Botswana

BOTSWANA PHOTOS: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.643064142578.2078697.43700183&type=3&l=9a616cd1d8 We crossed the border into Botswana very unceremoniously, but were immediately treated to much better roads and easier travel through the Kalahari desert. Unlike most of the places thus far, though, instead of the animals being fenced in from the people, the people are (generally) were fenced in from the animals. Botswana has more of both goats and cows than people, and it is home to 70% of the world's elephants. Just driving on the major passes we often saw kudu, orynx, zebras, pumbas, giraffes, baboons, and of course elephants. Our first stop was at a camp in Ghanzi where were stayed with the San (bush) people and learned some of their traditions and dances. We had to keep moving though to Maun, the launching point for the Okavango Delta, one of my "big five" reasons I came to Africa. The delta is the largest inland delta in the world, and is home to infinite types of wildlife. A huge 4x4 truck took us into the delta, through multiple rivers, to the mokoro (long, skinny dug-out canoe) station, and we loaded them up and met our guides/polers who would be with us for the next three days. My guide, Casey, was wonderful, and we had a great time getting to know all of them over the next few days. The guides were all born and raised in the delta, so they are expert polers (the mokoros are moved by sticking a pole in the water and pushing off the ground), and they navigated through the tiny canals formed in the tall grass to our island. When we arrived at camp, we were startled to find plenty of elephant droppings in and around camp, only to be warned by our guides that we needed to wake them at night if we had to use the toilet (hole in the ground), as the elephants wander freely through the camps, and often the hippos come on land during the night... I was sure to schedule my bathroom breaks strategically! We had a couple hours to go have a dip in an area of the delta that the hippos supposedly don't frequent, then went for a nature walk to learn about the area. We we're up early the next morning to go on a bush walk, and got within 15 meters of a herd of zebra and wildebeast just casually grazing- it was exhilarating to see them on foot rather than from a vehicle, but a little unnerving, as well! We cooled off again in the swimming inlet, and one of the polers took me out to have a try at poling the mokoro, which is far harder than it looks, but was great fun. In the evening we took the mokoros out for a sunset spin and came across a lagoon full of hippos playing and happily chomping on the water lilies just a few meters away. I was very glad to have the guides, as hippos are responsible for more deaths than any other animal in Africa, and my poling skills weren't quite up to snuff, just yet. After dinner over the fire, we organized a "nationality night", as we were representing 10+ counties between the 20 or so of us, including the guides. Each nation stood up and preformed something representative of their county, but of course none held a candle to the incredible spirit and life of the Botswanan songs and dances, and it ended up being one of the best nights I've had so far (especially when someone brought out sparklers and the polers loved them!!) Much as I didn't think the delta trip could get any better, a couple of us organized a helicopter flight over the delta on our way out, and it was absolutely breathtaking, and a thousand times better than I could have ever imagined (especially as I had never been in a helicopter before!). Our pilot swooped us all around, getting so close to the ground when there we no animals, and hovering high enough above when there were. Because the vantage point is so much better from the air, not only is it a stunning view of the delta, but it is miraculous to see just how many animals there are all together, and I felt like I was watching a scene out of the Lion King. An absolute highlight of the trip, thus far! Next stop was the Chobe national park, and we took a boat cruise along the Chobe River which goes in to the park, and was spectacular. It was a simple boat, you bring your own sundowners, and we were saw more hippos than I could possibly count, as well as dozens of elephants swimming around in the water to get to the lush green island (our driver brought us right up next to them, and they didn't seem to mind), a giraffe drinking among hundreds of baboons, and a few crocodiles, kudu, buffalo, etc. Feeling that couldn't be topped, I skipped the game drive in the morning and took the opportunity to explore the nearest town on my run, adding probably half a mile to my run from continuously having to dart across the road to avoid families of pumbas and baboons who seemed to have the run of the town early on Sunday morning. The pumbas look very sweet from the car, but on foot those nasty horns sticking out look quite scary, particularly when you realize that you have inadvertently gotten closer to the babies than the mama is! All in all Botswana was a pleasure, and certainly wowed me!