Let's talk more about the highlight of my trip:
the Okavango Delta.
The feature this trip was centered around.
The journey into the Delta started early on Day 4.
We loaded our camping gear into two 4x4 off-road vehicles
The overlander bus wouldn't be able to make it once we left the paved road.
A chilly ride in the open-air 4x4.
Very bouncy. Wear your seat belt!
In this picture you can see both 4x4s. I was in the first one, seen here crossing the bridge.
Our driver asked us all to get out and walk across the bridge, and he drove the
vehicle across after us. I think it was for weight limits on the bridge?
When we reached the mokoro station, we met with a group of local people,
men and women, who helped us put camping gear and people into many
mokoro boats and we were then taken through the waterways to an island,
where we set up our campsite.
My tent partner and I rode in the boat together, and our poler was
a very friendly man named Papillon (Butterfly). He was very
eager to help us and to tell us all about the Delta. We used his boat
every time we went out in the waterways.
These people have lived in the Delta region for generations,
but the Botswana government had pushed them out of the reserve,
so now they live on the edges of the Delta and make their living
as guides for visitors.
They are very good at their work.
View from the mokoro.
A mokoro is a shallow, narrow canoe, traditionally dug out of
wood from the sausage tree, but more recently made out of fiberglass
to conserve the trees.
The island is still far from here.
It is a stunning ecosystem.
Here you see the other polers ahead of us guiding their mokoros.
After we got our tents set up, the guides gave us the really important information.
Bush toilets!
I know you're wondering how this works.
Generally, it works like this, but not always with the bougie seat.
You dig a deep hole, deposit your business into the hole,
use the shovel to throw in some dirt, then you're done.
It was moved a couple of times during our stay.
My previous post features the animals I saw in the Delta, so most of
the pictures in this post are a bit more practical.
After we were settled into camp, we went out for a short evening walk.
cooking dinner over the campfire.
a beautiful view.
giraffe bones
When we saw these, we knew we were near camp.
But it is very easy to get disoriented.
After the long walk, our guide asked if we know which direction camp was.
I was able to correctly give the general direction, but it would probably take me
a while to pinpoint exactly where to go.
the colors are gorgeous
Matt, our guide, found a piece of an elephant tusk.
We all got to touch it, then he dropped it and left it where we found it.
The lady guides helped with the cooking (and were also mokoro polers)
but they also had some crafts for sale.
I didn't bring very much money with me into the Delta, but I had just enough
to get this lovely woven bracelet and the carved crocodile.
They accepted my US $20 for the croc, because I hadn't brought much pula.
We also had a bit of downtime after the early morning long walk, so I
used the time to rest in my tent and get some reading done.
I'd brought Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe with me.
After reading Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, I
found that this book is a good answer to Conrad's account.
It centers around the Igbo tribe, and their encounters with
colonialists. Predictably, things fall apart for the Igbo.
Conrad's version is from the point of view of the colonialist,
this book gives the point of view of the Africans.
It's a fascinating read; I do recommend looking it up.
After a bit of break, some of us tried to pole the mokoros.
Then we all got into the boats to go a short distance from camp for a swim
The guides knew of a spot where the animals didn't go to very often.
Hilariously, when we go there, we found a huge hippo swimming in the spot.
The guides took one look, turned to us, and said "we are not swimming now"
So, we watched the hippo for a bit, then made our way back to camp.
It was the last night in the Delta, so at 5pm, we all climbed into the boats again
and went for another ride.
Once again, the animals had other ideas, and were found ourselves surrounded
by elephants. It was more difficult to keep our distance from them while
confined to the waterways, so we all stayed as quiet as we could, and
watched them moving around.
The goal was to watch the sun go down.
A proper African sunset.
Gorgeous.
I'm not too proud to say I shed a tear or two.
It was a bit of an emotional moment for me.
I'd worked so hard to get to this place and was finally here.
As beautiful and as precious as I'd imagined it to be.
