Let's see this baby from the sky

So today was the day that we return to civilisation as I like to call it, much to our guide's disappointment. Unlike the searing hot journey here where we looked a bit dog hot dogs in a bun from above, we had a much more relaxing, comfortable float back to the mainland under the cover of clouds.

The traditional canoes ( Mokoro) are beautiful, carved out of the sausage plant tree - some of the guys tried to learn how to pole ( steer) the boat and failed miserably. Our polers made it seem easy.

Anyway back on the mainland, it was time to see the Delta from the air. The Okavango delta is the worlds largest inland river delta system, covering a massive 16,000 sq km. The water never makes it to sea, instead being absorbed in the salt pans of central Botswana. Before it does though it supports a vast ecosystem which we were going to fly over.

7 of us decided to go on the flight - to be honest I'm used to 3 people planes which Philippa and I privately charter but I fought back the disappointment and tried to make the best of it. The tricky thing with things like this is who gets the good seat right? Who gets to play co-pilot. In our gang of 7 the choice was obvious. Rudi the army officer is an odd chap, very very Germanic. He can't sit still, loves playing with the camp fire and barks ' what is zit' at people on a frequent basis as he rarely understands what's going on. We knew Rudi would enjoy his time at the front of the plane. With Rudi strapped up front, the rest of us piled into the back. Temperatures were high. Smiles were on. Camera's were charged. Off we went.

The first sighting was off a herd of Elephant, then we saw hundreds of wildebeest. Every area of water seemed to contain hippo. A loan giraffe was spotted. Lots of impala. The truly amazing thing though was just seeing the delta itself - so flat but so beautiful. The water glistens, creating this fabulous lush landscape. These animals were lucky.

As we came back down to terra firma I noticed Rudi videoing the propellers and the controls and smiled to myself. I reckon he might be requesting a transfer into the Air Force.

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