Okavango Delta - Northwest

Seronga, a small town on the eastern bank of the Okavango River in the northern Delta	Cow checking us out, Seronga	Dock on the Okavango River, Seronga	Anne's Okavango Taxi - boat service at Seronga
Anne's Okavango Taxi, Seronga	Boat ride along the Okavango River through the northern delta to Guma Lagoon Camp	Papyrus along the crystal-clear Okavango River	Okavango River, Botswana
African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) in flight over the northern Okavango	African fish eagle in flight	African fish eagle circling overhead, Northern Okavango	African fish eagle in flight over the Northern Okavango, Botswana
Palm island along the Okavango River near Seronga	Okavango River near Seronga, Botswana	Papyrus swamps along the Okavango River near Seronga	Okavango
Northern Okavango near Seronga	Northern Okavango near Seronga	Northern Okavango near Seronga	Northern Okavango near Seronga
A big crocodile, Okavango River, Botswana	He ran into the water before we got too close	After a couple of miles on the main Okavango River, we turned into a narrow channel cut through the papyrus swamps	Channel cut through the papyrus swamps of the Northern Okavango Delta leading to Guma Lagoon
Papyrus swamps of the Northern Okavango	Cyperus papyrus, Botswana	Papyrus reed swamp, Northern Okavango Delta, Botswana	Papyrus plant
Papyrus	Our group on the boat to Guma Lagoon, Northern Okavango Delta	Northern Okavango Delta, Botswana	Occasionally, the channel was blocked by clumps of papyrus that had broken away
The boat would just gather up some speed and ram its way through the barrier	Small islands in the vast papyrus swamps support trees	On the boat to Guma Camp, around a two-hour ride from Seronga	The dock at Guma Lagoon Camp
Tent at Guma Lagoon Camp, Northern Okavango Delta	Toilet of a Guma Lagoon Camp tent	Patio overlooking a hippo channel, Guma Lagoon Camp	Guma Lagoon Camp
Pleasant terrace at Guma Lagoon Camp	White-Browed Robin Chat (Cossypha heuglini)	Botswana10 751.jpg	Blacksmith Plover (Vanellus armatus), Guma Lagoon Camp
Blacksmith Plover (Vanellus armatus), Okavango Delta	Botswana10 766.jpg	Greater Blue-eared Glossy Starling (Lamprotornis chalybaeus), Botswana	Different bird - Angolan B747 passes high over the Okavango Delta between Jo'burg and Luanda
The dog at Guma Lagoon Camp	Big tree at Guma Lagoon Camp	Old termite mount, Guma Lagoon	Guma Lagoon Camp
Guma Lagoon Camp	Guma Lagoon Camp	Bird nest, Guma Lagoon	White Arabian horse running for the stable, Guma Lagoon Camp
Horse, Guma Lagoon Camp	Horse, Guma Lagoon Camp	Guma Lagoon, Northern Okavango Delta, Botswana	Guma Lagoon, Northern Okavango Delta, Botswana
Guma Lagoon, Northern Okavango Delta, Botswana	Our group on the terrace at Guma Lagoon Camp	Christian, Johannes, Stephanie, Reinhold, Ralph, Brian, Nicole, Anne	Impressive tree at Guma Lagoon Camp
Early morning, Guma Lagoon Camp, Northern Okavango Delta, Botswana	The terrace at Guma Lagoon Camp	Heading back through the papyrus channel to the start of our mokoro trail	Botswana10 803.jpg
Botswana10 805.jpg	Botswana10 807.jpg	Mokoro, the dugout canoe traditionally used for transport around the Okavango	One of our mokoro polers
Surprisingly, the mokoros we used were modern fibreglass boats	The small chairs made the mokoro somewhat more comfortable	Steffi & Johannes, Christian & Ralph	Start of the mokoro trail through an area of large trees
High water of the seasonal flood of the Okavango	Mokoro through the papyrus, Okavango Delta	Okavango Delta by mokoro	Okavango Delta by mokoro
Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus gambensis) in flight over the Okavango Delta	Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus gambensis) roosting - I had never seen a goose in a tree before...	Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus gambensis) in flight over the Okavango Delta	Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus gambensis) in flight over the Okavango Delta
