Okavango - Botswana
Created | Updated Mar 16, 2002
Hi Guys
Well, I am back from the "Wilds" of the Okavango – back in the land of hi-jackings, coal fire pollution, winter (SA winter) temperatures and WORK!! Yuck… this sucks.
I thought that some of you might like to hear/read a little about the Okavango, especially those of you who have not been to Africa. So I started writing what was supposed to be a short e-mail to tell you about my trip. Well, I got a little carried away, and the result is that you now have an essay to wade through. Sorry. If it bores you, computers have that fantastic feature known as the ‘Delete’ button. Either way, let me know what you think.
The Okavango Delta is probably the best wild life area I have ever visited. I stayed at a camp called Oddballs, which is Botswana’s token concession to budget game lodges in the Delta. The rest are aimed primarily at dollar flush Americans – definitely out for your average impoverished, Rand wielding South African. Botswana is also not the cheapest country to travel through as their currency (the Pula, meaning rain) is the strongest currency in Africa. This doesn’t really say very much, but it is putting the poor Rand to shame.
Oddballs is situated near the south western tip of the main island in the delta, Chiefs Island. This is about a 20 minute flight by tin-can-with-wings from Maun. The runway at the camp is a strip of dust, frequented by an assortment of game who appear to be a little confused by the idea that a plane moving at 150km/h down the runway should really have right of way. By way of illustration, having just dropped us off, our plane had to abort its take-off for the return to Maun, when a herd of Impala amble out into its path just as it was about to reach take-off speed.
The camp is reached via a 15 minute walk through the bush from the air strip. Accommodation takes the form of tents with basic sleeping mats and pillows. An additional fee of US$25/person/night gets you a chalet, which is constructed of reeds and wood, and usually built around a tree. Very rustic, very beautiful and surprisingly well equipped. Definitely worth the extra bucks. However, the first night was spent in a tent, which proved quite adequate.
There is a main lodge where meals are served, and one can enjoy sun-downers (sun-uppers, mid-dayers, any-timers) while getting a great view of a section of the river, complete with two rather large, resident crocodiles and some hippos.
The camp is surrounded by a token electric fence that is stretched at a level where it should only keep out elephants (and giraffes I supposed, but the idea is to prevent tourists from getting squished by an elephant – giraffes are not seen as a major problem). As it turns out, elephants, with their legendary thick hide, are not particularly bothered by a few thousand volts. The result is that, more often than not, there will be an animated 6 ton lump of meat wandering about the camp, breaking down trees, shaking nuts out of the palm trees, and usually getting between you and an urgently needed toilet (another reason to book a chalet – it has its own bathroom). Amazingly the elephants appear to realize that standing on tents would not make them very popular, and probably negatively affect their life expectancy. Nevertheless, it is not always easy to get some sleep when you hear a tree being brutalized a few meters from you tent, and you aren’t sure which way it will fall.
The normal itinerary at Oddballs is that you spend your arrival day at the camp. For the next two days you get into a ‘Mocorro’ (dugout canoe) and head out into the delta, where you camp literally in the wilds. About mid-morning on the 4th day you head back to the main camp, arriving there at lunch. You then spend the rest of the day at the main camp and fly back to Maun sometime during the next day. Flight times are unpredictable to say the least, though they generally ensure that you get back in time for connecting flights if necessary.
The food at the main camp is quite good and included in the price. Drinks are extra and can become quite expensive if you get a little carried away, such as you are likely to do when there in the company of some Frenchies, who simply cannot exist without a couple of bottles of wine for dinner. For the two days in the bush you have to provide your own food, and generally take along enough to feed your guide as well. This food can be bought at a shop in the camp for inflated, but acceptable prices. The guide provides all the camping equipment, cooking utensils, and fire for the campsite. He will generally also see to washing dishes, though help is appreciated. You do your own cooking, so it pays to give some thought to what you buy in the shop.
The other thing to remember is that you are in the bush – there is no bathroom available around the next corner. So at some stage you will end up grabbing a spade and digging your own toilet, keeping an eye out for visitors such as lions, elephants, etc. This is especially fun at night when virtually everything that is awake out there can see 10 times better than you. Gives the phrase "S******g yourself" a whole new meaning.
Your guide also functions as ‘outboard motor’ for your mocorro, as he is responsible for propelling the dug-out through the water and reeds by means of a long pole (picture a Venetian gondolier in "Out of Africa" gear). Trying this poling technique yourself, soon convinces you that the man is worth his weight in gold. An extra-ordinary sense of balance is required. This is an ability you soon come to appreciate, as you glide past hungry looking crocodiles and belligerent hippos. Not the best place to take an unplanned bath!
