Deep in the Delta
Trip Start
May 03, 2011
1
121
129
Trip End
May 10, 2012
Where I stayed
The Old Bridge Backpackers
Okavango Delta, Botswana
Friday, April 6, 2012
The Okavango Delta is produced by seasonal flooding. The Okavango river drains the summer (January–February) rainfall from the Angola highlands and the surge flows 1,200 kilometres in approximately one month. The waters then spread over the 250 km by 150 km area of the delta over the next four months (March–June). The high temperature of the delta causes rapid transpiration and evaporation, resulting in a cycle of rising and falling water level that was not fully understood until the early 20th century. The flood peaks between June and August, during Botswana's dry winter months, when the delta swells to three times its permanent size, attracting animals from kilometres around and creating one of Africa’s greatest concentrations of wildlife.
Our next destination in Africa was to be Maun across the border in Botswana. Firstly though, we needed to head back to Windhoek to drop off the car. We suspected that the car hire company had not charged us for two extra days car hire and by some fluke they hadn´t picked up on this. A nice bit of luck for the budget.
Flights from Namibia to Botswana are expensive so the most economical way of getting across the border is by bus. We have heard that there is a bus 4 times a month from Soweto Market so we head there with our fingers crossed that this is the case. Luckily we go there early as the time we had been given for the bus is incorrect and apparently it will leave at midday. When we arrive there is a minibus and a trailer and a huge pile of goods including two fridge freezers and various other household appliances. Basically, everything was in this pile apart from the proverbial kitchen sink. They guy who was handling the minibus was a shady character called Shingy and he assured us that we would be able to get on the bus and he was working it out so that we could get the best seats. We then sat for another 2 hours whilst 5 guys maneuvered every single item onto that trailer including the two fridge freezers. How they fitted this all in is anyone´s guess and how the bus managed to move with all that weight is also a miracle.
The inside of the minibus was also packed to the rafters with people and bags. The two best seats in the house as you might guess turned out to be the worst seats in the house. Rob and were at the back of the bus squashed between a mother with a toddler on her lap (this kid clearly needed the toilet as she produced the most noxious farts throughout the whole journey). On the other side was a fat guy who took up his own seat and then half of mine too. They then put sets in the aisle and more people sat on the minibus. It was a total nightmare and so eventually we left two hours late for a hellish ten hour journey.
Relieved to get off in Maun we headed for our backpackers at about midnight. Maun backpackers was really cool and we stayed in a static tent which had twin beds in it and was surprisingly comfortable. The main reason for coming here is the Okavanga Delta which is a huge expanse of water channels and land full of wildlife. As the area is so huge one of the things to do is to fly over the delta in a small light aircraft. We managed to do this for about €50 which was an absolute bargain and the plane flies at 150 metres above the ground. When you see animals the plane will bank to the left or right to get a better view. The photographs do not do this plane ride justice as it was totally incredible. The expanse of the Delta is mind blowing in itself but to see herds of elephants, hippo´s, zebra and giraffes beneath you is phenomenal. Doing a game drive into the Delta by road does not give the same wow factor as seeing this huge expanse from the air.
Our stay in Maun has been one of the longest we have done anywhere on our world trip at five days. A lot of the time we have chilled out at the hostel which is situated right next to the river. We also did a day´s boat trip along the river deep into the Delta. Again the scenery here is phenomenal and we got to see even more wildlife up close including more buck, giraffe, hippo and elephants. We will be doing a lot more safari as we move through Africa but it still takes your breath away when you see an African animal in the wild.
We have one more stop in Botswana to go but Maun has been fantastic and it may be getting a little bit predictable now but this is another 10/10 stop. Can´t believe we only have four weeks left, boo hoo!!!
