Out of the Delta and into the Baobabs
We packed in our camp today first thing, right at dawn. I’ve seen more sunrises in the past week then I have in a combined amount of years. The water lilies were still all shut in the early morning sun as we glided back out of the delta. It was chilly to say the least, and the lilies had the right idea.
We only had a limited day of planned activities, and with the exception of running the bus smack into 2 large guinea fowl at 160kph (they bounced) we were well on our way to actually relaxing at a safari lodge called Planet Baobab by about 1pm. The entire afternoon to do nothing.
Baobabs are monster trees which look like someone ripped them out of the ground, chopped off the puffy leafy part and planted it back upside down with the roots for branches. They live on average 3 or 4 thousand years which explains their enormous size, though in a mans lifetime they don’t change enough for their to be a noticeable difference if a picture were to be taken of the man beside the tree at birth and gasping for his last breath. The tree would look exactly the same. Another baobab fact is that they are nearly always bare… they apparently bloom white flowers at night at one period each year, and if you miss that, or expect them to show during the day, you are out of luck. They are pollinated this way, at night, by fruit bats. Okay, one more fact…they hold about 32,000 gallons of water for themselves in reserve to beat the harsh desert like conditions they deal with on a regular basis. I guess that could explain the size too.
Planet Baobab, as you might expect, has a ton of these monsters, and is the best place we’ve stayed so far, in large mudhuts. They aren’t particularly traditional, I’d suspect, with running water, high ceilings and the like, but I was happy of a day of not too traditional. Katie, my roommate and I looked like little dust bunnies who hadn’t showered in a month, not just a few days, so the hot shower in our hut was particularly becoming! Namibia and Botswana are arid countries and despite the foliage the dusty silty dirt is everywhere and in everything.
The mudhuts themselves are on the dark side, with limited windows, and my guess is that the bugs might be something spectacular in the wet season. The common area however, had a great vibe and great bar/lounge/reading area with african masks and vintage african pictures and memorabilia on the open aired hut walls. Exactly what you’d picture yourself sitting in with your safari hat on drinking afternoon cocktails.
It was an afternoon of relaxing, showers, hanging by the pool and lazing around and an evening of mixed drinks, some Australian beats, and even some dancing by an inspired few.
Tags: Baobabs, Botswana, Delta, Lounging, Okavango, Planet Baobab, Southern Africa Tour, Tag Index
jessicab