Prints, plants and a lesson in where to put your tent...

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Tuesday
August 28

We've just spent a most amazing two nights in the Okavango Delta. I loved, loved, loved it and the time spent in the mokoro is some of the most relaxing hours I've ever spent.

Mekoro (plural of mokoro) are traditional boats carved out of a single tree. Ours were of the less traditional kind (fibreglass) that are more common these days but I did see a couple of wooden ones, lined with hay. They each came equipped with a 'poler' who has a wooden pole four to five metres long and uses it to propel us through the water by pushing off the river bed and as a rudder to change direction.

After a three hour trip that wasn't a race (though we were definitely racing), Denise and I arrived last to find tents already up and a fire going. I did notice that tents were literally on top of the living space and parked right next door to each other so alarm bells should have been ringing. Then being told to keep tents close to the fire in case animals come to check us out should have meant the alarm bells were screaming. In fairness, there wasn't any 'close' space left so we put the tent up just beyond Justice and Cecilia's, pulled half the rain sheet off because it was warm and wandered back to the fire to do a whole lot of nothing for a few hours until the game walk. Some dozed, some read, some sat with the polers and guides to chat but I lay in a mokoro with my puzzle book, unfazed by the seemingly infinite number of insects that were crawling over me (travelling through the reeds meant we had picked up all sorts of hitchhikers earlier) .
After lunch I decided to try my hand at poling. By the end of the stay we all greatly admired the locals (most of whom started learning around eight years old) because it is much, much easier than it looks. Nico and Kev had gone fishing and Britt, Maria and I decided to join them. With the others seated, I went about negotiating a twenty nine point turn so I was facing the right way with one of the guys looking on in amusement. He offered to take us and with little persuasion I reversed back, handed him the pole and sat down, defeated. But, wanting to reach them sometime that day meant now was not the time to argue...
There wasn't much to see though. We found the three of them peering over the side of the mokoro, someone having dropped the one and only hook. We newcomers were more interested in the opened packet of marshmallows they had planned to use as bait. After the poler (I know all the names but can't match all of them to their faces, unfortunately) and Kev had both jumped in to look for it, we gave up and went towards the swimming hole, finding others from a nearby camp already there. Being unprepared meant we swam in underwear and/or shorts before it was time for my poling lesson.
Britt, Maria and Daniel were ever so patient. I spun us on the spot several times and covered maybe twenty metres in twenty minutes. Daniel kindly suggested it was due to the current going against us but my fellow foreigners made it quite clear that they thought I was no good... Once again defeated, we were taken back to camp by Daniel.
The afternoon game walk was our first chance to explore beyond the campsite. Deciding to leave my camera behind and only carry water meant I could relax and not worry about not getting the shot I want (which happens all too often). We saw wildly skittish wildebeest, baboons, warthogs but the best find was a huge herd of elephants. It was a sight to behold. Little ones trundled along behind their mums; adults trumpeted to each other; we saw several 'up periscope', checking us out even from a distance. It was mesmerising and we stood watching for as long as we could before the sinking sun meant we had to return to camp.
It was a case of dinner, cards, chat and bed by 10pm for most. Ah, that fresh air... I fell asleep easily and woke however much later when Denise's voice cut through my dreams. Maria and Kev were outside watching four elephants that were feeding about 100 yards away. Mmm, cool. I rolled over, hearing Maria announce that she was going to the toilet (a hole that was dug a short distance away) and drifted off again only to bolt upright, wide awake when I heard Kev swear and urgently tell Maria to 'get back to the tent NOW. Get back here NOW'. Okay, the elephants had my full attention. Problem was, our rain cover prevented us from seeing them and we had to rely on Kev, Maria and soon enough Justice and Cecilia and their running commentary.
"Look how big it is!!"
"Wow, they're huge"
"Shit, are they coming closer?"
"No, they've turned around. Oh. Hang on. Actually, no they haven't"
"Justice, you seriously want to see this, mate. You'll never get this close to a wild elephant ever again" upon which Justice got out of his tent and marvelled at the sight for several seconds until Denise and I heard a cry of alarm and Justice and Kev launched themselves into their tents and zipped them up. The largest of the group was close and had turned towards us, ears flared. Denise and I were beside ourselves. Actually how close are we talking here?? Do elephants trample tents??
"We're sitting ducks here. We might need to make a run for it"
"What?! Whatever you do, do NOT get out of the tent!!!"
"Where are the guides. We need to wake the guides"
"I don't want to sit here and get trampled!!"
"You can NOT outrun an elephant, don't be stupid!!!"
"The guides will be awake. If we heard them, they'll have heard them"
"Then why aren't they doing anything?!"
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God..."
"Guys, where is it!? What the hell is it doing??"
"IT'S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!!"
At which point I may have stopped breathing. I don't think I knew my heart could beat as fast as it was at that moment. The noise of branches being snapped and their congested-sounding breathing rang in my ears. We were metres away from a wild elephant we couldn't see with absolutely no idea what to do or how to react. I grabbed Denise's hand and spoke to her quietly, trying to calm her down and myself in the process. Apart from listening to a lot of swearing coming from the other two tents, all we could do is sit and wait it out.
Then, a fireball flew in a high sweeping arc towards the elephant who obviously had no idea what was going on but didn't intend to stick around and find out. Thank goodness. It bolted into the darkness and we began to breathe. Tents were unzipped as one of the guides walked towards us, his grin visible in the moonlight. Nervous giggling ensured and we shared a 'we-could've-died-but-we-didn't moment before Maria finally made it to the toilet and we crawled back into our respective tents, adrenaline coursing through us. I didn't think I'd be able to sleep again listening to all the noises and after dissecting the event in minute detail, borrowed Denise's earphones to use as ear plugs. It was midnight and felt like the next six hours could possibly be the longest in my life...
Deep down we all knew that as long as we stayed in our tents that there wasn't any danger and we were never going to die. But we sure as hell milked it for all it was worth the following day!
We went on a morning walk and saw the same wildebeest plus zebra, warthogs, and antelope. I learnt about wild sage and poison apples, animals prints and poo, avoided falling down the numerous holes made by aardvarks (they dig a new hole every night, plus all the aborted attempts) and touched both an elephant's skull and a wildebeest's. In the evening we left camp by mokoro and went in the opposite direction to which we'd come and coming upon a large, deep pool spotted a pair of eyes and small rounded ears. A hippo!! Vanishing under the water, it became a game of guess where the hippo will surface. Thankfully my guess was correct and the sore wrist from holding my heavy camera and lens was worth it. I snapped some photos I'm happy with and then sat back to enjoy the view.
The last evening brings a smile to my face now, hours later. Our crew of nine sang and danced for us, their faces glowing around the campfire. They moved effortlessly, seeming to have been born with rhythm that none of us would ever master. When it came to our turn to entertain them, Fred introduced us to Laughing Yoga. Quite possibly one of the most bizarre things I've ever heard about. Most people got into it though and after some local games that required a lot of concentration and gave us many a laugh, we drifted towards the tents (somewhat wary of night-time visitors!) and I fell asleep with surprising ease. .

