The Okavango Delta has always seemed like a far off, almost mythical place. I grew up seeing books and photos of it. Lions among palm trees, elephants wading through deep water. There were stories of having to sit up on top of the seat of the safari vehicle because you drove through water so deep it came over the floorboards. Having to take small bush planes to access the interior of the floodwaters. It has always seemed a place where the feeling of wild Africa permeates every moment. This is what I wanted to share with Greg and Sue on our epic 'Best of Africa' trip around the continent. We have experienced the Great Migration in the Serengeti, trekking with gorillas in the Virunga Mountains, and tracking leopards in Sabi Sand, but I wanted to finish with the feeling and experience that only the Okavango Delta can provide.
AndBeyond's Sandibe Safari Lodge is our base of operations here in the Delta. From incredible guides, to trackers, to chefs, to butlers, this place is the ultimate comfort in the middle of the bush. Today we maximized our time in the Delta by balancing early morning and late afternoon game drives, with time to soak up the amazing lodge experience. The beauty is that the wildlife part of the safari doesn't stop when you are back at the lodge, we had monkeys and beautiful birds in the trees above us, an elephant just below our deck, bushbuck babies hiding under the dining platform, and noises everywhere. But no matter how amazing the lodge experience is, getting out on your safari landcruiser and spotting animals is a must. And today, the animals put on a show.
Sue's dream of baby animals was the theme of the day. We found our nearby pride of lions, in a different location, but still draped over each other in a lion cub cuddle puddle. And later we discovered a den full of hyena cubs. The babies were so little that they appeared charcoal in color, still too young for spotted coats. It turns out that hyenas are more closely related to big cats than dogs, so their babies are called cubs, not pups. One of the cubs got bold and came over to our vehicle to sniff and bite our tires.
We stopped for eagles in the trees, flocks of pelicans dancing in-sync as they flew above us, and the rare red lechwe doing incredible leaps across the swampy terrain. We stopped at a high bank along the river to watch hundred of cape buffalo crossing while LK made us the best bush cappuccinos ever. Different species of kingfishers, including the beautiful malachite kingfisher used the high bank as a lookout for prey down below. And hippos caused all kinds of commotion in the water, along with their typical calls that echo across the plains. LK, our tracker, spotted a leopard that was lazing up in a tree... bring our total leopard sightings to an incredible 13 different leopards. Never before and probably never again will I have such an amazing leopard-filled trip.
We made our own pizza and hamburgers back at the lodge. We continued our deep dive into the world of pinotage wine. And we shared safari stories with our guide, Rich, around the campfire. One of our favorites was Rich telling us about a guests of his that threw an apple out of the safari vehicle towards some lions to try and get them to move. And another, scarier time, when Rich had to face off again a mother lion, protecting her three cubs...in camp! Greg somehow avoided yet another birthday celebration (he's had three so far.)
Sandibe has very quickly become a home away from home. Maybe partly due to it being our last safari stop, it is a very hard place to leave. But alas, the beautiful Victoria Falls awaits, so we race our plane to the runway, only getting overtaken at the last second as it buzzed over our vehicle. Luckily the wildlife stayed off the runway. And the sight of Rich and LK racing along on foot, holding hands, as we took off, was the icing on the cake. The Okavango Delta may have seemed mythical before, but now it feels deeply person, forever a part of our own Africanstory.
