I had been looking forward to cycling on the Elephant Highway in Botswana for a very long time. Something about the idea of cycling amongst a herd of elephants sounded very exciting. What was it like? Well, imagine a very, very long, very, very flat road in front of you, tall, yellow grass on either side, the landscape dotted with the occasional shrub or tree. Imagine cycling down this road for hours, for days, km after km, with barely a bend in the road, no hills, no villages or towns, barely any population or wildlife on the road at all. I gotta be honest, cycling through the same scenery for over 1000 km, can be…well…hmm…less then exciting, 8)…maybe even a teensy-weensy bit mind-numbing. 
(Still infinitely better then staring at a computer screen all day. Sorry Paul). The landscape is actually very pretty but after awhile you just feel like you are sitting on a treadmill in a pretty room. Okay, okay…I’m not being entirely fair. I did get to see one enormous elephant by a watering hole. That was a huge thrill. At this point, we have seen quite a few elephants, but I can never get tired of it. It’s just so amazing to see them in their natural habitat and to be so close. That was well worth every km.
There were plenty of other highlights and things to keep us entertained throughout the day as well. For example:
- The numerous “Foot and Mouth Disease” control stops. A chance to get off the bike and step on a disinfectant soaked carpet.
- Dodging the millions of dung beetles and armored crickets on the road. These bad boys are huge! Some riders were purposely running them over. I couldn’t do that: 1) Its bad karma 2) I didn’t want to bend my rim. These things are literally the size of a small Volkswagen.
- Trying to find different cycling positions in a futile attempt to return circulation to our bums
- Talk about food…mmmm…food. A very popular topic around here.
- Contemplate my navel
On another note, we did a safari cruise down the Chobe River. Really, really nice. You drift down the river as the sun sets and watch magnificent wildlife all around you; elephants, hippos, crocs, beautiful birds. Very relaxing, very beautiful. We couldn’t really ask for a better way to end the day. Pictures included in the Botswana gallery.
P.S. Wow. I just reread this blog and realized I’m whining about cycling 7 days and only seeing one elephant. : D I told you I was spoiled rotten.
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