After Christmas some other volunteers and I decided to venture up north to the Okavango Delta to go camping and visit some volunteers that live in that area. We rented a truck and started the long trek- it took us a few days to get to our final destination- and we passed the time by playing car games, it was a nice flashback to childhood. We passed through many villages which I had heard about but never seen- Nata, Maun, Gumare- and we managed to spot some elephants in the wild, I was so excited to finally see some after hearing so much about how many there are in Botswana. We stayed in Gumare with a volunteer and had some trouble sleeping- partly because there were 5 of us sleeping side by side, and partly because the insects were abundant, pestering us while we tried to sleep. The following day we travelled further north along the western side of the delta, arriving at the Okavango River where we took a ferry across to Shakawe. We then drove south to our final destination of Seronga, a small traditional village of mud huts and sandy roads. Some of the travel was difficult given the deep sand and gravel roads, so we were thankful to have 4-wheel-drive. We stayed with a friend of a volunteer and rather large group of other volunteers, most of us camping in the yard which bordered beautiful grassy wetlands. The sunset that night was amazing, so many shades of pink and purple over settling over the water. The following morning we awoke and proceeded to an “island” (supposedly when it rains more it really is an island, but it was hard to tell given the current level of water)- the driving was a real challenge and I was thankful to not be behind the wheel. We drove through deep white sand on windy paths, then arrived at a pond which we had to drive across- it was a little scary but we managed to get across without any trouble. We finally drove through a huge field of tall grass and arrived at our campsite, only to drive right into a huge whole that was hidden by the grass. With the help of an experienced driver we managed to get out of the hole with no damage to the truck, what a relief. We set up camp near a beautiful pond covered with lily pads and lotus flowers, surrounded by tall trees and grassland on the periphery. There were tons of amazing birds that I couldn’t identify, and we discovered lion tracks in the dirt where we were setting up our picnic area. All of us at some point heard strange grunting noises coming from the bushes and we were later told that it was most likely hippos- not the most reassuring thing to hear given how violent hippos can be, but we managed not to get too freaked out and went the whole trip without actually seeing any. We spent the few days sitting and talking around the fire, reading, taking naps, hiking around, swimming, playing volleyball in the pond, and riding a mokoro (like a canoe) around the pond. We spent New Years eve with some Afrikaners who were camping across the pond from us, it was interesting to meet some new people although they were a little crazy. They had roasted an entire goat on a spit for the whole day and I got my first taste of goat meat- it was actually pretty good. Some of the volunteers put on an entertaining skit of events from 2007, and we all toasted with champagne to ring in the new year under the stunningly star-filled sky. The trip back was long and tiring, but at least we managed to see more elephants, this time much closer- they were right on the side of the highway. It was amazing to see them up close, so giant and majestic. All in all it was a good start to the new year.
Now I’m back at work with our center reopening on Monday. It will be nice to see the kids once again and start a new year with new programs and staff members. I’ll be working on developing a peer education program aimed at training our kids to work in their schools to improve education regarding children’s rights and healthy relationships. It should be challenging and interesting. The highlight since I came back from vacation is that I’ve adopted 2 kittens, both black and white- their names are Batman (since he looks like he’s wearing a mask) and Mittens. It’s been really nice to have some companions to come home to.
Now I’m back at work with our center reopening on Monday. It will be nice to see the kids once again and start a new year with new programs and staff members. I’ll be working on developing a peer education program aimed at training our kids to work in their schools to improve education regarding children’s rights and healthy relationships. It should be challenging and interesting. The highlight since I came back from vacation is that I’ve adopted 2 kittens, both black and white- their names are Batman (since he looks like he’s wearing a mask) and Mittens. It’s been really nice to have some companions to come home to.
