The Mighty Okavango Delta

The Okavango Delta sure is mighty, and has proved itself once again. I felt luck was on our side this trip from day one when we were welcomed by so many animals straight from the airport.  Sure enough the luck continued until we arrived in the Delta.  Even before the Delta, we spent a few days in Khama Rhino where we saw at least a dozen rhinos, including a couple rowdy bulls that were intimidating some younger males, giving us quite a show.  

Our first full day in the Delta was by far the most exhilarating safari day one could ever ask for.  We started off with an early game drive before going on our mokoro, aka canoe rides.  From the beginning we saw giraffes, a hippo out of water, and then there it was, a Spotted hyena.  As one truck went on to get a closer look at the hyena, the other truck was searching for some wild dogs they heard about from another guide along the way.  They got the sighting of a lifetime; a full on hunt right in front of their bare eyes, so close no binoculars were needed.  Eventually both groups met up again and the excitement kept continuing.  Large herds of zebras and elephants with plenty of babies tagging along and then a sighting of large lion tracks passing just before us.  We may not have seen the lion, but the tracks were just as incredible.  When we finally hopped into our mokoros, we took a ride to an island where we went on a bush walk.  We came across a wildebeest, some impala, elephant tracks and then found ourselves at the first of the many hippo pools we would encounter.  This is where we enjoyed the sights and sounds of hippos and saw our first Nile crocodile. It was so big, we almost mistook it's head for a hippo.  On our bush walk the next day we ended up at another hippo pool with many hippos, another crocodile and views of African Cape Buffalo feasting on the bushes across the pool.  We also spotted many fascinating birds such as the Marabou Stork, Yellow-Billed Stork, Saddle-Billed Stork, Grey Hornbill, Secretary Bird, plenty of African Fish Eagle, adult and juvenile, and the list goes on.  Many people wish for a leopard or lion sighting on a safari, but to see highly protected African wild dogs on a hunt or simply a hyena goes down in the record books.  Along with all this excitement, we still had time to learn about conservation and have a better understanding of life in Botswana.

Before arriving to our final destination, the Okavango Delta, we spent a couple nights at Khama Rhino Sanctuary, learning about the conservation projects they facilitate within the sanctuary as well as the surrounding communities. During this time we also visited SOS Village of Serowe, a safe place for orphaned and vulnerable children. We spent the afternoon playing games and sharing laughs with the children, ranging from one year olds all the way to twenty plus.  

Our host in the Delta, Mr. Ratanang, from Xaoo Safari Camp is a shining example of a leader that we need to see more of in the Okavango Delta tourism industry.  He is one of the few locals to own a camp in the Delta and he is not taking this for granted.  He makes sure to entertain his guests with activities that support local community groups.  He employs all locals at the camp, hires local guides and polers for the mokoro rides, and offers trips to local NGO's that are helping conservation efforts.  One example is Elephant Havens, an organization created by Americans with Batswana partners in an effort to protect orphaned elephants until they are strong enough to survive on their own in the wild.  He created this camp with a vision to bring opportunity and resources to the local communities while sharing authentic experiences with the visitors that come his way.