Keith and Shawna in New Zealand: Botswana

After many, many months of dreaming and meticulous planning, the day of our departure finally arrived! It was sad to say goodbye to our families, but we were very excited to start our adventures! It has now been over a month and a half since the Botswana and South Africa portion of our trip, but it was amazing and we will never forget it! Here are some of the highlights of the Botswana part of the trip:

My first English classroom at MaP

· The house we grew up in - Being able to see our old yard, pool, and my bedroom was surreal. It brought back so many memories, and it was so cool to see what Nate and Taryn have done with it to make it their own.

· Three Chiefs Monument – on our first day in Botswana we went to the monument that commemorates Khama, Bathoen, and Sechele, three chiefs of Botswana. While we were there, our tour guide gave Setswana names to Keith and Kev, the only two in our family who did not yet have Setswana names. Kev was given the name Mpho (MM-poh), which means “gift”, and Keith was given the name Thuso (TOO-soh), which means “help”. We thought the names were very fitting!

Steph and I back at our old primary school

Keith and I at Baines’ Baobabs

· Thornhill and MaP - We visited my old primary school, Thornhill, and my old high school, Maru a Pula (or MaP). It was so much fun showing Keith the schools that made me so brilliant!

Keith rock climbing at Kgale Hill

· Rock climbing on Kgale Hill – Nate is part of a climbing club that regularly climbs on Kgale Hill, a hill that we often hiked up with Mom and Dad years ago. It was awesome to be able to try out some of the climbs on the hill.

· Nando’s Restaurant – another place with special memories. We often ate at this chicken burger restaurant when we were kids. Steph and I brought Keith and Kev there and they loved it!

Nate, Keith, and Kev in a baobab

Zebras in Nxai Pan

· Mokolodi – Mom and Dad’s Christmas gift to us was a dinner at Mokolodi Safari Lodge. Even though they couldn’t be with us on this trip, they wanted to treat us to something special. We had a great time there and the steaks were delicious! Of course, it would only have been better if Mom and Dad had been there!

Cute baboons in Chobe

Visiting the Rankokwane family in Molepolole

· Prison ministry – Nate and Taryn took us with them to the prison where they are part of a ministry along with the youth of St. Michael’s Church and Spiritual Healing Church. We enjoyed watching “The Nativity” and having snacks with the inmates in a tent on the prison grounds. Afterwards, the inmates surprised us with handmade Christmas cards with our names on them.

· Visiting the Rankokwanes – The Rankokwane family is our village family. When we arrived in Botswana in 1996, they took us in and we lived with them in Molepolole for 6 weeks. Our family has kept in touch with theirs and it was great to see them again after all these years! While we were in Molepolole, we also met Nate and Taryn’s welcoming village family.

Mama and baby hippo in Chobe

· St. Michael’s - On the only Sunday we had available in Gaborone, we went to St. Michael’s Church. My parents had been a part of this church when we lived in Gaborone, and now Nate and Taryn are a part of it as well. We were asked to go to the front and say some words, which made us feel so special. It was amazing to see several familiar faces!

Dinner in the middle of nowhere (Nxai Pan)

· Nxai Pan – we drove from Gaborone to Nxai Pan, a salt pan … hours north of Gaborone. We saw Baines’ Baobabs (tall, upside-down-looking trees), and had dinner in the middle of the Pan. Unfortunately, we saw no big cats, but we saw zebras, giraffes, ostriches, springboks, many cori bustards, and a some elephants.

Keith and I at Vic Falls

· Rafting - The most thrilling thing we did on our whole trip was white water rafting down the Zambezi River below Victoria Falls. We took a quick trip from Kasane to Livingstone in Zimbabwe to go rafting and do a tour of the Falls.

A giraffe in Chobe

· Chobe Safari Lodge – we stayed a night at Chobe Safari Lodge in Kasane where we were able to relax for a couple days. Steph and Kev also gave us an early Christmas gift and took us on a boat cruise of the Chobe River. We didn’t see many elephants, but we saw lots of crocodiles and hippos very close up!

A croc in Chobe

· Christmas Eve – we continued our Dirks tradition of celebrating Christmas Eve with finger foods and hanging out. We were also able to FaceTime with Mom and Dad, and enjoyed an incredible song they wrote for us!

· Christmas Day – we celebrated Christmas Day with a delicious breakfast made by Steph and Kev, going for a walk, swimming, and FaceTiming with Keith’s parents and sister, Anne.

FaceTime with Mom and Dad on Christmas Eve

· Seeing old friends – I was lucky to be able to see one of my friends from high school! Tazz and I met for breakfast at Game City Mall and had a great time catching up.