Paradise: Okavango Delta

From Namibia, we were off to one of my favorite places I've ever traveled to... The Okavango Delta, Botswana. We landed in Maun, where we had to clear international customs and then transfer to our domestic flight. Maun is the gateway to the Okavango. All bush planes leave from here and depart to various camps around the Delta. While we stayed at our beloved Duba Plains camp, we were informed that the runway (made of dirt) was undergoing maintenance. As a result, we had to take a 35 minute flight to Vumbura camp. We were pleasantly surprised to see we had a female pilot... One of only five in Botswana!

Flying over the Okavango Delta from Maun.

From there, we hopped on helicopters to take a 5 minute helicopter flight to Duba Plains.

After landing at Vumbura, we hopped on helicopters. 

Up, up and away!

Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa and has a landscape defined by the Kalahari Desert and the Okavango Delta which becomes lush during the seasonal floods. It is home to some of the world's most endangered species of large mammal, but the Okavango Delta is in desperate need of protection. The water originates in Angola to the north but with human development (water diversion, population density and commerce), less and less water actually reaches the Okavango Delta each year. Without the water, there are no animals. There will be no tourism. It will be a dry wasteland. If we can't find alternative methods that benefit locals and protect the Okavango Delta in the process, this amazing place will be reduced to nothing. Even just since my last visit one year ago, I saw a huge difference in the amount of water when we were flying over the Delta. Areas that should be wet are dry, and animals are gathering at the last remaining areas that still have water. Others have been getting stuck in mud. If rains don't come soon, the entire ecosystem will be in danger.

Soaring over the Okavango Delta on the way to Duba Plains. This year is very dry.

As the helicopter descended into the Duba concession, we caught glimpse of our longtime friend KB. We met KB on our first trip to Botswana in January 2018, seeing him again in Botswana just a few months later that July... on my birthday of all days. Thanks to Facebook, we've stayed in touch and talk almost everyday. He updates me on life in the "office", keeping me informed of all the great sightings and photography opportunities he's had. Since he is passionate about photography as well, we always have so much fun together. After some big bear hugs, my mom and I hopped into KB's land cruiser and headed toward camp.

Upon landing, we were picked up by our friend KB. 

Rounding the corner, driving through sage that smells heavenly, I knew we were home. In front of us, we saw the main tent where we gather for meals in the library or wine cellar. To the left is our beloved tent 5 (not pictured) which we stay in every time!

Driving into camp, our second home.

Set up on the main deck.

After a quick briefing, we headed to our tent for a few short minutes to change clothes and grab camera gear before setting off on our first game drive. As we drove through the sage once more, we turned to the right and drove across our favorite bridges, perched over the waterway by camp.

Driving over the bridge to reach the concession.

We rounded the lefthand corner after a few short minutes and immediately came across kudu, my mom's favorite antelope species. There are two species of spiral-horned antelopes, the greater kudu (typically found in southern African wildlife reserves) and the svelte lesser kudu (found in the lowland thornbush of northeast and east Africa). The greater kudu is the second tallest antelope (after the eland) with males standing at 51-59 inches tall and weighing 567 pounds and females standing at 47 inches tall and weighing 370 pounds. 

Kudus approach our vehicle.

Kudus' coloring varies from reddish brown to blue-gray with white stripes (an adaptation for concealment). Kudus occasionally form transitory herds of up to 25, but the typical group consists of 2-3 females.

A group of kudu leisurely walk past us.

On the ground, KB spotted two African hoopoe's. These birds are usually found by themselves or in pairs. In this instance, we saw a mother feeding her chick. Hoopoes are distributed throughout southern Africa and dart around at ground level collecting insects using their sharp bills to turn over fallen leaves and probe the ground.

A mother African hoopoe feeds its baby.

In the same area, we came across some Egyptian geese swimming and an African open billed stork searching for food. African open billed storks typically feed on large, aquatic snails and their bill functions as a tool to extract the mollusk from the shell. These birds are mainly found in freshwater wetlands like marshes, swamps, rivers, rice fields and flooded plains.

An African open billed stork searches for food.

