Messing about in the Delta

There are lots of luxurious lodges in Botswana, where you spend $500/ night and get treated like royalty. Right now you would probably have just got back from a game drive, and are being served tea and cakes in some amazing room overlooking hippo's below.

Sadly this isn't where I find myself, instead I'm in a khaki 2 man tent, it's blowing a serious gale outside, there is a stale odour which comes from 2 days of bush camping and there are damp clothes drying from the roof of the tent.

There are lots of people ( Jodie included) who love rainstorms. They love the sound of rain on a tent. I think these people are crazy.

Now let me tell you a little about where we are - we took a speedboat from Island Sands campsite in Maun on New Year's Day into the Okavango Delta and transferred into a traditional canoe called a Mokoro. Our Poler was a lady called Margaret - she made us a bed out of our camping mats. We then spent the next 3 hours trying to lie as still as possible so that we didn't end up in the delta with our camping gear for the next two nights. I spent the trip praying I didn't get stitch in my legs. Not quite as relaxing as I'd hoped.

After rejecting our first camp site we ended up with a pitched tent in a shady area in the delta. The men dug the toilet for us. Camp fires were lit and we headed out on our first bush walk. Instantly the stresses of the morning were gone. We walked single file to try and be more inconspicuous. We came across a herd of Zebra, some warthog and generally had a lovely few hours. Back at the campsite dinner and sleep. Oh and an accompanied walk to the bush toilet - no one wants a hyena to sneak up on you while squatting hey.

Bush camping day 2 starts with a 4 hour bush walk and a 5.15am start. Single file again and people wearing bright colours at the back. Not quite sure why we bothered - any animal would have heard us coming a mile off. It was a fabulous walk - herds of Wildebeest and Zebra, a spotted Hyena, lots of warthog, a leopard turtle and we heard a lion call. Exciting stuff. The last hour in the searing African heat was tough though - we were all overheating. The solution was being taken in a Mokoro to a local swimming spot. A swim never felt so needed.

Anyway back to the here and now, it's still raining, I'm still banished to the tent.

It's definitely time to upgrade......