I doubt if there is anyone who likes to travel that hasn’t been intrigued by Africa. When my friend John told me that he was planning a trip to Botswana’s Okavango Delta, I knew this was my chance. We decided to arrive in June, as it was early in the dry season so the plains were still lush after the rains. The weather was perfect, being colder in the morning and reaching the mid-60s to early 70s in the afternoon. After a night in Johannesburg, we flew to Livingstone in Zambia, where we were met by our driver and treated to our first ‘African massage’ on the 5km dirt track that led from the paved highway to our first camp: Islands of Siankaba. We explored the river, ogled at Victoria Falls and called in on a nearby village, talking to the chief and visiting the local school.
A lilac-breasted roller
Crossing the river between Zambia and Botswana in an 18ft boat was slightly precarious, and I was more than a little happy to see our driver waiting on the other side. We left Kasane Airport for an hour-long flight across the edge of the Delta. Being from coastal South Carolina, it made us feel as if we were back home to see the flooded plains meet the horizon. The swirls of green, orange and yellow, the slightly elevated hummocks of dry land and the clarity of the water are all best appreciated from above.