Maun to Kaziikini

[come-along.nl]

Distance about 64km

The road from Maun to Kaziikini was under construction when we were there and it was really quite rough driving. We took it rather slowly and enjoyed the area and villages that we saw for the first time. Botswana's people have one of Africa's highest living standards and we saw only a few beggars during our time in the country. We finally reached Kaziikini and went to the reception hut which was unmanned at first until a lady spotted us and came running to sign us in.
Signing in at Kaziikini Camp is quite a job - one has to fill in your whole pedigree, just short of the birth date of your great-great grand mother (in law)! However, the lady was quite friendly so we did it without complaining. Our campsite was close to the ablution facilities - which has its ups and its downs, since there were two different tour groups camping next to the bar area, which happens to be quite near the ablution area. These tour groups proved to be quite noisy at night throughout our tour. One cannot do anything about it, since it is these groups that bring in the good money that pays for the facilities.
We were however lucky at Kaziikini, since the tourists were apparently quite tired and went to bed early. That night sitting by the fire, we heard a lion roar and we got that "Big Five" feeling for the first time on our trip. The "Big Five" feeling being an awareness of dangerous animals in the area and a high level of awareness of one's immediate surroundings.
The camp has lots of toilet and shower cubicles, and to our delight the water was steaming hot - instantly. On the down side we felt a bit disappointed after all the good reports about Kaziikini. The staff seemed to think they are the ones on holiday and we sensed a lack of regard for the self-drive camper. One feels 'ignored' after the signing in process and they are seemingly not interested in offering any further services or information. Are they now becoming slack - now that they are popular with tour operators and obviously 'coining it' without the small change that comes with small groups or pairs?
We were visited by Hyenas during the night, but we had everything stashed away safely. There was quite a bit of bush noises during the night notably jackal, lions and hyenas that we could hear after the camp's generator was switched off.
We recommend Kaziikini as a good camping spot for people on their way to Moremi Game Reserve as it offers one the opportunity to enter Moremi early in the day.