Our first official day in Botswana. My first nights sleep wasn’t the most comfortable, I kept waking up to donkey noises and my tent shook whenever the occupant next door moved or climbed down to go to the bathroom … but it was ok. Woke up at 6:45am, and after some breakfast and figuring out how to pack up the tents again (requires a lot of moving around), we set off at 9am for our next camp on the Okavango Delta. Half the vehicles in the camp had already packed up and left by this point, but we weren’t in too much of a rush yet.
We were heading to Nxamaseri island lodge ie. the most expensive accommodation for the trip. Getting there wasn’t too difficult, just had to follow the highway for a while, which was bitumen most of the trip. Apart from a few potholes in some sections, it wasn’t a bad journey and was a good 350km. Stopped for lunch on the side of the road and at close to 3pm we were near the turn off for the island lodge.
We followed the instructions on where to go but somehow went too far and went to the next village instead. After trying and failing to make a phone call about our location, we turned around and kept our eyes peeled for the Nxamaseri lodge sign. Soon enough there it was, with a guy in a car waiting on the opposite side of the road from us… we had flown passed him without noticing (though I had seen and wondered about the car parked on the side of the road … whoops).
He instructed us just off the road to a few nearby homes where we parked the car and took our luggage out. The car would be safe here as some 'old ladies' would watch it for us. After transferring our luggage, we got in his 4x4 and drove off road towards the Delta, where we then got on a boat to take us to the lodge. Being an island lodge, you can only access it by boat.
Our first sighting of the Okavango Delta! After driving for so long knowing it was just a few kilometres beside us we finally got a glimpse. It’s just as picturesque as the photographs and Instagram’s suggest. We were welcomed with drinks and soon settled into our twin room. There is no door, and we literally sleep right next to the water. Apart from the mosquito net, there is nothing blocking the outside world from us as we sleep (although our view is a bit obstructed by the trees in front). There is also no door to the bathroom either, which is a bit awkward cause I’m with my dad, but I guess we will make do …
After settling in we got on the boat again and had a sail around the Okavango Delta. It really is quite stunning and untouched by the rest of the world, no litter or anything. The Delta is massive, but the part we are staying in is known more for bird watching rather than seeing big game. We are also not quite in the Delta, but in the Okavango panhandle, but I don't exactly know how rivers work so I just want to call it the Delta. We did manage to see a crocodile and a hippo come out of the water, as well as a pretty spectacular sunset.
All our meals and drinks are provided for for this portion of the trip, and dinner is eaten as group with all the other guests … of whom all mostly speak German. Dinner was nice though, I got a vegetarian curry which had a very, very, very mild coconut curry flavour, but was quite good. Had a very good nights sleep that night, listening to hippos outside our ‘door’, as well as the plethora of other life just a few meters away from us.
Next morning we had breakfast a bit after 7am, and then set off with our guide on a mokoro boat down the Okavango River. This time we took a different route, towards more shallow water. The mokoro boats are the traditional dugout boat used by the locals, and I was a little bit concerned about our stability with 3 of us in it, but it was fine. I sat in the front, dad in the back, and our guide stood, guiding and pushing us along.
It was a
very serene and peaceful morning, and the sun didn’t get too hot until after
10am. We went through reeds, which meant that me being in the front had to break all the spiderwebs and other things we kept running into. I was glad to be
wearing a long sleeve jacket as some of the reeds were spiky! Spotted quite a
few fish-eagles, and some other birds, but I’m not really a bird watcher so I
didn’t take them in. It was a very nice morning though, and I had been looking
forward to the mokoro ride every since first hearing about the delta (and seeing pics of them on instagram!). We
stopped at a island for a little bit where we stretched our legs and took a
break (the seats got a bit uncomfortable after a while), before we switched
seats and headed back to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch
(a strange bean and balsamic dish was served for me) we had a few hours spare
before heading for another boat ride. I spent it napping. This evenings boat
ride was similar to the night before, but we managed to get a bit further to go
off in search of hippos. We only saw one again. Our guide gave us a very good
description of how the local people use and eat the nightlilys that grow on the
river, as well as the papyrus reeds. Although we didn't see many animals, the water was beautiful and the sunset pretty spectacular (again).
Tomorrow
morning we take on last boat ride on the Okavango in search of elephants! After
which we finally leave the lodge and head to our next campsite, in Namibia.
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