Tag Archives: Okavango Delta

Okavango Delta Botswana Hike Africa

Okavango Delta Botswana Hike Africa

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

Okavango Delta Botswana Camp Africa

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

Okavango Delta Botswana Almog in Africa

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 Tourists Africa

Okavango Delta Botswana Tourists Africa

Okavango Delta Botswana Tourists Africa

This is the truck that took us to the Okavango Delta in Botswana. We took 17 people on the tour. We all loaded up in the trucks and drove to the edge of the delta. The Okavango Delta is one of Botswana’s top tourist attractions. We paid $145 per person to go spend 2 full days and 2 full nights with guides taking us through the delta and camping with us. The trailer held our gear as we had to take out own tents, food, cooking equipment and sleeping bags as well as any other items we needed. We had quite the little caravan going out to the delta. The trip was sponsored by the campsite/hotel where we were staying. Oh, and when we got back we got the Welcome Back to Civilization Buffet thrown in for good measure. What a deal!

Okavango Delta Botswana Tourist Africa

Okavango Delta Botswana Tourist Africa

Okavango Delta Botswana Tourist Africa

Guess who. Guess where. It’s me. I’m on the Okavango Delta in Botswana. I’m in the front seat of the mokoro. That’s the seat that gets to fight off the bugs and the spider webs before the guy in the seat behind me has to deal with them. If I do my job right, the guy behind me almost never comes into contact with spiders or spider webs. The guy behind me, Almog (Israel), is smiling because he knew about the spiders and spider webs when he told me to take the front seat. "You’ll be able to take better pictures from up there." he said. The poler, Boolee, is laughing because someone who is passing us in another mokoro is asking him "Who made the old guy sit up front?"

Okavango Delta Botswana Loading Up Africa

Okavango Delta Botswana Loading Up Africa

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.