The bulk of the first day was spent energetically doing as little as possible, other than soaking up the incredible peacefulness of the place. There are no radios or TVs or cellphones. World War 3 could break out, and you would be none the wiser. There are definitely worse ways to while away the hours.
In the late afternoon our polers arrived and took us out onto the river. Two of you get into a mocorro with the poler standing behind you at the stern. It is best to be careful getting in and out of the mocorros as the polers tend to be quite protective of them. This becomes understandable when one considers that a good mocorro last for about seven years. The tree it is made from took a mere 80 years to grow. Replacing a mocorro is, therefore, difficult if not impossible. Oddballs is one of the few camps that still exclusively use wooden mocorros for their guest. Most of the camps have changed over to fibre glass ones. Much more durable, easier to repair, certainly more environmentally friendly, but definitely lacking the romantic appeal of an original.
There is a certain colonial decadence to being almost silently propelled across the crystal clear waters of the delta. You have nothing to do but sit back and soak up the scenery. And, of course, take an endless number of photos. Almost every bend of the river presents another subject to click away at. The polers are well informed about the fauna and flora of the area and will spout information on everything from trees to animals to water-lilies and the weather. They are also keen to learn the foreign names for the wild life, as a lot of the tourists are from countries such as France or Germany, and often do not speak English too well. So knowing what a fish eagle is in German can help a lot.
The initial apprehension at the apparent instability of the mocorro is soon forgotten as you glide through reed beds and past little islands. I was surprised by the quantity of game that could be seen from the river. The ubiquitous impala were everywhere, as were a type of waterbuck (or red lychee, as the locals call them) similar to the hartebeest. Bird life is abundant, and I have never heard or seen so many fish eagles before. While Botswana has managed to all but exterminate their rhino population, elephants appear to be doing well, and are often seen wading through the rivers.
After a couple of hour on the water, we returned to the lodge for dinner and the before mention wine. Sunsets in this part of the world are stunning, and the lack of clouds and light pollution provides night skies that would make most astronomy students drool. Sleep was not an easy state to attain that night, as we first had to get used to the idea of elephants trying to shake a midnight snack of nuts out of the palm trees in the camp. The electric fence happened to be down and waiting for spare parts that day.
The next morning started with what I would hesitate to describe as a luke warm shower. I suppose there had to be one disappointment. Still, you do tend to be awake after that. After breakfast our gear was packed into the mocorros. This is a sight to behold, as each mocorro is laden with 2 tents, sleeping bags and mats, camping chairs, cooking utensils, food and drink (don’t forget the wine) and there was something else…..what was it?…. Oh yes, us and the guide! This left the upper edge of the mocorro sticking out a very narrow 3-5cm above the water. It is a testimonial to the guide’s poling ability and balance that we remained completely dry during the trip.
We spent about three hours on the water, as we moved towards our campsite on Chiefs Island. Again, game was abundant. We saw hippo, elephant, buffalo, various buck and an endless selection of bird species. Circling vultures attracted us to the site of a wild dog kill. An impala had been brought down during the night, and all that remained were some sorry looking bones and the skin. The only thing left intact were the legs, which appear to have no meat on them. I am sure that the hyenas would dispose of what remained shortly.
Once at the campsite, the tents were erected, a cooking fire prepared, some hammocks strung between the trees and camping chairs set up. Damn, it’s a tough life in Africa!
The campsite is right next to the river and allowed us to watch a steady stream of game wandering past. Small groups of zebra and wildebeest were common, as were impala (when are they not common?). You become very aware of the fact that you are now in their world. There are no electric fences or permanent structures. Here you are the intruder. That certainly appear to be the way the local troop of baboons perceived us. There is ample evidence of the passage of a large variety of game through the spot that we had picked for our tents. As usual the trees seem to have received particular attention from the elephants.
After cooking lunch, we lazed around until about 15:30. At this point the guides took us on a walk into the bush. Here again there is a big difference to the type of game viewing you would experience in most game reserves such as the Kruger or Thornybush, etc. There you would be confined to the safety of a land rover with a rifle (designed to instill tourist confidence) strapped to the dashboard. In the Okavango you move on foot with an unarmed guide, and can come face to face with any member of the African wild life fraternity. The one thing this does, is that it makes you far more aware of your surroundings. You soon learn to recognize the foot/hoof/paw print of you neighbours, be they elephant, lion, hyena, giraffe, etc. And they are aware of you. A lone bull elephant noticed us moving across his path, and focused his attention on us. The guides were quick to move us into a down-wind position of him. Yet he still spent some time staring in our direction and sensing the air for any trace of us.
