and the ladies there who've obviously helped with our bookings but yeah filling up with fuel and then moremi how are you please can I um have 700 Pula diesels [Music] Okay so we've just stopped off at our usual spot to pick up some wood support the locals always lekka and then we head to Southgate moremi [Music] okay so just picked up the wood and now I'm jumping into an air-conditioned car as well as lacquer and the only stop we have left to do is when we deflate our tires 100 percent deflate your tires especially if you're alerted and it's just as a rule of thumb I would suggest you deflate your tires I'm at 2.9 in the back and 2.6 in the front so I'll probably go to two point four in the back and two bar in the front we've just gone off the tar Road and we're now on the dirt road and you know it's badly corrugated very dry and it's time to deflate those tires because it's quite heavy and quite High tire pressures don't make for comfortable driving [Music] you excited oh man laughs excitement is mediocre this is not mediocre man can't express the spirit it's next level I don't know if it's the air or I don't know what it is but man it's just I'm shaking I'm so excited man but we need to deflate these tires because it's very hard and it's very hot are you excited dude always hey okay it's it's very hot so um in conditions like this when it is this hot you need something that will get the job done quickly with this Indie flight unit I'll tell you it just doesn't get any quicker let's get these tires lowered to the right tire pressures [Music] [Applause] thank you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] thank you very much concert yeah absolutely thank you thank you [Applause] [Music] thank you well that was absolutely fantastic man there's a Japanese grader and he's filling in the water holes and this it was a proper water all that I think if there was no exit route which is what egg took um yeah yeah that that could be a big challenge yeah a very very big challenge I'll see I'll see he's gone along the Route here and he's filled in a lot of the water holes which I suppose is quite lucky man Big Ups to you thank you [Music] we've still got 27 kilometers to go Aura Bedrock I mean I'm not good at I'm not good at a joke it's quite a bit of corrugation but all of that goes out the window when you see your first elephant and the bush just looks amazing absolutely amazing [Music] so so happy man [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign I'm just cutting up some onions and I'm just keeping it simple tonight I'm just going to do a cheese and onion and Bora voice rolls with a bit of Sriracha hot sauce on the top simple but I tell you what we are at Southgate moremi and the Pearl spotted us can you hear that Paul spotted ass magic absolutely magic fantastic it's being attacked by some horse and we're just enjoying we're absolutely enjoying I was in two minds there's one option to cook directly on the front runner bra grid but I thought I'm doing onions thought I'd put a little bit of butter just to soften the pan and the pan we're going to be using is a smart space cookware look I really like this cookware just because it's non-stick so it's easy to clean the nice thing with it is it's Compact and it's got a detachable handle and the pot set has three pots in one and they inset in on each other which is brilliant explain to the viewers how green you look bro you look like that chicken last night I mean you must check you bruh you know what's mad my man we just had a moth landing on my onions bro and I don't I don't dig moths and landing on my food and last night I lost my chicken my chicken was a fruit so it gave me gears the whole day about my chicken so I gotta get this one lion right now I mean that's quite close bro that's what I'm saying what's it a lion my man we need to look bro did you hear that thing no did you not hear it that's fine it's two case my man are you mad bro all right this thing's getting heavy bro foreign [Music] an amazing dinner on the cards Millis or corn and lions nearby and I got lamb chops and boerewors Ryan's got boerbo's rolls doesn't get much better [Music] Okay so we've obviously stopped at Southgate last night it's very good to see that it's under a state of repair we stayed in campsite number seven which is underneath probably one of the largest acacia trees I've ever slept under but it was a great night we got visited by hyenas and strangely enough when it and I went for a shower in that 15 to 20 minutes that we were away hyenas came into camp I mean we didn't see them around and they didn't they didn't seem to make too much noise either and um always liked to catch up with it hey sure he's done some serious Adventures go and have a look at his channel uh to find out what I mean that's series of his was amazing absolutely amazing we are here now we are driving on our way third Bridge it's a 48 kilometer drive to third Bridge and we are driving in Bush that's so thick and so green and so Lush and alive it's fantastic [Music] thank you he has a great little bit of information that no one's really talking about is when you do go through water what tends to happen is when you get out the other side your brakes feel very hard now from what I think it is and I might be wrong here and please correct me if I am but what happens is your drum breaks especially if you're driving a 4x4 double cab bakkie and you you have two front disc brakes in the front and two drum brakes in the back what happened I think what happens is your drum brakes fill up with water water gets on the inside so when you touch the brakes on the other side of a water crossing they're very hard what I found that works is you gotta drive and then put your brakes on for as long as you can and press down as hard and as slow as you can that way your your drum brakes push the water out you do that three or four times and yeah you you should have an easier braking experience we are here at first bridge and we just saw that it's got a load rating of five tons and it's just a little bit nervous that his Land Cruiser and trailer are a little bit heavier than that so there's a exit route that it looks like we can do it's not too deep and the water is nice and clear and if anything it'll give the good underbellies a good cleaning it says and he's