Having arrived at Johannesburg, we had a wait of  three hours before we boarded our Air Botswana AR424 to Maun, a flight of around an hour and a half. On arrival, were met by our Explore Travel guide, Bibi and we had our first opportunity to meet eight of our fellow travellers, two of whom, Jacqui and her Mum Judy, also had a fair bit of travelling to do prior to flying out of Heathrow. They had flown in from Australia. Our two remaining travellers, Cedric and Trudie  were already in the country having flown in some days earlier from Canada.
Following our initial introductions Bibi showed us to our safari

vehicle, a specially adapted Toyota Land Cruiser, with 12 seats in the back, and removable sides and roof. He took us directly to the local currency exchange where we obtained sufficient Botswanan pula for our two week trip. We also collected our first supplies of drinking water. Bibi suggested 3 litres per person per day, which proved to be just about right - hereafter he always advised us of the quantities we would need before our next opportunity to re-stock. From there we had a short trip to the edge of the town to our first night's stop at the Sedia Riverside hotel and an opportunity for a shower to freshen up before we adjourned to the bar for a briefing from Bibi at 2.15 pm. Here we met our two remaining travellers, Cedric and Trudie. Then it was time for a few hours sleep before we assembled in the bar for a bite to eat, and an early night at 8pm- tomorrow we begin in earnest!!