Okavango Delta

On Friday morning we departed for the Okavango Delta in NW Botswana. We once again flew to Maun, but because the delta is a flooded area with camps on scatttered dry spots, we had to take a puddle-jumper 6-seat single prop plane into our camp, called Pom-Pom (which means "soft place" in Setswana). We were welcomed by the staff, who stood in front of the entrance singing a lovely Setswana song of "Dumella". The lodge, like Makgadikgadi, consisted of a central open-air pavilion with several self-contained tents surrounding the main building. This place was up-scale, with "en-suite" bathroom and out-door shower contained within the protective stockade fence. We had electricity after dark, a luxury in remote Africa off the grid!
After arriving, we had the afternoon to "siesta". We then met our guide, Paul, and tracker, Dicks, who took us out on a game drive at 4pm. It was an exciting ride. We saw an ever increasing variety of birdlife, which thrived in the wetlands created by the Okavango River which flows from the northwest and essentially empties into the sands of the Kalahari. The water levels rise in the late "summer"; the water in front of our camp had increased in the past week to allow maccoro canoes to be launched right from our beach, rather than having to transport them 20 minutes away to the nearest site of water access. We came across leopard tracks and found the cat resting near a freshly killed and recently eated kudu, the site of which was given away by the buzzing of flies on the carcass. At sunset we stopped for drinks and a view of the beautiful skies of western Botswana. The guides were looking out for Barbara and me...white wine and Jack Daniels! Dinner back at the lodge was first-rate, with excellent food, great variety, and thoughtful selections.
The tent was quite comfortable, and I slept great. Barbara did a lot of reading.
The next morning, after a light breakfast, we climbed into maccoros, which are modern replicas of the traditional dugout canoes indigenous to this area. I sat in the bow, with Barbara in the middle, and Dicks stood in the stern poling (the water was less than 1m deep, and in the reeds was safe from both hippos and crocks). The trip, which lasted all morning, allowed observation of a rich display of birds and scenery. The afternoon game drive was notable for lots of wading birds (our first flamingos, yellow-billed storks, and spoonbills), wildebeest, zebra, giraffes, a rare elephant, impala, leechwe, kudu, and lions (watching a sleeping lion is a moderate thrill at best).
Sunday morning allowed us to go on a long walk with Paul, who was a font of information about animal tracks, plants, birds, animal behaviors, termite colonies (the hills were especiallly impressive in the Delta). He carried a loaded rifle, but we never felt in any danger.
We flew back to Maun, and then on to Gaborone. The weekend was restful, and a great getaway which provided a chance to experience another region of this beautiful place.