Hey guys! After what seemed like not a lot of travel (because I fell asleep for a lot of it) we arrived at the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, more specifically the Okavango Delta. Here’s where we are now
We didn’t take those plane routes but, it gives you a great idea of where we’re located in Africa and where the Delta is!
The delta is the most interesting place that we have visited on our trip! It’s so rich with animals and water. So you guys have a better idea of the delta’s importance, let me explain how the delta came to be why it is so important in this area of Africa. UNESCO designated this a heritage site so that this beautiful piece of geography can be preserved and protected for many generations to come. Long ago there was a tectonic shift that changed the physical landscape of the area. This shift caused the river that once carried water from the mountain rains to the ocean to become fractured and disconnected. The water that came from the mountain rains no longer had a path to travel to the ocean. This has led to what we now know as the Okavango delta, a vast expanse of shallow fanned out channels and swamps of water. The reason the delta is so critically important is because it’s about 6000-15000 square kilometers of water that lies within about 900,000 square kilometers of otherwise completely dry arid desert.
This is what the Kalahari Desert looks like, you can see that it is very dry and that the Okavango Delta provides much needed water for wildlife in the otherwise dry desert.
It is the only body of water that provides the wildlife with enough drinking water to survive. It rains for about 2 months (January and February) and the water spread for the next 4 months. It becomes most critical throughout the months from June to august when it is dry season in Botswana, and it is able to provide life-sustaining support to the wildlife that will come from many miles in any direction to reap its benefits. The cool part about the delta is that because it’s the only water around all the wildlife flock to it, which puts the tourists (ME!) at an advantage of seeing so many more animals! It’s such a unique experience to Botswana that brings in so many tourists every year to different camps. This is not only great for the tourists but it’s great for the local communities that have the tourism and it’s funds coming in because of camps hiring local guide who have great local knowledge about the delta and everything in it.
This was the view from the common sitting area at our camp. What a view!
Now that you have an idea of why it’s so important you can see how I could think it’s the best part of the trip! There were lots of chances for us to get our boots muddy and explore the delta, which was awesome! Looking at all the neat plants and bugs and of course all the different animals that were scattered over the part of the delta we visited. I ended up with a few soakers when we had the chance to get out of the boats and I thought I was stepping on solid ground, only to find out that it’s was not solid but a only a reed raft, whoops! I think I may have given some fish quite the fright.
The water lilies that we saw were so bright and smelled amazing (they’re my favorite flower so I was not complaining)! The chances of seeing the wildlife are great! We saw everything from hippos and crocodiles to zebras to flowers and lots of beautiful plants. The high instances of seeing wildlife have gone up even more because as of January 1st 2014 hunting has become illegal in all of Botswana. Some of the areas of the delta have fairly large patches of land that don’t flood (because the flood waters are fairly shallow) that a bunch of camps have been placed on for people to stay- ours is one of them and it’s incredible to be in the middle of all the wildlife and noises at night!
We did a half day today of exploring the delta today, and came back in time for a delicious lunch and an afternoon to relax in the shade of the umbrellas at the camp and enjoy watching the things that happen in the delta throughout the afternoon. Tomorrows another day of exploring the delta by boat but were going for the afternoon into the evening so we can see different things.
As always I’ll keep you posted friends!
Nat
References
http://www.wilderness-safaris.com/countries/botswana
Brian Troy- Owner of Leopard Adventures
get out and see it 