22 August
Our breakfast was had alongside the water, with little sign of any crocodiles and a few hippo snouts emerging from time to time.
A helicopter flight over the part of the Okovango Delta had been arranged and pick up was at 9am.
The Okovango Delta covers approximately 15,000 kilometres of the Kalahari desert. The water flows down from Angola every year and floods the plains resulting in an area that has a concentration of animals.
Sandi and I were flying in a two seater helicopter with open sides and my main concerns were my glasses slipping off my face as I looked down, and the chance of dropping my phone! I have made a mental note to get some sort of contraption that secures my phone arround my neck for future journeys. My glasses ended up being fine because the head set held then tight.
Our pilot was a Canadian and was very informative. Zebra were prolific and we saw many more than when we were on land at Moremi Game Reserve. Herds of zebra and wildebeest were scattered across the shallow water. They like to stick together because zebra have excellent eyesight and wildebeest have and excellent sense of smell, so they form a relationship that protects both from predators. Also Zebra like to graze on the taller grass and wildebeest like to suck the juices from the shorter grass.
There were also loads of elephant and at one point we saw a wee elephant running after the herd and its mother, it was quite comical.
Water buffalo had so far been elusive and we got to see some for the first time.
There is a long buffalo fence stretching for kilometres through the plains. It is designed to keep the buffalo out of the farming areas and spreading foot and mouth. They design the fences to be low enough for elephants to step over however they didn’t consider baby elephants, and the mother elephants consequently break down the fences to get the babies through.
The 45 minute flight was well worth the $255 USD as we saw the delta from such a different perspective.
Before continuing our journey we all grabbed some lunch from The Duck Cafe. It was outstanding and is just opposite the airport in Maun.
Back on the road the bumps were bad and after a 5 hour drive we reached Swamp Stop Lodge. The lodge is alongside the river is a bit more rustic than our previous accommodation but clean and the people are really helpful and lovely.
The manager is on site and sitting around the campfire and ready for a chat. Especially when he heard that we had some Australians on board. This evening the Springboks beat Australia and he has made sure that we knew the score. But in saying that he has been around chatting and this evening cooked bbq ribs and we enjoyed a braai ( African bbq).
The rustic charm extends to a camp fire with chairs set around it to finish our evening.
Off to the mosquito netting to sleep off our day.
What did Lance do? Keeping hydrated with the green bottle?
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