We started the Botswana trip by flying into Maun, a city in Botswana near the Okavango Delta. Here we met our guide, and the rest of the folks on our trip...2 Australians, 2 New Zealanders, 1 American, and 1 German. We flew in 3 separate Cessnas into the Okavango Delta, where we stayed in a permanent camp. From National Geographic's Last Wild Places:

"Most rivers run to the sea, but the Okavango runs to a desert and disappears in the hot sands. In that journey between rainfall and evaporation it waters an Eden that has been called "the last of Old Africa", a wild oasis in the middle of the Kalahari Desert that draws animals of many species into a tight menagerie. The Okavango Delta of Botswana is the largest inland wetland in the world, and the largest remaining wilderness in Southern Africa."

We stayed here two nights, and did a couple of drives, a walk, and had a ride in a mokoro (dugout canoe). The major sightings were elephants, hippos, and a herd of over 100 cape buffalo. We found the location of a leopard, but didn't see it in the tall grass.

Our camps were permanent, but by no means enclosed. Anything that wanted to could walk right though, though most animals stay away from these types of camps. The nights were cold, and as you lied in your tent, you always thought there was something crawling around the outside. You wouldn't dare get out until the morning.

After flying back to Maun by the same planes, we stocked up on beer and wine, put it in the trailer of another vehicle that carried our food, and were off to three different National Parks of Botswana...Moremi, Savuti, and Chobe. At each one we would camp for two nights, and take morning and evening game drives. These camps were not permanent camps, but were permanent camp sites. They were even more in the open than in the Delta, and we did have animals walk through at night, evidenced by their footprints in our campsite in the morning. We had daily run ins with the local monkeys, who would steal our lunch if we didn't keep watch. We had an elephant disturb our laundry, and a hyena for two nights that kept close. Hyenas are a viscious bunch, but this one seemed afraid.

Our goal was usually to find the major cats, and see everything else while on that mission. Cheetahs aren't that common in Botswana, but its a great place to see leopard and lion. We caught a very glimpse of a leopard on one drive, but were otherwise unsuccessful. We did see many lion though. The other major game we were looking for were wild dog, extremely endangered, but known to live around those parts. We also did not see them.

The rest of the trip was full of adventures and stories though. We saw dozens of elephants, many swimming in the water, including babies that would try and keep up from behind. We had the opportunity to see them up close from a flat boat. From this boat, we also saw hippos and crocodiles from up close...sometimes too close. We had a herd of elephants charge us, as the matriarch thought that we had overstayed our welcome. It was amazing how she took charge, and all the elephants..probaby about fifteen, followed behind her as she trumpeted and ran in our direction. There was a moment of anxiety when on first try, the van did not start up...second try was good and we managed  to get away, but we talked about that for the rest of the trip. We saw male gazelles battle each other for a female. We saw dozens of other animals and birds as well, but the key to this trip was the experience of being in the wild at night. It was scary but exciting, and something I'll never forget. We made good friends with Stewart and Louise from Australia, stayed up late each night around a campfire, and even played some Euchre, which Australians and New Zealanders are very fond of.

We ended the trip at Victoria Falls, a major waterfall that is fed by the Zambezi river, and is seen from both the Zimbabwan and Zambian sides of the river. Its an ultra cool waterfall, and much more beautiful and impressive than Niagra, partially because there isn't a concrete tourist jungle all around it. We saw it by foot, by boat, and from the air in a hydroplane.

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