Sixth stop: Maun

On Monday morning at 7:30 am, we set off towards Maun. After a very long drive, we arrived at our camp around 6 pm. After quickly setting up the tents, we jumped into the pool, which we all needed after the very hot car ride. To our delight, we finally had pasta for dinner. The food is really delicious, but it's too meat-heavy for me, so I'm looking forward to having pasta once in a while. Although there's usually meat in the sauces 😉 When I'm back in Windhoek, I'm going to have a vegetarian week.

After dinner, we sat together and played games. On the way to bed, I almost tripped over Jeannie and Malin, who were lying on the ground, looking up at the impressive starry sky. Of course, I joined them and enjoyed just being able to gaze into such a clear sea of stars.

The next morning, me and four others had a flight over the Okavango Delta planned. Our guide drove us to the airport shortly after 9 am. Passport control and payment went very quickly, so we were soon sitting in our little 8-seater plane. We knew the flight would be shaky, so we took motion sickness tablets just to be safe. The pilot introduced himself to us and started the plane. The engine didn't start. The pilot tried again. Still nothing happened. With each further attempt, our confidence in the plane and the pilot sank. After what felt like ten attempts, he gave up and we had to get off and run to another plane. When we were sitting in this one, the pilot noticed that the tank was empty. So we had to disembark again and wait for a few minutes. When we finally sat in the plane again, we thought we could take off. But this engine also didn't start at first. Eventually, it worked and we moved somewhat skeptically and with queasy stomachs onto the runway. Overall, the 45-minute flight over the delta was very beautiful and impressive, seeing how the landscape and the water find their way there, but the circumstances were not the best. We had expected to fly even deeper into the delta, and both twins were feeling very sick, so I was worried about them and couldn't fully enjoy it. I was constantly feeling nauseous, but it wasn't so bad that I had to vomit. And my fear was also limited. Only in one moment, when the pilot let the plane sink very steeply and flew close to the ground, did I start to panic a bit. I found it very unprofessional that the pilot didn't communicate with us. If it had been clear to us right away that it was intentional, we would have reacted differently. Nevertheless, it was a nice experience. The rest of the day, we spent at the pool or playing card games, until the good weather was interrupted by a thunderstorm.