2kiwis

October 31st – Day Thirty Seven

Another of the group had a birthday, Helen being 33 today. We had a morning game walk, much like the previous evenings except we saw more Elephant and nearly walked all the way back to the bus stop. We got to get quite close to a couple of little bee-eaters, smaller and less vibrant than their lilac breasted cousins. There was also a pair of warthogs that allowed us to get quite close, not seeming to mind us creeping closer and closer while they wandered about finding food. We also saw another herd of red lechwe that entertained us by running around us only to double back on themselves when they realised they were running somewhere they didn’t want to go. They looked almost a little sheepish as they slowed down and walked away, realising we weren’t following. The best part of the morning walk was the ten minute rest we all had, lying back on the ground and just relaxing before we headed back to camp.

Out for a morning walk

Warthog encounter

The little bee-eater

The morning brunch was varied and feed us all wonderfully. There was sausage, beans, toast, bread and omelette capped off by two happy birthday songs for Helen, one from the truck group and the other from the polers. The other group out walking had also seen a lot of elephant, in fact they counted 33 in one herd that passed then by at nearly spitting distance, it was a little scary being that close to such large animals apparently. Everyone was soon full and effort went into getting all the dishes done and then everything packed for our journey back to the bus stop. The packing took no time, I think everyone was keen to return to the base camp, and it wasn’t long before we were all relaxing in the Mokoro for the pole back along the waterways to our rendezvous point.

The trip was rather like the previous day only this time a lot hotter, it being later in the day. We got back hot and sweaty to find that there still wasn’t a key for the fridge and this bought on drastic action. A tool for filing was found and the lock hacked through so we could all have a cold drink. Unfortunately the fridge wasn’t very full so there weren’t many soft drinks to go around, a few of us having to settle for either beer or fruit ale. The wait was about an hour for Elton and the other boats to arrive, Elton had had problem with the truck in the morning so had been delayed. One of the boats arrived early and it was negotiated that a group would go back while the rest of us waited for the other two boats so we could load all of our gear and then also depart. This plan failed as those who stayed behind caught the boat that had left earlier finding it stuck in a narrow part of the channel with the engine flooded, so those onboard rather than getting back early had spent an extra twenty minutes in the sun with no shade and little water. The engine problems were soon sorted and we were on our way once more.

Making fire

We followed the first boat quite closely, our boat being the faster of the two. It was interesting watching the waves crash through and be absorbed by the bordering vegetation, at times we were so close that we would stall, the propeller being left out of the water as we travelled in the trough of the boat ahead. We also had to content with wildly bouncing reeds and grasses that had been disturbed by the first boat so we had a few more bumps and a lot more water thrown at us than on our first journey the day before. Despite the slower trip it wasn’t that long before we were back at the lagoon and then getting off the boat and onto the dry land of Makwena.

Waiting at the bus stop

The afternoon and evening was spent like many others with duties performed and drinks had at the bar. We also enjoyed our showers, it being nice to be clean for the first time in a few days. Will, Keryn and I decided to head off for a walk around the island so after a quick talk with Elton we got our cameras and headed away from the campsite into the centre of the island. We quickly came out of the wooded area of the campsite to find ourselves on an open plain, small clumps of palm and the odd tree breaking up the view to the horizon. Elton had told us we would cross two such areas and then come to a disused airstrip, at which we would find a raised area where we might be able to get a good sunset shot. SO we walked at a leisurely pace over the plain, keeping an eye out for any wildlife. We saw one lonely elephant in the distance, a couple of little bee-eaters, briefly a couple of bushbuck and then a small herd of red lechwe. The lechwe allowed us to get quite close, I guess they were more used to people than the other herds we had seen.

The sun coming down as we walked on Makwena

We walked for a little over an hour, taking a few photos by generally just enjoying be out and taking our time. On the journey back we found a few porcupine quills as we followed a path and also came across some dung beetles doing their thing. It was starting to get dark as we came back to the path out of the woods and we were soon back at the campsite where it was nearly dinner time.

Dinner was steak by special request and it was followed by a cake for the birthday girl. Helen had been talking with Elton and he had suggested a starlight trip out on to the lagoon so we could look at the stars so this was arranged for just after dishes had been completed. A few of us waited at the bar and then it was time to go, nine of us (Elton, Jacques, Helen, Rachel, Will, Steve, Keryn, Myself and the driver)onboard for a bit of star gazing, or so we thought.

