The Incredible Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta is a Unesco World Heritage site. It is an incredible feat of nature where a section of the Kalahari desert floods each year. The rains in the North in the mountains of Angola flow through the rivers, into the area called the panhandle and then separate out like a fan creating the Delta. The Delta's waters are affected little by the amount of rain in Botswana and are largely controlled by the amount of rain in Angola, thousands of miles away. It takes 3 - 4 months for the waters from Angola to reach the Delta. When they do, the people of Botswana are overjoyed. They celebrate even the smallest trickle when it first arrives each year. These waters bring life. They are directly related to food sources for the people, the animals and irrigation for the crops.
Different parts of the Okavango Delta have different dynamics with the water flow. Some areas, such as Vumbura Plains hold water year-round, but at varying levels. Other areas dry up completely. The waters from Angola flow fast and free, but then, as the rains in Angola diminish, the flow slows and eventually, many areas of the Delta dry up. This is cyclacle, but no two years are ever the same. Sometimes the Angolan rains start early so the floods of the plains come early. Other times there are barely any rains, so the flood is late or drought takes over. While Botswana itself may get supplemental rain, the amounts of rain in the desert are never enough to flood the Delta. It is directly dependent on rainwater running down the mountains in Angola and through the rivers until it spills out in the Kalahari desert. Strangely enough, dry season in Botswana actually corresponds with the highest flood season of the Delta.
Birds-eye view of the Okavango Delta
The take off was incredibly smooth and peaceful. Moving forward you gain altitude quickly and you are sky-high before you even realize it. The first few minutes were spent in awe of the incredible winding hippo highways through the long grasses of the Delta.
Safari from the Sky
After a couple of minutes of seeing amazing, lush scenery our pilot started to point out the animals. The first clear sighting for me was elephants eating the long grasses and likely chewing on water lilies of the Delta. Next, we saw some hippos, but I didn't have my camera settings figured out yet so the photos didn't turn out. (You need 1/2500th or faster for those who might be wondering!). I expected to see elephants and hippos but ...
Helicopter Safari - What you might see!
I did not expect to see lion cubs from the helicopter!
The headset crackled, and our pilot Brett said, 'Let's get a little closer. We'll just do a quick loop around to see them again.' (lions) He was careful not to go too close as to scare them, but close enough so we could see their sweet little faces!
The helicopter took a steep dip, nose pointed forward and down as we took a sharp turn to the left. Did I mention I was sitting on the left and there are no doors! You instinctively reach out to hold on to something, but there are no holy shit handles in the little helicopter!
You can feel the vibration and whirring of the helicopter blade in your chest like a repeated thud. As the helicopter turns sharply, the wind whooshing through the entire helicopter presses on your entire body and takes your breath away, quite literally.
As the helicopter levels out, you manage to take a deep breath and have just long enough to be grateful for the beauty surrounding you before you take another sharp turn and reach out still to find nothing to hold on to but thin air! The pilot says with a chuckle 'Don't worry. I've never lost anyone.' Mostly reassuring, I suppose.
Down below, you see the sweetest little lion faces, and for a moment, it doesn't matter if you can't breathe. You trust that your seatbelt is secure as you lean hard left toward an open doorway. Nearby, we saw daddy lion as well, resting in the shade under a clump of trees.
Zebras, Giraffes, Red Letchwes, Oh My!
Okavango Delta Masterpiece
Everywhere you look in the Okavango Delta is nature's masterpiece. Absolutely stunning. It was so lush and green everywhere.
At this time of year, the Delta was retreating(November), but Vumbura Plains are in flood year-round. While the water levels retreat and some places become dry, the water is ever-present in the main part of the Delta, albeit at varying levels. Animals adapt and change their feeding habits and territory based on the water levels. Some learn to swim, like lions and leopards. Others learn to leap over hippo highways like the red letchwes.
From the sky, it is a never-ending network of beautiful artwork combining flood plains, long grasses, water lilies and trails created by hippos as they move in and out of the deep water to feed on land each night. These pathways are called hippo highways.
Our island lodge from the sky
Welcome Home!
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Shari- what great captures you got of the animals from the chopper! We also did the helicopter tour over the Delta while on our trip with you and it was amazing. We actually landed on a random island to toast with champagne- our pilot picked an island with a big tree so we would have some shade while we were there! What an incredible experience! Even seeing little Vumbura island where our lodging was – such a wonderful opportunity for us to put things in more perspective. This trip was fantastic!!