Okavango Delta by mokoro	Northern Okavango Delta, Botswana	Okavango Delta by mokoro through the papyrus swamp	Okavango Delta by mokoro
I was hoping to see some of the wildlife that makes the Okavango Delta famous...	...but as the annual flood progresses, most of the wildlife retreats southwards as the water rises	There is little wildlife to see in the northern area of the Okavango Delta	To see the Okavango's wildlife, you need to spend the money and go to the Moremi Game Reserve in the south
African Fish Eagle perched over the Okavango Delta	African fish eagle	Okavango Delta by mokoro, relaxing until the day got hot	Okavango Delta by mokoro
Okavango Delta by mokoro	Grey Lourie (Corythaixoides concolor), also known as Go-away-bird	Steffi and Johannes	At our destination, a medium sized island where we hoped to see some wildlife
One of the mokoro polers led us on a walk around the island	An ancient baobab that just refuses to die, Northern Okavango Delta	Baobab with a hollowed out trunk	Baobab with a hollowed out trunk
Inside the still-living baobab tree	Two palms, Okavango Delta	Baobab tree, Northern Okavango Delta	Baobab tree, Northern Okavango Delta
Baobab tree, Northern Okavango Delta	These trees are so impressive	Baobab tree, Northern Okavango Delta	Baobab tree, Northern Okavango Delta
A fallen baobab tree	Walking safari on an island in the Northern Okavango Delta, Botswana	Baobab tree, Northern Okavango Delta	Baobab tree, Northern Okavango Delta
Elephant damage to a tree trunk	Northern Okavango Delta, Botswana	Northern Okavango Delta, Botswana	Botswana10 900.jpg
Lillies, Okavango Delta	Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus), Botswana	Another hardy tree that refuese to die, Okavango Delta	Termite mound, Okvango Delta
Wildlife - one of three elephants we saw on our walking safari	Big bull elephant, Okavango Delta walking safari	We have his undivided attention...	We'd best keep our distance...
Elephants, Northern Okavango Delta, Botswana	Elephant, Northern Okavango Delta	Elephant, Northern Okavango Delta	Elephant, Northern Okavango Delta
Elephant, Northern Okavango Delta	Elephant, Northern Okavango Delta	Elephant, Northern Okavango Delta	Elephant, Northern Okavango Delta
Elephant, Northern Okavango Delta	Elephant raising his trunk	Elephant sniffing for us	Large nest, perhaps Hamerkop, Okavango Delta
Back in the mokors after a light lunch on the island	Ralph and Christian on their mokoro	Mokoro, Okavango Delta	Lilly, Okavango Delta
Lilly, Okavango Delta	Dragonfly, Okavango Delta	It's getting hot...	Nicole, Okavango Delta
Nicole and her mirrored sunglasses	Reinhold and me in our mokoro, Okavango Delta	It would be great if more of the route was through the trees like this	Mokoro trail - almost back to the starting point
Mokoros among the shade of the big trees, Northern Okavango Delta	Okavango Delta	Palm, Okavango Delta	Swamped mokoro - luckily Stephanie and Johannes got out before the poler lost his balance
One of the mokoro drivers with a fresh Okavango hat	Botswana hat made with a lilly pad and flower	Botswana10 963.jpg	Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus), Botswana
Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus), Botswana	Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus), Botswana	Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus), Botswana	Mokoro loaded onto the speed boat for the ride back to camp
...it felt a bit like one of those chase scenes out of a James Bond movie	Speeding through the papyrus swamps of the Northern Okavango Delta	Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) in flight, Okavango Delta	Papyrus Swamps, Okavango Delta
Sunrise, Guma Lagoon Camp, Northern Okavango Delta, Botswana	We had a big day ahead - flying back to Namibia via Maun so we had to get an early start out of Guma Camp	Sunrise from the terrace of Guma Lagoon Camp	Sunrise from the terrace of Guma Lagoon Camp
Big crocodile near Seronga	On the river headed back to the airport at Seronga