Day 19 - Maun, Botswana

Here we are in Maun, and what a dump it is! Although it's quite a big town by African standards, it's pitiful. The shops are all run down and the whole place is just covered in a thick layer of dust; it's like some post-apocalyptic scene... Or Swanley.

However, we're not here for the scenery of the town, but instead this is The Gateway To The Delta. That is The Okovango Delta, one of the great natural wonders of the world where millions of migrating animals head for breeding and to refresh themselves in the rising floodwaters that fill the great sandy plains. However, I think someone forgot to tell them as when we went on a nature walk this morning, all we saw were a few miserable looking storks paddling around in a muddy pool and lots of animal poo. Shame really as Zambia was so much different. I'm hoping that our luck will change this afternoon as we're going for a short flight over the delta to see it from the air as walking around it does it no justice.

Yesterday we were taken to one of the islands on the delta by a small boat called a Mokoro. It's a bit like a canoe, except that it's fashioned out of one long piece of trunk from the sausage tree (I kid you not!!). Though since they only last 5 years and sausage trees take 50 years to reach maturity, they are more likely to be made out of fibreglass these days. How depressing. The people that use them do not use paddles to power them, instead they punt them along like the gondoliers of Venice. These punters are not as attractive though, most of them are dressed in old bobble hats and shell suits though one of them bore a striking resemblance to the Witch Doctor out of that James Bond film. Just scary. We camped overnight on the island, but even within an hour of being there, some of the younger girls in the group were starting to say how bored they were. I've no idea what they were expecting.

We're coming to the end of the Africa trip now and in some ways, I can't wait. Most of the group are OK but people are starting to whinge now and there's a lot of talking behind people's backs going on. All very childish. Some of them are looking at getting flights from Maun to Jo'Burg as they can't face the two day marathon drive. I hope they can get tickets, but again someone should point out to them that this is actually an overland trip.

One of our tour leaders has gone out of action as he has ruptured something that's causing him a great deal of pain and has to have it operated on. This leaves us with only one driver and two full days ahead of us - They obviously haven't discovered the tachograph out here...