Okavango Delta 🇧🇼

At the border from Namibia to Botswana, we first had to wait for 3 long hours in 37 degrees. After that, we still had a long 4 more hours of driving until we finally arrived at our next campsite in the Bush. A really nice place, but unfortunately also quite a few mosquitoes, and since malaria is quite a big topic in our group, I personally couldn’t really enjoy it at that moment. In the late afternoon, we were picked up by a few members of the local indigenous tribe 'San People' for a bushwalk. While we walked through the bush, they showed and explained to us how they live and survive here. Unfortunately, there are not many left today who still lead this kind of life. It was really exciting to hear and see. In the evening after dinner, we were also presented with a traditional dance. Annie and I ventured out of the tent late in the evening to observe the stars (again 🤭). We saw the most impressive shooting star I've ever seen. Naturally, I made a very special wish to the universe at that moment! The next morning we started towards Maun, which is our starting point for the Okavango Delta. Since we had a beautiful pool again and it was incredibly hot, we spent the afternoon there. The next morning, we were picked up by jeeps to continue into the delta. Since we were going to camp there for a night, we had trailers with our things attached to the car, but one of them was not suitable for the roads in Botswana. After about 10 km of driving, the jeep in front of me almost lost a tire. So, we had to unpack everything and put it into a trailer that was already completely full. But well, in Africa, you don’t take things too seriously, and somehow we managed to do it. After a good hour through the bush, we arrived at the river where the mokoros were already waiting for us. Mokoro is the name for the canoes here in the Okavango Delta. We packed everything onto the mokoros and were then taken deep into the delta. The ride took 1.5 hours until we arrived at our overnight campsite. We were also allowed to try our hand at polling, which is the method used to move the mokoros. It was harder than expected, but we did pretty well. While most of us took a nap in the afternoon, we asked one of the Delta guides if he would take a little walk with us through the bush. So, we went for a walk as a group of 6. At least that was the plan, but it turned into a 2-hour safari. We were able to observe so many animals and got really close to them. It's quite impressive when huge giraffes are only 50 meters away from you! This safari felt so much more real and understandable than the last one in Etosha just in jeeps. When we returned, our planned safari with the whole group was already waiting. We then marched for another 2 hours through the delta at sunset. We were able to see our first water buffalo, the 4th animal of the Big 5 for me. We got incredibly close to elephants, it was simply impressive. Overall, we saw hundreds of hippos who were hiding in the water and sometimes scared us a bit. Especially when two big hippo bulls blocked our way in the water and we suddenly all had to get out of the canoes. The guides tried to scare the hippos away, but the hippos didn't like that so much and showed how quickly they could come out of the water and ran towards our guides. Thank goodness everything went well, and after 10 minutes we could pass through. In the evening, we all sat together by the campfire and had dinner. Our delta guides then introduced us to traditional African music and dances. Before we went to bed, it was explained to us that we should only leave the tent in case of extreme emergency at night and to look carefully to see if the flashlight light reflects off eyes. Honestly, I didn’t feel that safe afterward. But thank goodness I was so tired that I lay down in the tent and slept through until the alarm rang. In the morning, there was a sunrise safari. We walked through the delta with 2 guides and were again able to see so many animals. Hippos, elephants, antelopes, and much more. After the sun was up, we slowly made our way back. There, a delicious breakfast awaited us. Unfortunately, we had to get back into the canoes and head back out of the delta. On the way back, we could observe many more animals from the boat. I would have loved to stay in the delta longer, I enjoyed it so much there. I had no idea what to expect, but I was simply surprised and had an incredible time. We left the delta again by jeep, and thankfully this time without a breakdown. From Maun, we continued heading further east through Botswana. 🫶🏼