After two days in Savute, it was time to move to our next camp. Another short bush plane ride took us from landing strip to landing strip. As expected, the view was amazing, but in a different way. Our destination, Camp Moremi, sits on the edge of the Okavango River Delta. This massive waterway is the largest inland delta in the world. It is formed from the rain water falling in Angola and running downhill into Botswana. Over the course of a year, the delta grows and shrinks with the rainy and dry seasons. As we flew, the desert terrain suddenly shifted to blue ponds and green grass. It was amazing to see how the presence of water drastically changed the appearance and feel of the land despite not having traveled much distance.
We were picked up at the "airport" by our next guide, KT. This young gun was an enthusiastic tracker who really seemed to enjoy the chase of hunting the next animal sighting. Due to the already mentioned changes in terrain, the ride was often a bit bumpier in Moremi, but this didn't slow KT down. If he thought he could get us close to some wildlife, he didn't hesitate to put the pedal down and cut some corners. Just like the terrain, the types of animals also changed now that we were closer to the water. Baboons, monkeys, waterbucks, lions, water buffaloes, wild dogs, crocodiles, hippos and eagles all showed up during our time in Moremi. The highlights included a pair of rogue lion brothers hunting water buffalo and a very close encounter with some annoyed hippos (Us: "That hippo seems kind of irritated. Are they aggressive?" KT: "Yes, very" accompanied by full reverse throttle). Our KT led activities were primarily game drives (3 in total), but included one boat ride on the delta. This nice change of pace didn't offer as many up-close views of wildlife, but it was certainly relaxing to have a smooth ride on the water after being thrown around in the back of a jeep for a couple days straight. And if it was possible, the sunset was even more amazing.
 |
| A baboon with her baby |
 |
| Saddle-billed stork |
 |
| A croc |
 |
| Velvet monkeys |
 |
| A small breakfast |
As we wrote about in previous posts, the safari life at these camps is one of luxury. Every meal and snack (6 in total per day) was served with care and style. The staff to guest ratio felt like 100 to 1. Every time you cleaned your plate, it was cleared away before you even had time to set your fork down. And you never saw the bottom of your wine glass, as they were always quick to top you off. Not only were there plenty of staff members, but they were all extremely friendly, courteous, and helpful. They even provided entertainment by performing traditional song and dance displays before dinner. In no camp did we feel more spoiled than in Moremi. Due to a bit of lucky timing, for one night only, the four us were the only guests on the property. Not only did we receive the already high level of service, but they set a candle-lit table for us under the stars. We were pretty sure this was a test run for filming an episode of the "Bachelor."
 |
| mongoose |
 |
| A waterbuck |
There were less-than-glamorous times as well. Despite being a naturally beautiful place, Africa has some well known diseases still making problems. Before leaving Belgium, we had to get a whole battery of shots to preserve our health. However, from some medical reason, malaria does not have a shot option for prevention. The only option is to take a pill daily while in the malaria-risk area and 7 days after leaving. Taking a daily pill is much preferable to a shot, but the malaria pills cause some intense heartburn and can cause strange, lucid dreams. Then of course as any traveler knows, whenever you go far from home, you are most likely going to experience some intestinal discomfort. We all suffered from some fairly uncomfortable symptoms for a couple days. In the end, all of us skipped 1-2 activities along the way to curl up in the fetal position and try to re-hydrate.
I think we would all say that the level of discomfort was certainly worth trading for the amazing experience we had. We would gladly do it again!
No comments:
Post a Comment