After leaving the glitz of Cape Town behind (that’s a story for another time), I was thrilled to be in the Okavango Delta once again. I had never seen it quite so green before and as we splashed across waterways, we knew we were really in for something special – they even let me drive for a bit!
Our destination was Okavango Origins, a humble camp with the biggest heart, which was felt in every moment shared with the staff and each delicious meal prepared for us. My friends and I (which included the camp’s co-owner) were mightily impressed with the guiding; there were no crackling radios, just old-fashioned tracking skills and a deep respect for the wildlife we met.
The highlight of the Okavango was definitely watching a huge pack of African painted dogs digging into a kill, which was then interrupted by some sneaky spotted hyenas.
With a full heart, I flew off to Jack’s Camp in the Makgadikgadi for the very first time. What awaited was a Bedouin-style dream with its own museum, tented pool and array of fantastic activities. On my first afternoon, I joined a group of Ju/’huansi (zhoo t wansi) people for a walk during which they caught scorpions, dug up tubers to find water and played games around a fire.
One of my favourite parts of the trip was getting to spend 4 hours with a habituated colony of meerkats – and they practically had to drag me away in the end. I watched them groom, play and stand sentinel (a couple of times, this took place on my head).
The thrill-seeker in me was overjoyed when we got the chance to zoom across the pan on quad bikes, followed by a truly memorable evening under the clearest sky I’d ever seen.
Fancy doing a trip just like Joanna’s? Take a look at her itinerary (including a week in South Africa) or start building your dream Botswana trip from scratch.
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