Popa

I got up early at 5am as I had been awake since 3am and couldn't get back to sleep with my mind running over something that was pre-occupyimg me. I got a shower and joined my fellow travellers for breakfast. We were soon heading off in the truck and stopped at a nearby shopping area to spend the rest of our Botswana puna before we reached Namibia. I was feeling tired and low in mood with my night thoughts and feelings still pre-occupying me.
We drove on over rough roads and sun baked bush and scrubland filled with small, hardy trees. The sandy soil was noticeably drier and presaged our passage to the desert landscapes of Namibia. We stopped by the roadside for lunch in the shade of a tree to protect us from the blazing sunshine. We then drove to the border with Namibia and had an easy and efficient passage through immigration.
We then drove into the Bwabwata National Park and saw warthog, impala, kudu and zebra by the road as we passed through the tree filled park.
It wasn't long before we arrived out our destination, Rainbow Camp which was a scenic campsite right next to the Okavango river which eventually fills the Delta and then dries into the ground without ever reaching the sea. There was a nice bar area and swimming pool with wonderful views over the river and river islands. We soon saw two hippos frolicking in the water by a nearby island.
As we arrived we were offered a two hour sunset cruise on the river which many of us decided to do. We set off on a covered river cruise boat with chairs up the river in the yellow late afternoon sunlight. We sailed up to some lovely waterfalls and rapids and moored on a beautiful, sandy, small river island where we could get a better view of the falls. We then headed downstream with wonderful views over the river and found a small group of hippos bathing contentedly in the waters. We were able to draw up very close to them and film them surfacing and yawning. Their skin shone in the bright evening sunlight as they eyed us warily. Further downstream we came across a hippo feeding on the grasses above the river but she quickly returned to the safety of the river water with a big splash as we approached. We saw a crocodile slide past the boat with only ripples in the water and his or her eyelids showing. We passed fishermen in dug out canoes and I considered how they were quite brave to fish on the river with so many potentially dangerous hippos around. We came across more hippos further downstream and again were able to get very close to them. There was a big thunder storm approaching which made for some dramatic photos of the clouds reflecting in the river water. All too soon it was time to head back to the campsite and we were also racing the darkening skies behind us to arrive at the campsite before the rain arrived. There were nice views of the setting sun as we returned and we passed more hippos on the water surface and then dipping down below the water as we passed. We docked back at the campsite and I raced back to the camp ground to quickly put up my tent before the approaching storm arrived. I joined my fellow travellers for dinner and wolfed it down so as not to get caught in the potential rain storm. However, as it turned out, the storm rumbled around the campsite with big blue flashes of lightning without actually raining on us. The evening sky darkened into black and the frogs struck up a chorus. I watched the lightning flashing darkness beyond the river for some minutes before retiring to my tent for an early night ahead of a very early 4.30am start the next morning.Read more