The Halftime Report

The Okavango River in Botswana flows into an inland delta where it eventually ends, not in an ocean or lake like most rivers.  The marshy area it creates is home to a huge variety of wildlife and was our first destination on safari.

There are two main types of safari camps:  National Parks and Reserves, and private concessions.  Private concessions are areas where a private company manages the land, and also has rights to offer photographic or sometimes hunting safaris.    At most National Parks, there are very strict rules about where the safari vehicles can go (they must stay on the “road” which are really just dirt tracks) and they must be out of the park by sunset, so there are no nighttime drives.  However, in a private concession, there is a lot more flexibility.  The guides can drive offroad to get a better view of the animals, they can drive after dark, and they can also offer other activities like walks and boat rides.  There usually far fewer guests at a private concession resort, so they can do these things without having much impact on the land.

Our first camp was a private concession call the Nxabega Okavango Camp and it had just 9 tents in an area about 17,000 acres.  While there was not quite the volume of wildlife we saw at the other parks, there were still interesting animals to be seen every day, especially birds.  On our first night here we really didn’t know what to expect.  After a 2 hours drive from the airstrip (complete with flat tire, as well as a stop for lunch) we had already seen impalas, kudus, and and fish eagle.  With high hopes to see more big game in the morning in we went to bed.  It gets very dark quickly since there is no external lights from any towns, so we drifted off to sleep pretty quickly to the sound of cicadas.

We were awakened a few hours later by noises that I couldn’t identify.  There was a loud stamping sound of something large moving slowly through the brush.  It was a accompanied by the the sound of grass and leaving being torn up and eaten.  Finally there was a flapping noise that sounded like canvas being snapped.  It all added up to the first of many night time visitors, an elephant right next to our tent.  (We later realized that the flapping noise was his huge ears.)  Later in the trip we learned that this happens often, as well as the fact that most animals only perceive the tent as a whole object, not you individually inside it. However, the first night we had no idea that the elephant was not about to go smashing through our tent and we laid wide awake in scared silence waiting for him to move away so that we could breath again.

The next morning over breakfast, everyone – guests, waitresses, and guides – all went through the ritual of discussing what they heard the night before.  For some it was hippos or antelopes, but it never seemed to get any less exciting, day after day. It also meant that some days we were a little more tired than others.  On another night when we were visited by a mother and baby, it was all worth the missed zzzz’s.

The other great things about this camp is that it offers other ways to see animals besides just on a game drive.  There was a ride in a mokoro, or dugout canoe, as well as a sunset ride on a power boat through the swamping area that is home to thousands of birds.  Finally, this was also the only place we stayed where you could go on a guided walk with a ranger (with rifle) and see some of the plants, animal tracks, and massive termite mounds up close.

The service and food was excellent, so it was with mixed feelings that we left to head to the next camp.  Here are few of our favorite pictures from the Okavango Delta.

Flying in over the delta:

One of the thousands of impalas who will end up as food for a larger animal.

A male hyena – they were a lot bigger than I expected.

Can you spot the 100 pound leopard?

Since I finally got caught up on our summer activities, it’s time for us to go on vacation again so I have something new to blog about.  We’ve been talking about going to Africa on safari for years and finally decided it was time to it.  It’s also much easier to get there from Europe than from the US too.  The really weird part is that we flew for 10+ hours and it was still the same timezone when we got off the plane.  No jet lag!

Our trip to Africa had 3 parts.  We spent the first 8 days in 3 different “camps”  in Botswana.  The camps can be anything from luxurious permanent structures that can only really can be called a “tent” because the walls are canvas to actual mobile camps that are moved every few days.  However, they all have a few things in common which I thought I would use this first post to describe.

First off, let’s just say that even though you are in a tent, this is not roughing it.  One of them even had air conditioning!  However, another was much more basic with a warm water bucket shower offered once a day.  More about all that later.  The thing that they all had in common was the food.  The quality, taste, and presentation of the dinners was excellent, and would have been worthy of a mention even if we weren’t in the middle of game reserve, 100s of miles from any town.

Which brings me to my next point…  The reason that the game viewing at these camps is so great, is also what makes them so difficult to get to.  They are far away from major population centers and nature remains mostly undisturbed by people.  In order to get to the camps we took small 4-6 seat planes, landing on tiny dirt landing strips that you don’t really notice until you’ve almost hit the ground.  The views of the river delta and the plains distracted me from any nerves though.  Flying over a group of elephants was incredible.

Finally, I’d like to describe a typical day at the camps so that the next few blogs can concentrate on what we actually saw and did there.   They are all slightly different, but most follow this pattern:  The guides wake you up at 5:30 - very strange to be up so early when you’re on vacation.  They serve you a light snack for breakfast – coffee, muffin or yogurt – before heading out on the morning game drive around 6:30.  The drives usually last about 4 hours, depending on what animals you find.  The drives are done in specially modified safari trucks that can carry from 6-12 people.   All of the ones we took had 6 or less which was great because guides can spend a lot more time talking to you personally and making sure that you’ve gotten a good view and photo of the animals.  The trails through the reserves are pretty rugged and although they call the bumpy rides an “African Massage”, it’s a lot more tiring than you expect.

