Seronga (Ocavango Delta), Botswana

Not too early start today. Packed up at Rainbow camp then hit the road. We crossed back out of Namibia to Botswana and towards the Ocavango Delta. We took the truck across the Ocavango River by ferry and the a bumpy drive to meet the makoros (canoes) which took us through the Delta to an island bush camp. After setting up tents and having lunch we were back on the makoros in the late afternoon for some wildlife spotting, the highlight of which was an up close encounter with some hippos. Was a bit nerve wracking being so close in these little boats especially with the thought in the back of our minds that hippos are known as aggresive and one of the most dangerous African animals! Gliding through the shallow, reedy waters of the Delta was a unique experience and every few metres we were taking on extra guests including mostly spiders and the ocasional frog as we dislodged them from the reeds. Back at the bush camp we enjoyed dinner around a camp fire while thunder and lighting raged overhead. Eventually it began to rain lightly and at that point we called it a night.

We awoke early at the bush camp and jumped into the makoros for a short trip across to a neighbouring island. Our guide, Killer (by name not by nature he assured us), took us on a three hour game walk in and around the buffalo fence. We saw many zebras, elephants, warthogs and birdlife as well as some monkeys. Back at the bush camp we broke down the tents and packed everything up back into the makoros and headed for our next camp, Umvuvu (Hippo) Camp. Wow this camp in the middle of nowhere was a really pleasant surprise! Complete with semi-peramant tents of generous proportions complete with actual beds inside. Enjoyed a shower and some down time and later went on another short nature walk but didn't see much wildlife this time around. Afterwards some of the group, including Sandra but not me, decided to go in for some bush paintball. Dinner of chapatis was great followed by some beers. I was pretty worn out and headed to bed earlyish but Sandra stayed up playing board games with Rechelle, Blair and Shannon.