You could notice the difference the moment you crossed into Botswana. The infrastructure was more developed. Botswana wasn’t overly controlled during the colonial era allowing them security from the UK but the opportunity to build and control the country themselves. They have largely benefitted from the Diamond trade. Where over 70% of their exports are Diamonds. Their challenge however is expanding their opportunities to earn money as the diamond trade won’t last forever!
We were picked up by Marc. A Champion Kayaker and local from a town called Maun. Maun is on the end of the Okavango Delta. Made with water from Angola it slowly floods south and across the plains of the Delta making it heaven for Wildlife. It is famously dangerous due to the high number of Hippo and Crocodiles. Marc and I were planning to Kayak down the whole of it!
We looked over the maps, packed our gear and jumped in the car for a 7-hour drive. Reaching our start point. We now had 6 days to reach the end. Over 450km away! This is when I saw the Kayak for the first time. I wasn’t what I was expecting. It was so thin and uncomfortable to sit in. Marc suggested we have a little practice before setting off tomorrow. We jumped in, I immediately realised how wobbly the boat was and we began to paddle. Within 2 minutes a Crocodile dived in after us and we had to sprint to get away. Welcome to the Delta!
There was no simple welcome to the water for the first two days. We had 210km to complete. This meant kayaking for over 10 hours each day. Breaking every hour or so for some water and a quick snack. It was a relentless pace, and I was learning as we went. Trying to adjust my seat to remove the torturous positions I was in. But we made it. Each night we would find a site to camp, make a fire, eat, sleep and repeat. Along the journey we encountered so much wildlife and had to dodge some to. More on that to come.
On day three we left the river and joined the floodplains. The only possible route that was open to get down. Flood water meant it wasn’t deep and was full off overgrown reeds and Papyrus. Making it hard going trying to push our way through. Often the support boat would get stuck, meaning we would have to jump out, risking the chance of being attacked by crocs to push the boat through it. We had the same for day four. It was getting frustrating. Over 10 Hours in the Kayak and we were only able to complete 50km each day.
Something did stick with me though. As we carved our way through the reeds, an Elephant came out of nowhere and charged up the river away from us. We followed it for a few 100m’s before it darted off and out of view. I couldn’t believe it. The sheer size of it, how easy it pushed through all the reeds and trees. I was stunned. On day four we had a few km’s to go through long grass when all of a sudden thousands of mosquitos and flies came out to play. We were all covered. I had to cover my mouth and nose with a buff to be able to breath. When we set up camp there were so many of them it nearly completed covered our only lamp! As this moment I was so glad to have the NosiLife gear!
Day 5. We had to get a big day done. At least 70km to know we had nearly completed the task. So far, we had covered over 320km. But this day was the most dangerous. Down a place called Hippo Alley! You get the gist. Hippos. Everywhere! Within 2 minutes of us leaving the camp we hit the first pod. Hippos are scary. They are huge, aggressive and never back down. They are territorial animals meaning they protect their area. So, if you enter it they won’t be happy. We had to enter their area to get through. Here is how we do it.
Firstly, we try to move fast. We want to be in and out of their area as quick as possible. As we approach a pod, we are looking to see where the deep water is. This is where they all go to as it is their safe space. We then create the safest path through and past them. If you get it wrong though. You will know about it! Sometimes the water is so deep you have no idea where they are. Each time we got through I felt like I was on a level of video game trying to get past the next baddie!
But our final encounter was the worst. We approached a Hippo who was clearly aggressive and wanting to stop us entering and exiting its area. The support boat moved ahead of us and accidently pushed the Hippo right on top of us. We had to dart off to the right and across the shallow ground to safety. We joined back up with the boat and asked them to hang back. As we did so another Hippo on the ground charged into the water. We were sitting ducks. We paddled as hard as we could to speed up and away. Not knowing if the Hippo was underneath us! We turned a sharp corner to come face to face with a pod of 5 Hippos right in front of us. My heart sank! We quickly turned hard and headed for dry(ish) ground. The Hippos kept coming. We paddled so fast the boat fully mounted the ground. We jumped out and ran with the Kayak to get away. Our trusty support boat was attacked in the process, giving the support crew a huge scare!
What an adrenaline rush. I honestly have a newfound respect for Hippos and Crocodiles. It is weird to think being chased by Hippo and Crocodiles became normal after a few days. We made it through and I was so elated to be out of the Kayak! The flood water was so low we had to get the support boat out of the water and mountain bike the final stage. Just 70km to get back to Maun and end the expedition! Like this whole expedition it wasn’t your normal trip. River crossings carrying my bike (once again potentially dodging crocs) and deep deep sand! It was a great adventurous ride. Along the way we were joined by Elephants, Giraffe and Zebra! By 3pm we had reached the town. The end of the trip finished on the old bridge in the middle of the town. It really was a weird feeling finishing this challenge. Months of work and prep and it was all done!
I am eternally grateful for the support of Craghoppers, The Roastery and Wilby Tree for supporting this expedition and to Journeysmiths for helping with all of the planning. Finally, a huge thank you to Imvelo Safari, Royal Chundu and The Bushways Foundation for their amazing charitable work and for helping plan and organise this whole challenge!
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Images Courtesy of Jack Weightman