Chobe and the Delta, Revisited

I was happy to show my visiting friend, Lorraine, some of my favourite parts of Botswana.  This, of course, included the Chobe and Okavango Delta, spots I had visited earlier in the year.  It is a lot drier now, which means there is a greater concentration of wildlife near the riverside.

In Chobe, I was excited to spot my first leopards !  These beautiful cats had eluded me on all my previous safaris.

Our Delta days were hot and lazy, and we enjoyed going on walking safaris and cooling off in the channels' swimming holes.  Fortunately, the crocs and hippos left us alone !  The swimming hole near our campsite was a short walk away.  Directions ?  "Follow this path, and then take a left at the elephant."  Seriously - An elephant was on our path !

On one of our walks, we came across two bull elephants.  We stayed quiet and motionless as the elder statesman approached us to assess whether or not we were a threat.  Fortunately, he decided we were okay.  Our guide explained that he was the father to the adolescent male, and this was his time to teach his son "how to be a man".   I am not quite sure I know what that means, in elephant terms.

I also took Lorraine across to Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls.  With less spray and lower flow than I witnessed in April, I saw more of the expanse of the falls.

Why is it so hard to spot a leopard ?  Because they are already spotted !

This juvenile was waiting for us at the roadside.  It's mother was watching from the bushes, a safe distance away.

We later found this one in a tree.

The elephants did not disappoint !

What a croc !

This bell frog and his friends serenaded us at night.

Water lily.

Lazy Delta days !

Tia hitches a ride !

I found this humerus ! (haha)

I have a bone to pick with you !

Another beautiful Delta sunset !

We took a helicopter flight over Victoria Falls.

Can you see the people swimming on the edge of the falls ?  They are crazy ! (...but it does look like fun, doesn't it ?)

Leopard, frog, and sunset pictures courtesy of LD and her awesome camera.

Maun Weekend

Maun is a town that serves as the gateway to the Okavango Delta.  Some have compared Maun to a dusty Wild West frontier town.  Those who make a life there will tell you that a lot more goes on beneath the surface than it's sleepy exterior belies.  Maun is a town that is growing.  A few days before I arrived (May 18-20), the first traffic light was installed.  This photo is of the Maun International Airport -- complete with livestock grills to keep the donkeys, goats, and cattle off the runway.

It's my horse

It's now or never

I ain't gonna ride forever

I just want to ride while I'm alive...

I took a horseback safari just outside Maun.  On the back of Bon Jovi, I road alongside dancing giraffes, regal kudus, bouncing springbok, and prancing ostriches.  The zebra was the only animal that seemed to mind the presence of the horses -- too close a relative, perhaps?

My guide stopped to show me a nest of ostrich eggs.  There is a picture of me on the horse holding two strategically placed eggs, with giraffes in the background.  Sorry  -- but it is far too goofy / incriminating to post. You will just have to imagine the scene.

I am far from an experienced rider, but I did my best to steer Bon Jovi from thorn tree branches and aardvark holes.

The next day, my friend / colleague Gulner joined me from Gaborone for a mokoro camping trip into the Delta.  Each year, the finger-like channels of the Delta expand as the waters from Angola come to flood the Kalahari sands, giving life to reeds, lilies, and vegetation on which a variety of wildlife feast.  We traveled by mokoro - a dug-out canoe, poled by the local villagers. The guides bent down to scoop up handfuls of the clear, fresh water to drink.  Gulner and I were not so daring.  Other tourists swam in the deeper parts of the channels.  Again, we were not as daring -- Crocs and hippos live in these waters !

 

As our guides were setting up camp, Gulner and I went for a walk.  We found this lone bull elephant, grazing on grasses, just 100 metres or so from our campsite.  We were warned not to leave our tent at night.  While we weren't too concerned about a midnight visit from this gentle beast, the grunts of nearby hippos over-ruled the call of nature. 

We took one more mokoro ride to watch the setting sun.  As we glided along, we were serenaded by birds and bell frogs.  Later that night, our guides regaled us with local folklore tales while we listened to the call and response singing of polers from nearby camps.

The following morning, we went to a nearby island for a walking tour in the tracks of hippos and elephants.  We saw zebras, wildebeest, countless birds, and another lone elephant.