Africa - Okavango Delta

 

I don't know how to start, after thinking about it for

a couple of weeks, so I'm just going to hit you with the good stuff right away.

Impalas

I spent two nights in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.

After riding into the Delta with 4x4 vehicles, we met our local

guides at a mokoro station, where all the mokoro boats and

the mokoro polers were gathered to help us to load up our

camping gear into the boats and then loaded ourselves

into boats to be taken to our campsite on an island.

a view not far from my tent.

After we set up camp, we were divided into smaller groups, 

then headed out into the bush for a walk.

The Delta is unfenced, completely wild, full of animals,

and smells like wild sage, which grows everywhere.

It didn't take long to find some elephants.

Elephants outnumber people in Botswana.

A small herd were foraging in the treeline.

After walking a bit further, we found some zebras.

The zebra is Botswana's national animal, 

representing black people and white people living side by side.

I highly recommend you looking up the history of Botswana.

It's a sweet love story that results in a new sovereign nation.

Look! Tourists!

Termite mounds can be found everywhere you look.

In addition to being homes for termites, they also play a role

in land development.

Back into camp, just before sunset.

The next morning, we woke up early to get out

at dawn for a long walk. We again split into smaller groups,

and went out for four hours.

A herd of giraffes!

In  nearby waterhole, we watched a hippo make an exit.

A bit rare, as they like to stay in the water most of the time

to protect their skin.

Hippos are very aggressive and territorial, so they have

a reputation of being the most dangerous animal on the velt.

So, it's usually a good idea to keep a healthy distance from them.

We all climbed up onto a large termite mound and watched a herd of buffalo off in the distance.

Then a herd of impala splashed through the water.

Don't forget the birds.

The bird watching is incredible in the Delta.

So many species surround you.

The giraffes were in all directions.

We'd been walking for at least two hours by now.

Water buffalo, I believe. Cape buffalo?

The US has bison. Africa has buffalo.

There is a difference!

Wildebeests

Saw my first warthog.

Later we'd find them running around in town, but this

is the first one I saw on the trip.

They hold their tails up when they run!

We'd been out for well over three hours by now, and our guide, Matt,

gave us a bit of a rest and an opportunity for bushy bushy before we headed back to camp.

What's bushy bushy, you ask?

Well, in this remote place, there are no facilities for you to use, so

if you need to relieve yourself, you walk a distance away,

find a bush and do as the animals do.

We did this along the highway a few times too.

It is a weird feeling at first, but you get over it pretty quickly.

Everybody pees.

By this time, it was almost four hours from when we left camp.

So we started walking back.

But our ever-alert guides noticed that a group of elephants had 

situated themselves between us and our campsite.

After surveying the situation, Matt had us go to the river to avoid the elephants.

However, a mother and baby elephant were there, so we had to turn

back to our starting point. 

After watching for a break in the herd, Matt had us all move

as quickly as we could between the groups to get ourselves away from them

and back into camp.

A delicious brunch was waiting for us and we were given some

down time to rest a bit for the next activity.

Which I will tell you about in the next post.

An amazing way to start the day!

🐘🐘🐘