Prologue

Southern Africa is one of my favorite places on earth and I realized that it has been way too long since I last visited. My very first trip which sparked my love for Africa was to Botswana and I wanted to go back. Of course, returning to a place one holds a special memory is always a risky proposition. Things may have changed, and memories may be a bit tainted. Long story short, turns out that it is still just a nice as I remembered.

Unlike my previous trips I wanted to make this one a more luxurious experience. Thanks to the pandemic I did not have a proper vacation in years and decided to use the saved up vacation funds and on go all in. All stays were to be in small, comfortable lodges with air transfers between them. I wanted to revisit the highlights of my favorite regions of the Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park, the Savuti region in between and end the trip in Victoria Falls. In order to accomplish all of this on rather short notice, I employed the help of Kate from Wayfairer Travel. She and June, our travel concierge who stayed in contact with us throughout the trip, were an outstanding resource.

I also hoped this trip would rekindle my love for photography which I lost during the pandemic. Of course, given that we were taking small planes within Botswana meant that we were weight limited to 20 kg per person. Careful planning on what clothes to take ensued as half my allowance was already spoken for in photo gear. In the end I packed one lens too little and two shirts too many. Note taken for next time.

Day 1(-ish) – Flight in

The trip started like all Africa trips with a very long 2 day sequence of flights. Over 24 hrs in the air with a very tight connection in Johannesburg made for a more stressful start to this vacation than I would have liked. Especially because American would give us a boarding pass for our last leg but would only check the bags to Johannesburg. So, arriving there we had to pass immigration, collect our bags, recheck them with Airlink, clear security and immigration again. We made it with just 20 mins to spare and only because our travel concierge arranged for an escort that got us through special lines. In the end, we made it to Maun and after a short immigration process, we were on our way to the first night. The Thamalakane River Lodge was the perfect spot to unwind with a hot shower and cold beer.

Interestingly, the Thamalakane river after which the lodge is named was not there. I had heard about the last wet season being unusually short, but seeing it gave it a different level.

Day 2 – Maun to Okavango Delta

Time to start the vacation proper. After a quick, early breakfast we were on our way back to the airport for the first of the 3 bush flights of the trip. This was a short 35 mins flight going low enough to enjoy the sights. The arid grounds around Maun soon gave way to the meandering wetlands of the Okavango Delta. The Okavango River splits into 4 main branches in the delta. The lodge is located along a deep lagoon on the western-most of them, the Taokhe River. A quick boat transfer later we arrived at the beautiful Mopiri lodge which was to be our home for the next couple nights. All rooms are tents, albeit only in that the walls are canvas. Inside was all the comforts one can wish for: a large bed with mosquito nets, lights and an attached full bathroom with hot shower. Out front, the patio overlooked the lagoon and offered the most amazing sunrises.

The place also came with its local family of Vervet monkeys. They are harmless but you have to watch your food as their mission in life is to get into everything even remotely edible. The back side of the lodge has a small pool overlooking the grass landscape. While the main attraction is the water, it is worthwhile going to the backside as well as we saw our first elephants and a Bushbuck lounging around.

Soon enough we were served our first meal, which was excellent, plentiful, and prepared by a local chef. That was, by the way, to become the norm everywhere. Full breakfast, lunch, high tea with biscuits, sundowner and dinner. Activities happen between breakfast and lunch and between high tea and dinner. Following lunch was time for the afternoon siesta to avoid the hottest part of the day. After high tea we were on our first boat trip on a small barge to overlook the lagoon we were on. The fringes of the lagoon are covered in papyrus which eventually would close off the entire area, but people (and hippos) do keep some channels open between the lagoons. We would have a bit of a run-in with those hippos later, but for today it was enjoying a Gin & Tonic while watching the first of many magnificent sunsets. The splendor does not end at sunset either, the night sky is phenomenal from your rooms balcony.

Day 3 – Okavango Delta

Today was the time for a long activity, a ride on a small speedboat through dense, twisty, narrow papyrus channels to another lagoon further up north. The papyrus is over 6ft tall and only occasionally opening to allow for a view of what is beyond. The lagoons have each their hippo population and with a bit of luck there there some crocodiles to see.

We eventually reached an island where we switched our mode of transportation to Mokoros, the local canoes. Each is expertly guided by a poler from a nearby local village. The skill of punting a mokoro along the shallow waters is quite amazing. I did try my hand at it last time and the mokoro went any which way, except the one I intended it to go. I am sure the poler whose mokoro I borrowed had a good laugh. Up here the papyrus gave way to grasses allowing for unimpaired views of the surroundings. After 45 mins of gliding through the water watching the birds, we got to a larger island. At last, it was on us to move ourselves to go on a nature walk. By now we were right in the middle of the delta a good 23 km from our lodge.