A civet cat fled up a tree at our approach and then did its best to blend into the branches while watching us. But it is not too easy to hide when you have a tree full of bird screaming at you.
While we saw a lot of lion tracks, they remained elusive. This, we were to learn, is something they are very good at doing. After about two hours we got back to the camp. Another amazing sunset later, it was time to prepare dinner. Strange how good things taste when you are out in the bush – especially after a bit of exercise.
The nights here are filled with sounds – much more noticeable than during the day. Apart from an abundance of insect noises (though thankfully not too many mosquitoes at this time of the year) the elusive lions made their presence known throughout the night. Hyenas could also be heard. The occasional cracking of branches were a reminder of the ever present elephants. But apart from that everyone seemed to sleep quite well.
We started quite early the next morning, as our guides wanted to try to track down the lions we had heard. So we were up at 6:30 for some coffee and off into the bush at about 7:00. Lion tracks could be found in abundance, within 200m from the camp. Finding the ones that had made them proved to be much more difficult. We saw a lot of other game, but no big cats. As we were getting ready to turn back to the camp for the eagerly awaited breakfast, we came across two other tourists with their guide from Oddballs. Their wide eyes and somewhat pale skin was explained by the fact that their guide had tracked down a pride of about 15 lions – a number of females with quite a few cubs. They had got quite close to the lions. So close, in fact, that one lioness had mock-charged them. When they still did not leave, another one charged them, and got to about 5 m from them. That must do wonders to your adrenaline levels. So breakfast was forgotten, as we tried to find the pride – with no success. We found enough tracks to cover a small country, but no lions. So we eventually got back to the camp – a little disheartened, very tired and extremely hungry.
Breakfast went down a treat, and we were then faced with the arduous task of having nothing to do but relax in the sun and see what came to visit our stretch of the river. It’s a tough life, but someone has to live it!
One large bull elephant walked past within about 15m of our camp. Half of our group were dosing in the sun or the tents at this stage and did not notice the large lad at all. Just goes to show how close you can get to nature here without even being aware of it.
Sometime after a late lunch we boarded the mocorros for some sightseeing up the river. This trip took us through some stunning, tall reed beds, where the only thing that remained visible of the mocorros were the poles sticking up above them. The restricted view made it quite exiting to find out what animals we were hearing splashing through the water behind the next wall of reeds. It allowed us to get quite close to groups of zebra, waterbuck and wildebeest. This has to be one of the most effective stress relief treatments in the world. It is very easy to forget all of the hassles of the real world while drifting along on the water.
Dinner revolved around a birthday celebration for Bettina, complete with Foix Gras starter, good wine and chocolate cake. Not a birthday setting that she is likely to forget in a hurry.
The night was especially full of noises. A genet cat decided to investigate the contents of our cooking pots, knocking them over in the process. Then Jumbo and friends decided to pay our camp a visit, and proceeded to attack the trees next to our tents. When you hear branches breaking a mere 5 m from your tent, and you can see the heads of your visitors silhouetted against the night sky, you ask yourself just how quickly you could get out of the tent if you really had to. I came to the conclusion that it probably wouldn’t be quick enough and, trusting the large fellows to be careful, finally fell asleep again…..Only to be woken again by the roaring of lions a few hours before dawn. This time they were much closer than the night before. The chuckling of hyenas accompanied them as usual.
So we got up at about 6:00 to see if we could track them down. The pressure was on for the guides. The previous days "loss of face" had to be made up for, and we would walk all day to find the lions if we had to. Well, for a while it seemed that that was exactly what we were going to do. We wandered back and forth in what appeared to be fairly random directions, to the point where a degree of despondency and irritation was starting to creep into our mood. And then, just as we were getting to the point of calling for a return to the camp, something growled at us out of the long grass. Our immediate reaction was to stop dead (and in some cases "Get the hell out of there!!"). However, the guides urged us closer, to the point where we could see two lionesses about 20m ahead of us. They were not impressed with the fact that we were ignoring the very obvious warning that they were giving us. So one decided to emphasize the warning by charging us. It was only a mock charge, bringing her to about 12 m from us before she veered off and disappeared in the grass, but it certainly got the adrenaline pumping. Nothing can prepare you for the sheer force of noise produced by a seriously p****d off lion roaring at you. You almost get shaken by the sound.
We moved onto the vantage point of a nearby termite mound. At this point it became clear that the lions had a carefully planned strategy for getting rid of the threat we posed to them. Two lionesses had made a great deal of noise, attracting all our attention to them, and slowing our movement towards them. At the same time some other lionesses had led the cubs away in a totally different direction. We just managed to see them disappear into the bushes about 100m away.
