When we started organizing this trip one of the places we wanted to visit was the Okavango Delta.
We had to leave Ghanzi before 9 so we would be in Maun between 12:00 to 12:30 to pick up our flight to the Okavango Delta. There are a number of different ways to get there. We chose to fly because it would only take us 20 minutes to fly to the airstrip closer to our lodge.
The views from the plane were unique and I kept clicking away with my camera.
We had chosen to visit the Moremi Game Reserve as I had read there was a good selection of animals and there were not many people around. It turned out to be a good decision as the flight was pretty fast and our experience in the reserve was very good.
There are many different types of lodges in Botswana. We wanted to stay in a smaller type of lodge, no more than 12 tents and we intended to do glamping (glamorous camping).
We stayed two nights and did a river cruise and three game drives. We were very impressed with the service we experienced as well as the quality and friendliness of the managers, guides and staff.
We woke up at 5:30 to have a quick breakfast and then left with the guide for a game drive at 6:30. We would come back at 11:00 and have brunch. Then we would have free time until 15:30 when we would meet with the guide and then leave for a 16:00 game drive or river cruise. We would watch the sunset at around 18:30 and then come back to the lodge where we would have dinner at about 20:00.
The camp was virtually open and animals were free to roam around in it. We had to be escorted whenever we wanted to walk between the more social places (dining room, camp fire place, lounge) and our rooms. During these walks we saw antelope, monkey and baboons, many types of birds and we had a visiting hipo as well as buffalo so I was glad we had a guide with us. I enjoyed a lot the river cruise, one does not see as many animals but being on a calm river, on a boat watching animals and enjoying the sunset is beautiful. We had to choose a sundowner drink that we enjoyed with the boat stopped and watching the sunset. Our choice was Gin and Tonic for me and Amarula for Paula.
The land safaris were also very nice and we kept very much to the same area around the lodge. The best sightings we saw were of the lions and the wild dogs, although we also enjoyed the open fields where zebras, antelope and giraffe gathered, ate the grass and watched for carnivores.
We had many encounters with elephants which are so big and yet very docile. The animal the guides were most afraid of were buffalo. They kept saying they were very unpredictable.
On the last day the guide said he would take us to the white tree which is a tree in the middle of a swamp area with thousands of birds around. The tree has that color from the poop of this specific bird that nests on the tree. After looking around for crocodiles and other dangerous animals, we stepped out of our vehicle and walked around and took some group pictures. It was an amazing experience and we felt as the only people in the Universe.
We also had the opportunity of meeting a number of people that shared these two days with us as they put us together in same groups for different activities. We met people from the UK, United States, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Argentina and also some locals. By far the nationality we have met the most are Germans. Now and then we come across large groups of Americans but we have seen and met more Germans.
One special mention to the tents we stayed in. When you think that this is in the middle of nowhere it is amazing to see what it takes to make one of these tents. They are on top of stilts and have an outside area with two chairs where you can sit watching the river and animal (specially bird) life. They have a strong net covering the main structure. There is a main room with a queen size bed with a beautiful net covering it. In the main room there is a desk and also plenty of sitting and storage space. Behind the bed there is a corridor with some shelves and a safe. and then there is a wall with a door that separates the bathroom which is divided into 3 stalls: the toilet, the shower and the basin area. All of this is on a high quality wooden structure and the divisions are well done with wood. The roof is thatched. The tent has various “windows” ((4 on each side), that you can just leave them open (this means just the net) or drop a canvas for privacy.
We had a great time at the Okavango Delta and I would very much recommend it as a bucket list item to do once in a lifetime.
Make Life a Ride !
Facebook post with some pictures of the DAYs in the Okavango Delta
Click HERE for the pictures of DAY 1 in the Okavango
Click HERE for the pictures of DAY 2 in the Okavango
We had to leave Ghanzi before 9 so we would be in Maun between 12:00 to 12:30 to pick up our flight to the Okavango Delta. There are a number of different ways to get there. We chose to fly because it would only take us 20 minutes to fly to the airstrip closer to our lodge.
The views from the plane were unique and I kept clicking away with my camera.
We had chosen to visit the Moremi Game Reserve as I had read there was a good selection of animals and there were not many people around. It turned out to be a good decision as the flight was pretty fast and our experience in the reserve was very good.
There are many different types of lodges in Botswana. We wanted to stay in a smaller type of lodge, no more than 12 tents and we intended to do glamping (glamorous camping).
We stayed two nights and did a river cruise and three game drives. We were very impressed with the service we experienced as well as the quality and friendliness of the managers, guides and staff.
We woke up at 5:30 to have a quick breakfast and then left with the guide for a game drive at 6:30. We would come back at 11:00 and have brunch. Then we would have free time until 15:30 when we would meet with the guide and then leave for a 16:00 game drive or river cruise. We would watch the sunset at around 18:30 and then come back to the lodge where we would have dinner at about 20:00.
The camp was virtually open and animals were free to roam around in it. We had to be escorted whenever we wanted to walk between the more social places (dining room, camp fire place, lounge) and our rooms. During these walks we saw antelope, monkey and baboons, many types of birds and we had a visiting hipo as well as buffalo so I was glad we had a guide with us. I enjoyed a lot the river cruise, one does not see as many animals but being on a calm river, on a boat watching animals and enjoying the sunset is beautiful. We had to choose a sundowner drink that we enjoyed with the boat stopped and watching the sunset. Our choice was Gin and Tonic for me and Amarula for Paula.
The land safaris were also very nice and we kept very much to the same area around the lodge. The best sightings we saw were of the lions and the wild dogs, although we also enjoyed the open fields where zebras, antelope and giraffe gathered, ate the grass and watched for carnivores.
We had many encounters with elephants which are so big and yet very docile. The animal the guides were most afraid of were buffalo. They kept saying they were very unpredictable.
On the last day the guide said he would take us to the white tree which is a tree in the middle of a swamp area with thousands of birds around. The tree has that color from the poop of this specific bird that nests on the tree. After looking around for crocodiles and other dangerous animals, we stepped out of our vehicle and walked around and took some group pictures. It was an amazing experience and we felt as the only people in the Universe.
We also had the opportunity of meeting a number of people that shared these two days with us as they put us together in same groups for different activities. We met people from the UK, United States, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Argentina and also some locals. By far the nationality we have met the most are Germans. Now and then we come across large groups of Americans but we have seen and met more Germans.
One special mention to the tents we stayed in. When you think that this is in the middle of nowhere it is amazing to see what it takes to make one of these tents. They are on top of stilts and have an outside area with two chairs where you can sit watching the river and animal (specially bird) life. They have a strong net covering the main structure. There is a main room with a queen size bed with a beautiful net covering it. In the main room there is a desk and also plenty of sitting and storage space. Behind the bed there is a corridor with some shelves and a safe. and then there is a wall with a door that separates the bathroom which is divided into 3 stalls: the toilet, the shower and the basin area. All of this is on a high quality wooden structure and the divisions are well done with wood. The roof is thatched. The tent has various “windows” ((4 on each side), that you can just leave them open (this means just the net) or drop a canvas for privacy.
We had a great time at the Okavango Delta and I would very much recommend it as a bucket list item to do once in a lifetime.
Make Life a Ride !
Facebook post with some pictures of the DAYs in the Okavango Delta
Click HERE for the pictures of DAY 1 in the Okavango
Click HERE for the pictures of DAY 2 in the Okavango
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