Mokoro Magic!

Having spent 2 wonderful days in the bush with Sara and Sven, it was time to say goodbye and head back to Maun to meet Morotsi – who would be our mokoro poler and guide for the next two days as we explored the eastern area of the Okavango Delta in a traditional dugout canoe – the mokoro.

Mokoro – meaning ‘powered by human strength’ - are handmade from the native sausage tree and, if maintained properly, can last a poler up to 10 years as well as provide them with an opportunity to earn a living as a guide.

Gliding through the emerald waters of the Okavango was absolute bliss and very serene. Sharing these waters with hippos and crocodiles, the polers have to be very selective which channels are taken to avoid an unexpected encounter. Although we didn’t see any hippos, we could hear them very near us warning not to come any closer. Thrilling!

We set-up camp on the bank of one of the islands, where Morotsi immediately started a fire to boil water and soften up his biltong – which he jokingly said was a man from his village who had passed away.  We tried it anyway hours later and it was pretty tasty!

After a brief siesta we set off on foot for an afternoon game walk. This was our third walking safari and the progression in ‘safety’ has been interesting.  Our first trip in Kruger, we had two guides both with high-powered rifles.  Our second trip in Namibia, we had two guides, one of whom carried an axe handle.  On this third trip, Morotsi (who may have been enjoying some of the local herb during his afternoon siesta break) said ‘these are the animals you stay still and face … and these are the animals you run from, and maybe climb a tree..’

Knowing that there are lions and buffalo in the area we were on high alert! Although we didn’t see anything ‘threatening’ it was great to be on foot, in the bush with very close proximity to the animals.  We did get very close (perhaps too close) to a few elephants though!  

 

The 1430km Okavango River rises in Angola and then flows into Namibia and Botswana where 18.5 billion cubic meters of water spread annually like an open palm across the flat landscape. Eventually the river loses itself in a 16,000sq km maze of lagoons, channels and islands.

All the animals in the area, including elephants and hippos cross the various channels of water to reach pockets of land in search of food. As we were camping right beside the water and there was plenty of elephant dung around us, we were on alert that there was the probability, although low, of being trampled on.

 Mike woke me about 3am when he heard the sound of an elephant breaking tree branches and shaking the palms right near us. The elephant sounded like it was directly outside our tent – but after a while the cracking of limbs ceased and we started to hear a constant and repetitive sound. I burst out laughing because I knew that the elephant had fallen asleep right near our tent and was snoring – can you imagine!!!!  The next morning, Morotsi asked “did you hear the elephant snoring?” and told us it had laid down and used a termite mound as a pillow.  We were somewhat skeptical (this is the guy who was saying his beef jerky was human remains) – but he then proceeded to show us the termite mound – which was about 15m from our tents!

Hard to see in the picture, but this termite mound had clear impressions from the elephant's hide!

Although our time in the Okavango was brief, we both agree that it’s an area we would love to come back to and spend more time.

Next stop - Chobe National Park for more wildlife!