This part of our trip would allow us to experience Africa as it was originally done - tent camping in the bush. We flew from Kesane to a landing strip near the village of Khwai. The views from our plane showed the very dry and desolate looking savanna below - then suddenly the Okavango Delta emerged and the lush green landscape that would be our home for five days came into view.
The Okavango region is created 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 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. The delta is very flat, with less than 2 metres variation in height across its 15,000 km squared. On the 22nd of June 2014, the Okavango Delta became the 100th site to be officially inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Our safari company, Classified Safari’s was at the landing strip to pick us up and take us to our campsite. We did a short game drive on the way there and stopped to rescue a Dutch couple that had decided to cross the river in the wrong spot. They were extremely thankful we came by and had the means to get them out.
Our campsite was located about 10 minutes from the rivers edge. Each couple had their own tent that also included a small enclosure in the back. This enclosure had a small porto-poti as the golden rule was - “don’t ever leave your tent at night”. Wild animals were roaming around our campsite and we spotted Elephants and hyenas and heard lions roaring most nights. With no power in our campsite, things were pretty dark. Once you left the safe surroundings of our campsite, you were on your own.
The food was great and it was hard to believe how our cook could make our meals with the most basic of cooking equipment available to her. Her name was “Revenge” - unusual yes - but in the kitchen area she was the boss.
African Sunset - "Don't ever leave your tent at night"
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