After leaving Franscistown at nearly sunset, we set off on one of the main roads in Botswana, the A3. You would think that A3 was a big road in good condition, after all it was the major route for trucking traffic between the DRC and South Africa. Trucks rumbled back and forth on this road all day and into the night each and everyday.
Trucks are heavy and really take a toll on roads in Botswana. This one was narrowed down to about a lane and a half and what was left was filled with giant potholes! Before the sunset you would at least slow down when you saw one coming. Once it got dark it was mayhem. Every time a truck approached from the opposite direction, beaming their headlights into our eyes temporarily blinding us, we would drive into a giant pothole! Yep – us, the land cruiser and the 4×4 trailer. This went on for hours!
Arriving in Nata
We finally arrived in Nata, a small town with 1 grocery store and a few shops. By now it was almost 20:00 and we were starving, tired, and in need of a drink. We looked and looked for our guest house, Gomwe Guest Inn (https://www.botswanatourism.co.bw/stay/gomwe-guest-inn). After 3-4 passes back and forth, we finally realized a tractor trailer that was parked on the side of the road was blocking the guest house. And of course, in the dark with no street lights it would have been difficult to see in any case!
We exited the main road onto a frontage “road”, a dirt road in Botswana in front of the establishments just off the tar road. We found our guest house and met the owner. She was a divorced lady who’s husband had run off with another woman and left her the guest house. Even though things were in disrepair, she and her secretary were kind and trying to put the place back in order.
She told us the only place that might be serving dinner was the Lodge (http://www.natalodge.net/), about 9 miles back the way we had come. As much as no one wanted to get back into the Land Cruiser, the allure of food was too great and we piled back into the Land Cruiser without the trailer and found The Lodge.
Thankfully the food was yummy and the beers cold despite being outside in the cold. We ate and quickly headed back to get some much needed sleep!