We were all thrilled with the encounter and could have quite happily returned to the camp at this point. However, our guides were determined to over compensate for the defeat of the day before and decided to track the lions down a second time. By this time there were some other small groups of people in the area. Guides from other camps had obviously also tracked the lions and were brought closer by the noise of our encounter. We felt a little smug about the fact that we saw the lions when everyone else had only heard them.
With more people in the area, there was additional pressure on our guides to find the lions quickly. This they did. We again got growled at, but this time managed to get quite a bit closer – probably 12m or so from them. I had just zoomed in on the one lioness’s head and lined up a perfect photo when she lost her patience and charged us. Needless to say, my photo was not a success, unless you would like to see a nice clear shot of some grass! She got to about 8m from us before veering off and disappearing. That was enough adrenaline for the day! Everyone suddenly looked a lot more energetic. One of our guides was nursing bruises that a panicky grip had left on his arm. I doubt that any of us are likely to ever forget that last half hour. There was also little chance of us seeing any other game on the way back to the camp, as our exited chatter would have scared of most animals within a kilometer radius.
What really impressed about the whole encounter was the way in which the lions went to extreme lengths to warn us off, before actually showing aggression. In the tall grass we could have tripped over them before seeing them if they had not made so much noise to attract our attention. Even when we did get too close for their (and our) comfort, a mock charge was sufficient to establish boundaries, when they could have quite easily turned us into a late breakfast snack. We were left with an impression of how man could co-exist with nature, if overpopulation did not constantly shrink the natural habitats.
Breakfast was eaten with great gusto and much animated conversation. Afterwards we struck camp and loaded everything back into the mocorros. At least the load was a bit lighter this time without all the food. Once everything was loaded up and the fire extinguished, we headed back to the main camp. The trip took about 2 hours and we arrived there just before lunch. As a welcome back committee, a small heard of elephant were playing in the river in front of the lodge. One large bull took an interest in us and waded towards us with ears flared. Our poler/guide, Metsephi, answered the question of "Are you afraid of elephants?" with a terse "YES!!" and some fairly rapid poling!
Once back at the main camp we checked into the chalet, that we had upgraded our booking to, for the last night. I could get used to that type of accommodation. We even had a house guest – a genet had made itself at home in the roof structure. Shortly after getting to the chalet, the elephants we had seen in the river came to pay us a visit. While most of the herd were happy to carry on browsing past the chalet, the bull that had made Metsephi nervous earlier, decided that things looked greener on the other side of the newly repaired electrical fence. He walked up to it, carefully put his forehead under the strands and lifted them until they snapped. Then he casually walked through the gap and proceeded to scratch himself on a large marula tree. He spent most of the rest of the day inside the camp.
After lunch, a long hot shower and some serious lazing around in the hammock in the chalet, we met up with our guides once more in the late afternoon for a sundowner trip in the mocorros. We headed up-river for a while and stopped at an island where a large crock had made himself at home. Some of the group got out onto the island to try to get a bit closer to the crock (not the best idea in my opinion), but the large leather clad one did not like the idea of visitors and slid into the water. Amazing how something that large can disappear so quickly. Just when you thought it was safe to get back into the water…..(imagine the Jaws theme playing at this point).
A little further along the river we stopped at another small island for some drinks and a chance to take the obligatory group photo. After that it was back to the lodge for dinner, with a short detour to take a look at the hippos just downstream from the lodge.
The night was spent in comfort on a real bed. What a pleasure. The only pain was some irritating bird, which kept screaming the same loud, monotonous, piercing cry throughout the night. As much as I like wild life, there are some species that are a really good argument for birth control!
We got up quite early the next morning for a last walk into the bush. The highlight of this was seeing a wild dog. A pride/troop (what is the right word?) of wild dogs seem to live semi permanently in this area and have dug a den for the group. Unfortunately there was only one female on guard at the den. The rest were apparently off hunting. This is one of the rarest animals in Africa, so it was a real treat to see one.
We got back to the lodge for a late breakfast. After that it was a matter of killing time until our return flight to Maun at about 14:00.
This was supposed to be a short e-mail about the trip. The fact that it has turned into a small book of my semi coherent ramblings gives you some idea of how great an experience this trip was. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. You should budget about US $600 for the trip including flights between Maun and the camp. On top of this you obviously would need to get to Maun. For most that would mean driving up from Johannesburg, as flights to Maun are quite expensive. Maun is about 1300km from Johannesburg, the roads are surprisingly good, and petrol is readily available. There are also a number of camping sites and hotels available between Joh’burg and Maun. If any of you want details of who to book through, let me know.
