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| Herd of Buffalo in the Okavango delta |
I arrived in Botswana a week later than planned due to my last minute Otter hike, but when I did it was lovely to reach Maun and see so many familiar faces. I was very happy to see Tom’s new house, which is a vast improvement over the campsite and shell of a house he and his housemates were in before. Their new place is fantastic - it has a proper kitchen - oven, fridge, microwave (these are exciting things in Maun) - as well as an awesome Braai area and swimming pool. The garden is huge and has massive potential - the boys have already started planting veggies and herbs, and with some watering and rain in the wet season, the grass and flowers will certainly come out in force. So pleased to see them all much more settled and happy in their new house - an actual home at last!
On my flight over to Maun from Johannesburg, I met a very interesting gentleman, Mr. David Hartley, who I later found out was one of the first people to set up a safari business in the delta, and who turned out to have started up the company that Tom flies for today! He invited us to lunch at his house one afternoon - a beautiful property on the river that he designed and built himself. We spent some time discussing the safari industry in Botswana, entrepreneurship and some of his businesses, he is such an interesting person to talk to.
Although I didn’t manage to get out into the bush this time, it was such a fun and eventful few weeks. One highlight was learning to water ski on the Thamanakane river - it certainly puts a bit of pressure on standing and staying up when you know there are likely crocs in the water! Thanks Bianca, Matt, Paul, Neil and Sara for such a fun day.
Another highlight was spending the day at work with Tom, flying tourists into the different lodges in the delta. We mostly flew at scenic hight - just 500ft above the ground, so saw loads of game, especially ellies and also a huge heard of buffalo. On one of the empty legs Tom let me take the controls of the plane and gave me a little flying lesson - I even did the radio! It was so much fun, all the guys and girls doing the bush flying really do have such a fantastic job.
Luckily I managed to get loads of reading done while I was in Botswana and spent quite a lot of time in the garden watching the birds - it was nice to have the opportunity to become familiar with the material so I don’t feel completely overwhelmed when I start my course. I also really appreciated having time to relax and enjoy civilisation while I can! I spent time as well doing lots of baking -banana/ carrot cakes, milk tarts, cookies...one day I baked cupcakes with Bianca, another bush pilot here, for both her office and Tom’s which they very happy for! Sorry Ben, Tom and co. for using all your gas to bake my cakes!
I had a lovely send off dinner with Tom on Saturday night at the gorgeous Thamanakane River lodge and watched the most stunning sunset, sipping on my favourite wine, The Den by Painted Wolf. This afternoon after some sad goodbyes, I left Maun and landed back in Johannesburg, just in time to start my course on Wednesday (3rd). Thanks again Doug and Kath for picking me up and in advance for dropping me on weds, and to Aunty Merry for letting me stay :)
It is all going to get a bit complicated from here on as I have no idea what to expect with regards to communication, so please do continue to watch this space and I’ll update you all as and when I can. The next post you read will be from me in the bush - SOOOOOO EXCITED!!!
Missing everyone tons and thanks everyone in Botswana for making my stay so much fun, but its time for me to go now and become a GAME RANGER, whoo hoo!!
Love always,
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