Sleeping in the wilderness isn’t always quiet but we aren’t complaining. In the middle of the night we had hippos near our tent splashing and feeding in the bog in front of our room. Hippos are fierce and aggressive creatures and as I mentioned before, we are not allowed to leave our tents at night. Further, we are not even allowed to go out on our fenced deck at night. It is pretty primitive except of course for the food and accommodations which are over the top. Anyway, on to the good stuff. We both woke up and got up around 4:45 just because we were restless (well, I have to have my coffee first thing too). The guide wakes everyone up at 5:30 and we are supposed to be ready for escort to the main dining tent by 6AM where espressos and freshly baked muffins await. We then pack our lunchbox with our morning rations they have prepared which usually consists of hard boiled eggs, muffins, yogurt, homemade granola bars, fruit and smoothies which we will eat sometime around 9AM. Then we head for the boat for our 2 minute ride across the river to the safari vehicles. From there we set out to find the animals. First up was a rare occurrence of a female leopard that was feeding on an impala carcass. She let us get super close, didn’t care a fig about our Jeep and snapping cameras. Circling in the wings were 2 jackals awaiting their chance to get at the remains. We watched until she eventually mosied off into the bushes to sleep it off or she went to find water, we’re not sure. Later in the morning we found ourselves in the middle of a giant herd of elephants (must have been 100) part of which walked past our vehicle on one side and the rest on the other. The guide said to just sit still and not agitate them. We watched as the matriarch instructed the herd to stop and assess us, and watched while a juvenile (teenager) male tried to bluff us into thinking he was going to charge, then watched as the matriarch told him to basically “knock it off and get back in line, leave them alone” then she signaled for the herd to continue. The Okavango Delta is home to many impala and similar looking lechwe so we saw many herds of them. We saw giraffes, warthogs, and a plethora of birds. Upon returning around 11:30AM we were greeted by a bountiful brunch with made on demand omelettes, salads, cheeses, more food than anyone needed, and of course the bar was open. After a “siesta” period until 3:30, we once again gathered at the main tent for yet more food (high tea) and then set off for the next game drive around 4PM. On the afternoon drive we came across a pride of lions that were napping in the shade, during the hottest part of the day who could not give a care about us surrounding them and snapping photos. The matriarch of the pride they have nicknamed “The Killing Machine” because she is such a good hunter but right now she is very pregnant so relies on the others for the hunts. (It ranges from 50s in the mornings to 85+ in the heat of the afternoon, luckily it cools right back down again in the evenings.) Up next were more of everything. This time we found the herd of elephants in the water part of the delta where they were all drinking up and cooling off and sat and watched them for a long time. Finally around 5:30 our Guides stopped and set up the “sundowners” for the day, which is a makeshift picnic of appetizers, wine and cocktails in the bush. It feels pretty darn decadent. Back at camp by dusk, we are once again fed a beautiful dinner and wine, after which we are escorted back to our tents and quickly fall asleep because 5:30AM will be here soon! What an incredible experience so far. I can’t believe how close we get to the animals and we have been most impressed with our guides and the education they have been providing us along the way.
Lion Tracks
Panoramic view from our deck
First herd of elephants
Leopard with bloody lips
Perfectly posing for us
Jackal awaiting his chance
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