Botswana - The Okavango Delta

So as predicted, the bus journey to Botswana was a long one - 14 hours in the end, with the boarder crossing holding us up. The form of the next 7 days was to continue camping in various locations, building to a 3 day (2 night) bush camp in the middle of the Okavango Delta. Literally in the middle, with no fences, no electricity and no bathrooms...

The first few nights were in camp sites leading towards the Delta, which was all good fun. We have a tour group of 6, plus our very accomplished guide Lloyd. He is a wildlife nut and a great cook, so a good combination to have. Although he has so far held back on the various stories of the Delta, i presume to make sure we don`t panic too much.

So the day of the Delta came, we took a short ride in an open van to the side of the river. We all boarded the local canoes called Mokoros. These are the local and traditional form of transport round the 15,000 sq Km of Delta. Yes 15,000 Sq Km, pretty much the size of Wales (although everything seems to compare to the size of Wales outside the UK, Kruger Park etc) [ahem JJ] 

The Mokoro ride was amazing. Being pushed along by a local Poler in a little Mokoro, with only the supplies we could carry for the next 3 days. Tent, Sleeping bag and some beers.....done.

We arrived at our island and started to setup camp. It was basic, but great fun. The 3 days were spent rising early in the morning and heading out for local walks to see the local wildlife. As i mentioned, the camps were very open, in that you could easily have a heard of elephants walk through in the night. To be honest, i was more worried about the smaller creepy/crawly type things, rather than the big ones. Luckily though we didn`t see anything at the camp. The best bit about the camp was the fact that there was always a tea pot in the fire, night or day - now they must have heard i was coming!!

To kill the time, Kip and i tried our hand at "Poling" the Mokoro. All i will say is that we both stayed upright and neither of us fell in...honest !






So after spending lazy days poling the delta, we also had the option of swimming in the local pools. Not something that we were keen on considering the Hippos and Crocs were very close by. But we did venture in. The pools were great and full of tiny fish that loved nibbling away at your feet. Who needs a Fishy Feet shop when you can have the real thing. Although i do have to say the bigger ones did bite a little.

Our last night in the Delta was spent on a short Mokoro cruise to watch the sunset. What better way to do it then to crack open a bottle of Red wine, sit back and enjoy the view.....

So after enjoying our stay in the delta, we headed back to civilisation and to the camp we had stayed at before. However before we left, we had one last thing to enjoy. What better way to see the Delta you have been staying in, then in the air. Cue scenic flight and a few sick bags .....

The flight was truly AMAZING. To see the Delta from the ground is one thing, but to then see it from the air was another - just Awesome. The diversity of the landscape, the amount of animals just running around in massive herds below. There were however a few minor technical difficulties with my stomach, in that the "not as smooth as a jumbo jet flying technique", caused some in flight disruption (i.e i was heaving for a good while). Still this did not take away from the scenery and splendour that was the Okavango Delta. The pictures on here do not do it justice.

After our short stay in Botswana we sadly had to head back to Joburg. So after another 13 hour bus journey, starting at 5am, we took the long scenic drive to South Africa and arrived in Joburg just before sunset. The next morning we would be on the move again, this time to the airport and Bangkok bound...