August 4th, 2016

Day 126: The Okavango Delta – Day 3

We jumped out of bed with our second 5AM wake-up call in order to finish packing our bags before our last game drive. The Delta sent us off in style, with another fantastic lion encounter, and plenty of time for a 10:30AM departure back to Jumbo Junction. Our stay at Kadizora Camp in the Okavango Delta has truly been the highlight of our trip so far – a magical experience that we will never forget!

 

Our final sunrise game drive in the Okavango Delta. It’s chilly, so we get heavy parkas to wear during the drive, although by the time our second breakfast rolls around, it’s warmed up a lot

 

Our guide, Pat, finds the two lions we heard but couldn’t find the day before!

 

The male is fully grown – look at that mane! And his lady has a GPS tag! We heard there were some lions tagged as part of a study to see how many lions actually attack the cattle on nearby farms. Hopefully this girl resists the temptation for a beef dinner!

 

This lovey-dovey pair is a little kinky. After the male shows his interest to *get it on*, the female pees on the ground, and he starts drinking it up!

 

Yeah, I’d have that face after drinking someone’s pee, too.

 

It’s hard to top a lion sighting, but we did see many other animals too: head-butting impalas, zebras, and giraffes

 

Driving through the hippo pool on our boat ride back to the shore

 

Making our way through the hippo trails – a beautiful farewell to the Okavango Delta

Once we reached land, the serenity of our delta stay broke and the rest of the day descended into chaos. We planned to meet up with Russell from Green Bushpig at 2PM back at Drotsky’s Cabins in order to swap rental cars with him (in an attempt to avoid one-way fees and keep the rental costs down, he would return the CRV to Windhoek, where he would be picking up new clients for another safari, while we would take a Britz SUV back to Johannesburg). However, by the time we got back into our car at Jumbo Junction, it was already 11:30, giving us only three hours to complete a 4hr drive. Igor was positive he could shave some time off our ETA by speeding down dirt roads at 90KMPH – that worked for about 45min until he flew over a pothole and finally popped one of our worn-out tires (honestly, it’s a miracle they lasted this long, with the punishment we’ve been putting them through).

Igor pulled out the jack and tried to make quick work of the tire change, only to find out that the jack we had was too short for the CRV! The tire was still on the ground when the jack was fully extended! We hoped we were just parked on an angle, so we turned the car around and tried again. A local guy sitting in front of his nearby village was watching our struggles and soon walked over carrying a very large rock, which he used to help prop up the jack. Once Igor got all the bolts off the wheel, he tried to pull it off the spoke, but it wouldn’t budge – even with both Igor and our helper guy pulling it! Luckily, one of the cars we had blown past earlier rolled up, and the driver stopped (curious to see what was going on) – turns out he had a tool box on him. He pulled out a rubber mallet and gave the tire one good WHACK!, and the tire fell off!

After the tire was safely changed, and we tipped our Good Samaritan for his help, we drove as quickly as we dared to the Mohembe Ferry. While we were the only car crossing on the way out at 9AM, there was a long, LONG line waiting to return at 1:30PM! The ferry took 10 minutes, each way, and could only carry 3 cars max with each trip – we calculated that we would be waiting at least another hour just to cross! Our SIM card didn’t work in Botswana, so we had so way to call Russell and warn him that we were running late, either.

 

A flat tire and a ridiculous line at the ferry. What else can go wrong?

We were so relieved when we finally crossed the river at 3PM and saw a white guy standing next to a Britz Fortrunner waiting on the other side – Russell! Clearly, he’s used to the craziness of African travel and realized we must be stuck at the ferry when we were over an hour late. “I was watching you through my binoculars!” he said laughing. We followed him back to Drotsky’s for a late lunch and to wrap up a few loose ends regarding the final leg of our trip. At 5:15PM, we packed up and jumped into our *new* Fortuner and sped down the (tarred) road to the Namibian boarder, as we needed to get across before it closed at 6PM sharp! We all made it through just before sunset, and Lindsay and Igor started their long drive to the next lodge – 3hrs down the Caprivi Strip.

 

We finally meet Russell in person! While the CRV was a great beater car, we are so psyched to trade her in for a 2016 Toyota Fortuner – it still has new-car smell!

About 15min down the road, a car behind us starts flashing their lights. Annoyed, Igor slows down to let the guy pass – when he does, we are surprised to see Russell! He tells he feels uncomfortable letting us drive 3 hours in the dark in Africa (in the Caprivi Strip no less, which is notorious for elephants and Cape Buffalo crossing the street). He asks us to forgo the next lodging and come back to Nunda Lodge with him instead. We’d have a longer drive the next day, but it would be safer. He insists that he would be able to reuse the voucher for that night with a future client, so we finally agree. Besides, it gave us an excuse to break bread with him and hear crazy stories about his career in the safari biz!

Once we reached the lodge, Igor logged onto their Wifi to warn his mother that there was a change in plans. Good thing he did, as Inna was apparently watching our Spot’s GPS signal in real time, and had already sent a frantic email asking why we had “deviated from the itinerary.” Don’t worry Inna, we’re safe. 🙂

 

While Igor would have braved the drive in the dark, Lindsay was glad when he agreed to play it safe and spend the night at Nunda Lodge instead. While they were totally booked, Russell generously gave us his bungalow and took a guide room instead. Thank you, Nunda Lodge and Green Bushpig Safaris! You guys may have saved our lives.