I did wonder why we needed a large spotlight on board if we were to be looking at the stars. As we headed out Elton was to the bow of the boat with the spotlight in hand and he directed the person steering by waving the light in a given direction. We proceeded to move over the lagoon, crossing back and forth was Elton peered ahead. He would point out fish feeding near the surface, a lot of catfish and bream to be seen. As the night progressed we saw some huge catfish, a couple being well over a metre long. There were also fireflies about, little flashes of green travelling across the sky. We had one land of the back of the seat in front of us, it looking like a little indicator light as we glided through the lagoon. Then Elton became quite focused and he asked Jacques to join him at the front. We moved slowly forward with both men on hands and knees, Elton leaning over the edge to then lunge down and grab at something which turned out to be a crocodile, we saw it’s tail (probably a metre of tail) slipping under the water. At this point we realised that this was more of a croc catching exercise than a star gazing trip.

We continued around the lagoon and soon were approaching another target, the two eyes reflecting as pinpoints in the reeds ahead. Again Elton lunged but this time he didn’t have his hand in the water too long, we all saw the huge croc swim off, it’s head being quite large enough to scare us all, it was probably over two metres long and wider than any of us on the boat. Thankfully it didn’t seem bothered or tempted by those on the boat and we didn’t see it again.

We went down a channel and Elton soon spotted another crocodile in the reeds. The boat crept forward, Elton leaned over and then suddenly disappeared off the edge with an almighty splash! We were all looking around for what could only have been seconds but felt longer and then Elton was standing before us, feet it the water and reeds and a metre-and-a-half croc dangling from his clenched hands by it’s snout. Elton was yelling at Jacques “grab the tail! grab the tail!” but Jacques was having none of it, and I don’t blame him. The croc gave a twist of it’s body and Elton couldn’t hold it any longer, the animal disappearing to leave Elton standing dripping and angry in the reeds, swearing in Afrikaans while we all stared on dumfounded. Helen was soon yelling at Elton to get back into the boat, worried that there was a croc more than capable of a nasty injury swimming around nearby. Back on board Elton took a moment to brood while we all reflected on the recent events, the image of Elton appearing out of the water, croc hanging from his hands and yelling at Jacques will live with me for a long time to come. We had all thought this was a peaceful half hour cruise of star gazing so none of us had a camera, not that I need a photo to remember to moment.

With the adrenaline not running quite as fast Elton took off his sodden top and sat down to tell us a little bit about crocodiles, explaining that all of their power is in the tail which is why he had asked Jacques to assist by grabbing the scaly critter by it’s end. He talked a little as we set off and a half hour or so latter, after once more disappearing off the side of the boat, he managed to claim a prize, thankfully this one a lot smaller being a young croc of about half a metre in length. Elton held the croc and showed us the muscular tail, small feet and legs and sharp teeth. He explained that most of the muscles in the head are geared towards holding the mouth shut, there being only a half dozen or so whose purpose is to open the jaw. As such it is quite easy to keep the mouth shut with your hands, but quite another story to prise the jaws apart once they are locked onto something. While holding the mouth shut with his fingers and telling us about the powerful tail muscles the little guy flexed and was free in the bottom of the boat. You’ve never seen seven people more so fast in your life, we all moving as far away and as quickly as possible while Elton fished around to catch the croc without letting it use those razor sharp teeth. It was soon back in his hands and we were feeling the difference in texture between its belly and tail skin. Curiosity satisfied he let the croc go into the water and we watched it float and rest, tired after it’s attempts at escape. Rest complete it slipped into the darkness and we started heading back to the island.

We stopped for a time to look at the stars though by now there was a cover of wispy clouds so those stars we could see were blinking and diffused through the misty sky. Elton told us a few stories of when he used to be a game warden and then a tour leader – his spitting cobra story being rather memorable (but I’m keeping that one to myself, you’ll have to ask him about it yourself). It was only a short way back to the dock and we all made our way ashore a little dazed and disbelieving after our nearly three hour night adventure. To the sounds of crickets we walked back down the path to the camp site and opened our tent to fall into bed, a good nights sleep beckoning.

