There are certain people who you just know, as soon as you meet them, will become something of a cult hero. Such was the case on first meeting of Julius, our guide in Botswana's showpiece attraction, the Okavango Delta. Few people can carry off referring to themselves in the third person, but Julius did so in such a way that you'd think there was in fact no other way in which one could refer to oneself. An example:
Julius: For your game walk, you must wear long trousers.
Us: We can't wear shorts?
Julius: No, only Julius can wear shorts.
Gold.
Jen, myself, and the rest of our crew had decided that - given its reputation as not only Botswana's top attraction but also as one of the great experiences of all of Southern Africa - we'd pay the extra US$135 (yes, that's each) to spend a few days in the world's largest inland delta, and for such an outlay (coupled with such a reputation) we expected something very, very special. What we got was something pretty good.
The journey to the delta, paddled by mokoro - essentially a long, thin wooden canoe made from a hollowed out tree - for several hours through channels and reeds, was so relaxing as to be coma-inducing and a lovely introduction to our adventure (Jen would like to note here that battering your way through thick reeds thus meaning spiders, frogs and other bugs drop all over you is, to her, NOT coma-inducting). Our first meeting with Julius followed, who not only gave us his magnificent third-person references but also a 100% welcome to the delta, which I appreciated. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's 98% welcomes.
The camp was the very definition of bush camping - no facilities whatsoever, just us, our guides and our tents, plus a shovel for digging a hole for a toilet we affectionately came to refer to as "Doug" (like dug, you know, because we dug a hole...meh, never mind).
A short bush walk on that first afternoon was the precursor to the main events on day two, namely a half day guided walk and ourselves learning to paddle a mokoro. I can summarise these activities thus:
1) The walk was pleasant enough, without actually blowing our minds in any way
2) We actually did a half decent job of paddling a mokoro on our first try
The undoubtedly highlight of the day came at sunset, when whilst out on a mokoro again to watch the sun go down, we were treated to an elephant crossing a stream right in front of us. Given the elephant's size and reputation as a potentially tetchy character, the fact that Jen, the guide and I were in a small, easily destroyable boat far enough from shore to be in trouble if anything went down did not go unnoticed. Thankfully, we were treated to the spectacle and nothing more.
And then the next day, after another tasty meal cooked on the log fire at our campsite that evening, we went back to Maun (pronounced Mau-uuunn), the main town and staging point for Okavango Delta action. And that was that. I realise I'm not painting the most glorious picture of the delta, so perhaps I should clarify. It's very pretty, the mokoro rides were lovely, the sunsets beautiful, and the experience was far from unpleasant. It's just that, considering the stratospheric reputation of the place, and the quite frankly exorbitant cost of getting there, I personally found it to be somewhat overrated. Certainly, I've had far more memorable experiences (both in Africa and elsewhere) for far less money. I mean, where does the money go anyway - it sure ain't on the facilities (the Botswanan bush) or the transport (a paddle boat). And not even Julius is worth 135 bucks per person.
But then there was the flight. Now, this wasn't part of the delta trip we'd already done and was another additional cost - and after returning from within the delta a little underwhelmed, just four of us wanted to shell out the extra money for a one-hour flight in a light plane over the top of it. But my advice to any of you coming to this part of the world in future is to skip the two-night excursion and take the flight (at least at this time of year whilst grasses are high) - it's absolutely stunning and totally worth it. Viewed from above, the true scale and vast expanse of the delta really is brought home, while the wildlife viewing - while of course being from a greater distance - is vastly superior as well to that seen on a walk, which obviously is not able to cover anywhere near the same amount of territory. Suffice it to say that the flight was the perfect conclusion to a delta experience that until then had not been quite the show-stopper we expected.
So that's it for Botswana. Just five (expensive) days here, and I can see why people say you really need to come with your own transport and/or a lot of money. The country makes no apologies for setting itself up as an upmarket destination, targeting upscale and well-heeled visitors. It does this both for its own income and also to preserve its natural environment. I can't blame Botswana for this, and even the briefest glimpse at the infrastructure and standard of living in the place compared to its neighbours shows how successful this approach has been.
It just means that the country is going to get short-changed by backpackers. Like us.
Things Jennie will Remember:
1) Julius' uses for African Wild Sage. Firstly, you can't eat this unlike the sage we all know and love but it is apparently a very good mozzie repellent!
2) As is also burning elephant poo (this was routinely put onto our camp fire to keep the pesks at bay!)
3) The toothbrush tree whose bark can be used to brush your teeth:
4) Zebras in Botswana have a lovely 'bush legend' that the reason they are black and white is as a representation of the first Botswana Prime Minister (Seretse Khama) and his English bride, Ruth Williams (Julius said she was royalty, but she was actually a Lloyd's of London clerk). He said, in a very particular and amusing way that they represent Equality... ahh!
5) The Honey Guide Bird - who apparently leads man to honey. But woe betide the man who does not leave some for the honey guide bird after he has led him there for the next time, the bird will lead that man to snakes or another evil fate!
6) That you can tell when a termite mound has been vacated by its owners because it will be covered in little holes. The locals then use the mounds to pad up their rondavel hut walls apparently.
7) That on our walk we saw: zebra, wildebeast (gnu), red lechwe antelope, spey-winged geese (endangered), kudu antelope, warthog, baboons.
8) In addition on our flight we saw: elephant, heard of buffalo and giraffe.
9) The Drive to Maun - just as exciting for wildlife spotting as Chobe was the previous day! On this free ride we saw in this order:
2 Buffalo, 6 Zebra, 1 sable antelope, a massive group of baboons, 5 more sable antelopes, 2 vervet monkeys, an elephant, another elephant, yet another elephant, one more elephant, 9 ostrich, 3 more elephants, still 2 more elephants and then 3 kudu antelope!
10) Noticing that houses in Botswana are made of brick and that any rodeval hut we see appears to be for animals or tourists! This is certainly a much richer Africa that we have entered.
11) With that seems to come surlier locals though.
12) Julius - 100%! And his lovely welcome back to camp handshake!
13) Brain Teasers (answers will be given at the end of our trip - but feel free go use the comments to have a guess if you think you've got it!):
How do you turn this into a number less than 20 when you can only move 2 sticks (and you must re-use these sticks elsewhere):
How do you fit ten people into these rooms:
How do you make the rubbish in this picture appear to be off the shovel when you can only move and reuse 2 sticks:
14) Swimming in the Delta
15) Having to walk through water on our Delta walk in a desperate attempt to find the animals - we had to forget about any bugs we might find and just go for it!
16) The traditional dancers at our hotel making me dance!
17) That I must buy a book called 'Bushmans Legends of a Dying Culture' when I get back....
18) African Trails booked our trip to the Delta through an intermediary company who ultimately used the people of Seronga. These villagers set up the 1988 Okavango Polers Trust who make locally sustainable mokoro trips into the delta where all profits are shard by the workers and invested into the trust. However, for me, it was Anders, the accompanying guide from the intermediary company that made this trip for me. He was the one who sat with us and entertained us with the brainteasers in the evenings. He was the one who came on our mokoro practises and delta swim with us and who made funny hippo and crocodile impressions using the delta reeds. He, frankly, was the only one of the 7 people who accompanied the 6 of us into the Delta who made any effort to interact with us. Thank you Anders - you're lovely. Here's Anders using an elephants skull as a chair and using delta reeds as a straw to blow bubbles:
Here are the photos:
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