UBOO Trip - Jo'burg to Vic Falls

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Touch down in the land of the Delta.

N.B. Some photographs (the good ones) courtesy of Markus Sevcik. Markus: Austrian, photographer, banker, dirty joke meistro.

We had a meeting around 6pm in the Westford, when all of the group showed up. We went through the itinerary, collected the kitty, and selected an accountant for the group - me. The guys had their figures wrong, asking us for more money than had been shown online, so I was a little concerned about their professionalism - turned out they were awesome guys. We went for dinner at a nice (and quite pricey) place down the street, and began to introduce ourselves properly. The group consisted of: Carolyn, a holistic health care and homeopath nut (and I DO mean nut); Tahira, a British journalist working in Dubai; Jim and Kris, a young American couple who spend half their time working in the Antarctic (and who are two genuinely lovely people); Stuart and Dawn, an Australian couple, so laid back it must almost hurt (also two of the nicest people you could ever meet); there was Tanya, an Australian music teacher, card shark and wild-child; Bríd, an Irish paralegal working in Melbourne, good drinker and also wild-child; and Markus, simply a legend in his own time. Markus was my tent buddy (nothing happened, despite the jokes), and he may only be described as entertainment in human format. All in all, a pretty good group of people to set off with.

And set off we did; whilst this trip was a lot of fun, some recurring themes were early starts (7am was a sleep in) and long days of driving. We made our own fun on the bus, playing card games, telling stories and making fun of each other. Sometimes we would sleep to make up some of the shut eye lost in the clammy, warm tents at night. Generally though, 9 hour journeys have never whizzed by so quickly. Our first jaunt was to the Khama Rhino sanctuary. We crossed the border into Botswana at Martin's Drift, a stereotypical hot, sweaty border crossing with disinterested staff and lines of cargo trucks. In Africa, things happen either soon or now-now; soon could be any time in the next day or two, and now-now is anything from 5-30 minutes. So, we crossed the border in a little over 40 minutes. The Limpopo river marks the boundary between South Africa and Botswana, a narrow bridge ferrying us into a new nation. When we arrived at the rhino sanctuary, we set up camp and went on a drive. We spotted about half a dozen rhino, though we got quite close to them. We also saw a male and female running at full speed, warning us not to get closer. It was an impressive sight. That evening, we enjoyed dinner, cooked by Johannes and Shadrack, our leader/driver. We also saw some more wildlife: I almost stepped on a house snake, and there were some rather large spiders in the bathrooms.

In the morning, we struck out early for Sitatunga rest camp. This was where we would take a transfer to the Okavango. Arriving late, we had a short evening to spend here. Some people visitied the crocodile farm, and the rest of us just set up camp. Sitatunga had a pool for a nice cooling dip, and quite a good bar, so we were plenty entertained. The morning came especially soon, given the state of our heads, and we boarded an open backed truck to head for the delta. The truck dropped us at mokoro station NG32, from where our polers would push our traditional mokoro - dug-out canoes used here since time immemorial. The mokoro is long and thin, but strong - this description applies to the polers also. They push long poles into the water, strike the ground and propel the canoe along. It's no joke - I tried it a couple of times, and the searing heat and concentration make you sweat. We glided into the delta through narrow channels of reeds and through wide open pools filled with lily flowers and pads. It was amazingly relaxing, the sound of the water being the only distrubance for miles around. We got to our island camp after about an hour, and set up the tents. The afternoon sun is harsh, so we did nothing for a while. I poled some people across to a swimming hole the locals use, but it started to rain so we headed back after a brief dip. The rain subsided after about an hour, and normal sunny service resumed. The first evening was spent on a walk in the delta, spotting wildlife. We saw an elephant in the distance, an Impala a bit closer, and then a submerged hippo. The hippo popped his head out occasionally, but we never got a good look at him. Given that this was the delta and not a game reserve, it was much harder to locate wildlife. The walk was beautiful though, and we learned a lot from our guide about the area. We watched the sun set, and poled back to camp to watch shooting stars and fireflies. This place could make you weep, it's so lovely.

On our second day, we took an early morning walk. This time we found buffalo remains, and a herd of zebra and wildebeest. They hang around together, as where one lacks eyesight or hearing the other makes up for it. They were at a waterhole, and moved on after a while. The landscape was more remarkable than the fauna; the hot, green, damp Okavango Delta is alien but homely at the same time. You can imagine your ancestors in a place like this. The view is never fixed: a sudden rain or strong wind rinses the canvas and paints again with new colours, themes and shapes. We returned to camp before the sun began to bake, and took mokoros out to the swimming hole again. I swore I would never go swimming in an African water hole, due to the parasites, hookfish, etc., that I had heard about. I defy anyone to come here, feel the water and not jump in. I just hope they have drugs for the parasites I have potentially acquired! Seriously though, the water is clean in the delta. The polers drink it all the time, and they are strong and fit specimens. After drying off, we finished the evening with a sundown mokoro cruise. This took us along new routes, through even more impressive lily fields and pools. We spotted an elephant in the distance again. After a stunning delta sunset, we returned to camp for dinner and entertainment - the polers sang and danced to local songs like the ostrich song and elephant song, and encouraged us to sing and tell stories. We traded riddles and played word games, before crashing to bed once more. The delta is unique, and as one of their songs stated, "I shall never forget beautiful delta".

