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Thu Jun 12 2003 (Sepupa to Maun)

Get up late with hangover, everyone else already gone to Seronga. Get shower, breakfast, pack tent, pay bill (have to radio phone to Kay to get authorisation). Che is following me around camp now, must associate me with hunting. Say farewells to Phil and Tim, Tuso and Elias (from Gecko's) take me in huge green truck out to Co-Op and then bus stop (which is phone shack). Now about 12.30. Bus should be around 1pm, then last bus at 2.30. No bus, last one went at 10.30. Hitch a ride with Shakawe bus to main road together with two women and join a man and woman sitting in shade of tree on junction. She is going to Ghanzi and gets a lift after an hour or so. Then joined by two girls, Mpho and her younger sister, and a dog. Mpho needs to get to Francistown tomorrow for a funeral. Blokes in tents next to junction dancing. Other two girls get ride to Gamare. Then truck stops, I tell girls to go, but they don't fancy it, me neither. They eventually catch ride to Gamare. Then I see Tuso around 4.30. Have given up hope of getting a lift now. Says he will be back to collect me. Then car stops to drop someone off, offers me a lift and is going to Maun. He's on his second can of beer but seems pretty much with it. Nice cool aircon and Crowded House CD. Moses has a general store in Shakawe and wants to expand. Has been visiting his mother there who is sick, he lives in Maun with his wife who is a teacher. Making good progress but running out of light. Stop for Moses to take a leak, then bumps into his cousin who runs the petrol station in Gamare, where we go for fuel (I pay - P20). Carry on into dark, tricky to avoid donkeys and cattle on road. Then latch onto someone who is doing 150km/h. Get into Maun after 8pm, Moses takes me to Power Station. Cool place, very industrial, everything mad out of spare bits of machinery. No water. Put tent up in open wasteland at back of bar. Use moonlight, manage to avoid donkey shit with torch. Pegs won't go in, rely on weight of pack in tent to stop it blowing away. Switch on phone for first time in a week. Get a bunch of text messages, but have a four day gap (basically just after I last switched on) of no messages. Maybe there's a time limit or message count limit that can be queued? Dave advises me to get out early to make sure I get connection in Nata. Draws me map to bus station. He started Jungle Junction in Zambia with two others. Stayed there for five years, then came here for a year or two, maybe got itchy feet again. Meet Tom and Jerry tours, she Austrian, he Bavarian. Bit mad but sounds like fun, they will text me if a tour goes in the next week. Two hippos running out of water and food, they go to feed hay every night. Had long chat with them about stability in the region and effects of world problems on tourism. Very happy to see an independent traveller. They are planning a backpackers place nearby with trips up to an affordable place in the delta, no overlanders allowed. Into tent fairly early, hope for better journey tomorrow. Photos from today