Go On A Walking Safari (Part 2)

Read:  Go On A Walking Safari (Part 1)

The following day after my first walking safari, we set out on a mokoro to another island in the Okavango Delta. 

I was feeling more comfortable with my new found powers of deciphering animals with their associated poop.  We did find a herd of impalas in the distance, and a shy mongoose living inside a termite mound.   But yet again, the poop craze struck once more, but this time we found a pile of hyena poop.  After you finish Ooohing and aahing, I must confess that I was beginning to get a tad worried.

I began picturing myself as the Olympic Gold Medalist of an imaginary game called "Guess Who?:  African Poop Edition."

"Are you the size of my head?"

"Do you look like blueberries?"

"Are you white?"

Okay, okay, I promise I will stop the poop jokes....for now.  I was delusional, and losing my mind.  I needed to see something other than doo-doo!

Well I think the African Gods (Yo Mufasa!) were listening because things started to get exciting! 

As we were walking through the bush we spotted one of the Big 5, an Elephant in the distance.  Our safari guide, Fillmon, told us to stop and slowly move the opposite direction.  We were so excited to finally see something other than poop, that our primary focus became taking photos of the elephant rather than listening to our guide.  Pretty much we were flunking "Walking Safari 101."

We noticed the elephant walking towards us.   Fillmon immediately changed his tone and told us that the elephant could smell us and that we were in danger.  He loudly whispered, "WALK FASTER!"  What, huh?  I saw the Spanish people in my group ignoring Fillmon and continuing to snap away.  I nudged one of them to start moving.  Then I heard, "Run, Run, Run!"

FUUUUUUUUUUUdgesicle! At this point the Elephant was only a few meters from us.  Finally the rest of the group got the hint and hurried towards us.  We climbed up a giant termite mound, and then proceeded to get a massive lecture from our guide....

"Don't you guys remember the rules from yesterday?  When I tell you to run, you guys need to run!  Do you think I was kidding?  People have died not following the rules!"

Busted.

As we were being scolded on the termite mound, we realized we were surrounded by a herd of elephants.  I counted almost 15 of them.  As soon as we started our walk again, we spotted another elephant, but this time when Fillmon told us to move, we moved.  This happened another few times. 

My favorite moment of the day was when we climbed up another termite mound, and silently watched three elephants just meters away eating.

After our several elephant scares we saw a few bones, and a giant spider that we made (fake) spider pendants with. 

As soon as we got back to our mokoros we exchanged stories with the other groups.  "Oh, so you guys were the group in danger!  We overheard your guides on the walkie-talkies." 

We surely won all bragging rights that day, and I didn't have to go home crippled after being trampled by an Elephant, nor did I have to tell people that the most exciting thing I saw was poop.

Date Accomplished: September 21st & 22nd, 2010

Go On A Walking Safari (Part 1)

I have no idea why it has taken me over 1 1/2 years to finally start posting about all the amazing safaris I went on in Africa.  Let's face it, I am so behind on posts it is RIDICULOUS!

Me with my walking safari guides

I had the luxury of going on two walking safaris while in Africa.  Most parks do not allow walking safaris due to them being dangerous, but in the Okavango Delta we were allowed to take part in them using caution.  Our mokoro ride headed to an island along the Delta, and we were off on our walking safari.

First we needed to learn the safety rules.  We had guides (or bodyguards) leading us, and two more behind us.  We would have to walk in a single file line, being extremely cautious of our surroundings.  One of the guides behind us also carried a gun and knife in case we were in any danger.  The last rule was to listen to your guide.  If he told you to run, you need to RUN. 

One of the most dangerous parts of a walking safari are the Ardvark holes scattered everywhere.  They are giant holes that can have hidden animals and snakes *eek* living in them.  Anytime you saw a hole you would have to point it out so the person behind you was aware of the hole as well.

During the first walking safari we didn't see many animals except for a few warthogs and impalas.

We saw many termite mounds like the one above, and learned a lot about the vegetation, animal poop and animal tracks (yes I did say poop!).  The sun was beginning to set so we had to hurry back to our mokoros.  It was a great little intro to walking safaris, and fortunately our second one was much more of an adventure....

Date Accomplished:  September 21st & 22nd, 2010

Take A Scenic Flight Over The Okavango Delta

Are you sick about me talking about the Okavango Delta yet?  Well, I'm not.  It honestly has been one of my most favorite travel experiences.  I've talked about how I took a mokoro ride through the Delta, and how I got to stay in a luxury safari tent, and I haven't even talked about my amazing walking safari experience where I was chased by elephants!  I swear they did not pay or sponsor me to post about the Delta "X" amount of times!   I was just so enamored by the area, and it was the primary reason why I traveled to Botswana! 

"The Okavango Delta is located in Botswana and is the worlds largest inland delta.  It is a labyrinth of lagoons, lakes and hidden channels that can be traveled by motor boat or mokoro."

