Okavango Delta

In april 2015 i enjoyed two night in a mobile bush camp in the Okavango Delta. Local people brought us with a mokoro, a small canoe with two guests and a poler, to our camp site in the delta. They had put up ten tents under the trees on a island in the delta. There were two bush toilets, two bush showers and a big party tent for breakfast, lunch and diner.
We did two bush walks with guides. Topgun, our main guide at the head of the line, then six tourists and a guide at the back of the line. Topgun told us a lot about wildlife in the delta. We had a close encounter with a herd of elephants. We saw lion foot prints. An lot of wildebeest and zebra.
The last night in the camp, the guides and polers performed for us. They danced and sang local songs. Camping in a mobile camp in the Okavango Delta is a wonderful experience!

Getting back to Nature

Okavango Delta had an amazing range of habitat from savannah to wetland to woods. In most other areas we found that after 3 days you had "worked" an area. In the Okavango that is not true, there is just so much to see. We deliberately went in the wet season to increase our chances of bird/animal spotting and to enjoy the scenery more. We were very fortunate in that we only had one evening's rain and one overnighter so it was an excellent choice - not too hot either. We stayed at Kwara Camp which was excellent, yes it looks a little tired but that didn't matter, it blended in with the habitat. In with nature - being woken at 3am to hear Lions "purring" just outside the tent wall was quite an experience ( I took my hearing aids out so you can imagine how loud it was) - but you are quite safe inside. One night we had to be taken by Landrover to the main tent (100 metres) because of lions prowling around. The food was varied and all excellent - something for everyone I would think, I thought I might lose weight - wrong so good and so much I put plenty on... Off on the trips we saw the usual suspects hippo, elephant, lion, giraffe, warthog (my favourite), zebra, Antelopes and a tortoise. Painted Reed Frogs when we went out canoeing and an Ostrich family with 8 youngsters. Bird life - well with the range of habitat there is a large number of species you can see. Carmine Bee-eaters, Crested Barbet, openbills and plenty of raptors. How much you see does depend on your guide as well as your knowedge, in particular who you are out for the day with - if you are with people uniterested in birds and only in chasing for wild dogs then you'll see much less bird or insect/butterfly life. We were lucky on our whole Safari in that only once were we in a group that wanted to chase, other times we were on our own and could take our time (saw more birds and animals that way). Another advantage of the wet season when the camps aren't so full. I've just looked back over my Flickr album of Okavango Delta and am amazed at what we saw.

Just go - you won't be disappointed - we spent 3 nights in Kwara and so had the best part of three (two whole plus two half) days, I'm glad we didn't do any less.

Okavango Delta offers the truest safari experience - spectacular wildlife and unspoiled nature

Our three nights in the Okavango Delta were the nature highlight of our Southern Africa trip. (which is no small thing with stops in Zambia, Cape Town and Londolozi – all highly recommended!) The difference in the Okavango was the beauty of the delta itself. The blue ribbons of water lined with sea grass and occasional water lilies were a photographer’s dream - especially when out of the grass poked a brightly colored Jacana or a trumpeting elephant.
All activities at camp revolve around the water. We were met by staffers at the airstrip who transferred us to a small launch to make our approach to camp. Twice daily game drives were in Land Rovers equipped for the watery terrain. We drove through areas with 3-4 feet of water. “Legs Up!” would shout our guide and we’d hold cameras, etc., above our heads.
The wildlife in the Okavango was extraordinary, with close encounters with leopards, hippos and elephants. And the abundance of birdlife is legendary. Afternoons at camp were spent watching crested barbets, weaver-birds, and other striking species from our deck.

Exploring wonderful Okavango Delta

After a bumpy ride, we arrived at the campsite in Gweta, at the Okavango Delta, where the staffs were waiting and welcoming us by singing and dancing. After a short briefing about the activities we were going to take, the staffs immediately served us some tea and coffee. Late in the afternoon, we took a 2-hours trekking (we spotted some elephants, buffaloes); after dinner, the staffs entertained us with more dances and songs by the campfire. The staffs were so warm, welcoming, and friendly-just like all the staffs from other campsites during our stay in Botswana.

