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Okavango Delta, Botswana

It’s 7 am, Day 80. I have long since forgotten the day of the week, which is why Every Day is actually a Saturday. Border crossings are the only way of tracking what date or month it is. Just after sunrise, we’ve already had French toast (with cinnamon and golden syrup) for breakfast, packed down the campsite, are in the truck and on the road. By 8am we are out of Namibia and into Botswana, again. If you look at the top right side of Namibia it’s easy to see how we pop in and pop out all the time. They accidentally stamped the exit Namibia stamp with yesterday’s date into most of our passports, so we have just been in ‘no mans land’ last night. Not even a quarter of the way through this trip and our new NZ passports are 2/3s full.

We are on the way to the Okavango Delta, home for the next 2 nights. The Okavango Delta is unlike anything else in the world. It is formed by the Okavango River as it flows from the highlands of Angola down to a basin on the edge of the Kalahari Desert. The river has no outlet from the desert and spreads out into thousands of small streams to form a wilderness that is totally unspoilt. The streams or channels through the wetlands are dictated by the paths made by the larger animals. Each year they change so the locals only know their way through byusing their own navigation skills.

Just after lunch the truck dropped us off at the furthest point possible into the delta. Local tribesman poled us on 2 person mokoros through the maze of wetlands (in total it spreads over 16,000 sq km). The delta has many green islands, hippos, crocodiles, elephants and big cats. The path way through the maze is the width of a canoe and the reeds and tall grass around us are twice the height of us. So fortunately while we were travelling through this maze we didn’t see any animals otherwise we would have had nowhere to run to. We can clearly hear hippos grunting in the reeds only a few metres away but stay very quiet. We arrived at Gao Island, you wouldn’t even know it’s there, as it’s covered in long grasses as was the delta we came through. We didn’t sleep in a campsite as such that night, we slept right in with the wildlife. All cooking and camping stuff was brought with us. As there’s obviously no toilets, you would expect we could just go anywhere but due to the wildlife we had to have a designated randomly selected hole so that we didn’t run into any unexpected visitors. At 2 am elephants were spotted metres from our tent, right next to our leaders – Hippos and Lions could also be heard in the distance. Thankful now, I forgot to pack cider in the chilly bin! Elephants are super quiet at night, they can only be heard by the branches breaking around you.

Before dinner we headed back out on the Mokoros for a sunset cruise. On our way to an opening where we were to watch it, we were halted by two elephants who decided to have dinner on our pathway. There is no way on earth you’d want to cross them so after waiting 30 mins for them to move we changed our sunset location. The picture with the astrixs indicates the two trees we needed to pass between. The elephants were beside the tree on the right side which is a tiny little island just like all little trees located on little islands in the wetlands.

How our Intrepid chef managed to make the best zucchini soup and spag bol on a camp cooker I have no idea, but it was enjoyed immensely under the stars, around a massive campfire. The night ended with the local tribesman (our mokoro polers) dancing around the fire and singing in their native tongue, not before we were asked to get up and join in.

After brekkie, we went for a 2 hr nature walk around the little island we were staying on. Seeing elephants when you are on foot is a completely different perspective as you are completely vulnerable. The tall golden grasses are shoulder height so I was thankful to get out of there without seeing a camouflaged lion. For those who say that between me and Dave, I’d be the one who wouldn’t try anything, well it’s me who doesn’t miss the opportunity to try everything. Even a branch pulled off a tree and used as a tooth brush!After a quick pack down of the tent we took the 1.5 hour trip back to civilisation on the mokoros. We can clear a 24 person campsite in 20 mins including tent pack down. Getting ready in the morning doesn’t take long when you have no desire to put any energy into looking even half decent for the wildlife.

Our second night in the delta is a contrast to the first. Although another Mokoro ride there, it’s in a tent site with permanently standing tents, beds, linen and hot showers. (the last three words are not something to be taking for granted). The last few days of little sleep had finally caught up with me, so an afternoon nap was required. Just looking at my book “1984” also makes me sleepy, I’ve been staring at page 39 for 3 weeks. While Dave was in the bush bar, I had a go at poling the mokoro. It takes serious upper body strength and balance. I managed to do it without tipping me or my teacher in too! As for the showers, it needed to happen as we hadn’t had one for a few days but let’s say getting 2 of the 3 promised things was pretty good. I just wish it was the linen or the bed we were giving up not the hot shower, particularly as it was outdoors and it’s freezing.

It’s been a very relaxing 2 days in the delta. I’m told you are not here for the game (as its impossible to find in the long grasses /reeds) but for the world’s most fascinating ecosystems. I’d have liked to have known more about it but it was enough to know that it was nice to be so remote for a few days.
(It’s just before dinner time on the second night as I’m writing this in the tent by myself. I can hear something grunting not far away. I must stop writing and get out of this tent and get back with the group before I’m greeted by a hippo).

Botswana has such a fascinating history but unfortunately when being told about it I didn’t have any writing material so my sieve memory failed me again. I do remember, however, the reason why there are big condom signs everywhere saying “wear it”. Botswana is one of the 3 African countries with a major HIV Aids problem with the country’s life expectancy at 37. On a positive (pardon the pun), it’s the only African country not in any debt, due to the major diamond mining. Its wealth is also supported by the beef export and tourism industry. When coming into Botswana we had to stand on this mat soaked with chemicals to stop the spread of foot and mouth – better than nothing I guess. The education standard is very low as it’s not seen as a priority because money literally was found in the ground, in the form of diamonds. 75% of the country’s 582,000 is the Kalahari desert, with the country’s population at 2.1m.

Botswana animals spotted: lions, buffalos, elephant by the thousands, hyenas, antelopes, eagles, vultures, warthogs, zarzu, crocodiles, wildebeest, zebras and hippopotamus. Hippos are my least favourite animals, they are extraordinarily scary and noisy next to your tent at night.

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