As we continued on our drive, we came across dozens of banded mongoose running towards a den site. Their dark bands found between the mid-back and base of the tail are a distinguishing feature of this mongoose species. They're about 12-18 inches long with a 6-12 inch tail. They're small, weighing 3-5 1/2 pounds on average. Banded mongoose are found south of the Sahara except for the Congo and southwestern Africa. While small, these little guys have a large range and can travel more than 5 miles a day staying in one den for a few days at a time (a week at most). Anytime we tried to get closer, the mongoose darted off and stopped to stare at us... I've never seen such tiny creatures run so fast! Looking off into the distance, all you could make out was little bundles of fur hot tailing it to the right.

Banded mongoose run toward their den.

After some time attempting to photograph the mongoose we headed off in search of the lions, finding a crocodile on the banks of the water along the way.

A crocodile basks in the sun. 

We then crossed the water channel where the crocodile was resting to get to another area of the concession.

Driving through the swamp. Sometimes the water is so deep that it comes into the safari car.

Now, our eyes were peeled. At any moment, we could stumble across a lion. Many people don't realize how endangered lions are. We often hear about elephant and rhino conservation, but not about the conservation of some other iconic species. Some predict lion populations will be extinct by 2020, and lions are already extinct in 7 African countries. They've lost more than 80% of their historic habitat. Lion populations are down to about 20,000 from 200,000 in 1970 and what is believed to be more than 500,000 in the 1940's. It is one of the fastest species declines known to man. Every time I see a lion, my breath is taken away. How could these beautiful, powerful creatures be going extinct and we're not hearing more about it? Maybe that's why I'm so passionate about photographing lions. Maybe it's because Botswana is one of the lion's most important strongholds, holding roughly 3,000 lions (about 10% of Africa's lion population). Maybe it's a mix of both. It certainly takes a lot of patience to photograph them... lions can sleep 21 hours a day!

After a bit of searching, KB located the two adolescent males. Thankfully, they were awake. Not doing much, but awake. I'll take it!

An adolescent male checks out our vehicle.

After checking us out, one of the brothers climbed up a termite mound and headed towards the water. By now, the sun was starting to set. We were crossing our fingers he'd go get a drink at sunset with the magical golden hour light.

We thought the lions were on the move, but he didn't get very far before plopping back down!

He walked down the termite mound towards his brother. We followed him...

Our vehicle and the lions for perspective. 

...And he plopped down next to his brother.

As flies surround the boys, one uses its paw to cover its face.

As the sun set, he finally got up and headed to the water's edge for a drink. We eagerly followed.

Grabbing a drink at sunset.

After a few short minutes, he walked back to his brother and plopped down once more.

Swatting away flies.

These two boys are pretty cuddly...

These boys love to cuddle.

...Clearly not much has changed since we last saw them as cubs one year ago!! (Photo below was taken by me in July 2018 of the two). 

Not much has changed since we last saw them as cubs one year ago!

As the last light of the day was rapidly approaching, it didn't seem like these two guys were moving any time soon.

Sleeping once more... shocker.

KB thought one of the males would get up for a drink, so he positioned the car facing towards the setting sun and the water. I waited, camera ready.

Photographing lions at sunset.

I swear KB is an animal whisperer. As if on cue, one of the males got up for a drink. 

Grabbing a drink at sunset. 

After drinking a bit, he walked back towards his brother and plopped back down. We stayed, continuing to admire the sunset as the sky turned shades of orange (due to the dust and fires in the area).

The sun sets in the Okavango Delta.

The last of the sunset.

After the sun had fully set, the sky turned shades of pink and purple... gorgeous twilight coloring caused by the refraction and scattering of the sun's rays from the atmosphere. We waited with the lions as they lazily got up. We hoped they'd perch themselves on top of a termite mound and we yearned for some silhouette shots against the soft, glowing light. Instead, they walked right over it.

Walking past termite mounds after the sun set.

As we headed back to camp, the last light faded and it was time to break out the spotlight to look for animals on the way back.

Driving back to camp in the dark, KB uses a light to search for animals.

It seems the boys were following us... they walked in the water alongside our car and we followed them a bit as they covered ground quickly and efficiently. 

One of the males walking in the water... of course not looking though!

Now getting hungry (even with our snack boxes of olives, vegetables and more), we left the lions and started looking for other critters. I was hoping we'd find owls perched in trees. Though we didn't, we saw an owl flying close to camp. It happened too quickly to photograph, but it was a beautiful experience. We came across some kudu and, right by camp, a large herd of elephants.

