Aug 29 – Camp Okavango, Okavango Delta, Botswana

We headed out in time for a sunrise...

and a short boat safari, only about an hour and a half.  Then we had breakfast and were out of the room by mid-morning for our drive back to the Kasana airport where we caught a bush plane to our next camp…Camp Okavango on the Okavango Delta.  The Okavango Delta is the largest inland delta in the world.  The river (that goes by many names as it flows from Angola to Botswana) is called the Okavango in Botswana.  The river dumps out onto a vast, flat plain where it wanders and wanders until the waters evaporate, ending its journey.

Great views of the delta from the plane.

The airplane landed on a dirt and grass airstrip...

with a ground operation that you would expect from any airport.  A ground crew with jet bridge (stairs to more easily get out of these small planes).

Ground Crew

Arrivals lounge (a bench labeled "Arrivals")

a terminal (lovely arch with the name of the camp)

a luggage belt (table)

and a departures lounge (small three sided shelter with benches)

It was about a five-minute walk to the Camp.  We had a lovely welcome as many of the staff assembled to sing a welcome song.  The harmonies were beautiful.

After a late lunch we joined our guide, Taps, for our first boat safari through the delta. 

One of the things that caught all our eyes were the large numbers of waterlilies.  And the waters were so calm it was like they were suspended above mirrors. 

These are a special type of water plants called White Water Pistols.  There were a lot of them in large groups.

A water bug.

Sunset.

That evening we had a reservation for sleeping under the stars.  The outdoor bed is on a high, raised platform with a massive mosquito net tent over the bed.  The platform also had a basic bathroom (toilet and sink only).  We also had a couple of visitors the managed to sneak inside of the mosquito netting. 

The stars were glorious as it was a clear night with no moon and minimal light from the camp (that was about a 10-minute drive away).  The guide slept in a nearby tent in case there were any problems.