Tour Days 4 & 5 – Okavango Delta
After leaving some of our luggage in Maun, we begin our exciting 3 day/2 nights excursion into the delta as we drive about 1-2 hours (depending on which dock we go to) to the "dock" where we hop into a mokoro, a traditional dug-out canoe, that'll take us deep into the delta. After a couple hours in mokoro, we arrive to our basic “bush camp”. Please note that there will be no shower for those two days but you will be compensated by the incredible landscape. For 2 full days, enjoy game walks, mokoros (occasionally unavailable due to seasonality), birdlife and game viewing in the pristine wilderness area of the Okavango Delta, the world's largest inland delta. Don't forget to bring a book with you as there is plenty of time in between the early morning and afternoon game drive where you relax at your camp, read a book or have a nap. In the evenings count the shooting stars, sing with the locals or just unwind and enjoy your sundowner and sit around the campfire.
Once again, it’s another ridiculous wake-up and we are packed & ready to begin our trip into the Delta by 7:00am.
We start off with a motorboat ride to the village where our mokoro polers live.
Since it’s so early, it’s a cold start to the day.
“Mokoros” are African canoes. Whereas traditionally, they were made from hollowed out tree trunks, ours are made of fiberglass because it prevents ancient trees from being cut down every few years for the sake of tourism. And instead of being controlled by paddles, they’re operated by a person standing at the stern and pushing with a pole, hence the term “poler”… think canoeing with a gondolier.
The motorboat ride is about 50 minutes down river. At this point we are on the “people side” of the buffalo fence, so other than a crocodile there’s not much to see in terms of animals, unless you count donkeys and cows.
All of us are skeptical about whether the croc is real or rubber. It didn’t move at all for the 10 minutes we spent looking at it.
Once we get to the village, the chaos begins.
It’s a bit of a free-for-all to try and get a poler, but Eric and I luck out. We hook up with a guy named Best and he turns out to be the BEST… he’s the head guide of the group and is quite skilled with the mokoro.
It doesn’t take long for Eric to get comfortable…
… and it doesn’t take long for Best to take the lead.
Of course, being in the lead means we’re also the first to get swarmed by flies, the first to get covered in spider-webs and the first to get whipped in the face by reeds.
At one point I can’t actually see my skin because I’m covered in bugs.
About 2 hours later we arrive at our campsite, which is covered in large elephant footprints and other “presents”… apparently where we’re sleeping is normally an elephant waterhole. I’m not sure how I feel about this, but I’m assured by Best that our group is loud enough to scare away all the wildlife.
Late in the afternoon, we head back out for a sunset game walk. We don’t see any animals this time, but Eric and I don’t really care – we’re just happy to be able to walk around in the bush.
I’m starting to fancy myself as an amateur tracker – just ask Eric about my regular comments on the freshness of a poo trail or a set of animal prints… I have no clue what it all means, but it’s fun!
Our hike back to the mokoros is lovely as we watch the sun set behind a beautiful baobab tree.
As many of you know, when you go camping you tend to rise and set with the sun. So why should it be any different in Botswana? In fact it only seems fitting that if we have a game walk during sunset, we should also have one during sunrise.
So bright and early the next morning, our group piles into our mokoros and away we go…
This time the game walk is more successful…
… and we’re all on the lookout for animals.
We’re even lucky enough to spot elephants!!!
Our afternoon schedule calls for relaxing at the campsite, but as most of you know Eric and I aren’t good at sitting around, particularly when we’re in the great outdoors. So it’s not long before we’re learning how to pole a mokoro …
… and then swimming around in the Delta.
Eric is more concerned with the cold water, than the potential croc attacks.
Our last activity of the day is probably the highlight of the trip, Best and his crew take all of us out for a mokoro ride to view hippos…
Watch the sunset…
And raise a toast to beautiful Botswana.
The evening wraps up with the poling crew singing and dancing around the campfire for us.
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