Because it was Spring Vacation we took a trip to the northern part of Botswana and then to Zimbabwe. We left early Saturday morning. And when I say early I mean early. We left at 5 am. After a miserable 10 hour bus ride we arrived at a back packers lodge where we spent 2 nights. Saturday night included some drama between some of our drunken group and 2 locals. Sunday we went to the Okavango Delta. There we got in these canoes and went down it. Each canoe consisted of 2 international students and a guide. The canoes moved by the guides using these long sticks to push off the bottom of the Delta. It really wasn't very deep in some places.
The Delta had a lot of water lilies and long reeds. I felt like Pocahontas as we maneuvered through the lily pads and water lilies. It was very hot though, because there wasn't any shade. After around an hour on the Delta we arrived at this island. Once there we went on a walk around it. We had hoped to see some animals but we didn't see any. I would have enjoyed the walk better if it wasn't so hot and if the walk was shorter. We ended up walking for about 3 hours in the very hot sun. I also did not enjoy this plant called Love Grass that attached itself to any clothing. I still haven't gotten all of it off my socks.
Once we were done with our walk we had lunch in this really nice area. It was in the shade and was a clearing. Lunch consisted of sandwiches and fruit. While we were eating we came across a snake in one of the trees. Being the international students that we are and the tourists that we are, we all went and looked at it. We found out later that it was a very poisonous snake, so I am very glad that none of us got bitten.
On the way back we stopped at this part of the Delta so that we could swim. I unfortunately could not swim because of a wound that I have, but did wade around in it. I also attempted to canoe. It is a lot harder than it seems. Using the stick to move forward wasn't so hard, however turning was nearly impossible. I also did the scene from the karate kid (the original, not the most recent crap one) where he stands on the edge of the canoe and attempts some karate moves. However, before I could attempt any of the moves, I was told to get off. It was really hot this day, and it was the only time I got burnt.
We rode in these safari trucks for the duration of our trip. There are no seat belts, and the edge of the car isn't very high. At first I was very afraid that I would fall out, however I soon got over that fear. Sometimes the next campsite was far away and we would spend at least 5 hours in the truck. Most of the time the road was dirt and had a lot of bumps in it making anything except listening to music nearly impossible. My hair was such a mess when this trip was done because of the wind that accompanied the openness of the car.
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