THE OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA

Water ways around Ker & Downey's Kanana Camp. They laid on a fantastically romantic mokoro trip, complete with thousands of sweet smelling white water lilies and beautiful birds. We drifted past jewel-like Meyers parrots with bright turquoise rumps and big green pigeons.

The feather in the birding cap was an excellent sighting of a Pel's Fishing Owl, Scotopelia peli. This is the first time I have seen this beautiful large brown owl which is often difficult to find. In fact it took quite a while before our guide managed to get us to see it high up in the branches of a large tree. Apparently Pel's are spotted fairly frequently at Kanana. We got to climb out of the mokoro and stand under the tree it was perched in. These wonderful nocturnal hunters are caring parents and the adults apparently pair up for life. The wingspan of a Pel's Fishing Owl is about 5 ft and the height about 2ft. Our group saw the owl again the following morning on our game walk.

Game walks on the island near Kanana are definitely above average.

The mokoro is the traditional dugout canoe of the Okavango. This is the classic way to enjoy the tranquility of the water ways. Our guides at Kanana were lovely, telling us the names of anything looked at, while quietly poling us along the edge of a lagoon. A couple of us tried our hand at poling the mokoros ourselves - which was great fun and requires some careful balancing!

XAKANAXA LODGE

The 'x' is pronounced with a click like the type one uses to coax a horse, in the side of ones mouth. Xakanaxa is a VERY difficult word to pronounce properly for those who don't naturally speak with clicks!

Xakanaxa Lodge is one of the pioneer camps of the Okavango Delta. It began as a family retreat and has been revamped into a luxury lodge. It is one of those places that feel like home. At least to me! It is very comfortable but at the same time rustic and natural with lovely wood and walk ways that blend the environment with a luxury lodge. But one where the staff feel like friends and you can pour your own hot water from the giant camp kettle that sits on a small permanent fire in the centre of camp. We met wonderful people here including Lettie who has been there for some 16 years, the owners daughter, Nini who was visiting and has known Lettie all her life and Daniela, a wonderful woman from Germany who was our incredible hostess.

The eli spotted the people first...

...about to see the elephant...

Xakanaxa Camp - lagoon and jetty.

Several birds would fly into camp at tea time to collect crumbs. My favourite were the comical Black crakes - of the lily trotter family, which would zoom around like odd little chickens with their long red toes and lemon yellow beaks.

Many beautiful game drives... below: A sundown break on Dead Tree Island near Xakanaxa. Nini, the owner's daughter is posing next to the vehicle, Frank & Lisa are inside.

Elephantoms

Xakanaxa Camp has decks that weave the forest and living spaces together in a wonderful way. The fire deck out over the water is under a giant old Marula tree. This is a fabulous spot for bird watching and enjoying the reflections of the Xakanaxa Lagoon.

The tents look west out over a private bit of the watery landscape where bee-eaters and king fishers flit.

Special touches include candles and paraffin lamps ( no electricity here!). When I arrived there was a dainty bush buck with white spots on her rump grazing around the Marula tree, a yard or so from my tent. The scent of ripe marula berries perfumed one half of my bedroom. The next day there was a baboon eating the berries. And the following morning I heard something running on the roof. I managed to open the bathroom door fast enough to see the tail of a large spotted Genet ( looks like a long cat) disappear over the wall. The Genet came to the dinning area that night and Lettie put the candle down so that we could see it better.

LUNAR ECLIPSE

We went from that to roughing it African Essence style: A 7ft canvas tent, a bed with down duvet and down pillows...

...in the fence free wilds of Moremi and Chobe National Parks. It is a 40 metre walk to the bathroom facilities.

One night with a full moon, we were sitting around the fire at night, listening to a pair of lions roaring on the road about 100 metres away. The whole campsite was lit up and beautiful - tall Camel thorn acacia trees and a forest of small Rain trees. The moon began to look odd and we realised it was eclipsing! Big and orange. Before our world became too dark to see the creatures, we zipped ourselves safely into our tents.

Savuti lioness

SHONGWE VILLAGE

From Kasane in the north eastern corner of Botswana we crossed over the Zambezi in a motor boat. From the middle of the river one can simultaneously see Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia. On the other side we were collected and taken to Livingstone, Zambia. Here we went to see the Victoria Falls. The river was very high at this time of the year and at some look out points one could not see the falls for all the spray that comes up! The spray is what gave the falls their African name, Mosi oa Tunya - 'The smoke that thunders'. Emmanuel, our host at Kwando safaris' Songwe Village' says Vic Falls is the cloud factory of the world and that the wind blows the clouds off to wherever they are needed. There was a continuous hard rain above the falls and floods of water on the paths. Anyone without a rain jacket was drenched! It was seeing people from all over the world including local Zambians enjoying this natural spectacle so much.

Songwe Village itself was a treat... after passing through the actual village (below) we got to the lodge which is perched on the edge of the Songwe Gorge - above rapids 10 & 11 of the famous Victoria Falls river rafting on the 'mighty Zambezi'.

Songwe village

The dining area at Songwe Village ( Lodge)

What I really like about the lodge at Songwe Village is that it is 'so southern African'. The enamel hand basins, the red polished floors, the thatched round huts - a mix of new and old. Special touches such as a kettle of boiling hot water waiting outside your bedroom hut in the morning - for washing. And the traditional dinner that the chef cooked up had the best mopani worms I have ever had! Emmanuel's wife, Dorothy had as all wear brightly coloured traditional cloth (kangas) to dinner and we danced and sang in the dining hut.

Abu, one of the guides walked me to the village in the late afternoon. Along the way he showed me trees and explained their medicinal uses. He also told me of his heritage as part of the Royal family that came from Namibia and settled at Songwe. After an hour we got to the village and he introduced me to Martha, the head woman. She is an incredible 80 year old lady, elegant, wizened and wise! Her ingenious way of punishing villagers is to make them fill a drum with water from a well, one cup full at a time. Apparently they seldom want to do that twice!

I asked Abu if I could meet his family, so he took me to greet his mother and 93 year old father who is blind and came out of his hut to say hello. Everyone thanks one for coming! And especially walking there - that is unusual for a tourist! After meeting more (polite and fairly shy) villagers and buying a carving of a Nyaminyami at the little craft village, we walked back at sunset. The visit to the village was moving. A reminder of how so many people in the world live with so little..

Without running water for example, never mind hot water on a chilly winter's night, which it was! I was cold because I didn't put my extra blanket on, but the water was still hot ( fire boiled) at one of the bathroom huts the next morning so I enjoyed a hot bubble bath, in one of the bathroom huts that perch on the edge. Take your binoculars with you for bird watching!

WILD ART - KURU PROJECT AT D'KAR

I think the work of the 14 or so artists who are part of the Kuru Art Project at D'Kar, Botswana speaks for itself. I was delighted to finally see it for real, and not just in the calendar I bought at the Cape Town museum last year.

This is a unique and successful development project involving Dcui and Naro artists in the Kalahari desert of Botswana. When I visited everyone was preparing for the exhibition that opened in Gaborone, the capital on June 1st.

Coxae's work ( about 2' x 3')

Art by Gamnqua hanging in the studio. Frames drying in the foreground.

Coxae at work in the studio - bushman style ( sitting on the floor)