Botswana

Yet another early start to pack down the camp and head out to our starting point to visit the Okavango Delta. Two large elephants crossed the road in front of the jeep on the dusty drive to the put in point, where we picked up canoes (mokoro) to our own private island for two nights. Local 'polers' from the nearby village (both men and women of all ages - they take it in turn to paddle) took us through the reeds towards our base for three days. The water is fairly shallow and as there are no real waterways through the reeds, a pole is use to punt rather than use a paddle.
On the way to camp we passed through a couple of pools - slightly deeper water free of reeds, where we encountered a hippo. Hippos are the most dangerous animal in the Delta so are given a fairly wide berth. We spent the afternoon having a go at punting and swimming in a small pool, thankfully clear of hippos! An evening walk around our island revealed a herd of Zebras just behind camp. Once darkness fell and our only light was the campfire, the zebra could be heard walking and eating nearby (particularly entertaining when using the bush toilet!). Sleeping in just the mozzie net it was a great experience to be in complete darkness with the stars overhead and the sound of animals to go to sleep to. The camp area was not an organised one, so no showers or water (boiled river water) and no fences or barriers to stop wildlife wandering in, including lions and elephants.
The day started with a three hour walking trip on one of the large islands nearby (not really islands, just areas not covered by water). As this is a wild area and not a park, wildlife is very hard to spot. We saw a range of colourful birds, more zebra and found three elephants.
Two afternoon boat trips, more swimming, being sung to and canoe punting completed the day with a roaring fire to keep warm and toast marshmallows! We were catering for ourselves so the group cooked all the meals we took in this time.
A trip in the boats and then a walk around the polers village rounded of the fantastic experience. All the livestock in the village are held behind spiked wooden fences to stop elephants breaking in as they wander around freely and lions taking the livestock.
Louisa took an hours scenic flight over the Delta in the late afternoon to get a scale of the area and wildlife within.Read more