Quick! Before the hyenas come...

Perhaps the place for which Botswana is most famous is the Okavango Delta. The Delta is located in the northern part of the country—an oasis of water and greenery above the Kalahari desert that otherwise dominates the country. So it was in the Delta that Ani and I (joining the rest of our CIEE crew) spent the remainder of our spring break. After our two day rest at the “Old Bridge” Backpackers in Maun, Ani and I met up with our fellow CIEEers (and Batsi, of course!) to pile into our game drive vehicles that our guides drove into the Delta.

Most of CIEE from top to bottom, left to right: Allie, Emma, Sophie, (down) Shelley, Ani, Jen, and then Isabelle in the left-hand corner :)

One of the many hazards of the road.

To get into the Delta it’s a pretty long and bumpy ride unless you’re flying in on a private jet (real option); it’s about four hours over half of which is unpaved. Because we were coming in the rainy season the roads were riddled with small to rather large lakes of water through which our hardy jeeps had to drive.

These look deceptively shallow - trust me when I say they are not!

They were also riddled with this lion – a rare sighting during the rainy season though you wouldn’t know it to look at him as he relaxes on the road:

Just chillin'

There is a joke about many of the roads around here and in Livingstone that only drunk drivers drive straight. After much swerving, bouncing, and splashing we arrived at our campsite to enjoy a lovely sit-down dinner. Safari begun! We all slept two to a tent with comfy bedrolls that convinced me that my parents had been stingy on the camping mattresses when I was a child. We didn’t get to enjoy the sleep for long though because our first game drive began around 6AM the next morning. A game drive is exactly what it sounds like – you drive around looking for animals. And despite the rainy season not being prime-animal spotting time, we saw plenty! Unfortunately, my camera died early on in our Okavango trip. Luckily, our friend Sophie has generously allowed me to steal her photos and, even luckier, her camera is superior to mine. Here is just a small sample of the animals we saw:

Zebra! (famous for giving tourists their other end in photos, but captured here!)

Water-buffalo Crossing

First there was one elephant...

Then two...

Then three! Look at the little baby!

Impalas are EVERYWHERE in the Delta (as are termite hills and monkeys!)

Much like the elephants, hippos have a way of multiplying...

They're watching you...

Although adorable with their small ears rising out of the water, it bears remembering that hippos are known killers - they can take down a crocodile.

There were also some pretty great birds. These are guinea fowl.

And these are just adorable!

These gorgeous little birds liked to fly next to our jeeps, presumably enjoying the air stream generated by them

Cheetah spottings (haha) are very rare, so we were lucky to catch this fellow!

The babies were out in full force during our trip!

Family grooming/snack time!

In case your quota of cute hasn't been filled yet! We came across a tree that had about twenty of these little babies scampering around in it. A monkey daycare center!

In honor of Botswana's love of the zebra (it symbolizes black and white harmony), we conclude this picture fiesta with one last group photo.

In addition to driving we also went on what is known as a mokoro ride. A mokoro is a small canoe that was used in Botswana long before motor boats arrived on the scene (although we also got to ride one of those so that we might safely venture into hippo-inhabited waters). The canoes were traditionally made from a single tree trunk, but ours were modern and therefore some form of plastic. The Delta has a number of small channels that run through the long, bamboo-like grass and it was through these waterways that our guide poled. A Botswana gondola ride, if you will!

Hippo-proof (sort of...) boat

Less-hippo-proof boats

Shot from the mokoro

Lilies of the Delta

One final animal shot!

In total we were in the Delta for two full days and three nights before we had to return to UB, classes, and “real life.” And while things continue to go well here in Gabs, I freely admit that it was hard to leave this grassland haven of elephants, giraffes, zebras, monkeys (baby monkeys!) and more. Fortunately for me, my parents arrived Friday night for their own trip to the Delta and to visit their wandering daughter. Perhaps after this week they can confirm my evaluation of the Delta as a fantastic safari experience!