Team Land Rover Botswana rumbles into the CKGR
Thalefang Charles | Friday September 8, 2017 16:19
There is a camel thorn tree just outside the Khutse Game Reserve gate popularly known as ‘Setlhare sa ga Ntuane’ (Botsalo Ntuane’s tree). It is an ungazetted camp spot that I heard was notorious for epic bush parties back in the days when Ntuane was still ‘eating life with a big spoon’. But like the Las Vegas code, the old pilgrims to the Ntuane’s Tree say, ‘what happened at Ntuane’s Tree stayed at Ntuane’s Tree’ and I did not succeed to get the stories of what really happened there. But this is not a story about Ntuane’s tree. It is about a noble travel expedition into the CKGR (passing by Ntuane’s Tree) to the two Basarwa settlements of Gugama and Mothomelo with Team Land Rover Botswana.
“Of all Land Rovers ever manufactured, 90% are still on the road. The other 10% made it home,” I never really understood this saying by Land Rover diehards (and haters) until I ventured on this trip with Landy devotees.
Almost all the Land Rovers were in their late teens. They were old beat-up machines that have thumped through the African offroads for years. The drivers were armed with spare parts, volumes of oil and an expedition mechanic, for new owners. Old owners are already mechanics because they say again (if I could write about Land Rover sayings this article would never end) “Land Rovers turn owners into mechanics”.
I got to realise that travelling with a Land Rover is like using an old ox-wagon car in many ways. I have not ridden on an ox-wagon but I have extensively read David Livingstone. The drive (especially in a Land Rover Defender) is rugged and violently shaky with sudden jerks like a beginner on a horse. The journey with an old Land Rover is not rushed. The adventure is in the actual travelling but not the destination – this is how I like my travels.
The trip was a noble cause aimed at giving back to communities inside the CKGR and spreading the elephant conservation message.
The group started with doing some work with the Elephant Art Project, an initiative of Kingsley Holgate Foundation, at Mmanoko Primary School outside Molepolole. The initiative helps to spread the anti-poaching message for elephants and even though only four students said they had seen a live elephant, they did call on poachers “to stop killing our elephants because white people come and pay to see our elephants”.
From Mmanoko the Landies convoy continued to Molepolole where the entourage stocked up supplies including fuel. We however did not leave Molepolele until sunset because one of the Land Rovers needed some quick fixing.
The convoy then tore through the night on the gravel road after Letlhakeng and arrived at Khutse Gate without any incident. We camped out by the gate because the Park officials were expecting us and I believe when they heard that a Land Rover team is coming, they probably knew we would arrive late on our own Land Rover time.
In the morning after additional members arrived, we held a quick photoshoot by Ntuane’s Tree before heading deep into the CKGR. I made a mental note to find out about the naming of this tree.
The track between the Khutse Gate and the first settlement of Gugama was good enough for all the vehicles, even the posh looking low suspension Discovery Sport. At Gugama the team presented clothes to the residents and shot off to Mothomelo.
But after the road between Gugama and Mothomelo was a mean, deep sandy track that proved too tough for the Discovery Sport – the locals had long ruled it out. We then decided to leave the vehicle at Gugama and continue with the rest of the Landies. On the tough sand to Mothomelo, the Landies began to tire and breakdown. The mechanics became busier as the drive grew long with constant stops for breakdowns. The situation got worse after sunset and the team had to split so that others could go ahead and set up camp.
The last Landy limped in at the campsite just before midnight after a long typical Land Rover drive. In the morning after breaking camp, (after a short sermon by Sharpe Kamutati) the team went to present more clothes to the Mothomelo residents before heading back to Gaborone.
Heading to the city was like the oxen heading home and not wanting to stop anywhere. There were few breakdowns but the last team members safely pulled in to the city at 10pm.
Back in the city and still curious about Ntuane’s Tree, I inquired from him why the tree was named after him. He says: “We were the first group to open up Khutse for bundu-bashing (outdoor camping) back in 2003/2004. That was our site for many years until we relocated some three years ago to a different site. How it came to be given that name is unclear.”