It’s a crisp, clear night in Botswana’s deep midwinter, so cold we can see our breath as we whisper. By rights, we should be in some cosy lodge with a warm, roaring fire in our room. But no, we’re sleeping outdoors, five metres up in a Skybed, with nothing but stars for a ceiling.
Sleeping out in the Okavango Delta has long been on my wish list, lured by the romance of twinkling skies above a vast, untrammelled wilderness. My partner Will and I had slept in star-beds before, but they’d always been on the decking of our rooms or tents, and that sense of wild open space under the night sky had somewhat eluded us. Skybeds in Khwai Private Reserve, bordering Moremi, is very different.
As our wild night out approached, I admit to wondering about the practical realities.