We managed to get out into the desert last weekend which, if you know us, is something we love. Gaborone is not a huge city, especially compared to other African cities like Nairobi and Lagos, but for Missoulians it’s big enough. I don’t think we realized how much we needed a break from the last month of preparation back home plus the travel, plus working on getting settled here. We decided on Saturday morning, with a new apartment that was basically upside down, piles and piles (I mean piles) of laundry, most of our stuff in luggage, and one week to go before classes started that our best bet was to go camping.
We headed out to Khutse Game Reserve, which lies to the south of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. We’ll post later about that trip, which ended up being pretty special for us – our campsites were technically in CKGR and our first night back there (August 5th) was exactly two years from the last night we spent there in 2015.
It is impossible not to think of the Kalahari in terms of broad, seemingly endless, vistas. But, as I’ve written about in the essay linked above, one of the things I love about deserts is that – if you pay attention – there is equal beauty and wonder in the details. I’m not a great landscape photographer and, frankly, every shot of the vastness of the landscape here always fails to do it justice in my eye (my sister would do much better on this photographic front). I love detail shots though. So, without further ado, here are some desert details from this past weekend.
This ground squirrel greeted us just beyond the gate. No lions for us. Just ground squirrels.
Dried flowers at our first campsite.
Any color stands out in this landscape.
I loved these pretty little leaves.
There is very little dusk here – catch it while you can.
Waterholes attract everyone.
Acacia trees, campsite two, mid-afternoon.
Venturesome Overland 
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