25.12.24: The first day of Christmas
I take off from Maun by helicopter in the direction of Atzaro Okavango Camp. It's a short flight and soon I'm at the destination of my dreams.
My adventure into the Okavango Delta begins early in the morning.
A driver takes me to the camp. It is the rainy season and everything is a lush green. In the distance, I hear the call of a fish eagle, and giraffes and lots of antelopes are walking in the grass in front of us. Two lions hide in the bush, look up briefly and go back to sleep, full and content.
Thanks to ABC for this fantastic camp. A paradise in the middle of the Botswana Delta with beautiful scenery and luxurious rooms.
Now it's time to wait. For the first excursion into the Delta.
The vehicle is ready and Lasty, my guide for the next few days, is standing in front of me with a broad grin. We drive out, past a breathtaking landscape, and after a long drive we find two handsome male lions. Brothers lying close together in the grass, lazy and full. They are enjoying the cool air in the early evening. After a lot of yawning and friendly, mutual teasing, they scent something in the air and we follow them for a while until it gets too dark. At the camp, a Burma banquet awaits us, with singing and dancing around the fire.
26.12.24 - The second day of Christmas
After a somewhat restless night, I'm woken up at around 5 o'clock this morning. I get dressed very quickly and reach for my camera equipment. With a hot coffee in hand, Lasty and I start planning today. It's going to be an adventurous trip. We quickly hear about a leopard that has been spotted not too far away. It is a magnificent male and we are lucky enough to watch him for quite a while. Then our car suddenly gets stuck in the mud and we have to wait for help. We can't get out of the tough ground on our own, but after a while another vehicle helps us and we can drive on. I keep looking in amazement at the incredible landscape and realize that this place is hard to beat in terms of beauty. We observe giraffes, impalas, wildbeests with young animals and elephants. We are accompanied by the calls of fish eagles and the loud chirping of cicadas. In the afternoon, we wanted to enjoy a mokoro boat trip, but shortly after setting off, we hear the sound of thunder in the distance. After a few minutes on the canal, we have to break off and return. It is one of those typical African thunderstorms: deafening thunder and bright flashes of lightning, followed by torrential rain. Lasty drives us back to the safety of camp in a sheltered vehicle.
27.12.24
Today Lasty and I explore a somewhat remote part of the delta. After about an hour, we hear a radio report of a sighting of a pack of wild dogs. We decide to change our original plan and head straight for the wild dogs. Lasky drives at high speed towards the dogs. It's a large pack, about 35 animals. They are very active and play with each other in the water, with many young animals among them.
In the afternoon, we drive straight to the wild dogs again and stay with them. As soon as it gets a little cooler, they all wake up, greet each other and start hunting. It's a crazy drive. Elephants, buffalo and giraffes look up startled as the dogs run past them. At dusk, the first flashes of lightning come from the sky, but the dogs are undeterred. They keep changing direction, catch their breath and hurry on, always on the lookout for the next gazelle.
28.12.24 - The last night
It's a morning with lots of clouds and a dark sky. Two young lions lie tightly entwined in the wet grass. They soon smell a small herd of buffalo grazing nearby. The two cats cautiously observe what is happening and decide to retreat into the nearby bushes. Three more young lions are waiting there. They all stay in hiding and we move on with the buffalos. It is a lonely drive through the bush, with hardly any animals to be seen. We hope for the afternoon.
Lasty drives into the open, wide open country. Vultures are sitting in a tree and birds are also circling nearby in the air. We search the area for a while for a carcass or an animal that has just been killed. And sure enough, we find a cheetah sneaking through the bush. We follow the elegant cat and have the chance to get some nice shots in the golden evening light. We hear on the radio that a leopard is close to the camp and decide to drive there. The leopard poses proudly on a dead tree. It's a male - a magnificent creature.
We spend the evening outside by the fire and rave about the exciting day.
29.12.24
The morning before departure. The sun is shining and a rainbow can be seen on the horizon. The landscape is green. We drive into the open country and quickly get the feeling of Africa. We see lots of zebras and wild beests. Suddenly there are two honeybadgers in front of us and we chase them. We drive slowly back to camp.
The helicopter is already waiting to take me to Maun.
