The Okavango DeltaAug 29, 2006
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Sunset in the Delta
Tom in the Truck
Driving in the Delta
| From Maun airport, took a scenic flight into the Okavango Delta - well worth the extra fee - to get to a place where Drifters keeps a few bush trucks, then drove for about 45 minutes on very rough bush roads to the mokoro station. Mokoros are the dug-out canoes use by the locals in the Delta. It is really the only way to travel through the Delta. Then, a 45 min. mokoro ride to the camp - unbelieveable beauty, peace, and privacy! The Okavango is a river that flows into the NorthWest of Botswana, and quickly spreads out into many 'fingers' that end in the Kalahari desert and never make it to the sea. It is in this delta area that there are many channels and streams forming a huge marshland that flows around many 'islands'. it was on one such island that we camped - far from any other camp or human settlement. this means that the abundance of natural vegetation, birds, and wildlife carried on undeterred, and we got to observe and admire much of their beauty. we spent 3 nights in the Drifeters' camp here, but would have loved to stay longer. the delta is a very magical place. Every night we were "serenaded" to sleep by hippos calling from the water near our camp. each morning, early, we'd go for a mokoro ride around the delta to see magnificent wildlife - we could get very close because the mokoros are silent and very non-invasive - fantastic! then, late afternoon we'd do another ride. often, we'd stop at other 'islands' in the delta and do bush walks, which were all great. this was our first great, close encounter with a charging elephant - right near our camp! at one point, while on the loo, an elephant walked right by Ella - now that's a loo with a view! thank goodness he seemed not to notice anything at all...a few heart palpitations, but an unforgettable experience! we saw lots of great wildlife including wart hogs, impala, giraffes, and monkeys, as well as coutless birds - pelicans, various storks, fish eagles, etc. the plan on the last evening was to find hippos, but instead we encountered the one power boat in the delta, and so decided it wouldn't make sense since the boat would scare everything away - oh well. |
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