 The Okavango Delta
 

The best ways to see the extent of the Delta's beauty are by mokoro, or by air.  Lucky for me, my lodging was in the middle of nowhere, and the only way to get there was by plane!  As much as I love to travel I hate flying, and riding inside a small plane scared the living daylights out of me.  We were given two plane options, a 5-seater or 10-seater.  Psychologically, I thought that the bigger the plane the better, so I opted for the 10-seater.  When we got the call to head to our plane my jaw dropped when I saw a 5-seater plane in front of me.  I had a bit of a panic attack, but I was continually saying to myself, "I can do this, I can do this!"

Since I was the only solo traveler I got the front seat with our pilot James, who was probably thinking to himself, "Great, so they stuck the girl who went straight for the barf bag to sit next to me!?!"  Dear James, I wouldn't want to sit next to me either.

I wasn't exaggerating when I said that the plane was small!  Take off was a bit nerve wrecking, and I could definitely feel every gush of wind that pressed against the plane (and my stomach felt it too!).  The views however were breathtaking.  From above I saw Elephants, Giraffes, and all the little grooves of the Delta.  Twenty minutes into the flight I was feeling a little woozy, but I saw a little airstrip in the distance so I knew we were nearing our destination.

To block myself from thinking about my nausea, I started distracting myself and began using some deep breathing techniques.  I got a nudge on my shoulder from James, only guessing he was nudging me to ask me if I was feeling alright.  I nodded yes and told him I'd be okay, however he nudged me again.  I then look up to see him pointing to the airstrip,  and to my surprise I see this....

I can't say I've ever experienced a delayed landing before due to an elephant on the runway.  Because of the elephants impeccable timing we weren't allowed to land, and we had to wait for the Elephant (and a few of his friends who were just meters behind him) to cross.  I was giddy with excitement, but it quickly died down when I realized I had to stay longer in the air.  Don't get me wrong, I loved the experience, but if you are prone to motion sickness definitely take pills before the flight!

So we waited, and waited until the Elephants finished crossing.  Thankfully they decided to move their welcome party to the side of the air strip. 

A few days later when it was time to head back to Maun, we had to take the plane again.  This time I had mentally prepared myself, and ate a light breakfast to decrease my chances of experiencing an upset stomach.  Animals must love this air strip because this time we had a pack of wild warthogs hanging out with us.

WANTED:  Pumbaa & Family

Not only did they follow my friend to watch her relieve herself in the bushes, but they found some of our bags laying around and almost pickpocketed us!  If you are a Lion King fan like me, chances are you are singing to "Hakuna Matata" with my mention of Pumbaa.  I hope it gets stuck in your head as much as it is stuck in mine.

Despite my body's dislike of the flight, it was definitely worth doing while in the Delta.....

Date Accomplished:  September 21st, 2010

Stay In A Fancy Safari Tent In Africa

I have never been so in love with a lodging experience than my experience at the Okavango Delta.  I have never loved a lodging experience so much that I cried when I left.

The Main Area of Moremi Crossing

I do love to occasionally splurge when traveling, but I never spend more than $200 a night for a place to stay.  Thankfully, my stay at Moremi Crossing was part of my tour package, and after my visit I would have paid the $535 USD a night to stay there.  It was that fabulous!  Have you seen all-inclusive packages for beach towns like Cabo and Cancun, well this is the African version of that.  To get to Moremi Crossing was not an easy task, we took a small flight over the Okavango Delta landing on a tiny air strip in the middle of nowhere.  Afterwards we had to take a small boat to Moremi Crossing.  As we approached the lodge we heard singing and saw these lovely people that I called my friends by the end of my stay.....

  Warm welcome from the Moremi Crossing staff

As soon as we arrived we were handed a complimentary drink and then given a safety briefing.    We even had to sign a paper stating that it was not their responsibility if we were killed while staying at the lodge.   Yep, I signed it, you only live once right?  We were allowed to walk to our tents by ourselves during the day, but were told to take extra precaution as wild animals could be walking around next to us.  Once the sun set we were not allowed to walk around by ourselves, and needed an armed guard to walk us back to our tents. 

 Elephants in the background

It didn't really phase me that we were smack dab in the middle of the wilderness until I saw a few elephants bathing nearby.  I just sat down, and listened to my iPod while watching wild life.  It really was one of those moments that you could never photograph or video tape. 

 Moremi Crossing Dining Area

I didn't really have high expectations of the food.  We had limited electricity, and it's not like they had access to UPS and FedEx that could deliver food daily.  The food was top notch, and the dining set up was one I would expect in high end restaurants back home.   We had spent weeks having lunch at the truck and eating ham and cheese sandwiches.  Not only did we have to help prepare our food, we also took turns with dish duty.  So it was a complete luxury to be served and spoiled, and the best part was we didn't have to wash any dishes!!  I ironically felt civilized when I was hundreds of miles from true civilization.  As I was eating I looked up and noticed we had friends....

