On November 2^nd, 2023 we packed our belongings and drove via Francistown to the nearby international airport. We wondered what the staff were doing all day as there was only one flight per day. But there was a good WiFi connection. The day before we had already uploaded our latest reports to our homepage.

Over a Jacobs coffee (terrible!) we got some more work done. At 11 a.m. we packed and drove to Orapa, which we reached after 250 kilometers. Orapa is the center of Botswana’s diamond industry. There are three mines here and in the surrounding area – a cooperation between de Beer and Botswana – where the largest number of industrial and jewelry diamonds in the world are mined.

The security measures are extreme and reminded us of those at Lake Argyle, in Australia! At the entrance you have to show your passport in order to receive a «laisser-passer». Brigitta took over and was surprised to see a few day-olds kitten on the ground in front of the entrance. Where was the mother? There was none to be seen far and wide. The receptionists said we should adopt the «orphan» straight away. (We suspect that the surplus young kittens are dumped there in the hope that someone will take them. That’s what we did!)

So since yesterday we have a kitten on board that we named after the place where we found it: ORAPA! (We are wondering to see how our cat at home will react when we arrive with Orapa?)

PS: If you want to know more about the Orapa mines and diamond mining, read here.