October 30th – Day Thirty Six

Sunrise over the reeds at Makwena

Guess what? It was an early start with us all ready by 7am to load everything onto the boats for a trip through the delta to the ‘bus stop’ where we would be meeting our Mokoro polers. Now getting very efficient a line was formed and all the gear loaded up in double quick time. We then set off, starting at a more sedate pace, heading back out into the lagoon. We had a brief stop near some hippos for a talk and then it was full speed down the narrow channels towards the bus stop site. The journey was again about an hour and involved a lot of ducking and dodging of vegetation. Every new turn would invariably find us watching another heron or egret flying out of the reeds and off down the channel in front of us. We passed farmed land at one point with locals tilling the cleared turf and waving as we went by. The level of the surrounding green eventually became lower and we came out into low reeds and shallow water around a dusty landing on a island which was the bus stop. It’s called the bus stop because it’s a place to wait for pickup, whether that be to a camp or like us heading out for a bush camp on an island. Being the dry season it was not very busy as the water level is low so we were the only group around other than the polers who would be joining us for the next day.

Chain gang for loading the boat

Mexican the young fish eagle

Once again we had an unload, closely followed by the gear being split and loaded onto all the Mokoro. The Mokoro is a traditional wooden canoe carved in one piece out of a tree such as the sausage tree. As a conservation method the boats are now made of fibreglass – the wooden boats only last around five years so a lot of native trees need to be felled to keep up with Mokoro building and repair. We were arranged in pairs sitting in the boat with one in front, one in the middle and the poler standing at the back. Everything loaded and people all seated each Mokoro set off being poled slowly along the shallow water flows of the Delta

All on the Mokoro

As we were poled along we saw more birds such as the open billed stork. At one point we were pushed into the reeds at the side of the water so we could stand and see a large colony of stork nesting to one side. The trip was very sedate, nothing to disturb us other than the quietly moving water and the breeze running through the reeds. After an hour or so, just as it was starting to get into the heat of the day, we arrived at an island and disembarked and then unloaded for the last time today. The night was to be spent in the bush, just us, the polers and our tents plus whatever wildlife would decide to pay a visit.

Arriving at the bush camp island

Everything was unloaded and we were shown to the area where we could set up our tents. Joe claimed a space to set up the kitchen, a couple of Mokoro were bought in and flipped for seating and we all found a space to call home for the day. After setting up and having lunch a lot of us suddenly came to a loose end – what would we be doing for the rest of the day. Keryn and I were certainly unprepared for an afternoon of leisure with no activities or access to the finer things in life. We settled for sleeping, resting, talking and playing a few basic games like throw the stick/stone/leaf into a mug and ‘who am I?’. It was nice to be away from everything, if a little disconcerting at first.

Bush Camp

The late afternoon saw us all prepare to go out on a nature walk, splitting into two groups and being guided out into the surrounding delta plains in search of the local flora and fauna. We set out over the drying plains, the water of the Delta having retreated to a few small ponds and the deepest of the waterways. The islands of the Delta were easily reached by walking over the flattened reeds and grasses. Everywhere we walked between raised land there were empty water snail shells, the snails having died as the water retreated. Our walk was much like other nature walks we had undertaken, we walked, spotted and identified tracks and dung, looked at some of the trees and other plants to be found and watched animals when we encountered them. We saw warthog, a few elephant, one large male quite close, plenty of birds including a new bee-eater – the little bee-eater with it’s green, yellow and black plumage, vervet monkeys and a herd of red lechwe that upon seeing us ran through one of the delta ponds making a great noise as they splashed and dashed away. It was walk of three hours and we were all tired when we got back to camp as the sun set. Dinner was welcome and most of us had an early nights depart to sleep.

A elephant sniffing us out while on the evening walk

October 29th – Day Thirty Five

We didn’t have to rise quite so early today as we weren’t due in Maun until 9am for our morning flight over the Okavango Delta. Leaving after 8am was a novelty, it was nice not to be rushing around for once. The drive into Maun was sedate and we made our way to the Maun airport where Charles dropped us all off so we could get our passes for the flight at the Delta Flight office. This flight was an optional extra though just about everyone was going along so we crowded into the office and paid our money. While waiting to pay we looked at the office notice board which had a number of interesting photos including a long fold-out poster of the Canterbury Crusaders Super 12 rugby team and a postcard picture of Milford Sound (Fjordland, New Zealand). Jacques explained that a lot of the Delta Flight pilots are actually from New Zealand and later on when talking to one of the Kiwi pilots we found out they come here to boost their flight hours, I guess in preparation for bigger and better things. There was also a friendly dog in the office and it very much enjoyed all the attention it got.