I've decided that during this leg of the trip (Cape Town to Nairobi), there are a lot of tour companies and outfitters to choose from and if I think it's really worth it, would like to share the info for people that might be travelling here.
We camped at Sitatunga outside of town which had hot showers, a bar, wi-fi and friendly staff. Nick was the guy who organised our trip with Delta Rain which I highly recommend. Polers and guides work on a rota system that means everyone in the village receives regular work. One of our guides, Mixture, is excellent and if you're able to request him, do. Once they saw we were actually interested in learning (guides in many parts of Africa have told us that they're sometimes told they're 'boring' or that people aren't interested so they stop offering information which is sad), they were a wealth of knowledge about flora, fauna and local history and customs and really went out of their way to show us as much as possible (and save us from elephants!). I think when I visit again, I'd go for at least three or four nights so we could go further along the waterways. It's also worth noting that obviously the area is huge and it's not necessarily about seeing animals; they were the bonus. The water is currently peaking and therefore the animals have a lot of choices when it comes to drinking. Know before you leave whether you're expected to feed the porters and guides. Ours had their own food but we shared our snacks with them.
Tips were distributed evenly amongst polers and our two guides took slightly more. Considering they pay to attend guide and first aid courses and put their knowledge to good use, we were okay with this. It also gives the polers an added incentive to further themselves for a better paying job.
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After returning to our starting point and saying goodbye to our crew, six of us were driven a short distance to meet the helicopter for the scenic flight we'd booked. Having a girl's flight followed by a boy's flight meant Cecilia, Denise and I went up first. It was magic. Open sides meant we had unobstructed views as we flew low over the cattle fence that signalled the boundary of the area, across the waterways and over the animals. Herds of elephants pulled branches from trees, stripping the leaves, two dark shadows in the water told us there were hippos close to the surface. We saw crocodiles, antelope and zebra and I loved seeing the paths through the reeds made by animals crossing from one area of land to another.

The ride was fifteen minutes and includes a DVD (which I haven't yet seen as my netbook doesn't have a disk drive. Frustrating). Also organised by Nick, it was a great way to see the small section we'd stayed in. Others in our group did the 45 minute flight which they all loved. Able to go further into the region, they were the first to cross off the Big Five when they saw herds of buffalo.
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Wednesday
August 29th

Botswana has been awesome for so many reasons. One of the simplest being that wild animals that I'd only ever seen in zoos before this trip, wander nonchalantly across the roads, right before your eyes. And our truck. This happened frequently as we headed towards Chobe National Park
We stopped for food and drink supplies and Suse dropped us off for the sunset cruise. We were disappointed that the campsite no longer offered transfers, meaning Suse couldn't stay with us, unable to leave the truck unattended in the small carpark.
The boat we were on held us and four others. We saw crocs sunning themselves on the banks, baboons playing amongst the tree branches, huge elephants, antelope, hippos and finally, Cape buffalo! So I've officially seen the Big Five myself. We watched hippos mating and younger hippos play fighting in the shallows, giraffe wander down to drink at the river bank and then possibly one of the best sights I've ever seen: a herd of elephants crossing the river. The younger elephants were completely submerged and we only occasionally spotted their trunk, coming up for air. The now two-toned older elephants walked onto higher ground, shook their large heads and then proceeded to dust themselves as more and more crossed. It was such a beautiful sight and definitely the highlight of the cruise.

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