Botswanna
On the next truck our guide and driver was Laban and the cook was Jake, who happened to be Pita’s brother. On the new truck there were 20 people and 17 of them had been travelling together for 6 to 9 weeks already, so the friendship groups where already well defined and where not going to change much to Emina’s and my disappointment. The first place we stopped was Chobe national park. The early morning safari we did was a little disappointing but the afternoon cruise certainly made up for it. We cruised the water ways that surrounded a number of small islands that are covered only in lush grass. The elephants and hippos particularly favour these grasses so with the boat we got to see many of them very close up. Along with crocodiles, numerous birds, lizards and we got to see the sleek Giraffe become terribly awkward as it drank. But to see the sunset would have been enough as it was truly stunning, especially with the silhouette of the elephants.
We went into the Okavango Delta on morkores that were driven by a pulla and ours (Emina and I) was Jona. He was a lovely young guy, but we didn’t share a language so communication was difficult. The Delta is a swam area. The water is like glass and crystal clear. Throughout the Delta are reeds and water lilies. Initially, we were very concerned about the boat tipping as it didn’t seem very stable, the clearance was minimal and the water was freezing. But we soon realised that Jona new what he was doing and the best we could do was lie back and enjoy the ride. It was so peaceful, so of course soon I was asleep. It took a couple of hours to arrive at our remote campsite. We were being spoilt with tents being setup and the dishes washed. Pat was the character of the camp. He was one of the local (Bantu) guides who took us on a nature walk and treated us like we were school children repeating everything several times and testing us. I got so bored I didn’t hear a thing. At night Pat would tell long rambling stories, that didn’t make any sense but he and the locals thought was hilarious while we were left confused. I think there was something out in the bush that we missed that would have made it all make sense.
We went on a game walk and had an elephant mock charge us, which was a little scary. One of the other groups also caused a stamped of zebras to charge straight for us, well until they saw us. It was beautiful to watch at quite a close range. Again the sunsets were gorgeous. It was amazing how dry and arid the land was not 20 meters from the Delta. The dependence that all leaving creatures are on water was very evident.
I also went for a scenic flight over the Delta. This is when I realised what a vast area it covers and the variety of colours. In the plane it actually looked like an abstract painting rather than a landscape. The orange of the land framed the deep blue/black of the water against the vivid green of the vegetation. Stunning!!! We also got to spot a variety of herds of game including water buffalo, elephants, zebra and more.
Next we off to Etocha in Namibia
On the next truck our guide and driver was Laban and the cook was Jake, who happened to be Pita’s brother. On the new truck there were 20 people and 17 of them had been travelling together for 6 to 9 weeks already, so the friendship groups where already well defined and where not going to change much to Emina’s and my disappointment. The first place we stopped was Chobe national park. The early morning safari we did was a little disappointing but the afternoon cruise certainly made up for it. We cruised the water ways that surrounded a number of small islands that are covered only in lush grass. The elephants and hippos particularly favour these grasses so with the boat we got to see many of them very close up. Along with crocodiles, numerous birds, lizards and we got to see the sleek Giraffe become terribly awkward as it drank. But to see the sunset would have been enough as it was truly stunning, especially with the silhouette of the elephants.
We went into the Okavango Delta on morkores that were driven by a pulla and ours (Emina and I) was Jona. He was a lovely young guy, but we didn’t share a language so communication was difficult. The Delta is a swam area. The water is like glass and crystal clear. Throughout the Delta are reeds and water lilies. Initially, we were very concerned about the boat tipping as it didn’t seem very stable, the clearance was minimal and the water was freezing. But we soon realised that Jona new what he was doing and the best we could do was lie back and enjoy the ride. It was so peaceful, so of course soon I was asleep. It took a couple of hours to arrive at our remote campsite. We were being spoilt with tents being setup and the dishes washed. Pat was the character of the camp. He was one of the local (Bantu) guides who took us on a nature walk and treated us like we were school children repeating everything several times and testing us. I got so bored I didn’t hear a thing. At night Pat would tell long rambling stories, that didn’t make any sense but he and the locals thought was hilarious while we were left confused. I think there was something out in the bush that we missed that would have made it all make sense.
We went on a game walk and had an elephant mock charge us, which was a little scary. One of the other groups also caused a stamped of zebras to charge straight for us, well until they saw us. It was beautiful to watch at quite a close range. Again the sunsets were gorgeous. It was amazing how dry and arid the land was not 20 meters from the Delta. The dependence that all leaving creatures are on water was very evident.
I also went for a scenic flight over the Delta. This is when I realised what a vast area it covers and the variety of colours. In the plane it actually looked like an abstract painting rather than a landscape. The orange of the land framed the deep blue/black of the water against the vivid green of the vegetation. Stunning!!! We also got to spot a variety of herds of game including water buffalo, elephants, zebra and more.
Next we off to Etocha in Namibia
posted by Lara Perryman @ 11:43 PM
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