Our guide, Anthony, did an amazing job of explaining the lifestyle of the local people, the animals and food sources. We did get to try a small, fist-sized nut variety that was in season. We spotted lots of tracks, but no larger animals. The delta is a paradise for bid lovers and we certainly saw a good variety of them, the various Kingfishers being by favorites. A short hike later we were back in our mokoros and heading back to the boat for a picnic style lunch. After lunch, we returned to the motorboat and continued our way further east to another lagoon and finally sighted our first elephants in the distance. The crocodiles, on the other hand, were rather close by. Eventually it was time to turn around and return to the comforts of our lodge and another amazing dinner.

Day 4 – Okavango Delta

We started the day off trying our hands at fishing. The waters of the Okavango are rather nutrient poor and thus not a lot of fish live there. If based on our success rate was any measure, no fish live there. While we did not contribute to the dinner table, it was a rather relaxing morning out on the water. A pair of Wire-tailed swallows build a nest right on the boat and kept swooping in and out for everyone’s entertainment.

In the afternoon we departed once again in the speedboat to the next lagoon to spot some hippos and hopefully some elephants. Not much luck on the elephants, but we did find a huge Monitor lizard and did see the hippos. And they certainly saw us. Even though we stayed our distance, one of them decided we had to go. It came after us in a game of battleship. It would take aim and submerge. We would power up and move a couple hundred meters. At that point the hippo would come up pretty close to our original position, take aim and submerge again. This went on for a couple rounds until we got far enough away that it lost interest. At that point we enjoyed our Gin&Tonic sundowner while watching the gorgeous sunset.

With the sun gone we started our way back but were blocked by two hippos at the entrance of the narrow channel that was our only way home. We waited until they moved a bit and floored the engine to speed in between the gap they had left. Even so, the hippos were not happy and lunged at the boat. We thought we made it until we realized that we didn’t. Turns out there were 3 hippos, not just the two up front. The third one was fully submerged a bit further in and invisible front the surface. It was quite a bump when the boat ran over its back and jumped. Fortunately, we had enough speed to make it away from that now very unhappy hippo. I am sure it was rather unpleasant for the animal, so I can’t begrudge its anger towards us. In the end we made it and closed off the evening with another great meal and gorgeous night sky.

Day 5 – Okavango Delta to Khwai

Sadly, today was time to move on to our next camp. After breakfast we went back to the airstrip to catch the 2^nd flight going further east to the Khwai Private Reserve. A short 35 mins over the lush delta the landscape turned arid again as we flew over and landed in a dense mopane forest. The Hyena Pan, which was our base for the next days, was another 45 mins drive to the north. We met our most expert guide KK and set off. The lodge was a main open area situated right next to a large water hole and 9 individual spacious and fully equipped tents.

On arrival we were served the first of many opulent meals and settled in our room for the siesta. The water hole does attract all sorts of animals since it is the only water source in a large area. This one has artificially pumped water year-round. A herd of elephants had moved in earlier and one decided that the leaves next to our tent were greener than the ones by the water hole. So we got our up and close encounter with an elephant as it slowly harvested all the mopane trees around us.

The lodge area itself had been claimed by a pair of hornbills who decided that the towel basket in the bathroom was their nesting spot. When they were not in there, they went on attacking their reflections in one of the cabinets. I had a similar run-in with those in Namibia were one was constantly attacking my rearview mirror. It seems these birds are not exactly the brightest ones.

Time had come for high tea and to set off on our first actual game drive looking for a lion pride that been seen before. We saw many fresh tracks but no lions. Our guide did an amazing job finding and explaining the various tracks. The mopane trees made seeing far from the road a challenge, but it was fun regardless. We stopped at one of the waterholes to enjoy yet another beautiful sunset and returned for dinner.

Day 6 – Khwai Private Game Reserve

The normal day in an African safari is like this: Early morning wake up at 5 – 5:30am, quick breakfast and morning game drive. Return just before noon for lunch and break for siesta until high tea at 3pm. That is then followed by a second game drive which includes a sundowner (the guide takes your drink order before leaving) returning in time for dinner at 7pm. This was now our routine.

This morning, we were greeted by a Jackal by the waterhole during breakfast. Little did know that the Jackal would become the harbinger of good things to come. After breakfast, we set out to the southern end of the reserve to the shores of the Okavango delta along the Khwai River. Halfway through the hour drive, the mopane gave way to wide open green grasslands and large herds of antelopes, zebras and some buffalos. I was starting to wonder where all the zebras were as normally, they are all over the place.

