Travel Journal: Okavango Safari
We had flown into Maun, Botswana, the previous day, and the next morning early we set out into the Okavango Delta in an old, beaten up 4x4 Landrover that accentuated every bump in the dirt road. The noisy roar of the diesel engine hid the fact that it was a beautiful, clear crisp African morning, with the sun climbing steadily into a pale, cloudless sky.
Our guide took us to the mokoro launching area where we were met by our polers. The mokoro felt unstable at first as we got into them, but later we got used to the soothing motion of these roughly hand hewn water craft. it. The ride was slow and silent through the reeds and tall grass, as the morning became hot and humid, lulling us into a relaxed state of drowsiness. We did not see any game, and yet we could sense their presence: hippo submerged in the water channels below us, crocodile floating stealthily among the reeds, watching... Suddenly there was a sharp sound of splashing nearby and three large male waterbuck burst out of the reeds nearby, looking startled. They fled into the tall grass and were gone as suddenly as they had appeared, as though they had been an apparition..
We headed for one of the deserted islands in the delta where we set up camp. The polers were quick and effecient, doing work that was familiar to them; cleared the undergrowth with machetes, pitching the tents, digging a toilet hole and building the campfire. We all got into the spirit of the adventure, we unloaded our gear and helped put up the tents, our spirits buoyed by the novelty and excitement of camping in the wild. We stowed our gear in the tents and zipped them up to keep the bugs out: this was going to be our home for the next 2 nights.
The sun went down and we sat around the campfire under a clear starry sky. The night hummed softly with the sound of crickets, and other night creatures which we could not identify. The stars seemed very close, almost within reach, as though drawn down to this wild, magnificent place.At these moments, it's very hard to explain the warm, serene feeling that overcomes you. It is a feeling of being closely at one with everything around you; a feeling you can only experience staring into the dancing flames of a fire under a clear night sky in the middle of absolutely nowhere, surround by creatures of the wild. The polers barbecued venison over the fire while a lion coughed in the distance. It sounded rather close and brought home the sharp realization that we were not alone on the island.
"Are there lion here on this island?" we asked. Our guides smiled at out concern, these city slickers with their fears. "Yes, they are here, but we have a fire. That is enough." Almost imperceptibly, everyone seem to huddle closer to each other, and closer to the fire. There was suddenly the thrill of danger in the air. Later on, large moving shadows took form in the dark as a small herd of elephant became visible. They moved silently up to the tents as though curious, and then sailed off silently into the dark, dissolving into the night once more. Our last visitors to our campsite appeared later in the shadows of the underbrush beyond the campfire; we could see red eyes glowing in the dark. “Hyenas,” said the polers placidly. "Don't leave anything outside your tents. They will chew it or run away with it." One of the guides got up casually and tostsed leftover bones from our dinner into the dark at the hyena. They scrambled ferciously among themselves for the scraps. Later, they too eventually left. The guides reiterated not to leave any food lying around as the hyenas would come back and raid the camp after we were asleep. My sleeping bag and tent gave me a false sense of security as I settled in for the night. I switched off my torch and lay listening to the night sounds, and smiled rather nervously to myself. This this wall of nylon that surround me like a safe cocoon was no protection against the steel, vice-grip jaws of a hyena should it decide to enter. Nor was it protection against the lion on the island, nor the elephant or the hippo who came out of the water to feed on land at night, perhaps the most dangerous of animals to cross the path of humans. I slept fitfully. All night I was aware that animals were moving and foraging in the dark around our camp. At one point there were furtive sounds right outside my tent and I wondered if they were hyenas sniffing around, or other, more dangerous predators. The next morning was clear and bright, and a small, cool breeze came off the water. After breakfast, our guides took us on a game spotting hike around the island.
We walked along pathways made by elephants and hippos that came onto dry land at night to forage. We saw about a dozen elephant, that day, and a small herd of zebra, some buffalo, warthogs - and hippo languishing in the sun on the edge of the water. Each sighting filled us with joy and excitement. There is something so inexplicably spiritual about being in close proximity to wild animals in their natural habitat.
In the late afternoon we went out in the mokoros once again, gliding silently along the hippo waterways. I watched the golden sun set over the Okavango delta, setting the sky on fire with a bright orange blaze. It is amazing that even the animals seem still and pensive at this time of day. It was a surreal, serene, moving experience, unique to the unspoilt African bush.
That night the polers sang and danced around the camp fire with sticks, a kind of stirring and primeval celebration of life that was deeply moving. I felt as though I have been transported back in time, to a place when this dark and mystical continent was untouched by 'civilization', and knew only its tribes and its animals.
The singing and dancing continued into the night, haunting and evocative, as though reaching out to the spirits of their ancestors and honouring all the beasts that had ever roamed this wonderful wild place. That night I settled into my sleeping bag in the dark, at peace. The night sounds were no longer menacing but strangely comforting. Crickets chirped and hyenas cackled manically in the dark, no doubt squabbling over their spoils. The same ones who had visited us the night before? I heard a distinct rustle in the reeds close by. Elephant, hippo? I l smiled in the dark, so grateful to be here in this moment, in one of the most remarkable, wild and unspoiled places on this beautiful magical continent. It had been a wonderful day.
"Thank you," I whispered softly, if the spirits of the ancestors were still listening. |
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