Honeymoon, Part 1. The Okavango Delta.

On Dec 28th, after having been married for an entire week, Glen and I boarded Air Botswana Flight #212. Our destination was Maun, located in the northern part of the country. We both noted the rundown state of the aircraft, which looked to be 30 or 40 years old, and crossed our fingers for a safe arrival—which, despite a bumpy landing, it was. Once in Maun, the excitement really began-- we boarded a six seater plane and headed to the Okavango, a unique location in a land-locked country. Rains that accumulate high in the mountains of Angola flow inland to create a vast lush delta. Once out of Maun, there was nothing but wilderness—no sign of human habitation whatsoever. Because we were flying low, we could see elephants and giraffe wandering below.

The bush pilot was amazing—he landed on the dirt landing strip in the Okavango as if it were teflon—and there we were at Oddballs Camp—our first destination. We were greeted on the landing strip, just outside the camp by Joyce, the ever pleasant manager and our guide for our stay, Kitso.

Although the camp can accommodate 32, we learned we were the only two guests and were treated like royalty. We had booked into a dome tent, but were upgraded to what I called the Presidential Suite—a hut of dried reeds with a thatched roof complete with a full bathroom and hot running water. The mosquito net covered bed was decorated with fresh foliage for our arrival. The only downside of our exotic hideaway was that we shared it with the fruit bats who lived in the peak of the roof. Sure enough, there they were hanging upside down over the bathroom. Joyce, ever pragmatic, commented, “Well, they were here first…” I decided that the best way to deal with then was to avoid looking up as they totally creeped me out in the otherwise very pleasant surroundings.

As we settled in, we could hear the grunts of hippos in the swampy delta outside our hut and that night, one was so close, we could hear him munching grass! Hippos are LOUD! We headed out in a mokoro (a flat bottomed dugout canoe) that is poled through the papyrus. We were both a little nervous as the delta is full of hippos (the most dangerous animal in Africa) and crocodiles. Kitso, our guide, explained that we shouldn’t worry—we travelled through narrow passages in the tall reeds barely wider than the mokoro. Just as we were to cross an open channel, Glen shouted “Hippos!” and sure enough, two eyes and ears just above the waterline, were directly in our path. It was a heart stopping moment and our guide the halted the mokoro immediately. We waited while he judged what the pair were up to and then, when he deemed it safe, quickly crossed the channel.

The next morning, after a quick coffee and muffin, we headed out with Kitso for a walking safari at 630am. After about three and a half hours of non-stop walking, we hadn’t seen much wildlife with the exception of abundant birdlife. Suddenly, Kitso, our unarmed guide, looked down and said one word, “Lion.” At first, I thought he was joking, but we began following the lion tracks. He upgraded the call to “A pair of lions” and we continued. Even I could tell that the tracks were getting fresher and fresher when Kitso’s final proclamation was, “It’s a pride.” After about 30 minutes of tracking, we were losing steam—soaked from the waist down from the tall wet grasses and flagging in the mid-morning heat, we turned back toward the mokoro as the tracks moved further inland. I was relieved. Although I was excited at the idea of seeing a pride of lions, I was also terrified.

We returned to camp to be served a huge English breakfast. Guides and managers dine with the guests (that wouldn’t happen in South Africa!). It gave us a chance to talk more about the animals and their experiences living and working in the delta.

During one of these breakfasts, Kitso confided in us that his uncle, a guide in one of the nearby camps, had been killed recently by a bull elephant during a walking safari. In order to make sure his hikers were safe, he literally sacrificed his own life to protect them. Kitso mentioned sotto voce that the guides had been forbidden to tell guests about his uncle’s death for fear of hurting tourism. After hearing this, I was doubly relieved that we hadn’t found those lions but was again reminded of just how remote and wild the delta is.

Stay tuned for Part 2 when we head to the Chobe River in search of elephants….