In 2011 friends of ours Derek and Anthea invited us to join them on a trip to Mabuasehube in Botswana. This was our first overland trip in many years and the first with a little kid as Ewan was 2 years old at the time.
Rebuilding My Defender 110
I bought my 1997 D110 in 2005 as part of a move down to the West Coast where I started a mountain bike touring business. I needed a bigger vehicle to carry guests and equipment. The 110 was perfect giving me access to many remote a difficult spots.
When not working as a tour vehicle it was kitted out as an overlander with the same camping setup that I used in my Defender 90.
By now this Defender was over 20 years old and in need of a refurb. I stripped and cleaned it, replacing broken bits, fixing the upholstery, repainting and sound proofing it. I finished it just in time for the trip to Mabuasehube.
The plan was to travel up to Springbokpan guest farm to meet Derek and Anthea. Then early the next morning we could cross the border at McCarthy’s Rest and head to Mabuasehube main gate.
We spent 6 nights in the park, camping at Mpaythutlwa pan and Mabuasehube Pan campsites. For the route home we took the Kokotsha cutline and re-entered South Africa at the Skilpadshek border post.
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Mabuasehube is part of the Kalagadi Transfrontier park in the southwestern part of Botswana. The park spans 2 countries and crosses into the northwestern part of South Africa. It is part of the Kalahari Desert and famous for its red sand due to a thin layer of red oxide coating the sand grains. Kgalagadi is derived from the local Tswana language and means “the great thirst”.
It’s a semi desert area with little rainfall and an arid savanna landscape that supports more animals than you would think. In summer it can be extremely hot, but winter nights can be freezing cold as we found out.
Mabuasehube Camping
The camping is very wild and remote here, which makes this such a special place. With no facilities and no fences, you are in the middle of the wild.
At our first campsite at Mpaythutlwa pan we didn’t have any major animal sightings but were constantly entertained by all the small creatures around the camp with ground hornbills yellow mongoose and Cape ground squirrels.
After a couple of days we moved onto the Mabuasehube pan campsite. This area is much more open with a great view over the pan.
You could just sit in the campsite and look out over the pan and be guaranteed of seeing something. This campsite is well known for some rather close Lion encounters so we were on our guard all the time. We could hear them but never saw them around camp. With all the game roaming around it was no surprise that this was prime Lion hunting grounds, something that we witnessed later on our way home.
Leopards and Lions
On the way back from a sunset game drive it had already got dark and we came across a leopard casually walking in the road. He was heading back in the direction of our camp. But he eventually turned off the road just before our campsite.
Our last night was freezing cold as a cold front moved through leaving ice on our windscreen the next morning. The sun soon thawed it out and we headed home only to find the best surprise of all.
Just outside the park we came across this pride of lions that had taken down what looked a gemsbok in the tall grass. They were still busy feeding when we found them. It was a real bonus and we spent quite a bit of time watching them. It was a fitting end to a uniquely wild Botswana experience that makes this country such a special destination.
You can watch the full video on our YouTube channel at The Overland Legend