it's just walked it he says it seems solid underfoot with a couple of soft patches here there and we haven't seen any recent spur that's driven through it so he's Keen to give it a go I reckon he's a little bit nervous and so you should be when around water be nervous but to me it looks visibly under knee height so I I think he should be good right now [Applause] I have to do this water crossing but we're just worried about the weights [Music] see how it goes a bit nervous because I saw foreign [Music] don't do that just gonna have a first Bridge we were worried about the weights of first Bridge it doesn't look like it's in good Nick it actually needs to be I think renovated or updated or something but yeah um glad we just did that but very nervous so sure I think any deeper than that another problem foreign [Applause] wow wow wow wow so I cannot begin to tell you how this trip has turned out it's a 48 kilometer drive from Southgate to third bridge and I tell you it's taken us a good part of the morning it's now quarter past two in the afternoon look we've never been rushing or racing yeah man absolutely look at that look at that moment wow this place is absolutely stunning and the rain has built up these clouds storm clouds built up within 10 minutes and it is heading straight for us yeah it's also telling me to go right here but I don't see any fresh spot how's the sport in front of you yeah so there's nothing here but I mean where did everyone else go isn't it [Music] all right yep all right hundred percent and uh the storm is is coming it's heading for us which will be actually very very welcome it has been an absolutely scorcher of a day I think we're a high 40 42 43 thereabouts and we've just had an absolutely fantastic fantastic Adventure foreign okay so just to make things even more interesting the rain has started to fall and I think you're going to get hit by a very very big storm and we're driving some thick sand now which has already made it quite interesting and it's yeah the rain is going to start falling now I've closed up all the windows and we're just taking it nice and slow but this is absolutely Magic Man what an adventure what an adventure [Music] we made it to third Bridge it took us about four and a half hours maybe five and we drove all conditions the rain came down and as soon as it came down 15 minutes late and it was over but a welcome relief with all these clubs Ed what did you think of the trip I've done that drive before but last time it was a bit rushed so today we took our time some really awesome water Crossings especially on this last piece because seems like all the bridges are pretty much down so you have to go on these detours through the water so we're not the greatest fans of water Crossings but nice to get the undercarriages clean after all the mud and we made it through no problem but just great to be a third Bridge there's only one other group camping here and yeah the the rain and everything was unbelievable the skies are just incredible and we've got a Saint Louis which is a Botswana beer which is one of the best beers I've ever had and yeah looking forward to just chilling for the rest of the afternoon setting up the camp [Music] thank you foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you third bridge is located on the western side of the moremi game reserve it shares its boundaries with the monachira river and as a result has the infamous third bridge that connects this area with that of the kaganaga campsites however at the time of recording this episode third Bridge has been washed away and was in the process of being built the third Bridge area is a wild wild area and as such should be treated with this as fact only visit the bathrooms with your vehicles and at no point should you wander away from your campsites in the early hours of the mornings or evenings lions leopards and hyenas use the campsite roads as theirs during all hours of the day and as such I caution everyone to be extremely cautious even when in Camp hippos and elephants use campsites for shade as access points to the river and for feeding it is a magic and will fulfill your adventurous Wild Spirit as we are busy driving a road that says track flooded seasonal and um yeah just driving around on some drier pots and it's just absolutely golden it looks amazing this morning everything is nice and clear and um just enjoying last night we had sounds of hyena not too far from the campsite look guys driving in the moremi you know during the rainy season the game viewing is amazing I mean we've we've got lechware um you know all the birds wow I mean the bird life is fantastic the night sounds are amazing we haven't seen any other Predators we haven't seen any hyena but what you lack in seeing that the scenery is just wow breathtaking absolutely breathtaking but yeah got my cup of coffee and let's enjoy the game Drive check this out [Music] [Applause] [Music] all right foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] hello [Music] [Music] [Music] guys again foreign I tell you I think Ed counted 42 degrees Celsius but I tell you I think it felt like 600. it was so hot today um but what an absolutely fantastic day really awesome uh the sun is beginning to set now so it's beginning to get a bit cooler a lot of humidity and um yeah just getting the campsite sorted out fire lit Franklin going off in the background what more could you ask for just a fantastic day we did a game drive this morning and uh saw a lot of Planes game ostrich and lettry always nice to see and yeah I think now time for a well-deserved cold beverage and we relax and enjoy the evening underneath this massive sausage tree and um get ready for a game draft tomorrow I think we're going to have an early one and looking forward to what we see should be a cracker foreign I've had a bit of an electrical meltdown if I'm honest what ended up happening was the original fridge cable that's plugged in and I don't know what plug it is but it basically screws in and tapets itself with two pins that melted and fried so the fridge just wasn't coping under load and it's been very very hot so what I ended up doing and Ed came up with the suggestion is plug in your Vectron 500 watt inverter and do a direct connection between the fridge and the inverter which I did so I've been running