After planet Baobab it was time for one of the highlights of our trip, or at least of our time in Botswana. We hadn't booked way ahead, but upon inquiring we found that there was still availability. We hadn't pre-booked anything, and everyone told us that we were very brave (or foolish?) not to do so. Although the activity was still available, we still had to find a place to sleep. Apparently, they also sell out easily and quickly.
One way to find out.
The drive from Planet Baobab to Maun, the tourist capital of Botswana, was without any issues. There were quite some potholes, but nothing compared to what we experienced earlier in Zambia or Uganda. Before we knew it, we were in Maun. We were almost out of drinking water, and upon arriving we found a refilling shop. Item 1 of our to-do list: done. We then went to the Spar to do some groceries and we were pleasantly surprised with the supply. We could buy everything we needed. Item 2 of our to-do list: done as well. All that remained was finding a place to spend one or two nights. We hoped for Sitatunga camp, as we heard some positive stories.
Upon arriving at Sitatunga camp, we went through a rollercoaster of emotions. There was a campsite available. Or, no there wasn't. Only expensive rooms or chalets. Oh wait, there appears to be a campsite after all! After years of spending time in Africa, these things don't surprise us anymore. We happily took the remaining campsite and performed our rat-ritual. The campsite was actually a 'big group overlanding' site. It was quite noisy with big groups around us, but our campsite was huuuuuuuuge. More than enough space to put all our stuff as we searched for any rat activity. Again, no droppings or pee in the cabin and nothing seemed to be chewed on. Phew.
At 16:00 sharp, we were picked up from Sitatunga camp. The timing was impeccable and the driver took us to Maun airport. Here our next adventure would start.
After checking in at the activity's company, we went through security at the airport. After waiting for some time at the Domestic departures terminal, an airport taxi picked us up to take us to: OUR PRIVATE HELICOPTER.
We would go on a private, doors open, helicopter over the Okavango. The excitement fortunately already began to grow as soon as we were picked up at Sitatunga camp. We seemed to forget about our rodent troubles and focused on the helicopter flight.
The flight was wonderful. After receiving a quick briefing in the taxi we got into the 4-person helicopter (including the pilot). It was a private flight and we loved it. We had specifically tried to get an early morning or late afternoon flight, so we might be able to see the sunrise or sunset. To our advantage, the pilot was about 10 minutes delayed, so our flight was even closer to sunset. The light was magical and it lit the Okavango Delta beautifully. Our pilot was very adept at spotting wildebeest, but fortunately, we had Emma. She spotted a hyena running straight to its den. We hovered over the den and continued our way. After the hyenas, Emma spotted hippos, zebras, and giraffes. The elephants were hiding, but the hyenas were the game highlight. The actual highlight was the feeling of freedom flying over the beautiful Okavango. Unfortunately, it hadn't fully flooded yet, but the permanent waters gave a nice impression of how it would look in a few weeks. We flew for about an hour, but any amount of time would not have been enough. We could have done this for hours.
After the helicopter flight, reality kicked in and Jeroen immediately thought about what the rat might have destroyed this time. Fortunately, Emma was still in the clouds after the flight. We had a beer at Sitatunga and we had a few things to discuss.
We hadn't booked anything in Botswana, and so far it worked out fine. All the places we wanted to visit, still had availability. It was more expensive than we anticipated and we were at a crossroads. We had two options that we considered, either go back the same road to Zambia, or go around the Okavango delta, through Namibia. Both were not too pleasing to us. There was a third option though, which would take us straight through the bush. Through Moremi, Khwai and Chobe, we could drive back to the Kazungula border post. We had been thinking about this option before, but we had quickly dismissed it as it might have been too much hassle with Gigi, taking enough supplies and managing the rat. After the helicopter adventure, we had gained new confidence and decided to go for it.
The next day we packed our stuff to go to Maun. In town there are many tour operators that can do the bookings. We went to the one that managed a campsite in Moremi GR, our first desired stopover, and let them inform us about the options. We booked our first camp and received information regarding the other camps. The road would take about 4 or 5 days, so we needed to book 3 or 4 nights. Several camps were fully booked, but we found 3 places that still had availability. Our trip was planned! It took a total of less than 2 hours. We probably could have done this ourselves, but the tour operators make it unclear on purpose, just so you need to use them. It helped us quite a bit and we happily found a place to have a coffee and do some extra admin. It was all much more expensive than we had hoped, but this got our spirits up. We wouldn't let the rat ruin our trip and decided to go and enjoy the bush! A few extra groceries and a fuel stop would get us sufficiently supplied for the trip. Early dinner, to bed early, and we would be ready to go!
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