From there we took the road to North Gate as we’d be staying in Khwai Community Camp that night. While not within park boundaries, it is located between Moremi and Chobe. We had decided on this camp instead of the Khwai inside the park as a recommendation from the owner of Old Bridge.
As we left Moremi, we asked about the roads to the camp and were directed to their office in the village. We asked directions and were told there would be 2 pools of water that we would need to cross. The first was supposed to be worse than the second and he said we could ask the nearby guesthouse if we needed help.
The Khwai shopping center
As we reached the first, we realized that the pool was really a flooded river that had risen above the level of the bridge. There was a construction crew working on the area and their advice was to stay to the left and we’d be fine. With the confidence that we’d be rescued if we got stuck, we went for it. The water went up over the hood of the truck at one point, but actually seemed easy.
Surviving the flooded river with water up to the hood
We reached another pool of water and were evaluating if this was the one to cross or go around. Just then, one of the workers we’d passed at the previous pool appeared and told us to turn around as that crossing was too dangerous. Fairly quickly, we reached a small wooden bridge that we would use to cross a stream. It was literally just big enough for our truck. Tico was trying to give us room on his side, but that meant we went up on the railing on my side. Once he saw the video, he understood why I was encouraging him to move more to his side. If we’d gone a few more centimeters to the left we would have fallen off the bridge.
Crossing the wooden bridge
We made it to the turnoff and followed the path towards the river through a field of dead trees until we reached water covering the road. There was a car leaving the camp through a different route, but as we could see the grass through the water we went for it. While we splashed around in the water, it wasn’t that awful.
Crossing the flooded road
Dead trees around the campsite
As we reached the campsites, we ran into the group that we went to Chief’s Island with and stopped to see how they’d been. Then we continued on to see where we’d be sleeping. We were assigned campsite #3, but after passing #5 the road turned to water again as we were alongside the river. A new road appeared and the next site we found was #1 and we decided to claim it.
Eating our lunch at the campsite
That evening, we went out for a game drive and followed one of the safaris on their route. We only managed to see impala and an elephant so decided to go back to a familiar road. As we worked through the field of dead trees, there were more impala and a few zebras along the way. We followed a route that wasn’t on the map, but looked like a good path to get us to where we were going. The road slowly disappeared amongst the dense bush, but we could see the road we needed directly in front of us. Before we knew it, we were in water. The difference was that this water was covering soft sand and we immediately sunk.
Tico checking out how deep we were in the mud
Our minds immediately went to stories that we’d been told of people being stuck for days waiting for help, which only made the situation worse. We tried to get ourselves out, but only dug our tires in more. The sunset was nearing and we were in the middle of an open field with who knows what animals hiding in the grass. We hopped out of the car and quickly got the shovels to start digging us out. In an effort to get traction, we put our firewood under the back tires. There was nowhere to stick a jack and the light was getting dimmer.
Trying to dig a hole in the mud
We had started to put food in the cab and were talking about where we’d spend the night. The idea came to start honking the horn. I stood on the hood of the truck waving my arms like crazy as we weren’t too far from the campsites. Thankfully, 3 men emerged from the trees. We yelled back and forth, but it was hard to hear what they were saying. They tried to walk out to us, but they were quickly in water. They went back to camp and after what felt like ages, they got in their truck to come to us.
The help finally arrived to pull us out
The truck they drove was huge. They parked where it was still dry and walked towards us. After evaluating the situation, we attached rope to our bumper and they backed in to tow us out. With a swift tug, the truck was back on solid ground and we were ecstatic that we wouldn’t be sleeping while stuck in the sand. Especially as the sun had just gone down and the predators would be out hunting by night.
As we parted ways, Tico asked what was the name of one of the guys that helped us. His answer was “Life.” Life had just saved our lives. The rest of the night was spent reflecting on what had just happened and how grateful we were that we had been close to camp and those men were able to help us. Things could have turned out very differently and we were glad that we could look back on it as part of the adventure. While it was stressful, it could have been a multi-day event with a different ending.
Night campsite in the middle of the bush
Sunrise before leaving the camp
Helpful tips:
- If you’re looking for a real bush camp, we highly recommend Khwai Community Camp.
- Keep in mind there is no running water or bathrooms.
- This site is different than Khwai within in Moremi. The exact name is Magotho and is booked at their office in front of the airport near Helicopter Horizons.
Life is a good name for a guardian angel, who by the way IT WAS