Okavango Delta
on Sally in Namibia (Namibia), 11/Mar/2009 10:03, 34 days ago
The drive to Maun was interesting to say the least– there were serious car eating potholes all over the road and it really made for a hard drive. We learnt the technique of looking at the sides of the road because if there was a track round the side that was a sure sign that there was a massive pothole in the middle. People went steaming past us – clearly drivers with much more experience of the road than us but even with out slow and steady approach we still managed to make it to Maun in one piece. It was at this point that the car decided it had had enough and refused to start until a passerby called his friend who was a mechanic andhe got us going again with the aid of a screwdriver in the spark plugs.We made it to our campsite safely at which point the rainy season finally caught up with us and we rapidly put up our tents and retreated to the bar until the rains stopped. Luckily we woke up to a clear day and headed off to the airport bright and early to catch our flight into the Delta. It was a tiny 5 seater plane and we had great views as we flew out over the delta seeing the network of rivers and islands– JJ even managed to spot a giraffe. We arrived safely at our camp, Oddballs, and were welcomed by our host, Joyce, and the two guides Julius and MD who would be taking us on our game walks over the coming days. We were the only guests at the camp and we quickly realised our programme was goingto consist of eat, game walk, eat, relax, eat, game walk, eat, relax – it was going to be tough!Oddballs is a tented camp on Chief's Island in the Okavango Delta. Our dome tents were on raised platforms by the side of the river and we quickly scanned the pools for hippos but there were none visible. The dining room and lounge area are all open plan with a great view of the river and it was bliss to just relax and not have to make decisions about what we were doing, what we were going to eat etc.The highlight of our stay came on the second night when we were relaxing drinking gin and tonics after a hard day's game walking. The baboons in the trees above the camp were making lots of noises jumping around and banging– we then realised it wasn't just baboons banging when we heard a scream from the kitchen – two hippos had been chasing each other right through the campsite! Andrew caught a glimpse of them and when we went out to investigate we could see huge footprints in the sand. The girl from the kitchencame running over and said that one of the hippos was still there so we went very quietly and peered through the window to see a smallish hippo hiding out among the rubbish bins. It was looking frightened by its experience but eventually found its way out and wandered off. We became intrepid trackers and followed the hippo prints back through the camp – they'd run right past Joyce's house and the footprints were deep and enormous – they had obviously been running fast. We carried on past our tent towards the showers and the next minute JJ shouted 'Run' and we all scattered in differentdirections onto the nearest tent platforms. It was only when I turned round that I realised the reason for his fast exit – an enormous hippo in the middle of the path! The smaller one appeared shortly afterwards and we stayed put until we were very sure they were gone. I am proud to say that the glass of gin and tonic I was clutching throughout the experience remained intact. I was certainly very careful if I had to get up in the night after that as I don't think it's a good idea to bump into a hippo.All the safaris at the camp take place on foot and we had some magical experiences. I loved riding on the mokoros (small dug out canoes) to our starting point, especially in the morning the water was so still and it was so peaceful with no noise except the poles in the water and our guides occasionally pointing out something of interest. Some of the walks were quite long as during the rainy season many animals disappear deep into the delta– we were still able to see plenty of springbok, impala, giraffe and elephants plus a huge variety of birds which gave JJ the opportunity to show off his birding skills.Our guides showed their bravery when everyone (except me) spotted a leopard. It disappeared behind a clump of grass and after they parked us safely in some trees they set off on foot towards the place where we'd last seen it. I have to say I was more worried about it creeping up behind us but when they eventually returned to us they told us that the grass was flattened where it had lain down and then crawled away on its belly so we couldn't see it. I'm not sure how sad this made me– I think I was quite scared enough without laying eyes on a large, predatory cat!Walking safaris are interesting, you catch yourself having some really stupid thoughts. On one day we went on a long hike looking for lions– we didn't see anything and were trudging along in long grass, our guides were telling us all the game had moved elsewhere because the grass made it harder to hear predators – a cheery thought. I caught myself thinking that we'd be bound to hear the lions roaring or something if they were nearby and then I had to remind myself that they are hunters and are perfectly capable of quietly stalking us with us being totally unaware! It certainly made my heart beat faster. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) the lions were nowhere to be seen so we headed off on thelong walk back to the mokoros – passing our footprints on the way and noticing a fresh leopard print in the middle of andrew's footprint. Just because we couldn't see game didn't mean it couldn't see us.It really was a special few days and it was lovely to be able to relax and be pampered as well as having intensive tutorials on wildlife and plant recognition. By the time we left Andrew and I just about had the hang of tree identification, JJ was already in the master class.Our small plane came to collect us and we trundled along the muddy runway through the hippo prints, scattering a troupe of baboons in all directions and we were off, waving goodbye to the Delta and preparing ourselves for the final dash to Windhoek.