Spending a morning poling through the Okavango Delta in a mokoro with guide Spongy Makgetho was one of the best moments of our Botswana safari. From our perch just above the water level we floated among water lilies and watched fish eagles, African jacanas, malachite kingfishers and a long reed frog. We also found out more about the guide who likes to learn.
By Roxanne Reid
Spending a morning poling through the Okavango Delta in a mokoro with guide Spongy Makgetho was one of the best moments of our Botswana safari. From our perch just above the water level we floated among water lilies and watched fish eagles, African jacanas, malachite kingfishers and a long reed frog. We also found out more about the guide who likes to learn.
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By Roxanne Reid Ngoma Safari Lodge lies in the Chobe Forest Reserve, outside Ngoma Gate in the west of Chobe National Park, Botswana. We visited to see Chobe’s wildlife, but discovered something equally special: a view to lust after. If you can stay here without falling madly-wildly in love with the view, then you’re either near-sighted and should be wearing specs, or you simply have no soul that can be stirred. By Roxanne Reid The Selinda Spillway in the Linyanti gets water from both the Okavango in the south and the Linyanti wetlands in the west. Here you’ll find large herds of elephant and buffalo, as well as a healthy population of wild dogs. But our first day at Selinda Camp in this wilderness in northern Botswana was all about lions and their cubs. By Roxanne Reid Okavango Delta, Botswana. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a mass of water channels, floodplains and islands teeming with wildlife. It’s also a wilderness far from civilisation, so everything you need to run a camp there – from soap to fresh food ingredients – has to be flown in on a small plane. By Roxanne Reid ‘Incoming on the right! Here it comes.’ Six people swivelled on their chairs and pointed their cameras in the same direction, trying to find the bird in flight. A seventh peered through his binoculars. We were on a tutored photo safari on the Chobe River, something a little different from the usual game drive or sunset cruise. By Roxanne Reid To the west of Botswana’s Chobe National Park lies the Linyanti, where there’s a geological fault line. It makes the Kwando River that flows south from Namibia change direction as it becomes the Linyanti River, turning 90 degrees to flow north again towards the Chobe. Among this enchanting mix of waterways, marshes, riverine forest and dry woodland is DumaTau Camp. By Roxanne Reid For 12 years Warona (Wax) Kebabope worked as a ranger and environmental education officer at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, a community-based wildlife project near Serowe in Botswana. Then he got married and he and his wife began looking around for somewhere they could work together. By Roxanne Reid Show-stopping wildlife sightings, exciting drives, great food, a commitment to conservation and community, and a low-impact camp that doesn’t compromise on luxury – these were some of the good things we enjoyed at Duba Expedition Camp in the Okavango, Botswana. By Roxanne Reid When you arrive at Ngoma Safari Lodge on the western border of Chobe National Park, the view from the main deck will blow your mind. It looks out over the veld, a baobab tree and a waterhole towards the Chobe River. If you’re lucky when you stay here, you might meet the tree man of Ngoma. By Roxanne Reid The signs were there from the start. We flew over ribbons of water where game paths criss-crossed the floodplain between islands of trees. Dry channels snaked through the veld and we spotted herds of elephant, buffalo and giraffe. Here in Botswana’s Okavango Delta we were about to have the best game drive of our lives. |
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AboutI'm an independent travel writer and book editor with a passion for Africa - anything from African travel, people, safari and wildlife to adventure, heritage, road-tripping and slow travel. Categories
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