During the night we were awakened by a hippo grunting and munching very close to our tent. It definitely discouraged getting up to go to the toilet-hole dug out behind the campsite.
Our very-early-morning game walk demonstrated that even though we had been challenged in spotting animals on our previous walk, there were many, many nearby. The quantity and wide variety of dung and tracks was impressive: elephant, hippo, hoofed creatures, jackals. . . The morning was cool and crisp and it felt like the world was waking up. After a bit we were able to spot more and more animals starting their day as well: elephants, wildebeest, impala, jackals, and a warthog. In one spot there were parts of an elephant skeleton.
The delta is truly beautiful, and even though the walk was about four hours long, you’d never get bored. There were lowlands filled with water, tall grasses, vast open spaces dotted with termite mounds and clusters of acacia, thorn and other trees. Fore more detailed info on the area, click here.
We spent the day lounging around, swimming, trying out our poling skills in the mokoro (I fell out almost instantly before getting more of the hang of things), and generally shooting the breeze. I spent a little time talking to some of the Setswana women, who told me about how they dye the plant fibers using other plants for different colors (dark green, rose, tan) to do their weaving. The bracelets, baskets and things they create are amazing, and Selina sized and wove a bracelet for me while we sat and chat. The rest of the conversation centered mostly on comparing our cellphones and looking at photos. I did get to finally sample Bostwana’s version of mealie pap (motogo?) a kind of stiff corn meal you can scoop up with your hand and mix with whatever side you’ve got. They had made some tasty beef and some kind of a dark green leafy veg pretty much like greens.
In the early evening we set out for the hippo pool in the mokoros. There were a number of them about, and we were just close enough to be on the very edge of my comfort zone, especially having learned that hippos are very aggressive, and often regarded as the most dangerous animal in Africa. Some good South African wine calmed our nerves, and we finally head back for our beef stew and rice. Any leftovers were shared with the polers. After dinner we all sat around the fire and eventually came up with a few songs to share. The polers performance, of course, blew any of our lame attempts at entertainment out of the water. We’ll see if we can get the video from Donny’s phone posted here at some point.
Delta pictures.