like that now for about two days and subsequently what's happened and after last night I think I went right down on my battery I didn't check this morning and we obviously did the game drive this morning my recharge value is at 48 which is not great if I'm honest with you so I know that that's not going to run all night but here's the thing so we've got these lithium triple five units from flexo power and I tell you that's at 98 charge I haven't really been using it so I thought well let me just plug the ARB fridge in conserve the lithium battery in the back of the colloid and it's working awesome to have a solve and a solve for the solve in case the solve doesn't work I don't know if you can hear this but we literally got into the tents about 10 minutes ago and it's been a bit of a crazy night to be honest I'm lying in the tent now and it sounds like two leopards are either fighting or going at it very very unusual quite scary to be honest um but yeah I'm very tired catch you in the morning how are you doing I'm very tired is it I don't know if you heard what was going on here last night my man there's a male and female leopard wood serious and I prom I promise you I'm not joking mommy I've got it on audio bro there were I think they were I think they were getting together and they were going off over there but like proper and they moved through this campsite I thought I was under attack but then they went into campsite seven and you know those owners that we saw last night let me tell you what brother went to the edge and they were fighting the whole time like so yeah well I didn't get much sleep there I'll put the torch out to see if I could see them I couldn't see them but yes I could hear them I had a lot of noise [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] [Applause] [Music] Ryan yo this is your first major trip with the smart cap are you enjoying it absolutely and what a major trip it's been eh really loving it it's just efficient for me man you've seen how quick I can go up and how quick I can go down with regards to setup and tear down there's a couple of little things that I need to sort out but man I really love it Dave I think it's I think it's awesome I think for over Landing it suits me just right maybe a suspension upgrade though because yeah you know there's a bit of weight on top now with this desert Cruiser rtt clamp so I think a bit of a suspension upgrade and I should be mushy [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] we've been with these four lioness now for about an hour the sun is beginning to dip below the horizon line and we're going to make a plan to get back to the camp what an absolutely fantastic special day they're not more than 10 meters from me it's just yeah and so accepting but I tell you what they're big eh very very big and they're very very full I reckon they're gonna have a good night hunting and I'm sure and hoping fingers crossed we see them tomorrow morning that would make it truly special always sad to leave the muremi magic because that's what it is moremi Magic for sure in Botswana month of February very very thick bush but the lions are always on the road epic absolutely Epic see you tomorrow foreign [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] good morning I'm a bit of a restless night last night got both vehicles here we're on our way out of third Bridge we're gonna go to Southgate then moan and then on to our pants where we'll be staying at South camp tonight for three nights and then Banes so this should be exciting um there's no water here at third Bridge as of last night so yeah a bit of a problem we couldn't have our morning shower and like I said a bit of a rough night we had hippo walking literally 10 meters from campsite which kept us up we had elephants moving in the back we had hyenas pull through Camp all of which we never really got to see but we could hear them we were just so shattered it was an absolutely hectic day nice night around the fire as always but today the adventure begins behind me we've got a buildup of massive storms which hopefully makes for a great adventure trip it's already been an amazing trip thus far I mean what more could you ask for right so yeah just happy to be doing it and uh looking forward to getting to Mound I can call my wife and see how the kids are doing I miss them very much at this stage of any trip day seven day eight it's what happens hey good job let's get to Mound [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] thank you foreign foreign thank you foreign Game Reserve in high spreads and begin the long trip to napan South camp where we would be spending the next three nights the muremi is one of those places that we always talk about coming to it just is as wild a place as you can get and with that we look forward to the next part of this adventure [Music] hope you enjoyed the show leave a comment and smash that like button I'm Ryan Crocker and this is 4x4 Ventures till the next one stay safe keep trucking and I'll see you out there coming up in the next episode [Music] we head for the ngarapan area where we get greeted the right way [Music] [Music] foreign we have Lions close to camp [Music] literally you can cook an egg on the bonnet and we're down at the pan there's an incredible Sunset happening there and we experience the golden sunsets on the maharikari pads we then make our way to botswana's best kept secret the Thule Wilderness Area will we meet up with some great mates and share an unexpected wild adventure [Music] a big thank you to the patches that are active and support the 4x4 Ventures Channel the show supported by Indie flight and Lacy

Channel: 4x4ventures

Views: 94,744

Keywords: botswana, okavangodelta, overlanding, overlandingbotswana, botswanaadventure, moremigamereserve, moremiadventure, campingmoremi, okavangodeltasafari, overlandingoffroad, 4x4offroad, adventuredrivingbotswana, botswanasafari, moremisafari, thirdbridgemoremi, wildbotswana, overlandinglife, wildlifedocumentary, traveldocumentary, botswanatravel, travelbotswana, selfdrivebotswana, botswanaoffroad, 4x4ventures, 4x4venturessouthafrica, adventuretravelbotswana, adventure, offroadadventures, botswanaadventures, wildaadventures

Id: cZeTh0XywCE

Length: 71min 7sec (4267 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 12 2023