7/12/19
We took an open jeep tour out to Makgadikgadi Pan. It's a huge salt flat that in the wet season is a lake. At the salt flat, we took some forced perspective photos and hung around. Then we went off in search of meerkats. We found 4 cute little guys, and we got within 3 feet of them as they are habituated to researchers in the area. They were super fun to watch as they searched for grubs and kept lookout for birds of prey flying above.
In the afternoon we chilled at the pool and camp. In the evening we took a sundowner to an area of baobab tress. The trees are just so huge and impressive. One was estimated at 4000 years old (due to its 40m circumference). Everyone tried to knock fruits down by throwing sticks, and I was the only successful one, managing to knock 2 down. We had ciders and snacks at sundown and then took some cool silhouette pictures as the sun went down behind the giant trees. For dinner we had whole chickens roasted on the fire, and then sat around the fire at night.
7/13/19
Super early start today to get to Sepopa on the banks of the Okavango River in the Okavango Delta. We passed quite a lot of zebra on the road in the early morning. The Okavango is one of Africa's famous wildlife areas and an inland delta that just drains into the desert sands. To get there we stopped in the town of Maun to get supplies. Maun is of interest because it is where the ecologists Delia and Mark Owens (Authors of the book "Cry of the Kalahari") would stock up supplies for their research project at Deception Valley in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Those guys are ecological heroes to me. Our campsite is nice and along the river with some cute kitty cats.
7/14/19
In the morning we took a speedboat for 20 or so miles on the Okavango River to Seronga, within the Okavango Delta. Along the way we encountered some huge crocodiles and some hippos. We also saw some elephants in the distance. We then boarded a 4x4 truck and were transported overland for a few kilometers to another part of the delta. Here we boarded Makoros (traditional canoes). Makoros are little dugout canoes that 2 of us sit in while a local guide poles through the marsh while standing up, Venice style.
We were poled for a bit over an hour to an island where a camp was set up for us. Along the way we saw many birds, and a little reed frog. We chilled at camp for a while and then us mzungus got to take the Makoros out. I did pretty good handling the boat while stand up poling, but 3 different people in our groups ended up losing their balance and tipping into the river. After this fun activity, we took a sundown pole through the reeds and river with our guides. We got really close to a pod of hippos and then enjoyed a beautiful sunset.
At night they made us spaghetti bolognese and a nice dessert. We sat around a big bonfire and the polers sang some song for us and also did some musical skits (one about a frog and one about healing a very sick person). Then all of us joined in follow-the-leader dances that they led. Our dragoman group then sang John Denver's "Country Roads" for our guides and then led them in the "Hokey Pokey." After the dancing and singing, the guides did various riddles and mind games for us to solve, which was very fun. We then hung around the fire for awhile.
7/15/19
After hot drinks, we boarded the Makoros again and were poled to another island where we did a nature walk and learned about the delta and its islands. We saw many tracks (Elephants, hippo, impala, zebra, hyena, lion, honey badger, and genet) but no animals. We went back to our camp and had a delicious breakfast before boarding the Makoros to be taken back to our 4WD transport. We then got on another speedboat and were transported to a houseboat.
Talk about luxury for us! We all had our own cabins and a shared bathroom with hot shower between 2 cabins. The houseboat was pretty sweet, and we cruised along the Okavango River in the afternoon before watching a gorgeous sunset. The houseboat was 2 stores tall with cabins on the 1st floor and the dining area and bar on the 2nd floor. We had a yummy dinner of BBQ chicken as we watched the post sunset orange and red glow over the river.
7/16/19
Early morning wake up where we got to watch the full moon set over the river and the sun rise over the river. We then had an about 25 miles speedboat ride in the cold back to where our truck was. It was beautiful with the early morning sun shining on the waterway and speeding through all the mist rising from the river. Very surreal and soul lifting. The morning was just very magical!
We then drove to the Namibian border. This was our first border crossing issue that we had on the trip. All of us passengers were super quick and easy; however, the crew had problems with their Namibian work permits, so we had to wait at the empty border for over 3 hours. Elisha and I killed time by throwing the frisbee around in the parking lot. One of the guards joined in, and we taught him how to throw. We stopped at the first city across the border for supplies and then continued on to Grootfontein. Unfortunately we arrived after dark because the campground seemed awesome, with lots of decorations made from old car and machine parts, scrap metal, and animal bones. Our trip leader said it was a "mad max" style.