Driving back to camp.

Back at camp, we had our dinner in the library with KB... One of our traditions anytime we visit. 

Our dinner setup.

Some of the best beef I've ever had has been in Botswana and tonight was no different. I had remembered back in July that this same chef cooked filet mignon perfectly and when I saw that was one of the dinner choices, I knew I had to get it. I was not disappointed! 

This chef cooks beef perfectly! 

Dessert on this night was also perfect. We had a poppyseed mousse topped with raspberry sorbet. 

A poppyseed dessert.

After eating, quickly downloading photos from the day, dusting off camera gear, and plugging in batteries to charge, I headed off to bed. By now, it was past 10pm and our wake up call was 5:30am. As I fell asleep, I heard the lions roaring. I quickly messaged KB to tell him. In the middle of the night, I could hear twigs snapping—likely the elephants near our camp that we had seen on our way back. At 5:30am, KB called out "good morning" and handed me the tray with hot coffee and cookies... the perfect wake up call in my book! Many camps in Africa do this, but Duba has the best coffee and I can guarantee if you ever go there, you'll eat way too many cookies way too early in the morning! 

Getting woken up with coffee and cookies is the best way to get woken up!

Because you're in the middle of the bush, you aren't allowed to walk without a guide when it's dark. That rule applies both at night and in the morning, so KB came to our tent to walk us to where the safari car was waiting. As usual, we were the first ones out for the day. 

We are always the first ones out in the early morning.

We bundled up in wind resistant ponchos lined with a fleece blanket as this morning was particularly windy and cold. We drove off across the bridge in search of a nice place to watch the sunrise. 

Waiting for the sunrise.

We watched the sun as it rose over one of the waterways, hoping an animal would come walking across. No animals came, so I improvised. My mom became my model.

Mom waiting for the sunrise.

As the sky lit up in hues of orange, we set off to try to find animals in the golden hour.

Sunrise in the Okavango.

Almost immediately, we came across fresh lion tracks in the dirt... These belonged to a large male.

Lion tracks in the early morning.

We followed the lion tracks, stopping to observe a mother elephant with her calf. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were a few million African elephants, but today there are around 450,000-700,000 making them an endangered species. Botswana has more elephants within its borders than any other country on earth. When I see calves such as this one, it gives me hope.

While observing the mother elephant with her calf, I had no idea that a lioness was just to our right.

I was so busy oohing and aahing over the precious calf that I had no idea something was lurking to my right... a lioness.

A lioness takes a snooze near the elephants.

We circled around the bushes to see if there were more lions nearby. There was one more sleeping. As these lions weren't doing much, we determined we'd head off to try to find the big males. On the way, we stopped to observe a yellow billed stork. Watching them fish is fascinating. They use one foot to stir up the water to flush out prey. These storks don't socialize much and are usually found isolated in swamps, muddy rivers and marshes. 

A yellow billed stork fishes for food.

After a bit of searching, we came across the two large male lions. We had been driving in circles. KB knew we were close to the lions as the tracks were zigzagging all over the place, but the three of us combined could not find the lions. It turns out we had passed them—they were perfectly camouflaged in the long, dry grass. 

A large male in a pile of dry grass.

These boys were the definition of lazy. One groomed himself a bit...

A male lion grooms himself.

...Yawned a lot... And then went back to sleep.

Big boy yawn!

KB was pretty confident these boys were moving eventually... It was just a matter of when. We decided to stick it out a bit as all the other cars came and left. We waited, bundled up head to toe as the wind raged around us, cold air whipping our faces.

When it's windy and you're not moving, it gets cold quickly. 

We decided we didn't want to leave to go to the picnic breakfast site. Last time, the second we turned the car around the lions woke up. We were hoping the same thing would happen this time, only we were staying next to the lions the entire time. KB hopped out of the driver seat and into the back, unpacking the best bush breakfast lunch you'll ever have. 

While waiting for the lions to move, we had our picnic breakfast in the car.

We ate our bush breakfast right next to the lions, hoping they'd move. 

Bush breakfast... the best there is!

One lion looked up and started yawning a lot, usually a good sign. But nope... He went back to sleep. 

Just when we thought he'd move, he went back to sleep.

We spent the majority of the morning birding. We came across a carmine bee eater sitting on the ground.

