Blogs from Okavango Delta, North-West, Botswana, Africa - page 9

Pictures from the Delta Finally getting a chance to get some of our pictures on the blog for all to see. Following are some pictures of our trip into the Delta in Botswana. 2 nights with no facilities. But a really nice hole I might add. Everything including ourselves had to be taken out by Mokoro. Small, hand dug out canoes. Chester and Kirsten even made an attempt at becoming the first American Female Polers. Note a very good attempt I might add. Hope you enjoy.... read more

Getting into my mokoro with Kim, a friend I've made on the trip, it was the first time so far this trip that I've felt "now this is what I'm here for". Seated in a reclining position amongst the bags and gear, at first we sat very still - the mokoro was exceedingly thin - a slight movement right or left resulted in a much more exaggerated movement for the boat. The driver of the boat (or poler) stood at the aft with a long poll and pushed off the bottom of the Okavango riverbed, sending us on our way. The Okavango is a river that begins in Angola, works its way through Namibia and then deltas into the Kalahari desert in Botswana. It is the only inland delta in the world, with the entire river ... read more

After the theatrical entertainment of the previous evening, I was relieved that there was no second performance. The marula fruit remained fastened to the trees and the Clog Family von Genet kept their slippers on and rested. As such, I had a remarkably full night’s sleep, having hit the pillow at an extremely modest 21h30. However, it was now 06h15 and the alarm hadn’t gone off. It was still dark but there were sounds. From the direction in which my feet were facing, the snuffling was alarming enough, but it was the low rumbles, sounds of breaking branches and general scary behaviour inches from my head that was my main worry. Peering into the gloom, I saw an elephant standing right outside my veranda, almost at the foot of my bed. I didn’t even need to ... read more

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. ... read more

There are great things to be said about waking up at home. Even if it's not exactly your home. All 3 of us slept in, and lord knows we needed it. It was very comforting to be at Jerry's house. I had wondered for years where Jerry slept, and now here I was...waking up actually IN in. I lingered under the mosquito net simply because I could. Jerry brought me coffee. We were all moving slowly. Reading magazines while drinking coffee, eventually we each took a bath and got ready for the day. We were going to tour the village. The village where Jerry lives. Awesome. Paula was over by the stove, chatting about something, when she let out a serious yelp and told us that she had just been stung on the knuckle of her ... read more