September 21, 2014
When planning the trip with Team Canada, I wanted us to go somewhere that would be new to all of us. And, I wanted it to be somewhere they might not have ventured to otherwise. Above all though, I wanted it to be somewhere we could all relax and just enjoy the space and place together.
With the southern hem of Botswana lining the northern border of South Africa, Botswana was high on M and I's list in our quest to visit each of the countries that touch South Africa. But, there's more to it than the convenient geographical placement. Botswana is known for its remoteness, free roaming wildlife, and sheer beauty.
While it's only a few hours' drive from Johannesburg to the border of Bots and the capital city of Gabarone, Botswana stretches further north into the continent of Africa and as a whole is very sparsely populated. The majority of the population live in or near Gabarone, and venturing further than the capital's vicinity means very little in the way of civilization. When people ask me what the people of Botswana were like, I actually have to respond that I have no idea...we were so far from any form of human life, and the local residents we did see were almost exclusively of the four-legged variety.
As one might expect in a place as remote as this, travelling around was not without its trials. The roads we travelled by 4x4 in northern Botswana were terrible, and it took hours and hours on dusty, bumpy surfaces to travel relatively short distances. Case in point, it took us nearly seven hours to cover not much more than a hundred kilometres. And in the places where the only way to gain access is via chartered plane, the skies and flight paths didn't much agree with us either...as evidenced by the fact that half of "Team Canada" lost their lunch during one such journey...you see, it's not sunshine and roses all of the time.
Unlike South Africa, the "parks" in Botswana are not fenced, and while you will very likely see animals within the parks invisible boundaries, you may very likely see animals anywhere else in the country as well. All of the areas we stayed in were wide open to wildlife; from a leopard cub steeling M's shoe for a chew toy, to an elephant blocking our path back to camp, to hyenas making use of our fire-pit after we went to bed...we were very close to nature.
One of Botswana's best known wonders is the Okavango Delta. This inland Delta is significant for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it is created by seasonal flooding, but all of the water that reaches the Delta eventually evaporates and does not flow into a sea or ocean. So, for a large part of the year, the "Delta" is really just a massive, dry, salt pan. We timed our visit to the Delta in September so that we could see it full of life; when there is water in the Delta it creates one of the largest and most unique concentrations of wildlife on the entire continent of Africa. This justifies it's recognition in 2014 as the 1000th UNESCO World Heritage site.
We spent a very glorious eight days roaming this wild and beautiful place. We started off with two nights at the Oddballs Enclave tented-camp in the heart of the Delta, taking mokoro cruises through the water and hiking on foot through the grasslands weaving through the Delta. Before you conjure up images of luxury boating, a mokoro is a traditional dug-out canoe used primarily in the Okavango Delta for navigating the very shallow waters. The boat is pushed through the water by the "poler"- your captain- who stands in the mokoro's stern and uses a very long stick to move the boat through the water. The peacefulness of travelling in this manner is difficult to explain, but it really doesn't get much closer to nature than this.
With the southern hem of Botswana lining the northern border of South Africa, Botswana was high on M and I's list in our quest to visit each of the countries that touch South Africa. But, there's more to it than the convenient geographical placement. Botswana is known for its remoteness, free roaming wildlife, and sheer beauty.
While it's only a few hours' drive from Johannesburg to the border of Bots and the capital city of Gabarone, Botswana stretches further north into the continent of Africa and as a whole is very sparsely populated. The majority of the population live in or near Gabarone, and venturing further than the capital's vicinity means very little in the way of civilization. When people ask me what the people of Botswana were like, I actually have to respond that I have no idea...we were so far from any form of human life, and the local residents we did see were almost exclusively of the four-legged variety.
As one might expect in a place as remote as this, travelling around was not without its trials. The roads we travelled by 4x4 in northern Botswana were terrible, and it took hours and hours on dusty, bumpy surfaces to travel relatively short distances. Case in point, it took us nearly seven hours to cover not much more than a hundred kilometres. And in the places where the only way to gain access is via chartered plane, the skies and flight paths didn't much agree with us either...as evidenced by the fact that half of "Team Canada" lost their lunch during one such journey...you see, it's not sunshine and roses all of the time.
Unlike South Africa, the "parks" in Botswana are not fenced, and while you will very likely see animals within the parks invisible boundaries, you may very likely see animals anywhere else in the country as well. All of the areas we stayed in were wide open to wildlife; from a leopard cub steeling M's shoe for a chew toy, to an elephant blocking our path back to camp, to hyenas making use of our fire-pit after we went to bed...we were very close to nature.
One of Botswana's best known wonders is the Okavango Delta. This inland Delta is significant for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it is created by seasonal flooding, but all of the water that reaches the Delta eventually evaporates and does not flow into a sea or ocean. So, for a large part of the year, the "Delta" is really just a massive, dry, salt pan. We timed our visit to the Delta in September so that we could see it full of life; when there is water in the Delta it creates one of the largest and most unique concentrations of wildlife on the entire continent of Africa. This justifies it's recognition in 2014 as the 1000th UNESCO World Heritage site.
We spent a very glorious eight days roaming this wild and beautiful place. We started off with two nights at the Oddballs Enclave tented-camp in the heart of the Delta, taking mokoro cruises through the water and hiking on foot through the grasslands weaving through the Delta. Before you conjure up images of luxury boating, a mokoro is a traditional dug-out canoe used primarily in the Okavango Delta for navigating the very shallow waters. The boat is pushed through the water by the "poler"- your captain- who stands in the mokoro's stern and uses a very long stick to move the boat through the water. The peacefulness of travelling in this manner is difficult to explain, but it really doesn't get much closer to nature than this.
The best way to really share Bots with you is the show you...so, grab a tea (or a G&T...), and enjoy a collaborative photo-essay from all members of Team Canada of the Okavango Delta portion of our Bots trip. There's more of the trip to share with you, I promise (and, I promise that unlike this post, you won't have to wait six months for the next installment). Stay tuned!
"They made us a sign!". Unlike the welcoming committee in Joburg...
From Air Bots to our own charter flight to the Delta.
Our poler ready to take us out for our first mokoro ride.
We're off!
Our first mokoro ride was followed by our first bush walk...and our first elephant sighting of the trip!
See, I told you the ellies were here!
Baboons. Freaky creatures.
Cruising back to camp as the sun sinks...
Expert poler navigating the water-ways.
Sundowners on the deck.
Camp life.
Good morning, Sunshine!
Traversing the narrow pathways.
Morning nature walk.
Big Tree.
Zebra bums.
Morning cruise.
Ellie!
"But, if we keep going, won't we run into him?"
Turns out, he wasn't too bothered with his new-found visitors.
Yes, we're blurry, but there's an ELEPHANT behind us...
Too close for comfort?!
Thanks to our polers for keeping us alive and safe on the Delta!
True, we are domestically departing.
Our ride outta the delta.
The inner-Delta from above. How many ellies can you spot?
Delta.
As we headed to the outer edges of the Delta and towards Chobe National Park, the Delta became progressively dryer. There was only these sparse mud-puddle water sources in this region. I love how you can see the animal trails in and out of the water hole.
