Xakanaxa, Moremi National Park

Bought some last minute supplies, dropped off the last of the rental gear that we decided we did not need, and left Maun refreshed, organized and ready for Moremi in the Okavango Delta.
The road quickly turned to ruts, potholes and, finally...corrugated sand. We arrived at the South Gate and spoke to ranger who knew Magdalene, a ranger we had met seven years ago in Chobe, and learned she’s now at another park so we’re unlikely to see her this trip. One thing we’ve appreciated about the rangers here is they are generally very helpful and deeply passionate about their work.
We continued on and found ourselves so tired and “over” the bad road, that when we turned a corner and found an elephant was completely blocking our path, we were momentarily annoyed…then reminded each other how utterly ridiculous this was and were able to relax and re-gain some much needed perspective.
We arrived at our campsite – you guessed it… several hours later than planned!
Our campsite backed right up to the thick reeds and water of the Delta, where we spent 5 nights. We didn't see too many critters, but we know there is a lot of wildlife here because we saw it on our last visit and we heard it non-stop in our campsite at night. The lions were roaring, the hippos munching on grass at the edge of camp and the hyenas were constantly ‘laughing’ as they ran through the campsites scavenging for whatever might have been left unattended. In the morning we look for animal prints in the sand to see who has visited during the night. It’s taking awhile to get used to and differentiate the sounds, since every creature - whether a tiny mouse running through the grass or an elephant pushing over a tree to feed on the leaves - sounds huge and too close for comfort. For those who do not want too-much-info sorry, but often the discussion as we are getting ready for bed, is how many times do we need to get up to go pee during the night. Inevitably, one of usually needs to pee (often John) just when we hear a lion roar or a hyena cackle. Whether this need to pee is brought on by the sounds of large predators wandering the camp, or whether said predators sense that someone may be leaving their tent and get excited about the prospect of a midnight snack, is hard to say.Read more