Another standard procedure is for all the guides in an area to work together and soon enough the chatter on the radio intensified. Apparently, there was a pack of endangered wild dogs in the area which we found in due course along with some vultures. After admiring them for a while we went to on to check on an old elephant carcass one the area. We knew we were getting close long before we saw it; the smell was quite ripe. Our Jackal sighting turned out to be right omen as Nikki, a leopard and her son were eating on the carcass.

Once they had their fill and we were just about to take off, a lone hyena came by. We soon continued to a space a bit less odorous to have our morning coffee accompanied by a herd of giraffes. An hour later we returned to our lodge for lunch.

In the afternoon we tried our luck once again at finding that lion pride up north, but it seemed our good luck had run out for the day. At least we got to enjoy our sundowner G&T at waterhole with elephants playing about. Turns out the elephants are remarkably quiet. As we were having our drinks in front of the Landcruiser, an elephant had snuck up behind us and got to about 30 ft before our guide spotted it and we moved around and out of the way.

Day 7 – Khwai Private Game Reserve / Skybeds

They say third time is the charm and so we dedicated our morning drive to finally find those lions. It was quite slow going tracking the lions starting from some fresh tracks they left at a waterhole overnight. At some point our guide abandoned the existing roads altogether to follow the tracks but still no luck.

It wasn’t until we stopped for morning coffee and spotted a jackal in the distance that our luck changed. First, we came across two porcupines that were lounging out near their hole. That is a rather rare sight as they are nocturnal animals. One took off as soon as we got close. The other one just pretended we were not there by keeping its eyes closed. I guess “if I don’t see you, you are not here” is a thing. They are actually very cute and may well be my favorite animal we saw. Then a honey badger trotted by, but it had to be somewhere and was too busy to stick around.

Here, finally, we found our lions. Two mothers with a total of seven cubs. Three young ones of about a month belonging to one mom and four older ones of about 5 months from the other mom. It was getting later in the morning, and they had settled down for the day. The mom with the older cubs was no longer lactating and so those cubs repeatedly tried to nurse on the other mom. It worked just fine until she opened her eye to see who was on her and then gently smacked them away.

The next night was to be spent at the Skybeds. They are several 3-story structures with an open-air bed on top and a full bath with shower in the middle. There are 3 of those separated by good distance to provide privacy along with a fourth structure serving as the dining deck with a fire pit and a bar on top. The concept is to allow full view of the beautiful clear sky without light pollution and a nearby waterhole. After moving into our “room”, we met the other guests for a sundowner at the rooftop bar, followed by dinner. Dinner was an elevated introduction into the cooking method of the locals using cast iron pots, called potjie. Personally, while tasty, it was a bit too much for me. I am not the most social of creatures and prefer to just have my dinner on my own rather than having to make small talk. However, for the right audience it is very worthwhile.

On the way up there, we stopped at “The Hide”, a partially submerged container right next to a water hole. It stemmed back from the days when Khwai was a hunting reserve, and this was a way to hunt. No hunting is taking place anymore and the hide now permits to be up close with elephants in the waterhole. Therein lies a little issue as the water is pumped and the local aquifer has a high H₂S content. That, paired with the elephant droppings, made for a rather pungent smell. To me it did not distract from seeing these beautiful animals up close. We did close out the drive by stopping by the pride we found in the morning as they were getting ready to start their night.

Now, I am not one to leave a dark sky alone and soon after dinner I got the night photography gear out and started shooting the Milky Way. Around 2am it came to a more beautiful angle, and I woke up got some more shots in the clear, frigid night. The night sky sure did not disappoint.

Day 8 – Khwai Private Game Reserve to Chobe

Unlike what one might expect, the bed was very comfortable and warm despite the cold nights in Botswana. Unfortunately, both generators died in the morning, and we were left without water for a hot shower. That put a bit of a damper in the high concept of the Skybeds. Breakfast was served on the dining deck before returning to the Hyena Pan lodge to collect our bags.

During breakfast we did see 4 of our good omens, the jackals, at the waterhole and were in high hopes for what we would see on our hourlong drive back to the main lodge. And we were not disappointed as a pack of Wild Dogs had arrived at the lodge and were playing around the waterhole.

Alas, it was finally time to collect our bags and take a short helicopter ride back to the airstrip to catch the last of our bush flights to Kasane. Somehow the lodge did not send a car to the airstrip as is custom and the helicopter pilot had someplace else to be. So, we found ourselves sitting at the lone airstrip hoping our flight would find us before those wild dogs. It eventually came and our pilot was quite surprised to find two tourists walking alone towards the plane.

All was well and 50 minutes later we arrived in Kasane and found our way to the Jackalberry Lodge, the last lodge of our trip. Again, we had a tent room overlooking the Chobe River with ensuite bathroom with a shower and bathtub. This one was even equipped with an AC for full luxury.

