Okavango Delta

Before coming to Botswana I had absolutely no preconceived notions as to what the country would be like. When we arrived at the border crossing I was greeted by an exuberant customs official. she cried out "Welcome, Welcome to my beloved Botswana!" I said hello and told her I was looking forward to visiting her country. She replied enthusiastically, " You will fall in love with it, I am certain!". The pride she had in her country was absolutely radiating through her eyes and her smile and I thought to myself... I already love it!

We headed straight to our campground in Maun, and got ready for our two day mokoro trip into the Okavango Delta, the largest inland delta in the world. This trip is known as one of the most dangerous things a person can do while on vacation because of the close encounters with the wildlife! This side trip cost 140.00 and was absolutely amazing. Worth every penny! We packed everything we needed including the food and fire grate and drove through the bush for an hour until we reached the shoreline of the Delta. Here we boarded two by two into small canoes, known locally as a mokoro. We sat low to the water and the poler took us on a lazy meandering stroll through reeds, water lilies, and small pools of water that were home to hyppos and crocodiles. At times, the reeds were so thick it looked like we were paddling through a field of green with trees far in the distance. The trip took three and a half hours before we reached a small camp on the side on an island in the delta. Here, we set up camp for the next two nights and prepared ourselves for an evening game walk.

The most amazing thing about walking in the delta is the proximity to the animals. Even though this makes it dangerous, it also makes it beautiful and thrilling! We saw the zebras and elephants from less than a small city block away!

In the evening on the second night we went back out in the Mokoro to visit the hyppos and enjoy another little stroll through the reeds.the evening sky was turning hazy shades of orange and pink. I had the most amazing flashback to another canoe ride many years ago! As I sat there listening to the water lapping against the boat and looking through the reeds I remembered vividly being in a canoe on Pine lake with my Dad at sunrise or sunset. I think, I was sick and he took me out on the water to calm me down. The details of that long ago day are hazy but I know we were out there together watching the sky change color and observing a quiet moment. Instantly all of the stress just left me and was replaced by a serene calm. The memory was so vivid it brought tears to my eyes! My reverie was interrupted abruptly when we reached the hyppo pond. As if calling me back to the present a huge hyppo surfaced about 15 feet in front of our mokoros and the polers all raced us backwards out of the way! The hyppo is the most dangerous animal in Africa and is known to just charge and kill! We sat there watching them swim from a safe distance until the sun went down!