Safari In Botswana With Outsider Jodie

About this time every year, we start changing our tune from “io is great in the cold weather” to “io is great in the warm weather” and we know some of you will be sceptical. After all, how can one product do two different things that are literally the opposite? But it’s the real deal, and it’s not unlike how the insulation in a house works. But don’t take our word for it, Outsider Jodie just got back from Botswana where she wore it in both cold and hot weather and has the pictures to prove it!

Africa has always been number one on Jodie’s travel list, and even though she’s been before many years ago, when her mother-in-law who lives there said she’d always wanted to go to Botswana, Jodie and her partner jumped at the chance. 

“Even though Botswana is basically next door to where she lived, she’s never been. And I’ve wanted go since forever so I planned it all and, in her own words, made sure she got to see some nice stuff before she tops off” Jodie explained. 

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Botswana has one third of the world’s elephant population, and not a lot of people, and tourism there is quite well run, so it ticked a lot of boxes. As did the variety of things to see there.  

“There’s the Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park, and even though I’m not normally much of a bird nerd, by the end of it I was coming around because they have some awesome feathered critters there."

And, of course, ‘The Big Five’, although as Jodie tells us, there’s more than just one five now. 

“They’ve branched out a little and have ‘The Ugly Five’, ‘The Little Five’, but ‘The Big Five’ are still elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion and leopard. I’d never seen a leopard in the wild before so that was a big one for me. That and the idea of camping, even if it was ‘fancy camping’, being out in the bush and fresh air - no tv, no internet. But yeah, also leopards. And honey badgers - they’re cool!”

(We were curious and in case you’re wondering, The Ugly Five consists of hyena, vulture, wildebeest, marabous stork and, of course, the wart hog! No offence Pumba!)

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Jodie says there were plenty of highlights, but actually one of the things she loved the most was the beautiful light of sunrise and sunset.

“I loved the forced change of pace. This was a forced slow down. You’re out in nature and observe it all. The evening light at a waterhole where all the elephants were gathered and a couple of giraffes would come by, and sitting watching that with the beautiful light was really special.”

So why did she go with io?

“It was very hot during the day, but freezing cold in the mornings. So, my io was perfect. In the morning we’d be up before sunrise and the safari vehicle is open and we’d be whizzing along and you’ve got the wind coming through and it’s freezing.”

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And the temperature regulation wasn’t the only time her io came in handy. 

“It’s funny, when I was planning the trip the safari people recommended wearing ‘safari friendly colours’ and I don’t normally wear beige or khaki - most of my io is bright pink or orange so I can be seen in the bush if I stack my mountain bike, so most of mine is pretty bright and it just so happens that io had safari friendly colours thank you very much. We bought green short sleeve tops and safari friendly long sleeve tops… and wore them every day. The long sleeve got worn the most and in the middle of the day back at camp I had my short sleeve on.”

We’re happy to hear not only were they comfortable in the varying temperatures, but also ‘safari friendly’ - not something we usually focus on, but there ya go!

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“My io always performs well for me… my mother in law and her partner were quite jealous and had T-shirts on and got a bit stinky and should have brought more T-shirts - and we’ve worn the same one every day and were good. Even after not washing the gear for six days! So I felt a bit bad for her that we were so comfortable in our io and they struggled a bit” 

What was the verdict from the mother in law?

“She loved it and was in absolute heaven. She loved it all. So, I’m her favourite daughter in law now - she won’t admit that, but I know I am.”

As for what’s next, even though she’s only just returned, Jodie says it’s time to start planning again.

“I was going to do a cycling trip in Samoa, but now I’m thinking about going to Bright to cycle and hike. And it just so happens the time I want to go in October they have the Bright Photography Festival - one of the best photography festivals in the world.”

“After that… who knows. Maybe a walking tour in the south of France… possibly on the Camino. Closer to home I’ve still never been to Alice Springs/Northern Territory so we’re going to walk part of the Larapinta. Plus, I’ve always wanted to go to Kangaroo Island in South Australia.”

Sounds like she’s got no shortage of things to do, and it sounds like that’s all part of the plan.

“I’ve got a million things on my bucket list, but if by the time I die I have nothing left that’s not necessarily a good thing. I’m always going to keep adding. I might have 20 things on my list now but I’m going to keep adding things to my list - who cares if there’s still things on my list when I’m dead, as long as I’m loving life and doing what makes us happy.”

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