Student Blog Takeover Part Three

As we traveled up North to the Okavango Delta our bus rides were filled with many hours of naps, music, and snacks. We also made stops at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary and SOS Orphanage on the way. When we arrived at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary we had a class about ex-situ conservation, which we followed later with a fiery debate around the campfire, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of ex-situ conservation. In between those, we went on a game drive where we spotted rhino’s drinking from the watering hole and crossing in front of our vehicles. We also spotted more giraffes, warthogs, and even a wildebeest. We stayed at the sanctuary for the night and continued on our way the next day where we visited the SOS Orphanage, a partner of CIEE. We stopped at the supermarket on the way and picked up some toys and essential items to donate to the orphanage. Then once we arrived we were immediately welcomed by all the kids and staff. After the warm introduction we immediately started playing with the kids and their brand new toys. I vividly remember playing with animal figurines, games of netball, and drawing with the kids. There truly was never a dull moment at the orphanage. After that, we finally made it to our hotel for the night, where we would rest for our final leg of the journey. 

We switched from our bus to the Xaoo Camp Safari Vehicles and finished our long journey to the Okavango and spotted a few elephants on the way. At the Okavango we settled into our chalets, and learned about the natural environment of the Okavango before we observed it on our first game drive. During the game drive we spotted birds, more elephants, and watched the sunset over a lake as a group. We had our health break and photoshoots during the sunset before we headed back to camp. On the way to camp we saw the entirety of the milky way, I have never seen the night sky shine brighter than that night. Then once we returned we had dinner and settled in for the night, and got ready for our early 4 am wakeup call the next day. We all got up from bed sleepy and ready to embark on another long drive in the safari vehicles to another reserve, where we game drove the whole day. We saw giraffes, elephants, and impalas around almost every corner along with some special appearances from the african wild dogs and lions. The next day, we had class on in-situ conservation with another lively discussion about its pros and cons. We then departed for the local village where we saw their water supplies, talked to locals, and souvenir shopped. We asked many questions regarding our final projects and also about their livelihoods in the village. After the visit we got back to camp, had lunch, and a little pool break before we left to meet and feed baby elephants. At Elephant Havens we saw a stampede of baby elephants run to their pens where we were able to pet, take photos, feed, and learn many elephant facts. They ranged from only a couple months old to around 5 years old. At last our trip to the delta was concluded and we departed the next day at 5am to head back home to Mokolodi.

Student blog report of daily life in Gaborone, authored by Kristina Kenneally