Okavango Delta Botswana Boats Africa

This picture is to simply try and give you an idea of what it is like moving through the Okavango Delta. There are the boats, the mekoro, which are the primary transit through the wetness. Where you see trees in the background is an island. No trees, no island. The depth of the water depends on the season. In the summer, life is bad for polers. The islands get bigger as the water dries up. Winter is the best time of year for polers in the Delta. Lots of water, lots of tourists.

Okavango Delta Botswana Scene Africa

See all the weeds. This is the Okavango Delta in Botswana. It’s supposed to be about 18,000 square kilometers of lagoons, channels and islands. All the water does is attract a myriad of animals and birds. We came in one of the best periods of the year, winter, when the water is high. It’s easier on the tourists. It’s easier on the polers. The temperatures aren’t 100 degrees. The water is deeper than six inches. Much deeper. The spiders are out. As are their webs. Lucky me.

Okavango Delta Botswana Hike Africa

What did we do on our first day in the Delta? We went on a hike. Not a really long hike, just a couple of hours. We were on a nature hike. We all split up into groups and were taken by a guide whose job was to orient us to the Delta. We did local flora and fauna. We say a few wild animals such as Zebra, Wildebeests, Elephants, Wartehogs, Antelope, Impalas, etc. Remember, we were walking. There was no vehicle of safety between us and the animals. We were quite careful to keep our distance.

Okavango Delta Botswana Camp Africa

This is our camp in the Delta. If you look closely you can see one of the mekoro and a couple of people. Let me just say that the campsite was really small. We crowded almost 30 people in there along with mekoro and gear. I was impressed that they even found this place. Apparently, it’s a place that they like to use on their trips. The guides knew exactly what to do. The really were pros at setting up the campsite and getting organized. It really was a jungle out there.

Okavango Delta Botswana Almog in Africa

It’s Almog (Israel) still smiling because I’m covered with spiders, spider webs, and other assorted insects. We’re making our way through the Delta to our campsite. Behind Almog is Boolee, our poler. He is following another mokoro. Behind us are six more mekoro. They’re following each other. I have no idea how these guys find their way around the delta. There are no signs as far as I can see. But I guess these guys have been out here pooling people around the Delta for so long that they know their way around. I had my compass with me but I need a good waypoint GPS to really be able to figure out where we were. Boolee said that we never really did get that far away from where we started.

Okavango Delta Botswana Loading Up Africa

Here we see the group loading up into their respective mekoro. The mokoro is a traditional dugout canoe. However, it is also permissible to have one that’s made out of fiberglass and sold at the local hardware store. I just know that we loaded up in them. There were two of us to a canoe, along with equipment. There were also a couple of surplus canoes for the surplus equipment. We had a lot of gear. Plus, the polers had equipment that they had to take. We had lots of equipment and gear. As did the polers.