The past few days have been the completion of a loop of sorts, taking us to the far side of the ancient pans of our first days and then traversing them on a track marked by GPS points rather than road paint or signs. Once again, it was only us and a vast and empty landscape in every direction. Ancient silt, now a chalky powder covered our clothes and bodies and added a new layer of dust to every surface, bag, camera and book.
We took in our last African sunsets, found the southern cross in the night sky one last time and burned a last Mopane fire with full but heavy hearts. We watched a final bushveld sunrise this morning as we crossed the fabled Limpopo River. In crossing the Limpopo, we left Botswana and returned to South Africa, completing the circle our travels had created.
Shortly, we will unpack ourselves from and say goodbye to the Landrover which has been our transport and home for 3 weeks. I now know why these vehicles inspire such passion in their owners, it has seen us churning through thick sand, water logged marshes and impossible looking roads. Now we fly down a 4 lane highway with only the dust covering us to tell of the adventure we left behind.
Full circle, full hearts. We will be back for more.
We found our way to what was once an island in the middle of a long-gone lake. Even though the water dried up 1000s of years ago, the ancient shore line was rimmed with the round rocks and pebbles, as if at any moment a gentle wave might roll in and lap the shore. Like many a high place in a flat landscape, this island holds mystical importance to local people both ancient and current. Prayers for rain are still made here and 100s of cairns speak of initiation rituals long past. Baobab trees, with bark that seems to fall somewhere between skin and polished granite cover the island. Their roots snake in and out of the ground, their branches reaching out like the arms of a benevolent giant.
After hours of island magic, came the hard work of completing our journey, closing the circle and getting ourselves many hundreds of kilometers across 2 countries and to an airport in time for a series of international flights.
We took in our last African sunsets, found the southern cross in the night sky one last time and burned a last Mopane fire with full but heavy hearts. We watched a final bushveld sunrise this morning as we crossed the fabled Limpopo River. In crossing the Limpopo, we left Botswana and returned to South Africa, completing the circle our travels had created.
Shortly, we will unpack ourselves from and say goodbye to the Landrover which has been our transport and home for 3 weeks. I now know why these vehicles inspire such passion in their owners, it has seen us churning through thick sand, water logged marshes and impossible looking roads. Now we fly down a 4 lane highway with only the dust covering us to tell of the adventure we left behind.
Full circle, full hearts. We will be back for more.
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