The Okavongo Delta
The river of Okavango starts in Angola, carries on its road in Namibia, then in Botswana. We will spend 3 days in the Eastern part of the Delta, for which the only possible access is with “the local canoe”: the Mokoro.
We are lucky to have one of the best mokoro poler: Alaska. His mokoro is made of wood taken from the famous sausage tree. This tree takes more than 80 years to grow and is very resistant.
During these three days we will camp in the Delta (no shower nor toilet) and each day we will walk out in the wild to admire fauna and flora which is of fantastic beauty. Thanks to our guides we will also learn how to recognize and track animals (elephants, zebras, giraffes, birds of any kinds, hinds, buffalos, hippopotamuses, white frogs).
Some of these animals we will approach from very near, by foot or with the mokoros. The hippos pond was our favorite stop, especially at the end of the day with the sunset...
As soon as we arrive in Maun, the main city gate of the Okavongo Delta, we are crushed by the heat, the sun is like a fireball, and the shade is hard to find.
On the way from the Namibian border to Botswana, we will cross villages, small enclosures of wood encompassing up to 7 hutts ( made of wood and straw), each enclosure pertaining to the same family. No water, no electricity, these small villages scattered, are typical and traditional, the children play under the trees or along the road, happy, without concern.
Along the road in Botswana, we are stopped 4 or 5 times for hygien controls. It is forbidden to transport meat or milk. Also, to avoid chemical contamination, we have to get off the bus, and lay our shoes on a small carpet wet with a special product.We don't know how many people with dirty feet walk on these trays but for sure we believe that we leave the controls dirtier than before!!
Our walks in the wild are done in good mood, but we have to comply with the safety regulations, like walking in line or not taking loudly… We know that the danger is present and that many accidents took place in the area. It should be known that in Botswana, the number of fatal accidents with hippos and crocodiles is higher than the deaths on the roads!
We will not forget the great sensations we had on the mokoro, the impression of flying on the water, the water lilies in the marshes around were of exceptional beauty, water was transparent and fresh.
The Delta is so large that we will decide thanks to the good advise of Laurent's grand mother Lydie to fly with a small Cessna plane during 45mn on top of the Delta. See the video! The landscape was splendid, between very dry parts (yellow) and very wet parts (green) we could see loads of elephants, giraffes, buffalos, zebras, in a landscape virgin of any construction. The flight on top of the Delta will remain one of our best beautiful experience in Africa.
