Okavango Delta – Nata – Maun – Okavango Delta, Africa 2017 – Day 7-9

12/06-08/17

12/06/17

Our morning wake up call was for 6AM with it raining a little through the night. When we came out of the tent, the watering hole had finally been emptied with 1 elephant approaching from the distance as we ate breakfast. We had to pre-pack our lunch as this day was our first long-haul drive where we would not stop for a lunch pitstop. We drove from Nata to Maun.

On our drive, we spotted ostriches and zebras.

Okavango Delta info

-The delta is a UNESCO sight because the tectonic plates shifted and use to be dry but now it’s wet. It is one of the very few major interior delta systems that do not flow into a sea or ocean, with a wetland system that is almost intact.

-May-July is when water levels are high. The rainy season brings nutrients down for the animals. The water is low season is about a meter deep.

-Mokoro are traditional boats that are made of jackelberry, sausage or sycamore trees dug out to make it hollow and push it with a pole. Polers use large staffs to push through the river.

-Fishermans turned to tourism to create more income.

  • – The Okavango Delta is 15000KM depending on water levels.

-Antelope/Impala that live in the delta have their hooves jut out so they can adapt and not sink into the mud.

  • -The Delta is made up of different channels.

Our day was made up of driving to Maun. We arrived at Sitatunga Camp – Delta Rain – our campsite for the night. We set up our tents right outside the wooden columns so we were closest to the bar to get better wifi reception. There is a pool (murky waters) and a volleyball court (not up to par but decent enough with soft sand). Good thing I brought a volleyball. The girls and myself played but it was sure hot. Will, Clive and the other guide from another tour joined us before we had to stop for dinner.

After dinner, the sun had set and back to Volleyball we went. The rallies got more intense as Shaw also joined and Will had gotten some tips for Lulu and his form improved. Alberto also joined. The lights seem to be on timer going off every 5 minutes or so and back on after 3 or something like that. We played into the night but finished so we could go shower.

The showers were quite glamourous from what we’ve had. Overhead shower head but the stalls are much larger and have a shelf and towel rack with a level you could sit if you’d like.

After the relaxing shower, we met Shaw at the bar where to offered us homemade rosmalai (Indian dessert) and pistachio coconut ice cream. Absolutely delicious and a real treat after playing volleyball. The pistachio ice cream is made with condensed milk, cream, nestle milk powder, cooked down then add Coconut cream, coconut flakes, pistachio, almond.

Shaw is originally from Pakistan. His father was a banker who opened banks around the world and moved around and settled down in Botswana. Shaw studied in Cape Town – culinary. He recently took ownership of the food and drink of Sitatunga camp about 2 months and has big ideas such as an open concept outdoor kitchen. His side business is security systems for the big resorts. He lives in Kasane and Francistown (4-5 hours away).

NOTE – This overnight portion of the trip is when you should pack neutral colours (no bright colours, blue and whites) not to scare animals and pack sneakers and pants to avoid getting scratched up on your bushwalks.

12/07/17

I woke up and repacked 1 bag for the overnight stay with swim suit, a change of clothes, camera and whatever else you need for overnight.

We had french toast for breakfast. It was my turn to purchase a block of ice for 20 Pula and packed it into the smaller cooler that we would be taking with us.

We all got on the safari truck and off we drove to the delta. It got a little bumpy entering into the village surrounding our entry point to the delta channel for the mokoros (old fashioned boats you pole to get you around). Sarah and myself had Simon as our poler.  In your mokoro before you step in, the poler places your sleeping mats (2) opened and creates seating with a back rest using your backpack, 5L waters and sleeping bags. The ride was 1.5-2 hours and was very smooth and relaxing.  As we were entering into our campsite, there were 6-8 elephants walking past just meters away.

When we all finally arrived to the campsite, we met Xtra – the head of the polers and Phil & Litos the bushmen. They gave us the rundown about the general campsite and gave us strict rules about asking permission and requiring a person to escort us if we wanted to venture as we were in the wild. Since Clive and Frans stayed back and ran errands, Will became one of the polers and the cook for this portion of the trip. For lunch, we had tuna pasta and oranges.

It was way too hot to do anything in the sun until 3PM but at least we had a nice view of the elephants from our site. At 3PM, Will took us out and we tried our hand at poling and swimming in the same river. The water is orange in colour due to vegetation but clean and refreshing nonetheless.

Poling is more difficult than it looks especially with wind and going against the current. Similar to stand-up paddleboard and kayaking but you only pole on your dominant side then use the stick as a rutter to help steer. We made it down a bit and parked the mokoro to dunk into the river. Summer months are when the river water levels are lower so standing was not an issue and you would still be above the water standing in your knees. The water is very refreshing with little fishes swimming around. As you are standing up, you can peak over the grass and see on-land where elephants are just roaming free.

We had to pole our mokoros back and got ready for our afternoon/evening bushwalk. We split off into 2 group and had to walk single-file. The evening walk was nice but we only were able to spot zebras, herons, wilderbeasts and buffaloes.

We came back famished to a candlelit (a little too windy) dinner of roasted chicken, coleslaw, rice and squash courtesy of chef Will.

After dinner since all of us were still sitting around the table, we played werewolves (similar to mafia). Will chose his werewolves (he chose the 4 of us) and after 2 rounds, Katie accused us 4 being the “canasian werewolves” as Stephanie was the doctor and Lisa the seeer but both unfortunately had been killed off early in the game. Thus the name Canasian Werewolves came to be.

Our game was short lived as we all migrated over towards the campfire. The polers did a special performance for us with traditional songs and dance which finished off with group mental thinking riddles. We ended the night watching the stars (cloudy) and fireflies with the girls until the fireflies glimmer started to disappear and the clouds rolled over.

12/08/17

We woke up at 5AM for our morning bushwalk. To be honest, nothing special but the sunrise was lovely. Unfortunately we weren’t able to spot any other animals minus zebras and elephants in the distance during this walk. We returned to breakfast of baked beans, hardboiled eggs, toast and bacon. Packed up and back we went in the mokoro leaving the delta behind.

Simon our poler poles part time but is also a overland/safari tour guide in Maun. He and his girlfriend are expecting their 1st child in 4 months and he plays soccer. His sister met us on the river to collect the bag of jewelry and carvings that they make and try to sell to us tourists. Majority of the times, the women make the jewellery or the sculptures but the men are the faces that try to sell it.

On the mokoro ride back, I pumped the soccer balls I brought with me and gave them away to the kids in the village. I also brought a bag with 2 t-shirts, a pair of pants and another ball. The children are so lovely. I walked towards the soccer field where a large group of children were all of a sudden, all the children ran over to me, swarmed and took the whole bag out of my hands. Madness. I’m happy I was able to give the soccer balls to these nice kids before the mob.

Back at Sitatunga for lunch of chicken burgers with a relaxing do whatever afternoon. A few opted to do the additional flight over the delta excursion while a few went back to town to do some shopping. I stayed behind and just relaxed with the 2 dogs on site.

We had spaghetti with beef bolognese for dinner. Shaw ended up taking us down the road to see the crocodile farm with Shaw. Once again, we finished off our night playing some volleyball with Shaw and Will but we the intensity wasn’t the same as the last volleyball night and we all seemed drained. We showered and met back up with Shaw at the bar where he had prepped homemade pistachio ice cream for us and made a huge portion that we demolished.