Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park


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Africa » Botswana » North-West
November 3rd 2008
Published: November 5th 2008
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It's day 17 (out of 25) of my overland tour and we are currently in Kasane, Botswana (on the border of Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbawe). I'm in a tin shed with internet written on the front, from the outside it doesn't even look like there's electricity inside.

We left Winhoek on 29/10 and crossed the border to Botswana. We camped at the Trailblazers camp site in Ghanzi. There we took a bush walk with the local San people, learnt about their lifestyle and culture, and how it's rapidly disappearing. The walk was interesting, but I can't help think that it was all a bit staged - at one point, one of them was honest enough to tell us that they're happy when overland tours visit because of the money they bring.

The next day (30/10) we made our way to Maun, which is the gateway to the Okavango Delta. The delta is a massive area rich in wildlife, including the big 5. We camped overnight in Maun and left early the next morning for the delta. To reach our destination we took a 90 minute trip on Mekoro (plural of Mokoro), which are basically punts operated by a "poler". This was another bush camp, so no showers and a hole for a toilet. For the first time on the tour I really missed the showers, it just so hot and so humid. In the mid-afternoon all I (and most other people) can do was lie on a mat, sleep and sweat profusely. It was not a pleasant experience. We took 2 game walks during our stay one in the early evening and one early next morning. Both walks were a little disappointing since we only saw the odd animal from a distance, except for a group of zebras and an elephant, which we managed to get within 100 meters. The highlight however was the makoro trip on the way back after the early evening game walk. We stopped by a hippo pool, watched the sunset and hippos coming to surface, only about 50-100 meters away.

We returned to our camp in Maun on 1/11 and I immediately jumped into the shower to cool down. We moved to Kasane last night (2/11), which is next to the Chobe National Park and the Chobe river. This morning we took a game drive, which was the best game drive so far on this trip in terms of variety. We saw hippos, crocodiles and buffalos (for the first time). We also saw lots of antelopes of various kind, but they're becoming so common that they're hardly worth a mention now (I think we're a bit spoilt). Unfortuneately, we are yet to see the elusive leopard, the only one of the big 5 still left to see.

Again the internet is pretty slow so I'm going to upload the photos later.

In other news, I have decided to invest more underwear. I don't care people say, four (as I was advised) is NOT enough.


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