All paid we made our way into the airport, through the metal detectors and out onto the terminal tarmac where we were shown to our aircraft. Keryn and I were with Ann, Rachel and Dave in a little six seat Cessna, the sixth seat of course being taken by our young kiwi pilot. We were given a quick safety rundown (basically don’t open the windows and if required the first aid kit is in the back) and were then soon taxiing to take our position on the runway. The pilot gave us a throw-away comment of “Does anyone get airsick?” to which we all replied either no or not so far, there did seem to be an over abundance of sick bags on the back of each seat but we all thought nothing more of it. We were the second plane to leave, there being three in total, and we were shortly hurtling down the runway before gradually lifting into the air and we were off to see the Delta.

Scenic flight over the Okavango Delta

Buffalo on the move

The flight was quite entertaining with our altitude never being more than a few hundred metres off of the ground. It was a bumpy flight, the little aircraft feeling every change in pressure as we passed through the air. It was all a little cramped inside so every time we banked and turned we were moving into the person beside us or the wall of the plane. All of this combined to make taking photos very difficult which was a pity as there were some amazing sights below us. We spent about an hour in the air banking sharply every time there was a feature below so we could look straight down through the aircraft windows. We saw all sorts of different animals with elephant and giraffe being the most obvious from the air. At one point we flew past a huge herd of buffalo and the snaking lines of animals gave some impression of what it must be like to see the wildebeest migration, large numbers of animals looking like ants across the plains and woods below.

Wildlife around a delta tree

About half way through the flight Keryn started feeling quite ill and she spent most of the return flight with eyes shut and hands around a sick bag. A few others were feeling a little bit unwell, I felt quite fine but I think my single-mindedness precludes any time for mundane things like upset stomachs. We made it back without any physical manifestations of illness other than a hard sweat upon Keryn’s brow. We landed and got out (all covered in sweat, it was very humid in the plane) to greet those from the other aircraft. Keryn was happy to find out that she wasn’t the only one who had fell ill, in fact a few people had unfortunately thrown up, so it hadn’t been the best flight for everyone. Most who weren’t ill did seem to be happy with their hour over the Delta, I certainly enjoyed it. Charles was waiting with the truck to pick us up so we all slowly made our way out of the airport and to our seats for a short drive into the centre of Maun.

For a couple of hours we shopped, used the Internet of just generally mucked around while the shopping was completed for the truck by Jacques, Joe and Helen. We had a subbed lunch at Nandos (miles better than the last Nandos we had had) and then set out from Maun heading towards Etsha 6 on the edge of the Delta.

Our plane and pilot

The drive was going along quite normally when there was a loud bang off the back left hand side of the truck and Charles quickly stopped on the road as there was no place to pull off. Inspection revealed a tire had blown in quite spectacular fashion with little bits of rubber leading about one hundred metres down the road to where the complete outside tred of the wheel was to be found in a heaped pile. Thankfully there are two tires on each back wheel so blowing one means that we don’t lose control. Helen set off to remove the rubber from the road and I followed along to help (and to take a few photos). Back at the truck we learnt that while we had been flying Charles had been removing one of the other tires on the truck as it was showing stress marks which could mean an imminent blow-out and as the truck only carries two spare tyres we would now be without any spares once the current blow-out was replaced. The truck was jacked up and the tattered tire removed and the replacement fitted and it wasn’t long before we were on our way once more. It was organised with Jeremy for us to pick up another tire on our way from the Delta, what chance there would be another blow-out beforehand? Not much I’d have guessed.

Blowout

It was without incident that we made our way to arrive as the town of Etsha 6. We all got out and prepared our gear for the next three nights in the Delta with our travel to be undertaken on a large four-wheel drive vehicle and boats. Because of the travel over water all the sleeping mats were covered in black rubbish sacks and they were to stay covered and taped up for the duration of our Delta stay. We were also given more rubbish sacks to put our bags in so they would also stay dry. Once everything was bagged up it was all placed on a tarpaulin and we waited for our transport to arrive.

