Today was a marvelous reminder of why I travel – for the fantastic opportunities that come up, that I never expected, and that I would never have had without simply getting up and coming out.
I don’t think I have enough superlatives in my vocabulary to describe today’s events.
I am on safari! Elephants are currently trumpeting outside of my tent and my heart is beating with the terror of their sound. Elephants aren’t as cute when you can only hear out of the endless darkness. The night is black and the only sounds are of ticked off elephants, insects, what I’m guessing are birds, and occasional rodents hopping by.
Sara’s fiancé works for Rodney, who has a whole camp in a remote section of the Okavango Delta that he uses to support researchers from the University of Botswana who study the local fauna and for his personal safaris.
I feel like the luckiest girl in the world as I was “dragged” along with Sara to spend a few days in the delta with her fiancé. The Okavango Delta is one of the most ecologically rich regions of the world (rivaled only by areas such as the Amazon forest, the Congo, etc.) and I was worried before I came that I’d never get in to see the delta. The delta has some of the best wildlife viewing on the continent and after only two days in the country I find my self in a tent worried that I’ll wake up to the sound of lions roaring.
We flew out on a 4 seat plane from Maun. Driving into camp (after the flight) we saw an ostrich, which was slowly making its way across the road. On our pre-dinner drive, we saw zebras, elephants, warthog, hippos, tons of impala, kudu, giraffes, wildebeest, waddle cranes (which are endangered), and an array of birds. The amount of life and mega fauna that this seemingly parched land supports in incredible. To me, a New Englander resigned to stifling humidity, it looks as though this golden plane is dead, yet out of it rises a swarm of insects and mammals and birds (and of course dust).
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