Starting the Overland

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So I met my group on Tuesday evening, got a quick tour of the truck, had a group dinner, and went to bed. The next morning we left early for Botswana! We got to Chobe in the afternoon and went for a river safari. Lots of elephants, hippos, and crocs. At one point a whole herd of elephants came down to the river to drink water. There were about 25 of them, some of them little babies. We also saw a dead elephant covered in vultures. And we had some excitement. Our motor decided to die partway through. Luckily our driver was along and he's good with that kind of stuff so he was able to get us almost all the way back. It died 8 times along the way and then we finally had to be towed the last little bit. TIA (this is Africa). It all worked out in the end though and we didn't get rained on event though it looked like it was going to pour! The campsite was pretty nice, especially the bathrooms; the showers were made out of rocks and looked very rustic but were nice.
The next morning we left for the Okavango Delta, near Maun. It was a long driving day! Basically all we did when we got there was set up camp, cook, eat, shower, and bed. I was on cook group so I didn't shower until after it was all cleaned up so it was dark and the lights were on in the bathroom. Let's just say from now on I am definitely showering in daylight! Bugs are attracted to light and there were tons of bugs! They were even crawling through my hair while it was under the water and we couldn't step anywhere without stepping on them! Crazy!

The next morning we left for the Okavango Delta. We were paddled in mokoros (dug-out canoes) through the swampland in small canals in amongst the reeds. Our camp was on an island right under a bunch of trees so it was mostly shaded and very pretty! Real camping instead of in campsites! In the early evening we went on a walk on one of the islands. We only saw elephants, but it was still cool to be walking around in the wilderness. It's more real than when you're on game drives with people radioing to eachother where the animals are. And s'mores for dessert! There was also a really cool lightening storm a little ways away which was cool to watch! No rain though luckily.
The next morning we went on a 4 hour walk on another island. Lots of zebras, wildebeasts, warthogs, jackals, impala, antelope... It was cool when we started but hot by the end. In the afternoon some of us tried poling the mokoros. It's harder than it looks, especially to steer! It's fine going straight, but when you have to turn corners it gets interesting. We also went swimming in the swimming hole. Only a couple of us tried (Sarah, Chandy, Will, Randy, Bear, and me). I'm not sure how many people on this truck like to try new things... We'll see...
In the evening we had a sunset cruise in the mokoros but it was cloudy so there wasn't a sunset. We saw some hippos though and 4 of us even saw one yawning...4 times! It was like he was on a schedule or something! Then we had a singing and dancing show from our guides and then we had to sing for them as well... Compared to them we were terrible! It was fun though!
Early the next morning we went on another walk but didn't see any animals. Still good to get out though! Then another mokoro ride back through the blazing sun. In the afternoon we went on a flight over the delta. There was a lot more land visible than I was expecting! I was expecting more water. I guess it's the dry season... We saw lightening from the plane, some wildebeast, hippos, and a herd of at least 40 elephants walking in a line. Pretty cool!

Now off to Namibia, more about the truck and such later once I find a computer again...

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Photos

Okavango Delta
Dena and I in our mokoro

African Wildlife
Yes that massive bug is on my head. No I didn't freak out at all.

Pumba!
It actually is the Masaai word for warthog. The Lion King got it right...

Poling the Mokoros
It's harder than it looks! Especially the steering part...

Hippo!
Yes I finally got that picture of the hippo yawning...on the third try...