Clear Delta Waters

The flood waters of the Okavango Delta are unbelievably clear. From the surface it looks like any old swamp, and I expected the water to be murky and stagnant. But thanks to the sandy bottom and quick seasonal flow of the water, the result is just the opposite. The waters of the Okavango Delta are so pure and clean, in fact, that the locals use the river water untreated for drinking and cooking (and by locals I mean anyone actually living in the area, not just the Kalahari Bushmen).

This is the view of the water, looking down from our safari vehicle into a stream about 1.5 meters deep. The photo doesn't really do it justice, but you get the idea. In these floodwaters we saw a catfish that was the size of a small child, several hippopotomi (I figure the plural of 'hippopotamus' must be along the same lines as 'cactus' - 'cacti'), and the shadow of an African Rock Python as it swam around looking for prey at night.

This is Max, our guide at Seba Camp, sitting in the driver's seat of the Land Cruiser we used to go on our game drives. The vehicle was amazing - it was perfectly equipped to take on both the soft sand of the bush trails as well as the flood waters of the Delta, thanks to a snorkel and some heavy duty low-pressure tires. Sometimes we would drive through rivers or lakes so deep that the water would come up around the doors and flood into the interior of the Land Cruiser. To accomodate and keep the passengers dry, the seats in the vehicle were raised up really high, so much so that my legs dangled over the edge without touching the floor. Between the elevated seats, my swinging legs, and the exitement of seeing all sorts of exotic animals, I must admit I felt like a little kid!

This was the view from inside the Land Cruiser as Max led us through deep flood waters. Water would rush inside the vehicle and swirl underneath our dangling legs, much to my delight.

This is a bridge over an especially deep portion of the Okavango flood basin made out of floating Mopane logs and wire. The camp supervisor, a Scottish guy named Tom, came to Botswana after being hired to build this bridge. He liked the place so much, and the owner of Seba Camp was so pleased with his work, that Tom decided to stay in Botswana indefinitely. In addition to being quite functional, this bridge expanded my definition of an engineering project.

This was a typical sight as we'd head out on our early morning game drives - fan palms reflected on the still flood waters. The absence of wind in this part of Botswana was striking.