We spent the afternoon on barge doing a river cruise. The Chobe National Park is known for its huge herds of elephants, antelopes, buffaloes and giraffes. We saw all of those and lots of hippos and crocodiles to boot.

Day 9 – Chobe National Park

Today was the last early wake up of the trip, which also meant it was our last day of safari. We set off into the park along the river looking for the East Pride of lions. Our guide, Justice, found them soon enough. However, so did another 10+ vehicles. The days of private game viewing were sure gone but it was nice to see the lions.

A short while later after seeing herds of elephants and giraffes we had another encounter with some members of the East Pride. Two females with two cubs started to prowl a huge herd of buffalo with the cubs trying to stalk the animals. This is quite dangerous as buffalo can easily stomp them but the little ones had some attitude and were undisturbed. A short rush in which the adult lions helped later, the hunt was over. No kill, but the cubs were sure proud of themselves.

The afternoon game drive was a bit more pleasant in that there were a lot fewer vehicles around. Saw all the big herds I love to see in Chobe and for which we came here. This park never disappoints. One more interesting animal we got to observe was the Black heron. It hunts by standing in the water a creating a dome with its wings. The fish are then attracted to its yellow feet and it can feed of those fish. At the end of the day our driver started to drive with purpose rather than looking around for animals. The goal, as we found out, was the East Pride again, lounging out in the sun. At the end we got to enjoy one last gorgeous sunset in Botswana before heading to the lodge for dinner.

Day 10 – Chobe to Victoria Falls

After lots of early mornings, we got to sleep in a bit today and enjoy one last sunrise in Botswana. After a late breakfast we boarded the van to take us to the Zimbabwean border. Getting out of Botswana was fast, getting the visa on arrival in Zimbabwe was a bit slower. Patience is king. After an hour at the border and  50 mins on the road we got to our comfy hotel in Victoria Falls, the Nkosi Guest Lodge, and settled in for the day. A quick trip to the grocery store was about all we had in us. An excellent dinner did conclude the day although the realization that this vacation was nearing its end started to set in.

Day 11 – Victoria Falls

The last day of the trip and the last activity was going to the famous Victoria Falls themselves. The falls are an amazing sight. The amount of water is just awe-inspiring. It is not just the sight of it, the sound of all that water is quite something. Do listed to the video with sound on to enjoy it. The spray caused by the falls even creates its own little rainforest along the banks with some areas being an almost constant rainfall. That was, by the way, also a quite welcome respite from the heat of the day.

The falls get even better in the afternoon when the sun shines in the right direction to create breathtaking rainbows in the valley. It starts at about 1pm on the very western end of the falls. About an hour later the main falls have their own twin rainbows. I was looking forward to seeing this again and it did not disappoint. It was indescribably comforting to come back to a place one treasures and find it just as beautiful 11 years later as it was in my mind all along. We spent pretty much the whole day going back and forth to see the various sections of the falls, interrupted only to enjoy an ice cold Coke to cool down a bit. Finally, we ended back at our lodge for dinner.

Day 12(-ish) – Return Home

All good things come to an end and this vacation was sadly no exception. Unlike on the way in, Airlink did manage to check our bags all the way home. Unfortunately, the airport operator in Cape Town still needed to make life difficult by closing the international transfer desk. Everyone needed to pass immigration into South Africa just so we would go to the other side of the airport to go through immigration out of South Africa. At least we did not have to deal with the luggage. Though I have to admit that this annoyed me far more than it should have. Eventually we boarded our 11 hr flight to Heathrow and another 11 hr flight home. Overall, 25 hrs in the air with some 9 hrs in airports are tiring. The experience in Botswana made it all worth it, though.

Epiloge

This was my 4^th trip to Southern Africa and will most certainly not be my last. Experiencing the animals up close in this beautiful place is very special. Add to that the friendliness of the Botswanan people and you have all the makings of an incredible vacation. I was somewhat concerned that my previous memory was overly optimistic. However, after these 10 days I can clearly state that Botswana was actually much nicer than I remembered.

The luxury accommodations, amazing food and expert guides all made this even more special. This was not a cheap vacation, and I may try to find a bit of a compromise next time around. However, for anyone curious about an African Safari, this is the way to go. If you are only going to be here once, go all in. Although, be warned, it may well turn out to be just the first of many trips. Once you fall in love with Africa you will have to keep coming back.

The only word of caution is to make sure you have plenty of time in South Africa for your connections. Comair, which was a British Airways subsidiary that went away with the pandemic, was perfectly integrated into British Airways. That made for easy transfers. Airlink, although a fine regional airline on its own, is not quite as well integrated.

To close this report on a high note, after having our daily Gin & Tonics for sundowners (because that is what I always have on safaris), we have come to quite enjoy the local gin, Okavango Gin. It is actually made locally in the Delta and very tasty.