Because of that, the Delta is really difficult to see when you're a poor college student on a budget. Botswana has perfected low-impact ecotourism, which is a good thing. This means that they have pretty few tourist lodges/places within the region and they are all commited to environmentally friendly practices that sustain the amazing wildlife tourists come to see. That being said, the vast majority of the lodges in the Delta are extremely, almost excessively expensive and this part of Botswana has the international reputation among safari-goers for being uber-exclusive.
So we decided to book our trip to the Delta through "The Old Bridge" Backpackers. We got to Maun, which is the "Gateway to the Delta" on Friday, and were immediately picked up in an open air safari truck and driven our place. Once we got there we were immediately put on a motor boat and boated 45 minutes to a village in the southern part of the inner delta. We had book a 2 day Mokoro Camping Safari. A mokoro is a traditional dugout canoe used in Botswana, particularly by the tribes in the Delta. From the village, we met our guides and the other polers (it took 4 mokoros to get us and our stuff out there) and embarked on a 2 hour long mokoro trip. The Delta swamps are like nothing I've ever seen. Huge waterways of tall grasses, huge patches of water lilies, all types of birds flying overhead, and dotted with islands covered in palm trees. There were also some unpleasant parts of the longgg mokoro ride, mostly the fact that mokoros go right through the reeds and tall grasses coming out of the water, leaving the passengers inside covered in gnats, mosquitos, and cobwebs (with spiders in sometimes in the boat). Good thing I was wearing long pants/sleeves and took my malaria medicine!
We got to the island, set up camp, relaxed, and went on a game walk. We didn't see much the first night, just birds and a few steenbok. BUT there was a bull elephant that decided he wanted to eat some palm nuts about a hundred yards behind our tents. He kept getting closer and closer and we were hoping he wouldn't come crashing through! But by nightfall he went away. Our cook, Monk, cooked us an amazing dinner of beef stew, rice, salad, butternut squash, and this cool apples-and-bananas-boiled-in-milk desert that I have to try, then we went to bed in the warmest tents ever in very comfortable bedrolls listening to bird calls that sounded ten times cooler than those tapes rich Americans use to fall asleep ...sweet!
The next morning we got up at sunrise and mokoro'd out to another island for a early morning 3-hour game walk. As we were getting to the island we could see an elephant get our of the water up onto the island, which was amazing to watch! Then as we pulled up to the island we saw its whole family, about 4 elephants eating and chilling. On the game walk we also saw a herd of zebra (with a really cute baby they were trying to protect!), hyena tracks, more beautiful birds, a herd of impalla, and wildabeast. One the mokoro ride back we saw some monkeys and we heard (but couldn't spot) a leopard. Exciting!
When we got back to camp around mid-day, Monk made us the Botswana version of French toast (toast dipped in beat eggs and then deep-fried, he had also never even heard of syrup before as there are no maple trees here) and other assorted breakfast foods. We stuffed ourselves and relaxed for a little bit before breaking camp and heading back on the Mokoros for the 2 hour journey home. The bugs weren't bad for the first half and the weather was warm, mostly sunny, and amazng so it was actually really relaxing to be in such a beautiful place, so close to nature, and enjoying creation.
When we got back to the hostel, we each dropped our stuff in our private rooms, which were pretty cute, and then went to watch some World Cup soccer with the collection of white/Asian characters that collect at a Backpackers hostel in the middle of nowhere in Africa. After eating dinner and watching the games we were so tired we passed out.
Today, I had the most chill birthday ever. After eating breakfast we checked out of the hostel and then we did a whole lot of nothing in Maun. But, for doing nothing, it was pretty awesome. The weather was clear blue skies and pretty hot (by my American standards) so we changed into shorts and walked around the town of Maun, which has almost nothing in it. Its extremely sad to see the state of Maun, which is extremely poor despite the fact that so much money is spent on tourism there. I also know from reports I've read at work that the Okavango district has some of the worst health indicators in Botswana. The mix in Maun is really interesting and kind of sad. though the industry provides some local Batswana with employment, but most of the managers of the safari companies are British expats or white Africans who've been here for generations, so its a weird dynamic. Anyway, I then had an amazing 2 hour long lunch at a French restaurant that caters to tourists outside of the Airport, complete with a dessert crepe filled with bananas, almonds, and Tia Maria chocolate syrup - YUM! Then we walked around Maun more and bought some cool souvenirs, which I haven't bought almost any of so far.
After a short flight back to Gabs I took an incredibly refreshing shower, but as soon as I walked out of it the rest of the interns surprised me, in cute animal masks with a cake, candles, and a birthday glass of wine. They made me blow out my candles in my towel, while taking what I'm sure are mortifying pictures. Then I got changes and we celebrated/ relaxed for the rest of the night.
It was, overall, an amazing and relaxing weekend and a great way to spend my last few days as a teenager, reflect on the years I've had so far, and bring in an exciting new year of life ☺
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! what a perfect weekend :)
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