Ciao for now
Nils
Well, I am back from the "Wilds" of the Okavango – back in the land of hi-jackings, coal fire pollution, winter (SA winter) temperatures and WORK!! Yuck… this sucks.
I thought that some of you might like to hear/read a little about the Okavango, especially those of you who have not been to Africa. So I started writing what was supposed to be a short e-mail to tell you about my trip. Well, I got a little carried away, and the result is that you now have an essay to wade through. Sorry. If it bores you, computers have that fantastic feature known as the ‘Delete’ button. Either way, let me know what you think.
The Okavango Delta is probably the best wild life area I have ever visited. I stayed at a camp called Oddballs, which is Botswana’s token concession to budget game lodges in the Delta. The rest are aimed primarily at dollar flush Americans – definitely out for your average impoverished, Rand wielding South African. Botswana is also not the cheapest country to travel through as their currency (the Pula, meaning rain) is the strongest currency in Africa. This doesn’t really say very much, but it is putting the poor Rand to shame.
Oddballs is situated near the south western tip of the main island in the delta, Chiefs Island. This is about a 20 minute flight by tin-can-with-wings from Maun. The runway at the camp is a strip of dust, frequented by an assortment of game who appear to be a little confused by the idea that a plane moving at 150km/h down the runway should really have right of way. By way of illustration, having just dropped us off, our plane had to abort its take-off for the return to Maun, when a herd of Impala amble out into its path just as it was about to reach take-off speed.
The camp is reached via a 15 minute walk through the bush from the air strip. Accommodation takes the form of tents with basic sleeping mats and pillows. An additional fee of US$25/person/night gets you a chalet, which is constructed of reeds and wood, and usually built around a tree. Very rustic, very beautiful and surprisingly well equipped. Definitely worth the extra bucks. However, the first night was spent in a tent, which proved quite adequate.
There is a main lodge where meals are served, and one can enjoy sun-downers (sun-uppers, mid-dayers, any-timers) while getting a great view of a section of the river, complete with two rather large, resident crocodiles and some hippos.
The camp is surrounded by a token electric fence that is stretched at a level where it should only keep out elephants (and giraffes I supposed, but the idea is to prevent tourists from getting squished by an elephant – giraffes are not seen as a major problem). As it turns out, elephants, with their legendary thick hide, are not particularly bothered by a few thousand volts. The result is that, more often than not, there will be an animated 6 ton lump of meat wandering about the camp, breaking down trees, shaking nuts out of the palm trees, and usually getting between you and an urgently needed toilet (another reason to book a chalet – it has its own bathroom). Amazingly the elephants appear to realize that standing on tents would not make them very popular, and probably negatively affect their life expectancy. Nevertheless, it is not always easy to get some sleep when you hear a tree being brutalized a few meters from you tent, and you aren’t sure which way it will fall.
The normal itinerary at Oddballs is that you spend your arrival day at the camp. For the next two days you get into a ‘Mocorro’ (dugout canoe) and head out into the delta, where you camp literally in the wilds. About mid-morning on the 4th day you head back to the main camp, arriving there at lunch. You then spend the rest of the day at the main camp and fly back to Maun sometime during the next day. Flight times are unpredictable to say the least, though they generally ensure that you get back in time for connecting flights if necessary.
The food at the main camp is quite good and included in the price. Drinks are extra and can become quite expensive if you get a little carried away, such as you are likely to do when there in the company of some Frenchies, who simply cannot exist without a couple of bottles of wine for dinner. For the two days in the bush you have to provide your own food, and generally take along enough to feed your guide as well. This food can be bought at a shop in the camp for inflated, but acceptable prices. The guide provides all the camping equipment, cooking utensils, and fire for the campsite. He will generally also see to washing dishes, though help is appreciated. You do your own cooking, so it pays to give some thought to what you buy in the shop.
The other thing to remember is that you are in the bush – there is no bathroom available around the next corner. So at some stage you will end up grabbing a spade and digging your own toilet, keeping an eye out for visitors such as lions, elephants, etc. This is especially fun at night when virtually everything that is awake out there can see 10 times better than you. Gives the phrase "S******g yourself" a whole new meaning.
Your guide also functions as ‘outboard motor’ for your mocorro, as he is responsible for propelling the dug-out through the water and reeds by means of a long pole (picture a Venetian gondolier in "Out of Africa" gear). Trying this poling technique yourself, soon convinces you that the man is worth his weight in gold. An extra-ordinary sense of balance is required. This is an ability you soon come to appreciate, as you glide past hungry looking crocodiles and belligerent hippos. Not the best place to take an unplanned bath!