Happy me.
Our last campfire in the Delta, after dinner.
Our amazing guides gave us a concert of African songs,
including some dancing.
Made my heart happy.
Then they taught us a song, and we all circled the campfire together
and we sang along.
The next morning we broke down the tents, packed up camp and loaded everything
back into the mokoros for the ride back to the mokoro station.
There was a bit of a wait for the 4x4s to get to us, so we walked into the
rural village for a look around.
Notice the solar panels.
The houses use mud from termite mounds because it dries harder than regular mud.
This village also had a herd of cattle.
We met some small children. The older children were away at school.
Almost everyone can speak at least two languages.
They learn their tribal languages, then learn English when they go to school.
Some people learn several tribal languages in addition to English.
Our leader spoke Shona; he was from Zimbabwe.
To end this post, I present to you: The Accident.
Every traveler's worst fear.
Something goes wrong when you are far away from home.
To prevent anyone from passing judgment on our driver, who was
a local person (who'd been driving these trucks for many years, I later learned)
this was not his fault. The driver did nothing wrong, as far as I can tell.
The rear left side tire burst. And then some sort of malfunction
prevented the brakes from working, and so the wheel just
kept spinning even after the truck fell over.
It was all very surreal.
We'd just returned to the paved road, after making our way out of the
dirt roads from the Delta.
Not even up to full speed, I think, and I'd just put my phone
and camera away in my bag to rest a bit before we got back to camp.
Then there was a very loud BANG!
I knew what it was right away.
A tire had burst.
The truck fishtailed and for a moment I was scared it would
fall backwards into the ditch. The driver kept it on the roadway, but
we think that the tire got caught on the lip of the road and was pulled to the left.
I was in the back row, on the right hand side.
Strapped in by my seat belt.
For a moment, it seemed like it would right itself, but instead
it tipped over to its left side.
I remember thinking: I've gotten myself all the way here and now I'm gonna die.
Brace ourselves for the crash.
Then it stopped moving.
For a second, it was quiet. I think we were all evaluating if we were okay.
If it was over.
Then lots of sound and hurrying.
There was concerns about fire.
The fuel line was cut, the battery removed.
The older lady on the left side of my row was now on the down side,
and I was dangling from my seat belt on the up side.
I called to her to see if she was okay, and she didn't answer right away, which worried me.
Finally, she spoke and said she was okay.
Huge relief to hear her speak.
She was helped to her feet and out of the vehicle.
Then I unclicked my seat belt and dropped to the ground,
grabbed my backpack and walked out.
The lesson here, of course, is to always wear your seat belt.
Which probably prevented me from being more badly hurt by
being flung from the seat into the roof of the truck.
Also, when the company tells you to get travel insurance, do it!
I was able to submit my hospital receipts to my travel insurance,
and was reimbursed.
Anyway, the EMS people were worried about my high blood pressure so
I was encouraged to ride the ambulance to a private hospital, where I was
hooked up to a machine and watched my blood pressure return to normal.
Then I had to pay my bill and was released. Hence the receipts.
Then was allowed to leave and go back to camp.
Finally back at camp, recovering in the bar, with WIFI
and some south African beers, I found out that the
camp had upgraded us for the night into little chalets (cabins)
instead of the tents for the night.
I guess they thought we'd been through enough for the day,
and wanted to give us a camping break to recover.
My tent partner and I each had a bed to sleep in for the night!
Then, after a good night's sleep and a shower, we packed up into the
overlander to continue the safari the next day.
Our tour leader, Admore (in green shirt) and Fitz (the cook, in yellow shirt)
talking to the EMS who'd arrived on the scene to take care of any injuries.
The private hospital I was taken to.
Not on the itinerary. Never would have seen it otherwise.
:^)
The Okavango is a world treasure, and I am grateful
for the opportunity to have seen even the small part of it I did.
In the next post, we'll leave the Delta behind, and explore more
of Botswana.
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