Extra sleep! Today I got to sleep until 5:45 am! Trevor woke everyone up, and this morning we really had to move quickly. Today we were driving to the Delta to stay for two nights, and we wouldn’t have the truck with us. We each had to pack one bag with clothes and all the necessities we would need for the two nights. I packed my backpack with extra underwear, pants, a long sleeved shirt, my swimsuit, towel, extra memory card, extra camera battery, sunscreen, bug spray, toothbrush, and malaria medicine. I figured I wouldn’t need much more than the clothes on my back and warmer clothes for the nights. As we all ate the usual breakfast and took down our tents, the truck to drive us to the Delta arrived. It was a typical safari truck. No sides really, no windows, and huge tires. It was basically a wide-open space. Down the middle of the bed were two rows of seats with their backs facing each other, so that people could look out of both sides. On the floor, there were sides that latched up only to ensure nothing on the floor of the truck would fall out. Thus, we would have to hold on for dear life when riding to the Delta.
(Safari truck)
We loaded the truck with everyone’s bags and sleeping bags, enough sleeping pads, enough tents for three people to a tent, a 5 L jug of water for each person, and two coolers and crates with enough food to last the group two lunches, two breakfasts, and two dinners. Then we all climbed aboard, hanging onto the posts on the truck, and drove an hour to the edge of the Okavango Delta.
(Beginning of the drive)
We passed through the lager city of Maun, and then continued on through its many villages, eventually driving on sand roads through forests of small twiggy trees covered in orange leaves. We saw the occasional mud hut and enjoyed the show of being mooned by two little boys.
(Mud huts)
A cart pulled by donkeys passed, and by a little past 8 am we had reached the shore of the Okavango Delta.
There at the edge of the water were canoes and people, waiting for us. We unloaded all of our belongings from the truck, and waited on the sand, while the men and women at the shore loaded our tents and food into the boats.
(The mokoros waiting for us)
A man came up to SarahCatherine and I, introduced himself as Peter, and offered to take us in his canoe to the island. We agreed and he loaded our bags and water into his canoe, unfolding our sleeping pads and making them into chairs for us to sit in. These canoes, I learned, are called ‘mokoros’.
(Peter, SarahCatherine, and I)
The mokoro we rode in through the Okavango Delta was made of wood, while others were made of fiberglass, and was 12 years old. The ride from the shore to the island we were to stay on took about three hours. Peter stood at the back of the boat and used a long wooden stick to push against the bottom of the waters and propel us forward.
(mokoro)
We lay back in the hot Botswanan sun and relaxed. All of the mokoros were a good distance from each other, so we could all enjoy the Delta in peace. It was almost too sacred to talk loudly, and SarahCatherine and I found ourselves speaking in low whispers to each other, too afraid to break the peace. Peter talked to us about himself and his daughter, pointed out trees and insects, and taught us some words in Setswana, his native language.
Halfway to the island all the mokoros took a break on a random island so everyone could get out, stretch their legs, and pee. The sun was high in the sky by now. Most of the guys had taken their shirts off, and us girls were down to our bras and shorts. Upon getting back in the mokoro, Peter washed our feet of the mud we had stepped in, and then gently placed our feet into the mokoro.
(mokoros at the rest stop)
The rest of the ride he continued to teach us, pointing out a Sycamore tree, reed frogs, African Lilies, and a sausage tree. Riding in a mokoro in the Okavango Delta is by far the most peaceful thing I have ever experienced (I will post a video I took of it on facebook).
(standard view for the mokoro ride)
By noon we reached the island we would be staying at for the next two nights. Our mokoro was the last one to reach land, and fortunately people had already set up our tent. It was extremely hot out, and everyone sat on the camping chairs, drenched in sweat, too hot to do anything but sit and guzzle water. I was fried. It hadn’t occurred to me until about an hour into the mokoro ride that I should put on sunscreen, not only because the malaria pills I take make my skin more prone to burn, but also because TIA (this is Africa) and the sun is much stronger. I liberally applied more sunscreen, too late to not get burned, but I hoped it would help a bit. I wasn’t the only one who was burned, though. As we ate lunch the color on everyone’s skin grew redder. The lead guide of the group of locals, Matanta, gave us an introduction. He explained what to do if we saw wild animals, not to go out walking alone far from camp, and that after you were done going to the bathroom in the hole they had dug in the ground, to put some dirt on your waste to be courteous to the next person to use it.
After lunch we changed into our suits and took the mokoros to a beach near the island that was perfect for swimming. We walked a little past the beach to a deeper area of water with very little reeds. We played volleyball, swam, and the locals let us paddle the mokoros. It was extremely hard; you have to balance standing up, hold the heavy paddle, push the super heavy boat with the paddle, and somehow steer, all at the same time. After a while the rest of the group headed back to camp to rest before our walk, but a few of us stayed and gave ourselves a mud bath. The mud smelled like poop, but we sucked it up and rubbed the mud all over our bodies, minus the face. Then we stood and let ourselves dry. The mud cracked and turned a light gray, and it was hard to move. We washed ourselves off in the water, although the mud never really came off my skin, and then headed back to camp in the mokoros.
A bit of hanging out at the camp, and obviously some card games later, we headed out for an informative walk, around 5 pm. Everyone dressed in greens, browns, blacks, and muted colors, I had to borrow a black shirt from one of the girls, and pants. We rode in mokoros to the land we would tour, and then split up into groups. Our leader showed us the poop of different animals, along with tracks, and told stories.
(Our guide showing us poop)
He explained how the palm-like trees are called Lalapalm trees, because ‘lala’ in Setswana means sleepy, and two or three glasses of the Lalapalm wine will make a person drunk and sleepy. He also explained that the white kind of salt on the ground came from the water that once occupied the area we were walking on. Now, the locals use the white salty stuff to wash their dishes. We continued to walk for an hour and a half. Our guide showed us a pack of antelope across some water, and we came across an antelope bone. At a little past 6 pm the sun began to set. The sky was full of beautiful pinks, yellows, and oranges. The trees became black against the sun, and it was what I thought was the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen.
(sunset)
(Sunset over the water)
Back at camp we had our first dinner cooked by Elroy, and it was delicious. After a whole day in the hot Botswana sun, I was tired, and hungry. We had sausages, chicken, potatoes, and squash.
(Dinner)
The meal completely filled me up and was worth the long wait around the campfire. After dinner we stargazed for a bit, but the ground was wet so I headed back to the fire. We all sat and talked around the fire, and the tent mates and I retired to our tent at around 10 pm. It had been a long day and the three of us, SarahCatherine, Ketil, and I, were tired. The tent was hot with the three of us, and we couldn’t sleep. We stayed up talking, laughing, and sharing stories. It wasn’t until almost midnight again when we finally got sick of talking.
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