Day 2 at the Okovango Delta
March 30, 2010

We were woken up at 5:30am for a morning game drive.  After a quick breakfast we headed out in the game truck and while we saw the usual game (giraffe, elephant, impala, lechwe etc), we didn’t see much else except adding significantly to our bird list.  While looking at one particular bird and trying to identify it (we probably spent 15-20 minutes doing that), Michael suddenly pointed out the buffalo on the other side of the game vehicle!  We were so busy watching the bird that we didn’t even notice the buffalo for the first 10 minutes or so.

That afternoon we were taken for a trip in a Mokoro.  This is a traditional dug-out canoe which they use in the Delta.  It was traditionally made from the trunk of a sausage tree but the government stopped that about 10-15 years ago as it was resulting in too many trees being chopped down.  Now they are fibreglass only.  They are poled by a person standing at the back.  We were just told to sit like a bag of potatoes as they do not want you shifting your weight as they do the balancing with their feet.  It was a very peaceful and pleasant experience.  The kids went with Speedy and Helen and I were with Steve.  It was only a short ride (about 10-15 minutes) and then we spent the balance of the afternoon with another game ride.  At the end of the day we finished on around 80 birds.

It is probably worth saying that by the end of Day Two we had been bitten by mozzies all over.  Peaceful Sleep seems to attract mozzies in the delta rather than repel them.  That night Chloe got bitten 14 times on her hand, I have multiple bites around my shins (and so does Michael) and it seems that only Helen doesn’t get bitten much (we think it something to do with the sourness of her blood).  They even manage to bite right through our shirts – both Stephen and I have had bites through our shirts.  As there is always water nearby there are generally insects around so if you can’t take insects then the Delta is definitely not for you!

Michael didn’t sleep that well as he woke up at around 2am to munching outside his room.  He said it was so loud he was scared stiff (and I know the feeling from the previous evening).  He thought it was a hippo originally until we saw the elephant tracks on the path around their house and the large present he had left behind on the path as well.  Helen and I also heard the hippo splashing around in the water again that night.

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