We took an open jeep tour out to Makgadikgadi Pan. It's a huge salt flat that in the wet season is a lake. At the salt flat, we took some forced perspective photos and hung around. Then we went off in search of meerkats. We found 4 cute little guys, and we got within 3 feet of them as they are habituated to researchers in the area. They were super fun to watch as they searched for grubs and kept lookout for birds of prey flying above.
In the afternoon we chilled at the pool and camp. In the evening we took a sundowner to an area of baobab tress. The trees are just so huge and impressive. One was estimated at 4000 years old (due to its 40m circumference). Everyone tried to knock fruits down by throwing sticks, and I was the only successful one, managing to knock 2 down. We had ciders and snacks at sundown and then took some cool silhouette pictures as the sun went down behind the giant trees. For dinner we had whole chickens roasted on the fire, and then sat around the fire at night.
7/13/19
Super early start today to get to Sepopa on the banks of the Okavango River in the Okavango Delta. We passed quite a lot of zebra on the road in the early morning. The Okavango is one of Africa's famous wildlife areas and an inland delta that just drains into the desert sands. To get there we stopped in the town of Maun to get supplies. Maun is of interest because it is where the ecologists Delia and Mark Owens (Authors of the book "Cry of the Kalahari") would stock up supplies for their research project at Deception Valley in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Those guys are ecological heroes to me. Our campsite is nice and along the river with some cute kitty cats.
7/14/19
In the morning we took a speedboat for 20 or so miles on the Okavango River to Seronga, within the Okavango Delta. Along the way we encountered some huge crocodiles and some hippos. We also saw some elephants in the distance. We then boarded a 4x4 truck and were transported overland for a few kilometers to another part of the delta. Here we boarded Makoros (traditional canoes). Makoros are little dugout canoes that 2 of us sit in while a local guide poles through the marsh while standing up, Venice style.
We were poled for a bit over an hour to an island where a camp was set up for us. Along the way we saw many birds, and a little reed frog. We chilled at camp for a while and then us mzungus got to take the Makoros out. I did pretty good handling the boat while stand up poling, but 3 different people in our groups ended up losing their balance and tipping into the river. After this fun activity, we took a sundown pole through the reeds and river with our guides. We got really close to a pod of hippos and then enjoyed a beautiful sunset.
At night they made us spaghetti bolognese and a nice dessert. We sat around a big bonfire and the polers sang some song for us and also did some musical skits (one about a frog and one about healing a very sick person). Then all of us joined in follow-the-leader dances that they led. Our dragoman group then sang John Denver's "Country Roads" for our guides and then led them in the "Hokey Pokey." After the dancing and singing, the guides did various riddles and mind games for us to solve, which was very fun. We then hung around the fire for awhile.
7/15/19
After hot drinks, we boarded the Makoros again and were poled to another island where we did a nature walk and learned about the delta and its islands. We saw many tracks (Elephants, hippo, impala, zebra, hyena, lion, honey badger, and genet) but no animals. We went back to our camp and had a delicious breakfast before boarding the Makoros to be taken back to our 4WD transport. We then got on another speedboat and were transported to a houseboat.
Talk about luxury for us! We all had our own cabins and a shared bathroom with hot shower between 2 cabins. The houseboat was pretty sweet, and we cruised along the Okavango River in the afternoon before watching a gorgeous sunset. The houseboat was 2 stores tall with cabins on the 1st floor and the dining area and bar on the 2nd floor. We had a yummy dinner of BBQ chicken as we watched the post sunset orange and red glow over the river.
7/16/19
Early morning wake up where we got to watch the full moon set over the river and the sun rise over the river. We then had an about 25 miles speedboat ride in the cold back to where our truck was. It was beautiful with the early morning sun shining on the waterway and speeding through all the mist rising from the river. Very surreal and soul lifting. The morning was just very magical!
We then drove to the Namibian border. This was our first border crossing issue that we had on the trip. All of us passengers were super quick and easy; however, the crew had problems with their Namibian work permits, so we had to wait at the empty border for over 3 hours. Elisha and I killed time by throwing the frisbee around in the parking lot. One of the guards joined in, and we taught him how to throw. We stopped at the first city across the border for supplies and then continued on to Grootfontein. Unfortunately we arrived after dark because the campground seemed awesome, with lots of decorations made from old car and machine parts, scrap metal, and animal bones. Our trip leader said it was a "mad max" style.
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