Around 10:30 - 11 your arrive back at the camp and are served brunch.  In most cases, this was no light snack, but instead a full hot lunch with salads and deserts.  After brunch there is free time to relax, take a swim if there is a pool, read, write in your journal, or what most people do… sleep.  It’s very hot in the afternoons and there’s a good reason that the animals just find shade and relax until later in the day.  Around 3 :30 they serve tea, which also includes snacks, sandwiches, and pastries.  (Notice a pattern here?  There’s always food!).  Around 4, you all head back out for the evening game drive which may last until 7 or 8, and sometimes includes sundowner drinks.  Eric and I discovered that we really like gin and tonic – the classic safari cocktail.  I can’t believe I never drank them before.  After the game drive it’s back to camp for a shower, dinner, and then to bed.  One thing to note about the camps is that they are not fenced in, so any animals can (and do) walk through whenever they feel like it.  During the day it’s not really a problem and guests are free to walk from their tents to the dining area.  However, at night they require that you have an escort, so after dinner you are put in your tent for rest of the evening.

I think that’s enough description for now.  Next up:  our first game drive and a nighttime visitor.

Our first tent at the Nxabega Okavango Camp:

The safari “jeep”:

For the last post on our summer travels I have to mention a long weekend that we spent in Budapest.  It’s about a 5 1/2 hour drive from our house.  The city is really lovely, reminding us of both Vienna and Prague, but unique as well.

We saw most of the “usual” sites – the castle hill, the cathedral, and of course took a boat down the river.  We also got to enjoy two special events that were happening while we were there.  The first was a weekend long series of horse races call the National Gallup.  Every little town in Hungary sends a horse and a rider, dressed in traditional uniforms and they race around the Hero’s Square in the city.  The races are fun to watch, but the food stalls that accompany it were a treat too.

The next day we day headed to the Castle which was hosting a national wine festival.  The entire area was filled with booths from all over Hungary offering up wines we had never tasted before.  Some of them were very good, but unfortunately not found very often outside of the country.   If you happen to find ones from Villanyi in your local stores, give them a try.

Here’s some of the famous Hungarian paprika in action:

It’s hard to believe, but this is the same Danube River that we cycled along the month before!

This is the second part of my attempt to quickly catch up on what we did in the last 2 months.  Just across the border in Italy there is a region called Süd Tirol (South Tyrol).  It used to be part of Austria and they still speak a lot of German there.  However, the big attraction is the mountains,  an extension of the Alps called the Dolomites.

The rock formations are very unique and, for me, rival Yosemite or the Torres del Pine.  It’s become one of our new favorite spots, especially because it’s so accessible, just a 2 hour drive from home.

Last year we visited the area for a couple of quick hikes and couldn’t wait to get back there this year to explore the region more.  On my last trip to London I managed to find an English version of a book called “Short Walks in the Dolomites”.  Equipped with this, a map, and our backpacks we took off into the mountains.  There might be something missing in the translation because 9 hours and 1300m of elevation later we finally made it back to the start.  I would hate to see one of the “long” walks.

The hike may have taken all day, but I can’t think of a better way to spend the time.  If the beautiful views weren’t enough, the hardy food at the huts along the way might alone be worth it.

Here’s the first of the 3 huts we stopped at:

And another view along the way:

I can believe it’s the middle of October already!  After Kirchtag we had a realization that summer was going to be over soon. We quickly made plans to fill up just about every weekend for the last 2 months with things that we thought we would have done earlier.  Of course that also means that I haven’t had much time to blog about any of it, so I’ll try to catch up with the highlights over the next few posts.

One of our favorite things from last summer was an overnight bike trip on the Danube cycling trail (Donauradweg).  The trail follows the entire length of the river from it’s start in Germany all the way to Black Sea, but some of the most popular stretches are right here in Austria.  We decided to try a new section of this year.

The area from Passau, Germany to Linz, Austria is especially nice, well equipped with cafes and guesthouses just for cyclists.  We rode it over 2 days staying overnight  in Schloegen, a place where the river makes two 180 degree turns to form a giant S curve.

The trail switches occasionally from one side of the river to the other (and sometimes there is a trail on both sides).  There are very few bridges, but there are ferries along the way.  Some take both cars and bikes, but others are small and only for bikes.  It’s a fun way to see the river and the countryside, as well as cross the border from Germany to Austria (there are no customs anymore, by the way).

Here’s a view of me and Danube.  More soon about the rest of our late summer adventures.