We spent most of the day in transit from Gaborone to Kisane on the banks of the Chobe river in the northeastern corner of Botswana, about where the country borders on Zimbabwe and Zambia. It feels somewhat cooler than Gaborone despite being many miles closer to the equator. There also appears to be a staff of warthogs helping out at the airport.
Arriving at the airport around four, we headed off to the Mowani Safari Lodge, about which I must say this: damn. Never have I felt like such a rich gringo. The semi-open architecture is exactly the kind of building I adore, everything is made of gorgeous wood and pseudo-earthen materials, and the upstairs bar has a completely unobstructed view of the river and the Zambian shore. The chairs in the bar even recline. Every room has a small porch or balcony facing the river, although the view from the downstairs rooms is somewhat obscured by some lush vegetation. The rooms have ceiling fans and the beds have mosquito netting. What more could an intrepid explorer in darkest Africa ask for?
The lobby. Seriously.
Oh, and dinner is good. They've got a lovely buffet set out, from which I sampled extensively. My only quibbles are that the cheeses were surprisingly mediocre and it appears that there isn't any chocolate to be had on this continent.