Last week I took a trip to the Okavango Delta. This area of the world has been high on my list and living so close to it and not visiting seemed like a missed opportunity. So off I went. Kip wasn’t able to join since the entire reason we are living in South Africa is for him to work. He did that and I went on safari. Someone is having more fun in Africa than the other.
To visit the Delta you must first fly into the town of Maun. This is a town unlike any I have seen. One paved road, lots of metal houses, loads of dirt, and an international airport. From said airport, I took a Cessna to the camp. Since my camp was deep in the Delta, the plane made a few stops on the way to drop off other passengers. Knowing I was taking a tiny plane that was going to make multiple stops did not give me peace, but when the pilot asked if anyone would like to sit up front I said “I do.” I figured sitting next to the guy responsible for my life would make me feel better.
This is Maun from the air. Apparently Maun made an appearance on one of the seasons of Amazing Race.Aerial of the Delta. Notice the Hippo Highways and the elephant tracks from island to island.Riding shotgun to camp. No fear…. sort of.
Once we arrived safely at Jao “airport” I hopped in the Land Rover with my ranger, Meshak, and embarked on the first of our eight game drives together. Meshak and I saw some spectacular things but I won’t bore you with details of every siting. Instead I’ll share a few of my favorite moments.
Meshak spotted this spotted beauty on our first morning game drive. How these guys do it is beyond me. We had to get right up in there for me to even know what he was talking about.I spent Tuesday night with this pride of six. Our original plan was to take the boat out for a few hours but one of the other guides from camp said he was tracking lions and needed help. Our plans quickly changed. We watched them hunt and devour a bushbuck.They were extremely aggressive with each other over who was going to get more meat but when it was all over they lovingly helped each other clean up. Blood in your hair is not a good look, even for a lion.After being with the lions for a few hours we enjoyed some sundowners with a view. This is also when the South Africans I was with learned what a pretzel was. You would have thought it was the most exotic thing they’d ever come across. We talked about the origin of the pretzel almost as long as we talked about the lion kill.This is taken from my tent’s porch. No wifi or cell service means sitting outside watching elephants amble by. I’ll take that over email ALL DAY.Not sure when this was but I know she was trying to make herself big in an effort to get us to move. You’re big, girl, you’re big.We did finally take that boat trip. I’m bundled here not because it was cold, but as a defense mechanism for the millions of bugs hitting my face.More sundowners. Less bugs.On my ride out to the airstrip we came across this beauty. I was with some avid birdwatchers so we stopped for every.single.bird.Once we dropped off the birdwatchers, Meshak and I were left to clear the airstrip. Unfortunately, my flight was going to be a bit delayed by this lioness hunting impala. As my plane circled above, we watched her clear the airstrip for us. As soon as she was off of the runway, my plane landed. I didn’t see the kill this time but I feel confident there was one less impala in the Delta that day.
I feel so lucky to have had this experience. It will be a while before we’re able to make in back to Africa, but I guarantee, I’ll be back!
ElephantsAbroad 