Botswana
Last winter I was in Kruger National Park and was fortunate enough to see a pack of wild dogs. That was a big moment for me. I'd wanted to see a pack of wild dogs for as long as I could remember. In a similar way, the Okavango delta remained a place I had my eyes set on. It is a seasonal inland delta north of the Kalahari desert in Botswana, right in the middle of southern Africa. The wet season of the Angolan highland forests and jungles up north eventually creates runoff in the form of a river and instead of curving west to drain into the ocean, it curves back inland to the east and dumps into the immensely large and flat Kalahari basin. Over millions of years, the water has selected its preferred route and carved out particular “fingers” of river that just fill up vertically. When I say vertically, a peculiar aspect of the delta is that it doesn’t feel like a river that flows. It just rises while seemingly sitting still.
Unsurprisingly, this has turned into a beacon of hope for countless thirsty animals, some (like zebras) travel over 500 kilometers for a drink. It had long been a core dream of mine to visit this delta and see the animals that flock to it.
Booking spots there can be challenging. There are limited areas to camp, and it is highly regulated and controlled by the government and local people. In this case, it is a good thing as it serves as a protective shield from degradation from commercial development and mass tourism. The flip side is that everything is expensive.
Regardless, opportunity came knocking. Some friends who I work with decided to change their summer plans. Their original route through the delta and on to Victoria Falls had changed. They offered me their reservations (and guidebooks). It was an opportunity I wouldn’t dare pass up.
After months of prep work to build a trip around the old itinerary, things were falling into place. Tim and Matt flew out and we all took off from Maputo the day after school let out.
Summer break had begun.
They are still young, so no need to adjust for jetlag. The next day we took off just before sunrise.
South Africa has a lot of things going for it, but the food is nothing to write home about. We stuck with foreign food and warmed our bones with some Indian curry.
And, of course, a size comparison.
After a transit day in bleak Polokwane, South Africa, we landed in a rhino sanctuary. We saw some bush babies(!) and a black-backed jackal the next morning.
It's probably worth noting that Matt took all the "good" photos you'll see here. He has a good eye with the camera and knows how to bring an image to life.
I appreciated putting my camera down as I'm usually the one snapping photos. This trip gave me the opportunity to live in the moment.
These photos were all taken at Khama Rhino Sanctuary in Botswana. We stayed here on the second night and worked in a short safari drive before our final stretch to Maun.
With no luck spotting a rhino, we hit the road and worked our way up north to Maun, the gateway to the delta.
Maun was chaotic for first-timers like us. We had to load up fuel, food, water, and other miscellaneous gear before our dive into the Okavango. It took months of planning and one of the constant warnings is the importance of being fully stocked and prepared. Anything can happen out there and visitors to the region can't count on reliable help.
I brought a basic set of tools, a comprehensive medkit, 3 jerry cans of extra fuel, and 2 jerry cans of water (plus more containers scattered around the car).
After covering all our bases, we worked our way to our campsite in Khwai.
It kind of doesn't matter how many times you've seen one, they always seem to be awe-inspiring.
But we finally made it. On the fourth day in the late afternoon, we found our spot.
It was more incredible than I could've imagined. It was raw. We were really out in the wild. We had to navigate a herd of elephants as we approached our site. The "river" Matt and Tim are looking out on was loaded with hippos and countless other creatures. Birds were everywhere.
There was a lot to see and almost too much to take in.
As we were making dinner, we enjoyed the sounds of birds flying overhead back to their nests after a day of hunting. It is no coincidence that around this time the sounds of crickets, frogs, and other insects came roaring back to life. None of this, however, compares to the sound of a pride of lions roaring to the east. We'd hear their calls for 15-20 seconds before it went quiet for 20 minutes or so. Soon enough, the lions would unleash their roars again, but this time we could hear they were distinctly closer to our camp than they were 20 minutes prior. On and on it went until the sun had fully set and the lions were growling a short distance outside to our camp. They must've been just across the water because we didn't get hassled that night. It was invigorating.
The next day we woke up and set off on safari. It was nice to have a somewhat empty truck. There was no destination at that point other than to see wildlife. We were not disappointed.
It ended up being a tough area to navigate. There was a lot of flooding and various roads were cut off, but we found ways around it.
And remember, anytime you see a real good photo, you can credit Matt.
After a solid day exploring, we returned to camp to sit back and listen to the hippos.
The original plan was to drive directly west and connect at our next spot called Xakanaxa. The language uses a clicking sound for the letter "x", but in your brain you can substitute the click sound with a "k" sound. That's what we did as we unsuccessfully practiced how to say it.
Unfortunately, flooding took out that route and we had to drive 5 hours southwest before working our way back up northwest for another 5 hours. It was during this huge V-shaped detour we encountered our first water crossing.