A carmine bee eater sits in the grass.

KB said "get ready because the bird is going to fly"... "NOW". 

Take off!

And the bird flew. We also came across two warthogs fighting, something I had never witnessed in my nine trips to Africa.

Two warthogs fighting.

We saw lechwe leaping over the water...

A lechwe leaps over the remaining water.

Lilac breasted rollers resting on twigs...

A lilac breasted roller sits on some flowers.

...Which KB said would fly...

A lilac breasted roller takes flight.

...And they did. We came across a huge herd of lechwe...

A group of lechwe check out their surroundings.

Bee eaters... 

A gorgeous bee eater sits on a branch.

...And warthogs that always seem to run the opposite direction with their tails up.

Warthogs running the opposite direction... typical.

We observed a carmine bee eater searching (successfully) for insects to eat...

A carmine bee eater lands back on the termite mound with an insect in its mouth.

An African fish eagle that KB said would fly...

An African fish eagle sits on a termite mound.

Which, of course it did! 

An African fish eagle flies off.

And another carmine bee eater perched on the ground, waiting to gather insects that our vehicle kicks up as we drive along. 

Carmine bee eater resting on the ground. These birds often follow vehicles as vehicles kick up insects for them to eat.

Shortly after, we stumbled across gorgeous male kudus with stunning curly, corkscrew horns. Male kudus have a beard and possess the longest horns of any antelope. Their horns take six years of growth to complete two full turns. When we came across these boys, they were eating. Kudus are cover-dependent browsers and feed on various trees, shrubs, herbs, and more. 

A kudu nibbles on some bushes.

As we headed off in the direction of camp, we came across another yellow billed stork (this time in flight)...

Yellow billed stork in flight.

Some baboons eating along and in the water...

A baboon walks through the shallow water.

...With other baboons basking in the sun along the water's edge.

A baboon basks in the sun.

We went to check back on the two male lions one last time, noticing one had perched himself on top of a termite mound in the shade. We took this as a good sign, thinking the males would move in the afternoon. We continued on.

Prior to lunch, we went back to see if the male lions had moved. One had moved to the shade, but was still resting.

Shortly before reaching camp, we came across some elephants crossing the water. 

An elephant walks through the water.

Elephants are the world's largest terrestrial mammal. There are two recognized subspecies of African elephants (savannah and forest). Savannah elephants are larger with their tusks curved out while forest elephants are darker and have tusks that are straighter and point downward. These large herbivores weigh 4,000 to 14,000 pounds and can eat up to 300 pounds of food and drink 30-50 gallons of water in one day. As we neared camp, we came across a lone bull kicking up dirt.

A lone elephant kicks up dirt. 

A lone elephant covers itself in dust.

After a quick siesta at camp in the heat of the day (spent downloading images for at least an hour), we headed back out. Near camp, we came across a large herd of buffalo with many babies. 

A young buffalo munches on grass, following the herd.

Just driving along, you'd think you were driving among cattle from the noises buffalo make. In fact, Cape buffalo are the only members of the buffalo and cattle tribe. When fully grown, the Cape buffalo only stands about 51-59 inches tall but can weigh up to 1,910 pounds. Bulls are about 220 pounds heavier than cows and their horns are thicker and wider. 

Buffalo walking through the water.

Among the buffalo, we saw a saddle-billed stork. At five feet tall when stretched out, the saddle-billed stork is the tallest stork in the world. These birds are territorial and live either on their own or in pairs. Males have black eyes and are larger than females which have yellow eyes. They occupy open spaces along wetlands for easy access to a food source (feeding on fish, crabs, and frogs in the water). They're distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa and its range extends from Sudan and Ethiopia to South Africa, including some West African countries as well. 

A saddle-billed stork sits among the buffalo.

Driving through the buffalo herd was a bit unnerving, as Cape buffalo can be extremely dangerous and can charge at an average of 31 miles per hour.

Driving through the buffalo herd.

We came across a male warthog shortly afterwards. Warthogs have longer legs than other swine and can reach speeds of up to 34 miles per hour to escape predators like lions, cheetahs, leopards, wild dogs, and hyenas. 

A lone warthog from the front... a rarity. 

We drove back towards the male lions, who were (surprise) still sleeping. We drove toward a larger and deeper water channel, observing Egyptian geese. 