The bulk of the first day was spent energetically doing as little as possible, other than soaking up the incredible peacefulness of the place. There are no radios or TVs or cellphones. World War 3 could break out, and you would be none the wiser. There are definitely worse ways to while away the hours.
In the late afternoon our polers arrived and took us out onto the river. Two of you get into a mocorro with the poler standing behind you at the stern. It is best to be careful getting in and out of the mocorros as the polers tend to be quite protective of them. This becomes understandable when one considers that a good mocorro last for about seven years. The tree it is made from took a mere 80 years to grow. Replacing a mocorro is, therefore, difficult if not impossible. Oddballs is one of the few camps that still exclusively use wooden mocorros for their guest. Most of the camps have changed over to fibre glass ones. Much more durable, easier to repair, certainly more environmentally friendly, but definitely lacking the romantic appeal of an original.
There is a certain colonial decadence to being almost silently propelled across the crystal clear waters of the delta. You have nothing to do but sit back and soak up the scenery. And, of course, take an endless number of photos. Almost every bend of the river presents another subject to click away at. The polers are well informed about the fauna and flora of the area and will spout information on everything from trees to animals to water-lilies and the weather. They are also keen to learn the foreign names for the wild life, as a lot of the tourists are from countries such as France or Germany, and often do not speak English too well. So knowing what a fish eagle is in German can help a lot.
The initial apprehension at the apparent instability of the mocorro is soon forgotten as you glide through reed beds and past little islands. I was surprised by the quantity of game that could be seen from the river. The ubiquitous impala were everywhere, as were a type of waterbuck (or red lychee, as the locals call them) similar to the hartebeest. Bird life is abundant, and I have never heard or seen so many fish eagles before. While Botswana has managed to all but exterminate their rhino population, elephants appear to be doing well, and are often seen wading through the rivers.
After a couple of hour on the water, we returned to the lodge for dinner and the before mention wine. Sunsets in this part of the world are stunning, and the lack of clouds and light pollution provides night skies that would make most astronomy students drool. Sleep was not an easy state to attain that night, as we first had to get used to the idea of elephants trying to shake a midnight snack of nuts out of the palm trees in the camp. The electric fence happened to be down and waiting for spare parts that day.
The next morning started with what I would hesitate to describe as a luke warm shower. I suppose there had to be one disappointment. Still, you do tend to be awake after that. After breakfast our gear was packed into the mocorros. This is a sight to behold, as each mocorro is laden with 2 tents, sleeping bags and mats, camping chairs, cooking utensils, food and drink (don’t forget the wine) and there was something else…..what was it?…. Oh yes, us and the guide! This left the upper edge of the mocorro sticking out a very narrow 3-5cm above the water. It is a testimonial to the guide’s poling ability and balance that we remained completely dry during the trip.
We spent about three hours on the water, as we moved towards our campsite on Chiefs Island. Again, game was abundant. We saw hippo, elephant, buffalo, various buck and an endless selection of bird species. Circling vultures attracted us to the site of a wild dog kill. An impala had been brought down during the night, and all that remained were some sorry looking bones and the skin. The only thing left intact were the legs, which appear to have no meat on them. I am sure that the hyenas would dispose of what remained shortly.
Once at the campsite, the tents were erected, a cooking fire prepared, some hammocks strung between the trees and camping chairs set up. Damn, it’s a tough life in Africa!
The campsite is right next to the river and allowed us to watch a steady stream of game wandering past. Small groups of zebra and wildebeest were common, as were impala (when are they not common?). You become very aware of the fact that you are now in their world. There are no electric fences or permanent structures. Here you are the intruder. That certainly appear to be the way the local troop of baboons perceived us. There is ample evidence of the passage of a large variety of game through the spot that we had picked for our tents. As usual the trees seem to have received particular attention from the elephants.
After cooking lunch, we lazed around until about 15:30. At this point the guides took us on a walk into the bush. Here again there is a big difference to the type of game viewing you would experience in most game reserves such as the Kruger or Thornybush, etc. There you would be confined to the safety of a land rover with a rifle (designed to instill tourist confidence) strapped to the dashboard. In the Okavango you move on foot with an unarmed guide, and can come face to face with any member of the African wild life fraternity. The one thing this does, is that it makes you far more aware of your surroundings. You soon learn to recognize the foot/hoof/paw print of you neighbours, be they elephant, lion, hyena, giraffe, etc. And they are aware of you. A lone bull elephant noticed us moving across his path, and focused his attention on us. The guides were quick to move us into a down-wind position of him. Yet he still spent some time staring in our direction and sensing the air for any trace of us.
