Day 11. Our return to Sitatunga from the

It was a slow start to the morning as it was our intention to leave the island at 9.00. We are now used to de-camping so it did not take us long to get ready. With the help of the 20 polers we were soon able to leave the campsite as clean as we found it.

It was an hour’s pole to the village of Daunara where we were met by the Delta Rain crew (who run Sitatunga and the delta mokoros) and we loaded the vehicles. We said farewell to our poler friends, and Charlotte G thanked them and gave Mr K a large tip for him to share among them.

Our visit to the Okavango had been a huge success. What a great array of animals we had seen and the mokoros and their polers had been special.

It was a 2 hour drive back to Maun where we bought more water (and an ice cream or two) before heading 13 kms out of town to Sitatunga Camp. Bheki had looked after the truck and our suitcases in our absence and he had prepared lunch for us.

After lunch we helped them pack all their camping equipment and then had a farewell gathering to say goodbye to Bheki and Munya. Aiofe thanked Bheki and Millie thanked Munya. Both spoke well and passed on a well-deserved gratuity to each of them. The truck left soon afterwards, on its way back to base in Victoria Falls .

We had a lazy afternoon after moving into our Meru-style tents (each has its own en-suite). Swimming , volleyball, laundry, reading. The temperature sat in the high 30s but it is a dry heat.

Everyone was hungry by dinner time and we had our first meal prepared by the Sitatunga cooks. It was a great success, eaten under the stars. Two Sedie teachers, Bofelo and Sebubu, came to say hello to everyone and stayed for a drink.

We had no problem suggesting that their new beds should be tried out at the end of another hot day.Read more