Always a good idea to have a second vehicle for backup - the vehicle for extra traction and pull and the crew for extra manpower (a Sat phone can't pull you out).
We got stuck in deep mud in the delta in 2018, no sat phone! Tried for 5 hrs to get our selves free! Spent the night in truck with hippos and elephants very close and lions calling all night. In the morning we had to walk back 4 km to North gate to find help. Luckily we found a private wild camp , the ranger pulled us out with 2 land cruisers . Can look back on it and laugh about it now 😁
I suspect the engine stalled in the wrong place then a gear selection error to get going again... maybe tyre pressure reduction might have also helped..
Bushlore provide some great trucks but you should have stopped before entering. At least assess the situation. Luckily someone had the foresight to use the high jack.
Experience and Intelligence are very important! Most people get stuck because have little understanding of nature. Who in his right mind will dare go with a 3 Ton vehicle into a soaked marsh and expect to come out the other way. The surface tire pressure on that vehicle is slightly better (less) than a town bus! This is what happens when you look at a pear form the bottom and convince yourself it is an apple. Just because your 4x4 is fairly good on hard surfaces does not mean it floats well in mud. Good you have a satellite phone and lots of money ... 😂
It is not even muddy. It is just deep tracks filled with water. And the driver decides to take these instead of the safer sides? It looks more like someone decided to get a little stuck there to take videos while being "rescued". When towed out neither the tires of the tourist safari Toyota nor the "stuck" one sink in - not a bit. So the surface was never a problem ... if it was not for the video there was no problem at all.
Just out of curiosity... Why did you decide to take that line? Even a 1st timer should have been able to notice the deep, wet tracks. You were lucky someone got you out so quickly. Appreciate it because luck like that does not come often. Ask me all about it...
What time of year was this. Doing an epic Overland in 2022, with Bushlore 4x4 Cruiser CruCam & have asked for both SatPhone & GPS. I still haven’t worked out how to Book the Moremi Area Camps - mandatory in my opinion.
This was march 2020, very, very wet and a lot of water! Sat phone is very important! And for navigation we had tracks4africa, on the tablet and on papermap! It was our 2nd time in Okavango! We love it and hope, that we can do it soon again.... fuck covid....
The title should be: Don't get stuck in Botswana without rescue experience ....... Fairly bad driver with excellent vehicle, even with a winch ..... Only you should be able to build an anchor if there is no tree or similar nearby. Better to wait than use the hi-lift jack, not understandable. Why are people looking for seclusion and then wanting to be connected to civilization?
The lesson learned is use some common sense and don't drive in the tire ruts where naturally your vehicle is more likely to bottom out. Especially since a 70-series Land Cruiser had solid axles with differential front and rear, which reduces available clearance in the center of the track.
Moral of the story , never go 4 wheeling in Africa solo , even with a Sat Phone , because alone you will be , this is not europe or something that should be done by pure city slickers as they will get into a slick or sandy end ALL BY THEMSELVES because they know it all and have no need for recovery rigs as their apps on their smart phones tell them that they are invincible .