I have posted on the Okavango Delta before following a long weekend trip last year. I described it as the 'highlight of my stay in Botswana', with the colours and diversity of both floodplains and desert being truly magnificent. Although I didn't confess it in my previous post, simply being present in this region is enough to literally bring a tear to one's eye. And now, with Botswana's rainy season now over and the floodwaters beginning to flow in from the Angolan highlands, it is the ideal time to visit the Okavango! Although we flew by plane into the camp at Eagle Island Lodge, just south of Moremi Game Reserve near the village of Xaxaba, little did we know what extra activities were in stall. I had never been in a helicopter before, so having the option to for a scenic flight over the Delta...well, I'd be stupid to say NO. Mum, Dad and I flew out of camp for a 30-minute flight, taking in some incredible scenery just after sunrise.
We flew over the plains, now a scattering of small and larger islands, spotting part of a 200-strong buffalo herd and elephant herd. We found more elephant, buffalo and hippo wading in the swamps, feeding on the lush, green grass. There were herds of impala and red lechwe, too feeding as they moved from island to island despite the incoming flood waters. One of the lechwe was reported as dead the previous evening, and so was in the process of being devoured by vultures as we circled around, causing these incredible scavengers to take flight and join us in the sky.
The only signs of humankind in sight were our camp, sitting beautifully amongst the trees as the water crept up to the fixed tents, and Xaxaba, comprising just a couple-dozen traditional mud huts. This is truly God's country.
After soaring up to just a couple of hundred metres, and then skimming the surface of the water as the river bended from side-to-side, the sun was now up and the trip over. Before Mum and Dad headed home, I was dropped off in the bush south of camp, ready to stretch the legs and spend the rest of the morning on a walking safari.
