The Last Day in the Delta

Sleeping in this swampy area has a great advantage. The local bell frogs and crickets serenade you with their song. The bell frog is tiny, and its croak sounds like bamboo wind chimes. When there are several dozen, it's a pleasant sound.

The morning's activities were an un-eventful game drive, and a ride in a dug-out canoe. Traditionally, canoes would be made from one hardwood tree. But when a canoe is damaged, it cannot be repaired, it must be replaced. The government has banned the making of canoes from hardwood trees to prevent deforestation. Our canoe was made from the fiberglass tree.

We were there to see small life, rather than the big game people associate with Africa. It was two in each canoe, with a local in the rear pushing the boat along with a pole. In England, I believe they call this punting, and is done on quiet rivers such as the Avon. Here, it's called poling.

We were surrounded by water lily. Our boatman found a small reed frog, similar to the one that jumped onto My Lovely Wife yesterday. As we went out-bound, it had the remains of an attractive pattern. On the way back, it had changed color, and was nearly pure white to reflect away the heat of the day.

There is always a break for a few hours after lunch. Today, Thor decided to pay us a visit. It was the first significant rain of the trip. There was a small amount in Chobe National Park, but it was over in a few minutes. Today, Thor decided to spend an hour. I figured if it was showering outside, I'd shower inside, without thunder.

The afternoon program started with a lecture on the Okavango Delta; where the water comes from, and why it never makes it to the ocean.

Then, we had a tour of the working part of the camp. We started with the water system. The water is pumped from a well, double-filtered, and then has ozone added. Water to be used for drinking is run through reverse osmosis.

Most of the electric power is provided by solar panels, and stored in a large array of lead-acid batteries. There is a generator which automatically comes on if the batteries are below 60% capacity, and there isn't enough sunlight to bring them back to 100%.

In the laundry, we learned that electric irons can only be used during sunny times because of their large drain. In fact, several of the camp's electric devices are only run under these conditions to ensure there will be enough power for over-night needs.

Finally, we saw the kitchen, which was a model of efficiency. There were two ranges with ovens which were propane powered, refrigeration, and food prep areas. Waste was divided. Food waste is composed, and the compost is trucked out with the other waste. The area around camp must be kept as nature provided.

We went on a game drive to have our sunset drinks watching hippos in a large pond. The hippos were just waking for their nocturnal activities. Challenges for dominance were observed, with one hippo chasing another, or very large yawns to display their lower tusks.

This being our last day in this camp, there was entertainment. The locals sang and danced, and then we were asked for songs, just like in the previous camp. This time, we had rehearsed, and weren't so terrible.

Tomorrow is a big travel day. We will be taking two flights, and one boat ride to get to the next camp. See you in Zambia.