save the tourist

A lagoon early in the morning. The water lilies all close up at night.

Today we had another full day on the delta. We woke up at 5h30 so that we could be on the river at 6h00 in order to begin our game walk on another island at 6h20.

In the middle of our game walk.

Walking in the bush is so cool because the landscape is so much different than that of the delta. Because it is the rainy season in Botswana, a lot of pools and lagoons have formed out in the bush, allowing the game to spread out more (during the winter all of the animals have to gather at the same watering holes) and making it bit more challenging to see some of the larger animals. But we still saw lots of zebras, a water buffalo and several impala (a type of antelope).

One of the other neat things we saw we giant termite mounds. I was really amazed at how large and sturdy these mounds were. One of our guides, James, told us that if we were ever being chased by a water buffalo, it was smart to climb to the top of the nearest termite mound because the buffalo couldn’t climb them, nor could they break them.

Trevor and I climbing on a huge termite mound.

By 8h30 the sun was blazing at full intensity and we were all happy to get back to camp by 11h00. We had lunch under the shade of our campsite and then headed back into the delta for one last swim. On the way back from our swim though, something crazy happened – we got chased by a hippo!

The hippo rearing out of the water!

We had heard that there was a hippo in the lagoon next to the swimming hole and as we approached it all of the polers maneuvered their boats towards the edge of the lagoon and proceeded very slowly. We all thought they were giving us a good sightseeing moment. The hippo was snaping its mouth and jumpoing out of the water and we were all so enthralled. Then, all of a sudden I noticed the polers hadpicked up their pace. Next thing I knew, we were flying through the reeds with a hippo thrashing after us!

Scenic lagoon and a raging hippo.

We made it safely back to land, but it was quite an experience. All of the guides were visibly shaken even though they assured us the hippo had just been trying to scare us away. Martin, the poler I spent the most time with told me that he had once seen a hippo smash through a mokoro and kill the poler, “but his tourists were saved.” Apparently the mantra on the delta is “save the tourist.” 

I love how the sky is reflected in the water.

After this jolt of excitement, it was time to pack up camp and head back to the Old Bridge Backpackers. It was another beautiful ride through the delta and I really didn’t want it to end.

Trevor and Katie, travelling in style.

When we arrived back at Boro village, Martin took us on a quick tour of the village.  The Batswana really know how to manipulate their environment! All of their houses were made out of the termite mounds; they break down the termite mound, add water and create their own cement-like material. To further stabilize their houses, the villagers mold the termite cement around empty aluminum cans. 

Boro village. If you look closely you can see the aluminum cans sticking
out of the hut walls.

And of course, there was a soccer field in the middle of the village. It never ceases to amaze me how soccer seems to be everywhere. 

A soccer field!

After our brief excursion through the village, we hopped on a motorboat and sped back to the OBB. Back at camp, we shared a round of drinks and good conversation with Julie and Lisa. Julie even gave me her email and encouraged me to get in touch with her about finding a geology job (she is a consultant for Debswana, a Botswana mining company). 

Beautiful sky. Picture taken by Podge.

Tonight I realized that here, in the middle of the Okavango Delta, that I am completely and utterly content. It is the first time in a long time that I have been totally relaxed; that my mind wasn’t thinking about what was next. I’ve been living in the moment, which I don’t think I’ve ever truly done before. It’s a great feeling, and I hope it continues.