Day 3 we flew from Johannesburg to Maun, Botswana, and then transferred to a bush plan for the quick trip to the Okavango Delta and the Camp Okavango Lodge. The airstrip welcoming committee were a family of warthogs. Normally the lodge is a 5-minute walk from the airstrip, but because of a robust rainy season the flood waters flowing from Angola put the road underwater, so our 5-minute trek became a one-hour boat ride. Each year, about 2.6 cubic miles of water spreads over the 2,300–5,800 square mile area of the delta toward Botswana’s Kalahari Desert. So, in the actual delta we were on a boat and a walking safari, both new to us. Okavango Delta is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the seven natural wonders of Africa.
The ride from the airstrip was beautiful. Papyrus waving in the breeze, an antelope called the Red Lechwe, whose hooves and body are made for prancing through water, surprised us on the waters edge. Islands of baobab and marula trees and wild basil and sage were refuge for baboons and impala. Fish Eagles and Ibis hung out in the trees, and tiny Malachite Kingfishers and Bee Eaters perched on reeds near the water. Steve, our guide, is a professional photographer and many of the photos in my slide shows are his. He happily shared all of them with us. What an added bonus!
The lodge itself was made up of 12 suites on individual platforms with an elevated walkway connecting them to the main lodge buildings: the dining hall, the bar, firepit, office, 2 lounges, pool, and viewing platform. We were welcomed with song!
On our way to our suites we were notified that Mark and Jan could not go to theirs quite yet. Baboons had broken in and made a mess. Housekeeping was hurrying to clean it up, so they toured our suite to get the lay of the land.
We were told that during the day we could walk around, but at night we needed an escort to or from our rooms. Since the water lapped the stilts on which our suites were perched, and I could hear the hippos grunting and lions roaring not terribly far away. I was happy for the escort. There were bush buck and bush faun in the camp, and fruit bats hanging from the eaves during the day. It’s a jungle out there.
I could hear the hippos grunting and lions roaring not terribly far away. I was happy for the escort.
Nightly before dinner a campfire warmed us, and it WAS cold out. We’d have cocktails or wine and share stories, getting to know our fellow travelers. We met a woman who was the state veterinarian in Vermont before she retired. She lived not far from Mark’s family and Steve’s late mom. Small world! When the staff called us for dinner they sang us into the dining room. I seriously want to know if they only hire workers that can sing, or if all Africans have amazing voices. There was a call and response and we white folk sounded pathetic. We couldn’t even pull off a half decent version of happy birthday.
After dinner we indulged in a glass of Amarula, the South African cream liqueur, which is similar to Baileys. Better I think. And then the staff handed us our bush babies! Hot water bottles in a cozy to put in our beds. They actually were still warm in the morning. Man, it was hard getting up for our morning game walk. But the showers were awesome! His and hers!
Our walking safari was a bit of a boat ride away, and Taps, our guide from the lodge knew exactly where to go in fairly narrow waterways that all looked exactly the same. No GPS, nothing. I asked him how he knew, and especially if he’d seen something he wanted to share over the radio to the other boats, how could he tell them where to go? He said we communicate by past sightings, like go to the place where we saw the lion take down the lechwe last week. Okay. Your neighborhood.
Taps had a rifle on the walking safari, and we walked single file. It was so interesting seeing how the elephants would get water in the dry season from the bark of the marula tree, scraping it almost bare, and which animals liked the fruits of which trees. The elephants LOVE the marula fruit, so I’m guessing that might be why there’s an elephant on the Amarula bottle label. We saw baboons, we saw bee eaters sitting snuggled together in the morning sun, animal tracks, elephants, impala – aka McDonalds of Africa – with their M shaped markings on their rumps they’re the major food source of the African carnivores. A healthy impala population means a healthy carnivore population.
We were surprised with a bush lunch! Tables and lovely food set up on one of the islands we’d walked. I did question why there was no rifle that time. Hmm.
On the way to the airport the following day Taps took us to an area that Mark and Jan said looked like the Everglades, and Taps called it Florida. And he found us a hippo pool!
On the way to the air strip we could see a bush plane taking off and we were concerned it might be ours. Steve Lake identified it as a red tailed Cessna, as though he were identifying a bird. He said ours was a green tailed Cessna. Taps said if we’re late we’ll just apologize. Things are pretty loosey-goosey in the bush.
Next up – Botswana Gomoti Camp
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