Day 15: Maun – South Gate (Moremi)

At 6:15 am we are picked up on time by a Helicopter Horizon employee.

The helicopter feels tiny, the pilot (Andrew), a second man for sightings (Brian) and us. No doors, so a clear view. And off we go. A dream!

We fly over a steppe-like landscape and dry farmland, over the southern fence to the edge of the forest and in a loop over the southern delta. In this region it has largely dried up.

It is remarkable that the Okavango Delta is fed by the rains in Angola and the water takes about five months to get here. So it is actually the rainwater that we got in Angola.

It is wonderful to see the animals' tracks from above, the herds of zebras, antelopes and elephants. And the hippos in the waters are very funny – one is chilling floating on its back like in a bathtub.

The wide view over the landscape and the network of animal trails is also great.

Absolutely cool!

At 9:30 am we are back at the hotel, having breakfast and set off for Moremi/South Gate.

We have our first encounter with elephants at a waterhole about halfway there. We probably meet the same family with eleven animals again about 4 hours and many kilometers later.

We also see kudus, springboks, ibexes, giraffes ...

The spot at the South Gate is good, the last one on the site and nice and secluded. It's not busy here anyway.

While we are cooking, another group of elephants trots past, only about 15 away from us. It is always amazing how leisurely the animals seem and how quickly they move. We are delighted.

Finally, in the dark, we get a visit from two honey badgers – what stinkers!