By that evening I was already seated waiting to embark on the marathon journey from Gaborone to Maun. By midnight when I woke up, we had already joined the A35 road and the engine of the big Scania machine was roaring with great determination to get us to our destination, which excited me. In the morning, we arrived safely in Maun, and a friend picked me up to go take a nap and refresh before I could link up with the other team flying in from Gaborone.
Since we were going for a camping trip in the outskirts where there was no network, shops or any form of developments, we had our lunch at a restaurant. We also had an opportunity to buy all the necessities we would need before left to go and vanish into the bush. We jumped into a Toyota Land Cruiser, then stopped at Gumare to pick up one of the journalists who was joining us for a media engagement about the Gcwihaba caves.
Our driver and guide for the period, Vasco, proved very knowledgeable and throughout the journey had answers on any question we had about the area.
According to UNESCO, the Gcwihaba Caves have been part of the Kalahari landscape for at least the entire Pleistocene epoch, some two million years ago. The caves have a diversity of formations found within the six cave systems which display a manifestation of exceptional natural beauty.
“The caves are unique in a sense that they occur in a desert environment and contain a detailed record of the evolution of the Kalahari Environment,” UNESCO says.
Located in the northwest corner of Botswana, the Gcwihaba caves lies in a range of six hills. The long Mongongo trees, which can be easily spotted above these hills, makes the area more attractive and eye-catching for tourists together with the scenery of the Mongongo Pan.
The heavens were visibly heavy with rain clouds as we got off the tarmac road for an off-road experience that took us through long, muddy puddles and the bumpy westward stretch to the Gcwihaba caves.
Even though the ladies in our group were worried about the weather ahead, I was excited because that was the kind of adventure I signed up for. The terrain is suitable for specialty off-road vehicles and anything smaller could not last a mile.
We drove off-road for about 100km before we could start the adventure I was looking forward to. Arriving at a village called Qangwa, we were told that we still had some way to go before the caves.
Despite the delays in getting to the actual site, my mood remained perked up by the driving skills Vasco displayed as he maneuvered through the sand and muddy turf. We later reached the last village, Xaxa, before beginning the final 36 kilometers to the caves. Though the drive was exciting, my body was battered and in pains from the bumps and dips on the punishing terrain.
The road conditions and vegetation changed and we drove at high speed on a sandy and narrow strip to avoid being stuck. The fear crept in as we went deeper and deeper into the bush. I found myself wondering there were wild animals like elephants in the area, whether poachers were hiding in the bushes? Vasco’s tried assure us, but on some occasions one could see elephants in the distance. He also conceded that there poachers were possibly in the area and said problems would only occur if we encountered them. In that case, the poachers would likely shoot at us. I said a little prayer and thankfully we did not chance upon them.
At last, we reached our destination where a small team led by Botswana National Museum Senior Archaeologist, Philip Segadika, was waiting patiently for us. They immediately whisked us to the place where we would sleep for the few days that we were there.
I was a bit disappointed to find out that we were not actually camping as expected, but rather had been given accommodation in some Village Development Committee houses. However the camping feeling was almost there as we slept well in a cool and refreshing shelter.
I was thankful that we slept well in a quiet place free from the city sounds. The breath of fresh air was really out of this world. We woke up to the melodious songs of different species of birds, something I really needed.
We later enjoyed the fresh breeze when having breakfast before driving to the museum personnel accommodation site where an introduction was held about the caves. French geo-archaeologist Professor Laurent Bruxelles and Segadika briefed on the natural marvel that is the caves and we then proceeded to them to see for ourselves.
A team of guides lead by Marenga, Foster and Jomo welcomed us and gave safety tips, what we were expected to do and not do in the caves. What scared most of us was when they revealed that there is a leopard that stays in the cave. With a nervous voice I asked how many they were and where they were at that particular time. The team assured me that only one lives inside the caves and it had left earlier in the morning to hunt. Apparently porcupine live in the cave and this attracts the leopards. We descended into a 50-metre deep cave with a five-metre wide entrance on the south.
Upon entering you are welcomed by darkness and a huge number of different species of bats as well as other insects residing in the cave. The cave has a long tunnel of about a kilometre, made up of passages and tunnels. Various cave formations can be seen as well as huge rocks which naturally support the cave from collapsing. Walking on a sponge-like floor made of bat droppings is a strange experience that one can only compare to walking in space, even though I have never been to space. It was surreal.
As we walked through, the guides asked everyone to switch off whatever light we were holding to see how pitch dark it was, to a point where you could not see the person next to you. A unique feeling.
The walk back was not exciting as going in, but the fresh air once you get out, made me realise how blessed we are. Bat droppings and urine make the caves smell awful but the Gcwihaba Caves confirm that there is so much to see in Botswana!