A civet cat fled up a tree at our approach and then did its best to blend into the branches while watching us. But it is not too easy to hide when you have a tree full of bird screaming at you.
While we saw a lot of lion tracks, they remained elusive. This, we were to learn, is something they are very good at doing. After about two hours we got back to the camp. Another amazing sunset later, it was time to prepare dinner. Strange how good things taste when you are out in the bush – especially after a bit of exercise.
The nights here are filled with sounds – much more noticeable than during the day. Apart from an abundance of insect noises (though thankfully not too many mosquitoes at this time of the year) the elusive lions made their presence known throughout the night. Hyenas could also be heard. The occasional cracking of branches were a reminder of the ever present elephants. But apart from that everyone seemed to sleep quite well.
We started quite early the next morning, as our guides wanted to try to track down the lions we had heard. So we were up at 6:30 for some coffee and off into the bush at about 7:00. Lion tracks could be found in abundance, within 200m from the camp. Finding the ones that had made them proved to be much more difficult. We saw a lot of other game, but no big cats. As we were getting ready to turn back to the camp for the eagerly awaited breakfast, we came across two other tourists with their guide from Oddballs. Their wide eyes and somewhat pale skin was explained by the fact that their guide had tracked down a pride of about 15 lions – a number of females with quite a few cubs. They had got quite close to the lions. So close, in fact, that one lioness had mock-charged them. When they still did not leave, another one charged them, and got to about 5 m from them. That must do wonders to your adrenaline levels. So breakfast was forgotten, as we tried to find the pride – with no success. We found enough tracks to cover a small country, but no lions. So we eventually got back to the camp – a little disheartened, very tired and extremely hungry.
Breakfast went down a treat, and we were then faced with the arduous task of having nothing to do but relax in the sun and see what came to visit our stretch of the river. It’s a tough life, but someone has to live it!
One large bull elephant walked past within about 15m of our camp. Half of our group were dosing in the sun or the tents at this stage and did not notice the large lad at all. Just goes to show how close you can get to nature here without even being aware of it.
Sometime after a late lunch we boarded the mocorros for some sightseeing up the river. This trip took us through some stunning, tall reed beds, where the only thing that remained visible of the mocorros were the poles sticking up above them. The restricted view made it quite exiting to find out what animals we were hearing splashing through the water behind the next wall of reeds. It allowed us to get quite close to groups of zebra, waterbuck and wildebeest. This has to be one of the most effective stress relief treatments in the world. It is very easy to forget all of the hassles of the real world while drifting along on the water.
Dinner revolved around a birthday celebration for Bettina, complete with Foix Gras starter, good wine and chocolate cake. Not a birthday setting that she is likely to forget in a hurry.
The night was especially full of noises. A genet cat decided to investigate the contents of our cooking pots, knocking them over in the process. Then Jumbo and friends decided to pay our camp a visit, and proceeded to attack the trees next to our tents. When you hear branches breaking a mere 5 m from your tent, and you can see the heads of your visitors silhouetted against the night sky, you ask yourself just how quickly you could get out of the tent if you really had to. I came to the conclusion that it probably wouldn’t be quick enough and, trusting the large fellows to be careful, finally fell asleep again…..Only to be woken again by the roaring of lions a few hours before dawn. This time they were much closer than the night before. The chuckling of hyenas accompanied them as usual.
So we got up at about 6:00 to see if we could track them down. The pressure was on for the guides. The previous days "loss of face" had to be made up for, and we would walk all day to find the lions if we had to. Well, for a while it seemed that that was exactly what we were going to do. We wandered back and forth in what appeared to be fairly random directions, to the point where a degree of despondency and irritation was starting to creep into our mood. And then, just as we were getting to the point of calling for a return to the camp, something growled at us out of the long grass. Our immediate reaction was to stop dead (and in some cases "Get the hell out of there!!"). However, the guides urged us closer, to the point where we could see two lionesses about 20m ahead of us. They were not impressed with the fact that we were ignoring the very obvious warning that they were giving us. So one decided to emphasize the warning by charging us. It was only a mock charge, bringing her to about 12 m from us before she veered off and disappeared in the grass, but it certainly got the adrenaline pumping. Nothing can prepare you for the sheer force of noise produced by a seriously p****d off lion roaring at you. You almost get shaken by the sound.
We moved onto the vantage point of a nearby termite mound. At this point it became clear that the lions had a carefully planned strategy for getting rid of the threat we posed to them. Two lionesses had made a great deal of noise, attracting all our attention to them, and slowing our movement towards them. At the same time some other lionesses had led the cubs away in a totally different direction. We just managed to see them disappear into the bushes about 100m away.