Egyptian geese waddle out into the water.

We also came across hippos charging into the water from shore. Hippos are the third largest living land mammals (after elephants and white rhinos) standing at about 13 feet long and 5 feet tall. They often weigh an average of 55 pounds when born with a grown weight of up to 7,000 pounds. Did you know hundreds of hippos are shot each year to "minimize" human/wildlife conflict though ditches and low fences easily deter hippos from local communities? The sad reality is hippo meat is very popular in addition to valuable ivory teeth and hippo fat.

A hippo charges into deeper water.

After spending some time by the water, we drove back to the males who were still sound asleep. One woke up and yawned... A lot. 

Lion yawn!

The end of his yawn.

The male plopped back down, rolling belly up and yawning some more.

The definition of lazy...

When he finally stood up to stretch, we thought "this is it! Camera's ready!"

When he stretched, we got exciting thinking he'd cross the water at sunset. Instead, he moved a few inches and sat back down.

...Nope. Back down. I grabbed the popcorn, chicken tenders, and cookies from our snack box and started munching (camera still ready) as the big boys happily snoozed on. Below, you can see how close we were to these guys in our open safari vehicle.

Waiting for the lions to move. Spoiler alert: they didn't.

We waited, and waited, and waited. I turned around to watch as the sun went down and shot the below picture in the twilight after the sun had set below the horizon.

After the sun went down, the sky turned shades of pink.

Bugs were now swarming around us. Confident these boys were not moving, we set off toward camp where we had a lovely dinner with KB in the wine cellar. In the morning, we didn't go out on a game drive. Unfortunately with the flying schedule, we were told we didn't have time. To get to better game viewing areas where the lions and larger animals are, you have to drive quite awhile. We reluctantly decided to spend our morning at leisure. We didn't have an early wake up call today. Instead, we woke up to the sunrise from our tent still complete with coffee and cookies thanks to KB!

Morning coffee with a view.

We exited the large, wooden doors to our tent one last time...

Exiting the tent one last time.

... Ate a quick breakfast, and took our traditional photo with KB in the driveway. Every time we visit, we take a photo with KB in the same location. 

It's become tradition to take a photo with KB in the same location after every visit!

KB drove us to the airstrip where we had to wait for the helicopters... they were late. We drove off into the distance, waiting for the helicopters so we'd avoid the dust. We saw a lone bull elephant strolling past the airstrip before hearing the steady rhythm of the helicopter rotor blades. As the helicopter landed, KB drove closer. After lots of hugs and after saying "see you later" (because it's never our last time in Botswana) we piled into the helicopter once more. 

Back on the helicopter...

As we prepared to take off, the guides, chef and camp manager repositioned the vehicles to wave us off.

Ready for takeoff.

Leaving the Okavango Delta breaks my heart. Our time here was too short. I could spend months here and it still wouldn't be enough time. There's always something new to see, something new to learn, and something new to experience. As the staff waved to us as we soared toward Vumbura, I got teary eyed. I've grown to consider the Okavango Delta a second home. 

The staff waved as we left.

A short five minutes later, we neared the airstrip at Vumbura where some very bold animals were grazing on the airstrip. 

A group of impala run away from the landing strip as the helicopter descends.

We transferred to our charter flight, where we had another female pilot... Now two out of the five in Botswana! As we soared back towards Maun, my heart already yearned to return to this beautiful wilderness. 

Charter flight from Vumbura to Maun.

Not many people get to travel to Africa as frequently as I have. Over the years, it has become a second home for me, but more recently I have fallen in love with Botswana. I’ll miss the wind blowing through my hair in the early morning as we bounce along the wooden bridge suspended over the water… I'll miss the thrill of searching for animals, tracking their footprints... I'll miss the incredible bird life of the Okavango Delta... I'll miss the sounds of frogs and crickets as we head back to camp in the evenings... I'll miss the sounds of lions roaring as I fall asleep... I'll miss waking up to the African sunrises... Africa is a magical place that's impossible to describe. To quote Richard Mullin, "The only man I envy is the one who has not yet been to Africa for he has so much to look forward to." Until next time, Botswana.


Thanks for reading about my African adventures… Stay tuned for what’s to come and be sure to hit the subscribe button to be notified of new posts! As always, follow my Instagram @elissatitle for more pics.