We broke camp early and headed back to NG32, returning to Sitatunga camp. The rest of the group went on a scenic flight, though I declined - having been in the delta, I was not inclined to see it from 200m above. While they were gone, Johannes went shopping for supplies - I was cooking that night. I spent the time checking out the croc farm. They had 5 seperate areas for crocs from 1 to 5 years - the older ones would eat the younger if they were kept together. There was another area for adults, ranging from 30 to 85 years of age. They were huge. I think the most scary thing about a croc is not it's appearance, nor even the speed at which they strike; I think it is the complete passionless, cold, unthinking dedication they show to feeding...and waiting. Sitting coiled for hours, days on end, just waiting for the moment their sinews fire into action and guillotine another victim. After the crew got back from the flight, I had dinner well along. The veggies got a sweet chili veg stir fry, and the rest of us had spaghetti bolognese. Johannes left us a little short on ingredients, so I had to improvise - thanks to Kris and her bright ideas (sweet chili sauce IS nice in bolognese), we managed to get everyone fed. With leftovers. That night was spent in the bar. Markus, Bríd, Tanya, Tahira and I had a bit of a roister, to be honest. We limboed. We pole danced. We picked up bottles from the sand without our hands, and drank from them. Generally, we lived and laughed.

In the morning, we shot over to Elephant Sands. This was a trip highlight; not so much for the game drive, which revealed one elephant close up and a whole lot of dung, but for what happened during the evening. While we sat around munching on a tasty buffet dinner, some elephants approached the outer wall of the area. They were about 30m away from us, drinking and spraying. Their slow, slumberous movement was mesmerising. After a while, they tottered off, and were periodically replaced by one or two more. The best was yet to come. After I had headed to bed, Markus rushed to the tent for his camera: there was a group of at least nine elephants, including babies, back at the wall. I slowly moved into place and watched them. They grunted, they drank, they caressed and bumped each other. All with almost no sound. As we watched, a bright light streaked accross the sky; too big to be a shooting star, too low to be space debris - we thought perhaps a flare. We never found out, but it was just another amazing sight on this evening. The elephants eventually headed off, and we hit the tents (slightly more worried about being stepped on by an elephant than before).

I must mention for potential travellers to Elephant sands that the staff were lovely, though the same cannot be said for the management. A fat, lecherous, rude slob is the owner, and he and some of his friends almost ruined the evening for the group, not least by plying some of the girls with drink and getting aggressive when they wanted to go to bed (alone). I must also mention that these people were not locals; I had nothing but friendly experiences with the people of Botswana.

The final morning arrived. We crossed into Zimbabwe, paying 55 US Dollars for the priveledge. The local currency is literally not worth the paper it is printed on, so everyone uses USD; you even get it from the ATM. Border crossing was over the Mighty Zambezi river, and was quite quick and simple. Our first stop was Victoria Falls. The falls go on forever, with dozens of small and medium flows. The main falls are pretty huge, and 93m in height. I loved Niagara, but Vic Falls are more impressive. The spray falls for kilometers around - we were drenched just walking through the park area. We ambled along, down as far the the border bridge, where the bungees jump from. Markus wanted me to jump with him the next day. Somehow, for 120 USD and in this place, I just wasn't feeling it. I had already done the world's highest; it was enough for me. We shared a last dinner as a group, and said goodbye to Johannes and Shadrack. As it turned out, I would see them the next day, but some people departed early, so it was a goodbye dinner all the same. Some new tour members joined us for dinner, though I didn't get much chance to get to know them.

In the morning, I packed my bags and vacated the tent. I went with Markus for his jump, but declined to do one myself, for already stated reasons. Markus, the nutcase, screamed his lungs out as he jumped, and brought his little video recorder down with him. Shockingly he didn't drop it, and he took some great footage. We got his pictures and left, meeting some of the group for an evening booze cruise. The new members and some of us veterans floated along the Zambezi, getting a great view of a hippo, and enjoying the open bar. I consumed 5 rum and cokes, and staggered off the boat after a 2 hour cruise. It was pleasant and cool on the water, and a nice way to say goodbye to the group. We had a few final drinks back at the municipal rest camp, then I grabbed my bags and shot over to Shoestrings Backpackers. The group were leaving at 7am...I was asleep, and had said my goodbyes anyway. I hope to see some of them again, and with luck I will have the opportunity to do so during this trip. Markus is already considering visiting India while I'm there, and Stu and Dawn offered me their guest room in Australia. Told you - nicer people, you could not meet. My first Intrepid tour has been great. The transport was great, the camping was great and the food was great. As a matter of luck, the group were fantastic.

When you've been ITD* with people, you become as one.

*(In the Delta)

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Comments

[dawn Wilson]

delta
Hi Graeme, Good to read your account of the highlights. Also the mismatched photo titles made for some laughs!!! Stu and I are back at the Bay being laid back on the beach and swimming. Life sure is hard. Safe travels. Dawn