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Published: April 16th 2008
Preparing for Take-Off
Our safari notes indicated that we'd be driving into the Delta. It was therefore, with some surprise that we found out that the three of us would be given air-travel. This was new to all of us, the safety briefing consisting of "the fire extinguisher is at the front and so is the emergency exit. Please do not lean out of the windows!"I’m sure I slept last night, but no sooner had I turned off the light and got under the mosquito net than it was morning. The little alarm clock was screaming at me to get up, its volume disproportionately large for its size.
After a (very) hot shower, I made my way down the sandy paths to breakfast. Both Brian and Jill were there before me and were waiting patiently for their cooked meal. I took a couple of mugs of fresh black coffee and ordered a pair of fried eggs (with bacon, mushroom and beans on the side). Being Tuesday, my repast was topped by my weekly mosquito tablet and, for the journey ahead, a couple of travel tablets. Alfred was making the most of his few days alone and joined us late for breakfast.
Afterwards, we rather excitedly returned to our rooms, packed our bags and headed to reception to settle our bills from the night before. You can’t rush anyone in Africa and it was a good twenty minutes before both bills had been paid and we made it to the truck.
Alfred had removed the trailer, so what we didn’t need to take was
Initial View of the Delta
We were flying at about 1000 feet and the views were remarkable. It was an amazing experience to be seated behind the pilot and to see all the instruments. I didn't realise that you couldn't actually see out of the front window except at take-off and landing.
Didn't spot too much wildlife down below, except a solitary elephant, some zebra, a crocodile and a man and his mokoro. deposited safely in the trailer and locked away. That which was needed for the coming days was man-handled aboard the truck, secured and we were off.
Flight to Nowhere
Maun International Airport is an interesting affair. We drove through the gates and parked at the side of the road, right outside the terminal building. Alfred went to get our tickets whilst we studied photographs by the side of the road. He returned with three vouchers (not tickets) and proudly informed me of my name change! For the purposes of this flight, I was becoming an ‘A’ and not a ‘B’. Thanking him for the promotion to the head of the alphabet, we headed into the terminal building, which was more like somebody’s sitting-room. We enquired as to the time of departure, forgetting that this was Africa. The reply naturally was “when all the passengers are there”!
After a short wait, we were introduced to a gentlemen wearing a faded demin shirt, shorts and sporting a pair of sunglasses. Thinking he’d come to collect our bags, it was a surprise when he shook our hands and introduced himself as our pilot! This is the first time I have been
The Emergency Services
I found this sight so amusing - I'm not really sure what use a bucket of sand would have been in the event that we would have been so unlucky to have crashed. I'm assuming that the plastic drum contains aviation fuel - and I have no idea what happened to the stewardess! personally greeted at an airport by our pilot!
Passing through the usual scanners, etc., we walked along the apron to where our plane stood - a little Cessna! Our bags were loaded into the tail and I climbed aboard, sitting just behind the pilot. It turned out to be a good seat simply because it wasn’t facing into the sun, which meant that I had great views over the Delta.
The pilot went through the safety drill, informing us that the fire extinguisher was at the front by his feet and the emergency exit was, well, where he was! He also informed Jill, who was sitting next to him, to keep her hands and feet off the controls. We also pleaded with Jill to keep her hands and feet off the controls!
Starting the single engine, the pilot feathered the propeller and we trundled down the taxiway onto the end of the runway. Shutting the window and opening the throttle, we almost moved forwards and after a couple of hours, had built up enough speed to get into the air. The feeling was utterly fantastic as we flew 1000 feet above the countryside, over villages, elephants and
We're Down!
After a remarkable ride some 30 miles into the Delta, it was an incredible sight to see the landing strip approach and to achieve such a smooth landing on such a rough surface.
The plane clearly carried some other supplies but the guy with the wheelbarrow caused me some amusement. Up until then, the most ridiculous device I'd seen to unload an aircraft was a farm tractor and trailer. little men in mekoro.