The next day we were taking a Mokoro (a dug-out canoe), we left early in the morning to explore the Okavango Delta. The mokoro can carry 2 people and a poler, usually a guide from a local campsite. The poler, stands in the stern and uses a long pole to propel through the shallow water. It is so peaceful and serene, and the water is so calm during the trip. The view is breathtakingly beautiful, especially during the sunrise. Okavango Delta is the home of more than 400 species of birds, large variety of wildlife and painted reed frogs.

Another way to enjoy the aerial view of the delta is by taking a 45-minutes helicopter rise (a 206 or 210 Cessna) from Maun Airport, which cost about US$90.00. In order to be able to see different views, the helicopter sometimes flies at 45 degrees angle left or right, which could be nauseating and making you dizzy. Those uncomfortable feelings is a very small price to pay for the magnificent view from the sky, especially when you spot the animals- elephants, hippopotamus, buffaloes, among other things.

The weather in March was nice although sometimes a bit chilly at night, since it was almost the beginning of the Autumn. The roads mostly bumpy, e.g., it took about 6 hours to drive about 500 kilometers. One thing we noticed in Botswana was that we stopped at the police check points very often; for what purpose, we never knew. The immigration officer at the Kazungula (Botswana-Zimbabwe Border) was very friendly. He asked if we had a nice time and invited us back to visit different parts of the country. We left Botswana very happy that day-not only we saw so many animals (elephants, lions, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, birds, antelopes, etc), but also some countrysides, as well as met nice people.

Not to sound cliche, but you will never forget the experience and the excitement after taking these trips.

A remarkable place in Botswana

Okavango Delta (Botswana) offers amazing and varied vistas with incredible wildlife diversity for the avid photographer. The photos captured at Okavango Delta are second to none and favorable weather makes days very productive. The sights are highly memorable and a global treasure.

Exquisite location and teeming with birds and wildlife. One of the best places to visit.

Okavango Serenity

We went to the Okavango Delta in February. We stayed in a riverside camp manned by Delta Rain. We were serenaded by the very friendly Delta Rain team when we arrived via jeep (after a 1/2 hour ride from Maun).
http://tinyurl.com/ovtxwz8
They then paddled us along the river to our camp in their mokoros. It was a tented camp, with real beds, mosquito nets & en-suite showers (rigged up in a tree branch & filled with hot water, heated on the fire). We cooked over an open fire and sang songs around the fire by night. During the day we explored the local bush on walking safari & rivers via mokoro, but apart from the odd Fish Eagle we saw very little wildlife - think that the rivers were high and we were just unlucky. Life out in the bush was great and really laid-back & relaxed. I would recommend it.

The last night we stayed at a hostel back in Maun and one of our friends (sleeping in a tent within the fenced compound) was robbed (laptop)and apparently it had happened before. So that was a bit of sad ending to an otherwise fantastic trip.

We stayed at Pom Pom camp and although we did not see much on the 3 game drives during our 3 night stay, we thoroughly enjoyed the boat ride on the delta as well as the makoro experience.

A not-to-be-misses destination

The Okavango Delta was just one stop on a month long visit to Africa but it was the richest in terms of game viewing and overall safari experience. We encounter the rarely seen pangolin, lions galore (a pair on their "honeymoon"), amusing (and sometimes annoying) vervet monkeys, elephants, zebra, herds of antelope, and amazing birds; the iconic lilac-breasted roller among many others. It was July so bundling up for the early morning game drives was a must....by about 10 it warmed up enough to shed a few layers and enjoy the sun. Our camp was operated by Wilderness Safaris - the food was wonderful, the staff simply the best, and our guides shared not only their knowledge of the area but their love of the land as well. The sweet scent of what our guide called "savannah basil" filled the air as we traveled through the delta - an experience I will long remember.

I was impressed by stunning nature far away from the civilisation.

My accommondation was a tent, that was build on a high platform. On that platform was a toilet and a shower with no roof. The valuables were stored in a box that was locked.
The excursions were very exciting, because we used a traditonal boat made of wood to reach our destination. I never walked by foot in an area, where animals like elephants, lions and leopards are living.
In the night, elephants and hippos walked through our camp. Summarized the three days were very exciting.