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Published: July 30th 2010
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“The journey not the arrival matters” T.S.Eliot(seems he might have been bitten by the travel as well as writing bug?).Now there is always something exhilarating about setting off on a new leg of a journey.There is the element of the unknown,new countryside to cast an eye over and who knows what awaits at the destination.But before getting anywhere in this World there is the little challenge of negotiating border posts.At the Mahembo border post we were effectively leaving Namibia behind and entering Botswana.This is probably the least busy border post anywhere on the planet and probably explains the friendly reception and hassle free stamping of passports and processing of bits of paper we experienced.An observation….the Botswana border posts are an absolute delight.They are clean,efficient and manned by friendly people who are genuinely excited to see people visiting their country.Ahead lay about 120kms of tarred road hugging the western fringes of the Okavango Delta.The thought of trying to describe this unique eco system is beyond my abilities and I unashamedly quote from “The Shell Tourist Travel and Field Guide of Botswana” written by Veronica Roodt.”Imagine crystal clear,fast flowing channels of water tunneling their way through papyrus,reeds and tall swamp grasses,dotted with water
lilies that elegantly sway with the flow.Imagine a tranquil lagoon that belies the fact that it is brimming with submerged life-hippos,crocodiles,water plants,fish,aqauatic verterbrae,molluscs,crustaceans,bacteria and algae-and almost bursting with energy that flows from one creature to another in a continuous cycle of life.Imagine palm studded islands etched against a sunset of red,yellow and purple hues.Imagine a Fish Eagle throwing it’s head back as it utters it’s jubilant call,as if proud of being part of this unique ecosystem and wanting to announce it to the World.A unique ecosystem it is indeed-a true oasis situated in the middle of the largest stretch of continuous sand in the World,the Kalahari basin.”After reading that wonderful description the key thought was…why has it taken so long to get here?But en route there were a few observations with one being the fairly large number of donkeys one sees.Many are tethered together in twosomes and they look desperately sad and forlorn.This got Sue into a morose frame of mind and not forgetting her wanting to abandon everything a year ago in Australia to,firstly,save the dolphins and then abandoning them to dedicate the rest of her life to koalos….well,she started to utter things along the lines of saving the
donkeys of Botswana but,thankfully,she got over it.To our left,spread eagled across 19000 sq kms,lay the Okavango Delta and fringing both sides of the road were a vibrant mix of beautiful trees in an array of green hues.The tourist guide referred to above made specific mention of the road to our next stop off being particularly challenging.At a place on the map called Etsha 13(no obvious clues as to how it got this particular name),we turned left and immediately entered a small rural village which is,in fact,Etsha 13.Immediate reaction…this can’t be right but one of the spaza shop owners pointed straight ahead.This is where it all got a bit interesting with the near record 2010 flooding of the delta resulting in having to cross a number of small flowing streams.Sue,with her legs tucked up on the seat just in case,was convinced that we were effectively heading into the swamps.Then we struck some very thick and soft sand which prompted an immediate stop and release of air from our tyres.A 13km journey,which included a few wrong turns,took about an hour of really challenging off road driving but the good old Toyota’s(Prado and Fortuner)rose to the occasion.Guma Lagoon Camp is located on one
of the countless number of lagoons in the system and is fringed with those magnificent papyrus,reeds and lilies against the shore line.Choosing and setting up camp is now getting less frenetic and in no time at all we stood back and admired our new setting.One word….superb!This is not a particularly large camp and also offers decent tented accommodation.Run by a bunch of mostly young South Africans,their business has been hammered by the high water levels which resulted in roads being damaged or cut off.The main river(Kavango)is some 24kms from the camp and one can take boat rides there although it would prove to be a fairly long and expensive ride.We opted instead for a one hour jaunt around the lagoon and adjacent channels and we managed to chalk up a fair tally of birds despite this being “off season” for the many species which frequent the delta in their huge numbers.This is essentially a “chill out” stop where it is catch up time for grubby clothes to be washed and reorganizing of vehicles(in particular,the Elliotts,who being first timers have too much stuff…..but you learn).Bear in mind we head for Moremi and the Central Kalahari from here so there is lots
of wild life opportunity up ahead.Once again the bird calls are delightful with the Heuglin’s Robins,in particular,being extremely noisy with their beautiful, melodious song.Along with the Swamp Boubous,which perk their heads up and sing in duet,there is no doubt these two bird calls will remain etched in our minds long after leaving Botswana.One incident of note was the discovery of a large cobra in our toilet area when the camp staff were sorting out a small ablutions problem.Not sure why he chose that not so lekker spot but maybe snakes don’t have a keen sense of smell?Alas,one can never tire of sitting around a roaring camp fire listening to the sounds of the night provided by grunting hippo and the call of the Fiery Necked Nightjar.Camp fire chat straddles a wide range of topics and I am constantly amazed at Bruce’s fascinating fishing stories.He really should engage a ghost writer and put all those escapades into print…it would be a compelling read.Bearing in mind we have not seen any TV,read a newspaper or listened to radio for almost three weeks,there is no discussion about what may or may not be happening in the big wide World.Thoughts are now drifting to the more remote parts of this wild and fascinating country.No rating done for Guma Lagoon Camp…..we ran out of time if that is possible!
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Connor Birkett
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Hi Tim - Have been drawn into your writings --- so much so that I have lost track of time and will be late for a meeting with Craig Dingles!! Regards to Sue and my folks please. Hope that my Dad's back is OK? Have been doing a bit of fishing lately off my ski --- not much success. But more chance of catching a fish than sitting in my office. All's good in Durbs! Connor