Wednesday, February 3rd - Okanavgo Delta, Botswana

These early mornings are getting to me and this one was even more complicated than others.  Luckily most of my bags were packed and ready to go last night so I just had some final shuffling to do.  Our big bags went into storage for overnight and all we took with us was our backpacks for our overnight camping expedition.

We were ready to go by 8 but it took a bit of time to load the tents, mattresses, tables, chairs, cooking gear and food so it was a bit later when we took off.  We rode in an open vehicle that was probably meant for 16 people max but we got our 17 in and put the guides up front in the cab.  We were on the main road for a while but then turned off on to a dirt road that was very bumpy and dusty and yet also muddy in places.  There were several different routes in some place as vehicles tried to go around the deepest water holes that had formed on the road.  They had obviously had rain in this area as it was quite green looking and there was a lot of water laying around in the fields and on the road.  It was a much poorer looking area with the homes being made of sticks and reeds and having thatched or tin roofs.  Many of the homesteads had a wire fence around certain areas, presumably to keep the livestock in.  Cattle, goats and sheep were being herded along the road by young boys and/or old men.  There were several old rickety bridges which we avoided by driving through the driest parts of the rivers and streams.  I'm not sure how they manage that when the water is high.

We eventually got to the water's edge, or at least as far as our vehicle would travel.  Then we had to unload all of the supplies and load them on to the dug out canoes or mokoros which would be our transportation for the next couple of days.  The mokoros were about three feet wide and had flat bottoms and curved sides.  I think they were fibreglass, not wood, but that didn't really matter.  They placed two plastic chairs in each canoe and these were simply the normal plastic chairs from any school or hall except the legs had been removed.  On top of each one of them they piled a sleeping mattress so our ride was actually very comfortable.  The top edge of the canoes rode only a few inches above the water level but that was okay because there really wasn't much of a current or any waves.  As long as we stayed virtually motionless, the poler at the back would propel us through the water and keep the canoe in balance.  With 18 people plus all our supplies we had 10 or 12 canoes in our contingent, and all we had to do was relax and enjoy the trip.

There were some reeds at the side of the water as we started out but very shortly we were in a large open area.  We had an area of high reeds to our right and we stayed quite close to them.  On the other shore there were more reeds and also some hippos so we stayed well away from them.  Our poler, Oscar, was renting a canoe to do this trip as his canoe had been broken by a hippo that attacked him a few months ago.  Oscar got away but the canoe did not fare so well.  Of course Oscar had to swim to land and then make his way across the delta, which has a lot of water and reeds in it and crocodiles and hippos and other animals, all in the dark since his flashlight wend down with his canoe.  He did make it home the next morning though.  Given that story we were happy to avoid the hippos.  

There were beautiful white and lilac-coloured water lilies along the way.  They were out in full as it was now about mid day.  We turned into the reeds a bit further on and at that point we had only a few inches of water on either side of the canoe before we had reeds tat were rising up about six feet.  Sometimes you could see the canoe in front of you.  Sometimes you could just see the poler's head and other times you could see nothing but you could still hear the polers talking to each other.  Of course we didn't have a clue what they were talking about since we don't speak their language.  We did ask Oscar how they find their way out here since you really can't see much and he said it was just by landmarks - trees they can see mainly like or other markings.  And he said the channels change all the time depending on the river so it must be difficult.  This is the Chobe River Delta and this river flows in both directions depending on which end has the most water at any given time.  That must add to the confusion as well. 

Aside from the polers talking occasionally, the whole setting was very peaceful and quiet.  You could hear the swish of the water as we moved along and the birds calling but that was about it.  Just about an hour into the journey we started to land to make our camp.  However, others were there first so we had to go find a new place.  Within half an hour we had found it so we all piled out of the canoes and started carrying the stuff up from the canoes to where we were making camp.  

This particular spot had not been used lately so the grass was quite high in it so the first thing we had to do was knock all the grass down.  With all the polers and half our gang helping out that didn't take too long.  By then the rest of us had the stuff all up from the boat and it was time to put up our tents.  Luckily we had the polers to help with that process because we might not have been very good at it otherwise.  The polers also pitched tents in the area so we had 15-16 tents and a tarp to cover the cooking area in our little village.  

One of the first duties was to set up the "toilet".  It looked pretty archaic when they were showing it to us but it worked just fine.  They dug a hole in the sand and then put a toilet seat on legs over it.  At the entrance to the area there was a shovel and some toilet paper so you just had to take some paper and the shovel, go do your thing and then shovel a bit of sand into the hole when you were done.  Of course that was for use only during daylight and early evening hours.  When it was dark, if you had to go you just went out behind your tent unless, as Oscar said, you had "serious business" to do, then you could use the toilet but you had to make sure there were no animals around before doing so.  Yeah, I was definitely going to avoid that trip in the dark.

Shortly after getting set up and moved in, lunch was ready.  It was just buns with meat, cheese and tomatoes and they were great.   In the afternoon some of the people went for a swim and some went to learn how to pole a canoe, which ended up in a dunking for at least one person.  I chose to do neither and was happy with my decision when some of them came out with leeches on them.  The water was very shallow so it really wasn't swimming but rather wading out and sitting in the water to get cooled off.  That's definitely my style but not in unknown muddy looking waters.  I was quite happy joining the group that was relaxing and reading the afternoon away.  Definitely no internet here so that was not an option.  I don't think I even took my iPad with me, figuring it was probably safer back at the hotel.

Later in the afternoon some of the folks went for a bush walk.  I skipped that part too.  It was about 40 degrees and very humid.  I was already feeling hot after the boat ride and hadn't cooled down a lot after relaxing for a while so I stayed with some of the others who were also taking the lazy option.  The walkers were gone for two hours and they came back totally exhausted, wet from sweating and really thirsty even though they all took water with them.  They saw some interesting things but I'm still glad I stayed behind.  One of them definitely suffered heat stroke and was out for the rest of the day/evening and still feeling rough the next day, and one of them got quite burned.

Dinner of rice, minced meat in a tomato sauce, coleslaw and fruit salad was eaten around the campfire and happy hour and after dinner drinks were also around the campfire.  The polers entertained us for a while with some of their traditional songs and dances and that was really fun.  Many people from the village show up hoping to get a job as a poler on any given day so they really don't know if they will be working or not.  The group we had was fantastic and they were great at the songs and dances.  Our guide said that is not the case on all trips as sometimes they have no singers or no dancers in the group.  We had it all so we were lucky.  Shortly after their performance, people started heading for their tents.  Since we were all in a pretty tight circle, that meant that everybody had to be a bit quieter.

I went to bed but I can't say that I got to sleep very quickly.  It was definitely hot in our tent and even though we had all flaps open there was still not much of a breeze through it.  I don't think I ever did get my sheet over me in the night.  The mattresses were also very thin so every bump in the ground seemed to poke me (I'm such a princess) and I just never got comfortable.  I did have to make one trip out behind the tent though, and I didn't go too far behind.  I guess I should have stopped drinking sooner in the day!