#8 The Okavango Delta

After our two days spent in Chobe it was time to move back to the water. It was no class 5 water like the Zambezi, rather we went to the relaxing Okavango Delta! We took a small hopper plane to the edge of the Okavango Delta - a reserve called the Moremi Game Reserve. We met our guides at the airstrip and we made our way to my favorite lodge on the entire trip - Camp Xakanaxa. This camp was beautifully crafted, with intricate wood carvings surrounding the property. There were two pools, one of which was an infinity pool that went right up to the edge of the Delta. With a gin and tonic in hand, I spent the afternoon lounging at the pool. My experience at that moment was the purest definition of vacation.

We went for an afternoon Game Drive and explored the surroundings. Our guide was top of the line! Very educated and passionate about the Moremi Game Reserve. We ran into another car, a family on a self-drive, and they passed us saying there were no lions in the direction we were headed. Our guide acknowledged this, but continued to persevere in that direction anyways. Tucked behind a tree a little ways down, our guide spotted two paws. It was an amazing spot!

The landscape of the Moremi Game Reserve can almost be compared to a Dr. Suess book. The way the dead trees spiked out of the ground gave the park an almost cartoon-ish feel. The pictures below do no justice to the bizarre environment within Moremi!

Our second day in the park started off with another game drive. It was a quiet morning, only a couple of gazelle here and there. Right before we turned in for lunch we got a call over the radio: leopard spotting! We rushed to the area where the leopard was. All of a sudden it scampered up a tree with a warthog in tow. After a couple of minutes another leopard appeared out of nowhere. Our guide informed us the second leopard was the mother of the one who was in the tree. The mother hopped up the tree and pulled the warthog away from her daughter. The interaction between the two leopards was magical. Once again, the pictures do no justice!

After a relaxing lunch spent by the pool, we decided to change up our afternoon excursion. Rather than going on a safari, we decided to take a boat ride. We glided through the maze of the delta and found ourselves in an open area. All of a sudden we heard strange bubbling noises...Hippo's! At first, the water was calm, then out of no where 15 hippo's popped their heads up. It was eerie, not being able to see the large animals below until they emerged. I tried to guess how many were below us, but could not come up with an answer!

The next morning we said goodbye to my favorite lodge, and took a small hopper plane to our last (but not least) stop of the trip.