We were all thrilled with the encounter and could have quite happily returned to the camp at this point. However, our guides were determined to over compensate for the defeat of the day before and decided to track the lions down a second time. By this time there were some other small groups of people in the area. Guides from other camps had obviously also tracked the lions and were brought closer by the noise of our encounter. We felt a little smug about the fact that we saw the lions when everyone else had only heard them.
With more people in the area, there was additional pressure on our guides to find the lions quickly. This they did. We again got growled at, but this time managed to get quite a bit closer – probably 12m or so from them. I had just zoomed in on the one lioness’s head and lined up a perfect photo when she lost her patience and charged us. Needless to say, my photo was not a success, unless you would like to see a nice clear shot of some grass! She got to about 8m from us before veering off and disappearing. That was enough adrenaline for the day! Everyone suddenly looked a lot more energetic. One of our guides was nursing bruises that a panicky grip had left on his arm. I doubt that any of us are likely to ever forget that last half hour. There was also little chance of us seeing any other game on the way back to the camp, as our exited chatter would have scared of most animals within a kilometer radius.
What really impressed about the whole encounter was the way in which the lions went to extreme lengths to warn us off, before actually showing aggression. In the tall grass we could have tripped over them before seeing them if they had not made so much noise to attract our attention. Even when we did get too close for their (and our) comfort, a mock charge was sufficient to establish boundaries, when they could have quite easily turned us into a late breakfast snack. We were left with an impression of how man could co-exist with nature, if overpopulation did not constantly shrink the natural habitats.
Breakfast was eaten with great gusto and much animated conversation. Afterwards we struck camp and loaded everything back into the mocorros. At least the load was a bit lighter this time without all the food. Once everything was loaded up and the fire extinguished, we headed back to the main camp. The trip took about 2 hours and we arrived there just before lunch. As a welcome back committee, a small heard of elephant were playing in the river in front of the lodge. One large bull took an interest in us and waded towards us with ears flared. Our poler/guide, Metsephi, answered the question of "Are you afraid of elephants?" with a terse "YES!!" and some fairly rapid poling!
Once back at the main camp we checked into the chalet, that we had upgraded our booking to, for the last night. I could get used to that type of accommodation. We even had a house guest – a genet had made itself at home in the roof structure. Shortly after getting to the chalet, the elephants we had seen in the river came to pay us a visit. While most of the herd were happy to carry on browsing past the chalet, the bull that had made Metsephi nervous earlier, decided that things looked greener on the other side of the newly repaired electrical fence. He walked up to it, carefully put his forehead under the strands and lifted them until they snapped. Then he casually walked through the gap and proceeded to scratch himself on a large marula tree. He spent most of the rest of the day inside the camp.
After lunch, a long hot shower and some serious lazing around in the hammock in the chalet, we met up with our guides once more in the late afternoon for a sundowner trip in the mocorros. We headed up-river for a while and stopped at an island where a large crock had made himself at home. Some of the group got out onto the island to try to get a bit closer to the crock (not the best idea in my opinion), but the large leather clad one did not like the idea of visitors and slid into the water. Amazing how something that large can disappear so quickly. Just when you thought it was safe to get back into the water…..(imagine the Jaws theme playing at this point).
A little further along the river we stopped at another small island for some drinks and a chance to take the obligatory group photo. After that it was back to the lodge for dinner, with a short detour to take a look at the hippos just downstream from the lodge.
The night was spent in comfort on a real bed. What a pleasure. The only pain was some irritating bird, which kept screaming the same loud, monotonous, piercing cry throughout the night. As much as I like wild life, there are some species that are a really good argument for birth control!
We got up quite early the next morning for a last walk into the bush. The highlight of this was seeing a wild dog. A pride/troop (what is the right word?) of wild dogs seem to live semi permanently in this area and have dug a den for the group. Unfortunately there was only one female on guard at the den. The rest were apparently off hunting. This is one of the rarest animals in Africa, so it was a real treat to see one.
We got back to the lodge for a late breakfast. After that it was a matter of killing time until our return flight to Maun at about 14:00.
This was supposed to be a short e-mail about the trip. The fact that it has turned into a small book of my semi coherent ramblings gives you some idea of how great an experience this trip was. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. You should budget about US $600 for the trip including flights between Maun and the camp. On top of this you obviously would need to get to Maun. For most that would mean driving up from Johannesburg, as flights to Maun are quite expensive. Maun is about 1300km from Johannesburg, the roads are surprisingly good, and petrol is readily available. There are also a number of camping sites and hotels available between Joh’burg and Maun. If any of you want details of who to book through, let me know.
Ciao for now
Nils