 My Friends Watching Me Eat

Bats!  Yes Bats!  Except these bats were not blood suckers.  I was told they were fruit bats, or maybe they said that just to make me feel better.  After lunch it was time to go to our tents!  My tent was at the far end of the central area, and roughly a 5 minute walk away. As we were walking to our tents we encountered some wild baboons and warthogs.  Baboons can be quite dangerous because they are fearless of humans, and they are extremely nosy and like to break into tents. 

My Safari Tent

Then I saw my tent, which would be my humble abode for the next two nights and three days.  I was given a key, and shown the limited lighting in the tent.  There was a real toilet, outdoor showers,  and running water (Hot Water! Score!).  Here is a little tour of my tent.....

Why Hello There...Welcome to my Tent

Two of my friends were in the neighboring tent, and one had brought his guitar so I could hear him playing his guitar in the distance.  After playing his guitar I decided to video tape one minute of silence in the Okavango Delta.  I should have done this at night because the animal noises in the middle of the night were far more interesting....


Taking an outdoor shower was not as scary as I thought.  A few days prior I had taken an outdoor shower that was filled with spiders and nasty little insects.  Even though I had two lizard friends watching me shower, it was one of the best showers I had ever taken.  When I take a good shower I sometimes unconsciously sing.  Later that day the guys from the neighboring tent told me, "Did you enjoy your shower?  We heard you singing!"  Proof that it truly was that good!

 My two lizard friends in my outdoor shower

Moremi Crossing had a slew of planned activities for us, including two walking safaris, a boat ride along the Delta, and two mokoro rides.  One of my favorite things bedsides going on these activities was just hanging out in my tent, and sitting on the front porch enjoying the scenery.

 Listening to my iPod on the front porch of my tent

It was far more thrilling as soon as the sun set.  Besides enjoying meals with new friends, we also got to watch performances by the employees.  The people that work at Moremi Crossing were so amazing, and when I left I even exchanged emails with a few of the employees.  They leave their families for months at a time to make an earnest living.  Knowing this, I made sure I tipped them well as they were so deserving.

Dinner at Moremi Crossing

 The Ladies of Moremi Crossing

The nights back at my tent were quite interesting.  In the middle of the night I could hear hippos playing right outside my tent, and elephants crossing just a few feet away.  The second evening at Moremi Crossing we had an elephant raid.  The elephants decided to rock a few peoples tents early in the morning, and two of my friends were unable to leave their tent because elephants had decided to hang out while they got ready in the morning.

I'd love to go back one of these days...and I'd love to go back just to see the beautiful morning sunrises....get ready to be jealous....

Okavango Delta Sunrise

Date Accomplished:  September 22nd 2010

Take A Mokoro Through The Okavango Delta

 Getting ready to go on my mokoro ride

The Okavango Delta is located in Botswana and is the worlds largest inland delta.  It is a labyrinth of lagoons, lakes and hidden channels that can be traveled by motor boat or mokoro.  I'm sure a few of you are wondering what a mokoro might be?  A mokoro is simply like a canoe.  They are traditionally made by digging out the trunk of a large tree.  To get through the Delta in a mokoro you need a poler.  The polers have a large stick (aka ngashi) that they use to push the mokoro through the waters.  So pretty much it is like riding in a gondola in Venice (Africa style of course).

The Mokoro Polers and Guides

Me with Augustina and Luckson

Front seat in the mokoro

After an afternoon snack we headed to the mokoro's and split up in groups of two.  I was paired with Augustina, and my poler was a man named Luckson.  Luckson discovered I was from California and immediately proceeded to tease me.  I was an easy target, but I was a good sport about it.  I'm used to the American bashing during my international trips.    Luckson told us to try not to move around in the mokoro, and to not freak out when going through the brush and spotting unwanted visitors (particularly spiders).   The last thing I wanted was to tip the mokoro and share the waters with hippos, crocodiles, and snakes. 

 Spotting an Elephant friend on our mokoro ride

One of the first animals we encountered was an elephant.  I would soon find out that Elephants were quite abundant in the Delta.  We were told to be very quiet so that the elephant didn't feel like he was in danger.  We breezed by, and headed to the island for our walking safari. Afterwards we headed back to our mokoro's to see an amazing sunset.

Our mokoros at the Delta during sunset

I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real

Before getting back on our mokoros we just soaked in our surroundings, and the amazing place we were all pleased to witness.  We headed back to the camp in our mokoros and called it a day.  The following morning we hopped back on our mokoros, but this time in another direction towards a different island for a walking safari.  The brush was thicker the second day, and poor Luckson was a bit on the sick side so it was not an easy day for him. 

To get an idea of how a mokoro ride is like, here is a little video from our second day.  Don't mind us talking bible talk in the background.....

It was truly an experience to remember.  The Delta in general is just a must on anyones bucket list.

Date Accomplished:  September 22nd, 2010