Tim, Matt and I all got out and waded around seeing how deep it was and what line I should take to get through. It was stressful to say the least. Regardless of all our collective past misdeeds, on this day, the gods of fortune looked at us with favor. We made it across and after several more hours (and a lion encounter) we found our spot at Xakanaxa just after sunset. We set up camp, had a quick dinner, then went straight to bed. It was a long day and we were looking forward to the next day's adventures.
There was a ton to see in Xakanaxa and plenty of roads to traverse. It is easy to think of the area as a swamp, but it is much more than that. It is both fresh and alive. Where there is water, there is life. This place was teeming with both.
It was great to have no agenda. We were just exploring roads and seeing what we could find.
The next day began with some excitement. We were a bit worn out and decided to sleep in a bit. The timing was perfect. The quietness was inviting enough for some apex mammal predators to come snooping around.
And this is what makes the Okavango Delta so captivating and real. There are no fences. There are no borders. Animals rule here.
It all comes with a price though, and it is a price I'm willing to pay. Botswana has leaned into preserving as much natural habitat as possible and the only way to do that is to limit camping opportunities and charge a hefty fee to visit. Fortunately, Botswana's conservation model also provides economic opportunities for local communities, giving them a financial stake in preserving the surrounding wilderness.
Alright! Let's load up and hit the road. See what we find.
Matt, unsurprisingly, took that hippo shot. We stayed at one particular lagoon watching 6 hippos fight. We couldn't tell if there was a nearby female or if they were fighting over territory, but it was pretty epic to see them battle. There is some serious strength in those grass-munchers.
During the evening of our second day at Xakanaxa, we jumped on a boat for a short water safari.
And I mean that sincerely. Tim and Matt are really good people, and hilarious. I feel incredibly fortunate that they were with me on this trip. It was awesome.
At this point, the Botswana trip was everything I expected plus more. I knew there was going to be some element of risk, but during the planning phase I couldn't predict what form it would take or when it would rear its head.
This time, I knew. Those two days were filling my bucket, so to speak, but something kept nagging me in the back of my mind. I had to drive back through the water crossing. It was risky enough driving through deep water on the way to camp, but I knew the water was rising every minute and that path was our only way out of the delta.
Throughout that final evening at camp, my mind kept playing with the possibility that we wouldn't make it through the water. Worse yet, we realize we wouldn't make it while stuck in mud, engine flooded, and water slowly seeping up and into the car. There are not a lot of people going in and out, and finding someone to help pull us out could take days. It was a hypothetical I did not enjoy musing over.
But there was no point in worrying. There was just a countdown timer in my mind ticking down, and about 10 hours later I'd be at the wheel ready to face the challenge.
Again, the gods of fortune smiled and we made it through. I'm forever grateful to those Japanese engineers who build Toyota Land Cruisers. After getting across, I was exhilarated. It was as if a great weight was lifted from my shoulders. Matt and Tim and I all laughed in relief while we puttered along out of the delta and back on our road up north. The journey continues.
I think those gods of fortune weren't through with me. Seeing wildlife is pure random chance. As we travel, our path must meet with an animal whose path takes them to that very same point at that very same time. More often than not, those paths don't intersect and no animal sighting occurs. But every now and then, a guy just has to stop the car and get out to pee at some random spot and look up and see a leopard.
Terrified I would spook it, I half-waved-half-silently-yelled at my brothers to take a glance. Matt and his reflexes were ready as always and he snapped the shot. Incredible!
After a short, mutual recognition of "other" between us and the leopard, this majestic and beautiful predator didn't waste time fading back into the brush to continue living its peak life.
And with this encounter, we piled back in the car and continued our journey out of the delta and up to Chobe National Park.
We were going strong for some time, but eventually a punctured tire derailed us. Tim was the one who first noticed it and eventually took the lead changing it (and later repairing it).
Back on top with the new wheel, we pressed on to our next campsite in Savuti. As we approached the camping area, we took a slight detour and explored some trails just south of our destination. The detour almost instantly proved worth it as we stumbled upon this handsome cat.
What a day.
With the leopard still buzzing around our brains and now a lion, we were riding high as we pulled into our spot.
Matt, Tim and I set up camp with ease upon arrival. At this point, we were developing some cohesion and teamwork with setting up camp and breaking it back down again. It felt like second nature.
That smoothness paid off by giving us more leisure time. In this case, we took it slow and slept in a bit the next day. That set us up for a nice afternoon/evening safari.