Sitting behind the pilot, I did notice that there was actually no view out of the front. It had never occurred to me that, although I knew that one flew “nose up”, that all flying had to be done on instruments or by looking out of the side window. The only time one could see out of the front was when the tail was up, i.e., at take-off, landing or crashing.
After a 30 minute flight, I spotted the landing strip ahead and all too soon, the short journey came to a relatively smooth ending. We taxied to the end of the sandy strip. The pilot cut the engine and the ground crew rushed forwards. I admit that I’m guilty of exaggeration here as “ground crew” should read “a man with a wheelbarrow”!
Delta Camp
Having collected our bags from the plane ourselves, we thanked the pilot and were greeted by Poison and Colin, our two local guides We were also greeted by Amy and her Land Rover. I’m very happy to have an African guide called Poison, but Colin? Please? Standing next to the bucket of sand that constituted the emergency facilities
Mekoro - yes, not mokoros!!!!
Having been astounded by a surprise flight into the Delta, a landing on a sandy strip and the sight of the emergency services, it was now a surprise to see the next mode of transport.
These traditional mekoro were hewn from the wood of the sausage tree and would last some 20-30 years. They turned out to be surprisingly stable - we later used the more modern plastic version but one constantly felt in danger of capsizing.
We were greeted by our guides, three taking one boat and myself (with my poler) in a second, following behind. in the event of a mishap in the aircraft department, Poison informed us that he played football for his local village and was such a good player, that he usually found himself alone at the opposing goal mouth with just the opposing defenders. Hence, he was considered poison. Colin? No - you don’t want to know; that was tedious!
Our two guides led us off the airstrip and down a path to the water’s edge. There in front of us was an array of flimsy-looking mekoro that looked as though they’d sink at the first sight of water. Poison proudly informed us that
his mokoro was built from the wood of the sausage tree and would last approximately 20-30 years. I wasn’t worried - I wasn’t going in his mokoro! Colin’s looked much more modern, though still wooden and, more importantly, only contained two of us!
With Poison leading with Brian and Jill, Colin poled me through the dense mat of Hippo Grass and Papyrus, following little channels probably forged by larger animals than our craft! Our boat was very stable but I did notice that the one in front was rather close to the waterline every time
Leaving the Airstrip
Poison (yes, that's his name), Brian and Jill headed off in the first mokoro towards our camp with Colin and I behind.
Poison was the more experienced guide and, at this point, had heard hippo noises coming through the grass. His keen hearing and eyes kept us out of trouble and, in this instance, guided us to our first hippo sighting. Poison poled forwards. Not wishing to say anything, I waited for them to sink; they didn’t.
We very gently and very quietly glided through the grass accompanied by the sounds of grunting. Wishing one of the polers would not make so much noise, Poison suddenly stopped and lifted his hand. Straining forwards over the grass from his standing viewpoint, he’d located the sound of the grunting and carefully guided us into the edge of a water-lily strewn pool. There, in the open water at the other end, was my first encounter with a real live hippo that wasn’t behind bars or glass. For once, I was in its territory and I was the one being watched. The hippo kept an eye on us, ensuring we didn’t get too close.
After a number of photographs, we silently moved off down the little channels, trying to take in the beauty of situation in which we found ourselves. Occasionally, we’d reach an open stretch of water and Poison would wait at the edge for 5 minutes, the length of time a hippo would remain submerged. Once satisfied there were no hippo, we’d cross at relatively high speed into the cover of
Hippo in the water ...
I cannot think of a more pleasurable experience (well, I can, but I can't write about it here!) - sitting in a canoe, floating through reeds across blue, clear water carpeted with water lilies on a very hot day and there, to the front, a hippo. Pinch me and wake me up! the reeds on the other side.
Suddenly, Poison stopped. From his vantage point he could see things that we couldn’t and the look on his face indicated he wasn’t happy. Barring our way, in the water, was a fully grown elephant! There was little our guides could do but clap an irregular rhythm in the hope of getting the elephant to move off. Fortunately, he did, but as I’ll relate later, not as far as we’d hoped.
