Rose and I are just back from a two-week road trip through central and northern Botswana – a very worthwhile journey.

We travelled in a 10-vehicle convoy with Bhejane Tours, so it’s glamping, where you provide your vehicle and bedding and they provide everything else: tents, food, planning, bookings etc. With their experience, you get to see the parts that you are unlikely to visit on your own.

Starting from the Makgadigadi Pan, we drove on sand roads to Kubu Island, a rocky and baobab-covered outcrop in the middle of the enormous salt pan, then on to Maun and north past the swamps to the panhandle of the Okavango delta. After exploring the river on mokoros and riverboats, we headed into Namibia for a few days of birding in the Bwabwata reserve.

We finished off our trip in Zim at Victoria Falls and lunch at the Vic Falls Hotel, which surely has to be one of the great hotels of the world. Built in 1904, it was originally conceived as accommodation for workers on the Cape to Cairo railway, then converted into today’s hotel. Beautifully kept, with attentive staff and the best of everything. About 10 years ago we enjoyed New Year’s Eve there, dancing in the grand ballroom with a huge crowd of locals to a 12-piece band. It was great fun.

Back then the town was a little shabby and the beggars were overwhelming. That has changed. There is obviously more money and a lot of tourists from all over the world. Good for them.

Visitors got a bonus this year – the falls in full flood is a memorable spectacle with the water thundering and the spray is like standing in a carwash.

The round trip was 5 000km and it is worth noting that while there were long stretches of good road, there were a few hundred kms where the roads were so bad that you were forced to drive alongside the tar, not on it, because the road had been demolished by heavy trucks and the rains. Every second vehicle up there is a Land Cruiser for good reason.

We returned home to whale season and the Mkhwanazi saga, which has all the markings of being a watershed moment in SA politics. It may not amount to an Arab Spring, but the knives are out. Even Cyril has been shaken from slumber to make a few decisions.

Better news is the firing of the KwaDukuza mayor. Good riddance. We can only wish that his replacement will be an improvement. The last 30 years have witnessed a long line of indifferent operators. The fact is, the Dolphin Coast is the fastest growing region in SA, bar none. Purely because of a: the sea, beaches and environment; b: the airport and c: the input of free market investors. It deserves better local government. It deserves more attention from province and national for the simple reason that this is the cash cow of the future.

Botswana shows us that Africa can produce competent administrators. I don’t doubt they have their problems, but the towns and villages look orderly and clean, no litter, currency is strong, traffic is well behaved, police are active and visible – not First World but pretty good, as least on the surface. On the other hand, frankly, KwaDukuza town is a dump. Problems with power and water, swamped in litter, corruption – not a pretty sight.

This is my challenge to the new mayor: instil some pride in the area, starting in the town of KwaDukuza. Cut the grass, fine litterers, clean the streets, get the lights back on. Make a difference, for goodness sake!

Stay in the loop with The North Coast Courier on Facebook, X, Instagram & YouTube for the latest news.

Mobile users can join our WhatsApp Broadcast Service here, or if you’re on desktop, scan the QR code below.