Botswana was another flying visit on our tour to South Africa. Here our main activity was the Okavango delta, 3 nights camping in the bush and exploring the area. Before we had come on this trip we'd both read about the amazing wildlife of the delta and were very excited for the trip!

Day 55 was an early morning, taking everything with us to survive for the next three days in the bush. After a short drive to water we met the locals who were going to take us on traditional makoro boats down the river. With all our belongings we paired up with George our local guide and jumped in a boat. These boats were traditionally carved from a single tree but today the locals use carbon fibre. With George on the back punting through the back waters we were given an overview of the area and a description of how the delta spills out into the kalahri desert when the rains of Angola spill down into the delta, something that can take three months.

After cruising through the reeds and passed hippos we landed on an island ready to camp. The locals disappeared into the bush to clear some way for us to camp. After some time we were allowed to go into the camp and found a very rough and ready patch for us to camp accompanied with a bush toilet.

At the height of the day the heat was incredible so we sat in the shade enjoying the scenery and when the locals permitted we were able to go for a swim in the river and play abit of volleyball. In the evening we were split up into groups and taken on a nature walk of the area. Although our guides were sweet and got us to eat termite mounds, the wildelife aspect of the walk was distinctly lacking! I think we only saw 5 cows! Dinner was a true campsite feast of burgers and salad sitting around the fire drinking.

The next morning we made our second attempt at a nature walk, taking a boat further out to another point in hope of spotting a bit more wildlife. Sadly again no luck! The animals just weren't playing ball. Due to the heat of the day he middle of the day was spent relaxing around the camp and swimming in the river. Olly spent his time mastering the makoro boat punting up and done the river impressing the group and the locals!

In the evening we were treated to trip down the river. This time Olly punted and George sat in the back relaxing. We arrived at an outlet and were faced with 4 hippos facing us in the water. Lined up across the boat we sat and watched as they bobbed up and down, sometimes disappearing for a worrying amount of time and then surfacing far away.

As the sun started to set we made our way to land to watch one of the most spectacular sun sets we had ever seen. The sky turned on fire and the storms in the distance seemed prophetic. Some good photos below.

That evening were treated to song and dance around the fire and a few of the group feuled with alcohol started jumping over the fire. There also seemed to be a disagreement between the locals and some of the group but it wasn't clear at that stage what was going on. We went to bed with belly full of food and great nights enterainment underway.

The next morning we arrived back on the land ready to go back to the hotel. However before we could leave the disagreement from last night started up again. It appears some of the locals had told our group that they didn't like our guide therefore took us to a place they knew wasn't good for wildlife spotting. There were some heated conversations between our guide and the rest of the local boatmen, but nothing really came of it. I think we would all agree that the trip didn't meet our expectations, but given how amazing everything else has been on this trip, our luck had run out this time.

We arrived back to the hotel and all immediately headed for the pool. A much need cool off from the weather. From this point I think we all realised we had left the rains behind us and we're heading into summer weather!

That night we said goodbye to a few more of our group and enjoyed a buffet by the hotel (no cooking and no cleaning!).

I feel like we need to come back to Botswana to see more and do more here, we've not had the chance in the four days that we were here.