Running the mekoro onto the ground, we disembarked and were met by Amy and Jess. Inviting us into the main lodge, we sat down and had a cold drink before completing a few forms and hearing the house-rules. Grabbing our bags, we were guided through the forest to our respective lodges - mine being a tree-house called Genet’s Lair, because, unsurprisingly, genets lived there.
It was at this point that I had my
Out of Africa experience. Here I was, in the middle of Africa, with elephant and goodness knows what around me, yet I was sitting in a comfy chair with a drink in my hand (and not listening to Mozart!). How quiet it all was - how very
My Own Treehouse
I never had a tree-house as a kid, so I was over the moon at having a real tree-house for a few days. Although it came fitted with a shower, ablution area, two beds and a lounge area, there were few walls - affording fantastic views over the Delta. The mosquito net was a necessity. quiet.
Suddenly, there was a crack next to my lodge and peering around the corner, I saw the back end of an elephant disappearing around the lodge. What a story to tell the others!
Having unpacked my carrier bag and relaxed in the sun for a while, I headed off back down the track to lunch. Keeping a wary eye, I almost walked straight into the elephant, standing just off the path. I had no idea that something so large could be so quiet! I looked at him and he looked at me. I took out my camera and he looked at me. I took a few photos and he looked at me. I looked at him and he lifted his trunk, flapped his ears and shook his head. I backed away and went off to change my underwear!
Later, with hunger getting the better of me, I ventured out again and made it safely to the main lodge where Brian and Jill were just as excited about their elephant experience as I was. Apparently, they have a marula tree outside their lodge and it was considered the property of the elephant. Brian’s photos were as charged
My Lodge
No permanent structures were permitted in this part of the Delta and thus, all the lodges were built as tree-houses. The paraffin lamp at the foot of the steps was the only thing to guide me in the dark but did keep some of the animals away.
This particular lodge was called Genet's Lair - because a couple of Genets played on the roof at night. Believe me, they were wearing boots! as mine!
Going on Foot
After a lunch of Lasagne, salad and a bottle of Chenin Blanc, we headed off again in the mekoro to Baobab Island, named after the trees to be found there. It was interesting to note that our lodges were on Snake Island! Floating past wild rice and hippo grass, we eventually made landfall and started off on our 3 hour walk. The scenery was stunning but the only animals we saw were zebra and impala.
On our return trip, Poison’s keen eye resulted in our first Painted Reed Frog. These are so small and change colour dependent upon the temperature. A fully grown adult, at full maturity and in complete evening wear, will, all things being considered, taking into account variations due to the pull of the moon and the affect of the tides, be about an inch long.
Relaxing back at the lodge, there was time to update my travel notes, read about some of the wildlife and generally relax. As sunset neared, the noisy creatures of the Delta started up. First one frog, then a second and then all the frogs in Africa descended on our patch. For such tiny
Close Encounter with a Pachyderm
This marvellous animal was a regular visitor to this part of the Delta and we saw him at least twice a day. Having chased him away from the main lodge, he turned up close to my lodge where I came across him as I was walking through the trees.
By this time, this chap had a poorly foot and was feeling rather grumpy - as I found out later. beings, the Painted Reed Frog emits a very loud, high pitched whistle. I wasn’t looking forward to trying to sleep!
After sunset, we enjoyed a chicken meal with another bottle of Chenin Blanc and sat around the candles fending off the mosquitoes. Later, with Amy leading the way, we trooped in single file through the tree whereupon we almost ran into the back of a Cape Buffalo. These are quite vicious beasts who look at you as though you owe them money. We both beat a hasty retreat and eventually, I arrived at my lodge, in the dark and settled down to an open night under the stars.
Sheer joy!
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zsteve
S
Excellent photos
John I loved the story and the shots of the elephants and the hippo - excellent! With envious regards from Europe Steffen