All the gear packed in black rubbish sacks

There was the sound of a heavy vehicle approaching and then we saw it, a large, somewhat battered looking flat-bed truck with a very high road clearance and big chunky tyres. It was being driven by a man whose name was Elton and he was to run the show for our travel to and from our Delta base camp on the island of Makwena. The bags and mats were all loaded wither onto the truck or a pickup truck which had also arrived and then we all followed to sit on the bench seats fitted to the flatbed. Everything ready we waved goodbye to Charles and Jacques and set off. We were a bit confused as to why Jacques was waving us goodbye as we had assumed he would be travelling with us. It soon turned out that he had assumed he would be coming as well but there was no space for him in either vehicle – Elton had to send the pickup back and get the guy in the passenger seat to join us on the flatbed so there was room.

All on the truck to head into the delta

We drove slowly through dry and sandy pans which in the wetter season are submerged by water. The sand was quite thick in places and the truck proceeded at a snails pace as the tyres struggled for a proper grip. There were also a few spots when passing trees where people had to duck to avoid branches and spiky protrusions. It was about an hour before we had a quick stop to look at a breeding area for Southern Carmine Bee-Eaters (which have previously been called Common Bee-Eaters in this log but I’ve since discovered that was a misheard mistake). It was only ten minutes or so on from the Bee-Eaters that we reached our next destination, the edge of the waterways of the Delta.

We climbed down and were then formed into a line so we could unload all the gear onto a boat pulled up on the bank below us. Everything was quickly if not so efficiently moved from one vehicle to the other and once down we were split into another two boats and were on our way into the narrow ways of the Delta heading for Makwena. The water was lined with a mixture of long grasses, reeds and bamboo and we were zipped past at quite a speed, it was like a jet boat ride through a canyon with the rock replaced by greenery. We hadn’t been expecting such a thrilling ride and I think we all came out of the travelling stupor we had been in by the time we emerged from the narrow path into a wide lagoon. From the lagoon we entered another not so narrow waterway and were soon approaching an island that was Makwena, lodges visible through the shoreline vegetation.

Zipping through the delta

Slowing down I noticed something in the water and I raised my voice to ask “Is that a snake?”. Our driver turned the boat around and got close to the animal which did turn out to be a small water snake. We had a look and then Elton turned the other boat around and then scared everyone silly by attempting to pick the snake out of the water. With our drivers help he managed to pick the snake up and then prove one handed to the dock where we all got out, one boats passengers getting out rather a lot faster than the others. We all had a not so close look at the snake, Elton assuring us that it couldn’t really bite us as it was so small, if it attempted to do so it’d be like a head butt more than a bite as the mouth couldn’t open wide enough to get the teeth into skin. Even if it did bite it only had a mild neurotoxin which wouldn’t be much more than an irritation to a human. Even so we all kept our distance.

There was further wildlife to be found on the shore, a Darter nesting in a tree by the dock and a young fish eagle perched opposite the boats as we came in. The eagle was called Mexican (or at least that is the word Elton used when calling it) and had been hand reared after being thrown out of the nest at a very young age. We were warned not to get too close as he has a nasty bite but it was very easy to get photos and watch this magnificent animal. There was also a python in a meshed off area by the bar but I never actually saw it – it being very good at hiding.

We were all asked to sit in the bar and Elton gave us a quick run-down on the bar (a tab system) and the island. There was a lot of wildlife on and around the island that we could see if we were to walk around and we were assured that if they were left well alone they would leave us well alone. We then all had a drink and set off to set up our tents in an open area a few minutes walk down the island from the bar. The campsite was again dusty but there were large trees above us shading the site from the sun and as we were the only camping group present we were able to spread out. The ablution block was small with only two rooms, each with a shower and toilet, but it was nicely set up with each room looking rather like an en-suite rather than a camp toilet and shower.

So we set up tents, repacked gear, visited the bar and helped with making dinner. Steve would like me to mention that he performed a successful jump shot while playing pool in the bar with Will. The evening was very pleasant, as was dinner, and even though it had been a very eventful day we wee all quite relaxed. After dinner there was talking, drinks at the bar, a bit of star gazing and then it was off for a good nights sleep.

Base camp evening fire