Overall, it was somewhat of a slow day. It was a lot of cruising without many large animal sightings. No elephants. No hippos. No giraffe even. It was bizarre. After two and a half head-scratching hours, we thought about heading back. That idea was batted around as we balanced the frustration of the day vs. actual fatigue. The three of us knew we weren't that tired and the only obvious course of action was to press on. The gods of fortune smiled upon us as we made this decision.
We spent a good half hour with this one and its sibling. Parents were just around the corner as the cubs goofed off on a piece of wood during this golden hour.
Thanks for the photos, Matt! These are great to look back on. If anyone is interested in seeing more of Matt's photos, there are a plethora of stunning shots on his website, Swell Moments Maui. Definitely worth a look.
And so we press on.
Like the leopard and lion the day before, we felt that same rush of rejuvenation. These animals have the ability to breathe life into a person, and Tim, Matt and I all felt it. We were stoked at this sighting but felt it was time to give the lions their space. We moved on to a water hole just up the road.
We approached an open field with three large watering holes all adjacent to each other. It was getting late as the sun crept lower to the horizon and the sky lit up shades of orange and yellow before fading into the ever-darker blue sky above. Stars began to pop out in the eastern sky and we saw a herd of elephants emerge from the trees for their evening drink.
We drove a bit closer (but still a healthy distance away) to get a better view and turned off the car. The three of us sat back, enjoying this spectacle when I noticed dust kicking up in the field to my right. I looked over and a huge cloud of dust lifted gently into the evening air, rays of red and yellow light pierced the dirt cloud illuminating it against the orange sky.
A herd of cape buffalo were marching to water.
For some reason, this moment felt immensely surreal. I loved it. It felt like it came straight out of a nature documentary. The video we got of it absolutely does not do it justice. It was magnificent and I doubt I'll ever forget it. I hope I never will.
We soaked it in.
But the pressing nature of time reminded us that we have no business out there after dark. Time to get back.
What a day. What a trip. We were a little over a week into this Botswana adventure and we'd already seen some magnificent things. We felt lucky as we settled in for the night.
After dinner we made a fire and sat around enjoying each other's company while basking in our good fortune. Gearing up for an early morning, Tim and Matt wandered off to the ablutions to brush teeth and take a shower. I continued sitting around the fire in reflection. As I stared into the flames, I noticed a movement to my right. I stayed still and peered over, but couldn't make out what it was. It continued moving out of the brush and, lo and behold, into the camp walked a fully grown male hyena. Grunting and sniffing, this scavenger was looking for food. Not more than 25 feet away, the muscular hyena walked with strength and confidence without giving me a second thought. Clearly, I'm not the food he was looking for. He stopped for a minute near the area we made dinner, inhaling the airborne remnants of our most recent meal, hoping we were careless campers (not us!). Finding nothing, he continued on his way and out of sight, back into the bush behind me.
Stunned by this, I wished my brothers had been there to witness it, although I knew the hyena might not have appeared had they been around.. Regardless, I was overjoyed and couldn't wait to tell Matt and Tim.
No photos exist of this encounter, but the memory lives in my mind. The bizarre arched spine and scruff on the back of the hyena were marked features, and the guttural breathing permeated a sense of power and dominance. To this day I feel a sense of primal respect when recalling the animal. It was breathtaking to be so close.
Tim and Matt came back and I told them of my encounter. They couldn't believe it. In a way, neither could I. It made it tough to fall asleep that night, which was unfortunate as we had a morning safari ahead of us the next day.
The alarm came early and we hit the road. We lasted all of 12 minutes before tire trouble sent us limping back to camp for some tire maintenance. Tim got at it. I took a more "supervisory" role.
Tim found the leak and prepped the patch.
And we were back on our way. Tim showed substantial value and strength. He is considered by many to be the "pinnacle" or "peak" of humankind.
Now let's go find some baobab trees.
Transit day coming up! We head to camp, eat, and go to bed anticipating an early morning.
The cold, brisk southern hemisphere morning meant we had to find ways to maintain body heat. Tim and Matt shared a blanket as we stretched our legs during our morning safari.
A nice fitting circle-back to the start of our journey. We spent a half hour watching two parents supervise two young jackals playing and running in the morning hours of the day. Not a care in the world.
Hitting the road, the trip began to move a bit northeast as we veered towards Victoria Falls.
Not done yet. We started to hit some tarmac roads, but tire problems continued to plague us. Nothing to be concerned about, however, as Tim was running point.
Our detour to Vic Falls and Zimbabwe finally brought us back to the border crossing where we returned to Botswana and jumped on our final highway back home. It was a hell of a trip and I couldn't have picked two better people to spend it with. Matt and Tim are two awesome brothers and two awesome people. I feel a lot of love and gratitude for those guys. If you're ever able to meet them, you'll be glad you did. I promise.
