Day 1:

My trip started very early on Thursday morning, as our 25 person group flew to Johannesburg. Upon arrival, we were greeted by our driver (Arnold) and chef (Albert) for the week as well as our large overland truck that became our home away from home. It wasn’t long before we had set out towards the Botswanan border, hoping to cross and reach our first campsite before nightfall.

My first foreign border-crossing went smoothly, although of course it was quite the experiencee. In the past, the only time I have crossed a border on foot/car was between Canada and the States. It’s taken very seriously, sometimes cars are searched for hours.

However, as one would expect, the borders between African countries are different. Vehicles are rarely checked. I got my passport stamped by a man at the S’African border…walked a few hundred meters…and got it stamped by a man at the Botswana border. No questions, rarely any talking. It honestly seemed like it was just a tedious, administrative process rather than a matter of national security.

After about 5 hours of driving we arrived at our first campsite. We had all been told to bring a sleeping bag, and that we’d be sleeping in tents for the week at local campsites. When I heard this, I pictured very bare sites…basically large patches of dirt to pitch a tent. No running water. No security. I had braced myself for the worst.

Boy was I pleasantly surprised. We pulled into our first campite, through a 10 foot gate, surveyed by 3 security guards. The campsite we were assigned to had a lovely campfire pit, and was located near 4 beautiful outdoor showers, sinks, toilets, etc. All having running water, and even hot water for the showers. To be honest, the bathroom situation at every campsite we stayed at was nicer than that at my flat. I was excited.

In addition, I was expecting food to be very basic…cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, pasta for dinner. Again, SO pleasantly surprised. Our first night’s dinner consisted of red meat, porage, sweet potatoes, a salad, gravy, and a chocolate for dessert. Who knew all of that could be made on 2 burners attached to the side of our truck.

The tradition of beautiful campsites and delicious food continued for the next 10 days.

Day 2:

The second day of our trip was a day of traveling, where we basically drove the entire length of Botswana to arrive at our campsite just outside the Okavango delta. We stopped in a Botswanan town, called Maun, to buy water and snacks along the way, but it was entirely uneventful. That night we had a briefing about our trip in the Delta and went to bed.

Day 3-5:

If you have ever seen the TV series “Plant Earth” there is a section featuring the Okavango Delta. It is located in the North-Western corner of Botswana and has been labeled the last untouched piece of wilderness in the world. Not only is it nearly inaccessible to humans, but is known to be home to hundreds of kinds of wildlife. More importantly, the animals who live in the delta have been protected from large amounts of human interaction, so their lifestyles and actions are as native and wild as it comes.

This is where I spent 3 days.

On Day 3 we awoke very early, and loaded our limited gear onto an open-back safari truck that would take us to the closest bank of the delta. Now there are 3 transportation options to reach the middle of the delta: Motor boat, ferry, or mokoro. A mokoro is a hollowed out wooden boat that is carved from the trunk of a sausage tree. It looks very similar to a gondola, with a poller on the back to move smoothly through the water, however it is much shallower, with the edge of the boat gliding just inches above the surface of the water.

We were split into pairs, one pair per boat, and taken in to the island that would be our home for the next 2 days. It was about a 3 hour mokoro ride, in the hot Botwanan sun. In addition, although you are surrounded by water, you are warned not to dip a hand or toe into it in case a hungry crocodile may be swimming nearby. I spent the 3 hours taking pictures of my groupmates, sleeping, and trying to get a tan. All the while trying not to tip the mokoro.

None of that seems to matter when you are yards away from a giraffe trying to protect its young. As I mentioned before, the animals on the delta have experienced little to none human interaction…therefore they are afraid of us, and are willing to do what it takes to protect themselves and their herd.

Luckily, we kept a good distance away…however, just being in the presence of such magnificent animals offers an alternative perspective on what it means to be “dominant”

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Our final night in the delta was one of culture exchange. We were offered a performance from the natives who we shared our camp with. (Or rather, the natives who were willing to share their home with us). They taught us a series of native songs about the animals, in languages that I never even knew existed. Also, my safari guide had carved me a necklace resembling a zebra hoof print. Nothing could ever match how much that necklace means to me.

In the morning we took the mokoros out of the delta, said goodbye to our new friends, and continued on our path towards Zambia.

Day 6:

We spent the next night at a campsite near Chobe National park, which is located in North-Eastern Botswana, near the Zambian border. After setting up our tents, we headed out on a sunset cruise on the Chobe river which travels inside the park.

This cruise was an odd combination of American culture an African wilderness. Because I was traveling with a group of American college students, the feel of the cruise was one of a party, with a “lets get drunk” mentality. And of course, that’s what they did.

In contrast, the wilderness that surrounded the “party” was completely African, as we witness hippos playing in the water, crocodiles sunning on the shore, and an African elephant wading through the river to the opposite side.

This trip could not have been any more different from the delta. The animals had clearly had large amounts of human interaction, not even offering us a glance as we pulled up in our large boats. They continued in their usual ways as people yelled, partied, and took thousands of pictures from feet away.

My emotions were split while on the cruise. On one hand, the blossoming photographer in me was appreciating the incredible pictures I could get from such a short distance. However, the animal lover that I have always been was worried about the animal’s safety and privacy. What gave us the right to completely alter their natural way of living?

In the end, the photographer won….mainly because I wasn’t allowed to drive the boat away from the animals. Here’s a few examples of what we saw….