A dip in the delta & dancing around the camp fire: Botswana

Our next stop on our African adventure was Botswana, & the much hyped Okavango Delta. We crossed the border just before lunchtime & due to the spread of foot & mouth disease, we had to hide any fruit or veg we had, as well as we were asked to walk through a chemical shoe cleaner on the ground. This was a control put in place through out the country. We drove for a little while longer on okay roads, & reached ‘Thebe River Camp’ in the mid afternoon. After setting up camp, we headed to the pool for a quick freezing dip, & had a couple of local  and tasty ‘St Louis’ beers, which were particularly light for a lager, at 3.5%. The night soon crept in, & after an early dinner, we crawled into bed. 

We were back on the road early the next morning, & before long, after a quick stop in the town of Maun for supply shopping, we had reached ‘Sedia Hotel.’ Unfortunately, we weren’t staying in any flash hotel rooms here, we were merely camping in the grounds. We set up our tents & headed to the pool bar (a reoccurring theme now,) for free WiFi, & once again, a couple of local beers. Our group dinner was unfortunately one of the worst, bland spaghetti & meatballs, & we were excited for bed, to catch some z’s, & wake up the next morning ready for a bush adventure. 
As the early morning arrived, we were hit in the face by an extremely frosty reception from Mother Nature. It was a chilly one, but somehow we arose & packed up the ‘Afrotrek’ vehicle with our tents & supplies. The drive to Delta was just as unpleasant, with freezing air whipping us as we rode along in the back of the open truck. We were relieved to reach the banks of the Okavango after forty five minutes, however we had a little wait until our chaperones, the Makora polers arrived. The Makora is a kind of traditional canoe, used by the ancient Botswanan people to traverse the often shallow grassy waters of the Delta. It fits two people, plus the commandeer. We were assigned a friendly poler named Legos, & his respective blue Makora. Loading it up quickly, we set off through the reeds. 

After a shaky start, we grew used to the swaying of the Makora, & we learnt that Legos had been transporting tourists around for over ten years, with no incidents as yet, so our minds were put at ease. The Okavango Delta is a unique body of water, as the water that flows here is stagmented. It does not flow out to any rivers, the water covers many reeds & sunken trees, & simply sinks into the soft sand. We were overly grateful for a prior warning from Vee to bring lots of Deet, & for slapping it on before jumping on board, as we were swamped with mosquitoes every time we parted through the reeds. The gentle sailing proved to be relaxing, & Legos pointed out fishing birds to us as we cruised. 

We suddenly heard the unmistakable grunts of a few hippos that sounded close, & we followed them to an open pool. Easing to a stop on the edge, we watched eagerly as the giant rascals splashed about, even showing off their huge mouths! Before too long we were sailing off again, & we eventually reached a body of land with a massive tree coverage, which was indeed to be our home for the next two nights. Fortunately the guys with our tents had sped off ahead and had generously already put them all up for us and started a fire. 
The sun was still shining so we jumped at the opportunity to check out the swimming hole! One of the polers led us through 5 minutes of bush until we reached a clearing that delved into Delta. The water was crisp and only waist deep but felt better than a coffee to wake us up for our afternoon walk. We headed off at 4pm and broke into two groups to speed things up a little. We followed small tracks made by hippos, through long grass and around shallows of water. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to see in terms of game apart from the timid reedbuck & fish eagle, so as the sun set, we headed back to our jungle base. 

The night crept in as the campfire roared. We feasted on delicious grilled chicken with lashings of peri peri sauce. We were exhausted, & by the time the clock struck eight, we were in our tent, fast asleep.
We rose with the sun and started our day with a lovely 4 hour walk through the delta! In search of animals we found zebras, hippos, reedbuck and some baby chicks. The terrain was swampy, where bush crept to the waters edge and led off to massive fields of long grass. Luckily it was a guided walk as every direction looked much the same to me. 

We arrived back at camp to a second breakfast for the day; a big fry up, before spending the next good part of the day learning to pole a Makora. Jess, Chloe, Sean & I were the first to jump at the chance. The steering took a lot of getting used to, the four of us each took turns spinning around in circles! The girls & I started to pick it up a little, leaving Sean struggling around the reeds. We decided to pole to the water hole for a chilly dip as a reward for all the hard work, which meant poling through the thick reeds. 
Sean hit his straps & figured out the steering, racing ahead & out of sight. We all eventually made it to the little clearing, all taking turns jumping from our canoes into the icy cold drink. After a little swim & a few photos, we circumnavigated back to camp. Feeling warmed up again, Chloe & I had a yoga session, & before we knew it, the sun had begun it’s slow descent, & we were getting ready to head out on the water again for a sunset cruise.

It was absolutely picturesque slowly streaming through the still water as the vivid sky farewelled the sun. We were lucky to find a big group of hippos splashing about before racing back to land in the nearing dark. A big feed of beef stew later, we were sat around the camp fire, roasting marshmallows and drinking rum. We then showcased a few songs and games but were completely shown up by all of the polers performing for us; one of which was a toad song where they all got on their hands and feet and leapt around ‘ribiting’! 

I woke the next morning with vague memories of going to bed and a thumping headache to reinforce the fun we had last night! Soon to be back on the water we packed down our tents and sailed through the delta one last time, meeting a verchile on the waters edge, we were picked up and taken back to Sedia hotel. Arriving unwashed and exhausted Sean and I finally decided to pull out our ‘upgrade’ option! A pretty expensive but well worth it room later we spent the afternoon watching TV, catching up on washing and most importantly washing ourselves.. I had 3 baths in less than 12 hours! After a big group buffet dinner at the restaurant Sean and I were quick to dive into our lush white linen sheets and appreciate a night off from camping! 
A sweet sleep later we hesitantly crawled out of luxury and climbed back onto the dusty yellow truck. Farwelling Rach and Rob we headed for the boarder and smoothly crossed into Namibia just after lunch. A few more hours passed and we arrived at a rainbow river camp. Setting up our tent with a gorgeous view of the water, we watched the setting sun as we saluted it with a short session of yoga. 

We woke the next morning with the river almost at our feet! Packing up & having breakfast, we were back on the truck on towards our next destination, the Hoba Meteorite. We learnt that it’s the biggest crashed meteorite in the world & therefore we expected to see this humongous ball of minerals & space rock. However, when we arrived at the campsite just beating night fall, we were greeted by an unimpressive regular looking rock surrounded by a mini colosseum! On closer inspection, you could see slashes where the smooth iron has been exposed - the meteor is made up primarily of iron, & a few other minerals, some unknown! Standing in the middle of it & talking creates a massive echo effect which initially catches you off guard. We set up our tent overlooking the newly agreed impressive sight, & after a delicious peanut butter rice & pork chop dinner, we were in bed, contemplating the cosmos & universe as we drifted off into slumber, looking forward to waking up and setting off for Etosha National Park.