Mokoros, Speedboats, Motor boats and more

Hello everyone

Can't believe how time has been flying! We're getting really close to the end of this adventure.

Day 18/Aug 17

After breakfast we were taken directly from Guma Lodge by motor boat to an island. Waiting for us were several young men who were to be our guides for the better part of the day. Each of them hosted two of us in a traditional dug-out canoe called a mokoro, and they acted as our "polers". Shawna and I sat back, and our guide, Matthew, stood at the back of our boat with a 10 foot pole and steered us through the marsh.

In the Okavango Delta the surroundings change quite a bit. Instead of the dry, dusty desert that we were used to, we experienced more lush, green vegetation. Steering through the marsh, the reeds would part in front of us like curtains. It was silent except the sounds of nature. It was truly magical and a highlight for me. I absolutely loved every minute of it.

We were given instructions like, "please do not move much in the canoe" so that we wouldn't tip our guide, but Matthew had it covered. He had excellent balance and control - they all did. He told us stories in his broken English about hippopotamus and early fishermen. He made us necklaces and bracelets out of lilies. He pointed out trees, flowers, birds. It was fantastic. He'd also take shortcuts and go through places that the other boats didn't go. We were the last boat and so did not hold anyone up; if we stayed back to view something significant, he'd quickly catch up with powerful strokes and (we think), car engine noises. It was so fun. Matthew has been a poler since he was 5 years old.

Colin tried to bribe Matthew to dump us in the river but Matthew refused to break his perfect record of never tipping the boat. We were happy about that. :P Once we reached the Mokoro Island, we had a tour. We followed some elephants and watched them feed - from a safe distance, since it felt rather vulnerable to be without our vehicle! Some people in our group need to be told that when you pull back branches to walk, you don't let them go and hit the person behind you in the face. I learned to keep my distance from people who didn't know that rule, as Shawna tried to stifle her laughter. We learned about the baobab tree. We sat on the banks and ate a great lunch. Colin gave all of our leftover food to the polers.

Our mokoro ride back was much hotter but once we got into the motor boat the wind was great. We relaxed at the camp, and Carol & Vyv even let me use the shower in their cabin. I had confessed to them that I could barely step into our outdoor washrooms having discovered some huge spiders and funnel nests in there. They truly are wonderful people. :)

There were monkeys at Guma Lodge but we didn't get to see them. We scouted around camp but all we ran into was a couple of steers. Try facing off with a steer on a walkway - let me tell you, it's a formidable standoff.

We sat by the campfire until dinner time. Dinner came, and back to the campfire we went. While relaxing we heard a noise from across the water. It was like a baritone animal doing a half-laugh, half-snort. It echoed across the river. What on earth was this?? A hippo of course. :)

Day 19/Aug 18th

Today was a rushed morning as we all tried to get everything done in time to leave. We had to head to the border which made things more stressful again. We just wanted to get there - you never know how a border crossing is going to go. People in our group were starting to get irritable with each other and comments were getting blunter. Shawna and I stayed out of it.

Got through the Botswana border okay, went back down to Namibia. We stopped at a gas station for food. It was a little crazy and disorganized. We stopped for lunch at the side of the road and ate as quickly as possible. On to our next camp we go! We quickly set-up at Camp Kwando and headed into the truck for a late afternoon game drive. We saw baboons! They ran around and hid from us. We saw hippos! They sank underwater when they saw us coming. We didn't care. It was still cool. African animals in the wild - awesome!

Back to camp. We hung out at reception with Carol & Vyv and enjoyed a drink. I have had so much ginger ale on this trip it isn't funny. :) The lounge had wi-fi which was a nice treat, but not good for writing long messages. A nice visit with our Australian friends and dinner at the camp (roasted chicken and coleslaw) rounded out our night. Time for bed.

Day 20/Aug 19th

As we got up this morning we enjoyed our breakfast around the fire, which unfortunately was shared with another campsite. This was unfortunate because a member of the other campsite came out in his underwear to yell at us for being too loud. Oops. Most of us tried to be quieter but a few people in our group didn't seem to mind disturbing the peace... sigh.

We stopped for groceries and snacks at a real grocery store and Shawna & I managed to get some chips and dried fruit. Then we crossed the border and left Namibia for the last time. In no man's land, we pulled over and had a roadside lunch. As we were finishing our meal, we heard the most lovely sweet singing. About 5 young men were walking down the road singing together in harmony. It was beautiful. Colin ushered them over and gave them all of our leftover food (they would have confiscated much of it at the border anyways, he says - but we think he was probably just being kind). As we drove past they were snacking on the newfound goods.

At the Botswana border we were made to exit the vehicle, bring all pairs of shoes with us, clean them off, and walk up the road to the Immigration office. Just then we remembered that we'd left an apple in the truck (which was being searched) and worried that Colin would get in trouble for it. Turns out it wasn't even looked at.

We arrived at camp and at first, were disappointed. The camp was changed at the last minute and was not the camp we were supposed to be at. THIS one was basically a construction site. Shawna & I set up our tent (for the last time, yay!) as we listened to some of the others loudly complain. Turns out, it was pretty nice once you got past the construction part, and some people ate some crow. :P

Our group rushed to head out to our last excursion in Botswana: an early evening river cruise. This turned out to be a super highlight! Our guide, Vincent, took us around for 3 hours and we saw amazing animals and some that we hadn't yet seen. Crocodiles, Hippos, Buffalos, Elephants, Giraffes, Birds, Baboons, Lizards, it just went on and on. It wasn't a game "drive" but it was the best animal-sighting experience so far. Vincent was happy, extremely knowledgeable, and gave us a fantastic experience. Loved it!!

Back to the Lodge and dinner was ready. We had a great day. It was early but we headed off to bed in preparation for tomorrow's early rise and border crossing; this time, into Zimbabwe.


Until then,
xo
E!