On May 7 our first visitors from the U.S. arrived. Tom and Donna Billesbach, friends from Maryville, flew into Maun at 7 p.m. We stayed there overnight, then took them to Shakawe for the rest of the workweek.

On Saturday the 11th we crossed the border into Namibia and the Mahangu game reserve, where the Billesbachs were able to see examples of nearly every large animal except the big cats and rhino. From there we drove across the Caprivi Strip. We have written in earlier posts about driving in the Caprivi, a narrow piece of Namibia that runs from the far northeast corner of the border between Namibia and Botswana, bordered by parts of Angola and Zambia on the north, ending at the Zambezi River. From the Namibian town of Katima Mulilo travelers can re-enter Botswana to drive to the city of Kasane, or cross the river into Zambia. Because of political and military strife, until very recently driving across the Caprivi required a police escort, and police checkpoints still exist at each end of the Strip. It is by far the fastest route to Kasane, however, so we have made the trip three times, with plans to do so again at least once in the next two months. As is evident from the sign in the photo, most of the danger these days comes from wildlife that may be crossing the road.