BOTSWANA, KADIZORA CAMP: MAKORO CANOE RIDE

One of the iconic activities of the Okavango Delta that Bob had researched before we left was riding on the Delta in a makoro canoe. (It is also spelled mokoro.) 

We were driven in a Land Cruiser through the brush . . . 

. . . and around a sausage tree . . . 

. . . and past Franklin the Elephant's personal bathtub and snack spot . . .

. . . to a place where we could board the canoes. Nowadays these 20-foot-long boats are made of durable, lightweight fiberglass, but they used to be made by hollowing out a tree trunk.

We were each seated on the floor of our own canoe (note that there are no bench seats) . . . 

. . . and assigned a personal boatman who stood at the front of the canoe and pushed through the grassy water with a long pole, gondolier style.

Thanks to the strong arms of our boatmen, the canoes glided effortlessly and silently through the channel. We sat quite low, giving us a sight line just a foot or two above the aquatic world.

We mostly stayed away from the open water, which moved more quickly and carried the risk of hippos, for which our lightweight crafts would be no match. The lazy pace and utter stillness broken only by occasional bird calls or flapping wings was almost hypnotic. There were no signs of civilization--no power lines, no vehicles, no other tourists--just a vast expanse of grass and water ahead of us, behind us, and between us.

Heron surveying his kingdom

African darter

We learned about day lilies, night lilies, and morning glories. Who knew there was such an abundance of flowering plants in the water? I loved their vibrant colors and exotic designs.

This is some kind of nest built on the flimsiest of supports--tall water reeds:

I don't know how our guide spotted this tiny Angolan reed frog, perched just above the water on a slender blade of grass.

The guide was a bit disturbed when Bob picked it off the grass for a picture. He told us that some frogs live in the same spot for their entire life.

He made sure Bob put the frog back in exactly the same place where he found it:

 

The waters seemed quite shallow for large distances. The rainy season in Botswana is from December through March, and we were there in early June, so some of this must dry up later in the year as the dry season continues.

There were hundreds of birds swimming and feeding in the shallow waters:

As the sun began to sink towards the western horizon, our guides were anxious to get back to the shore. Early evening is when the hippos come out of the water to feed on the shore, and no one wants to be in their way as they plow through the grasses towards dinner.

We did have our usual "sundowner"--drinks and snacks as we watched the sky become a mixture of brilliant gold, orange, and red--before we went back to camp.