Wild at heart

Published on Sunday 2 September 2007 00:06

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS, if disturbed while mating, is not well pleased. Sugar almost learned the hard way, surprising a pair in the act while fishing from his mokoro in Botswana's Okavango Delta. One reared up in front of him, the other bore down from behind.

For a horrible moment he thought his time had come but he managed to manoeuvre his canoe into the thick, long grass and the hippos quickly lost interest. Had one gone for him, it could have bitten him in two as easily as if he were a swizzle stick.

He tells me this story as we glide across the inland delta in the brilliant light of early morning. It taught him, he says, to steer clear of the deeper channels, where hippos are more likely to be concealed. They copulate, give birth and nurse their young under water.

We have to cross several such channels, however. So I ask him: "When is the mating season?"

"Now", he replies.

We are on our way to one of the many islands formed by the flood which begins as torrential rain on Angola's Benguela Plateau and ends its journey as a shimmering network of rivers and lagoons in the Kalahari Desert, where most of it evaporates. This year's water levels are among the highest in 25 years.

Sugar is our guide's Anglicised name, English being Botswana's official language. In the local Tswana language it's Sukiri. He has been poling mokoros since he was seven, balancing at the stern like a gondolier. Traditionally, mokoros are dug-outs, made using the whole trunk of a tree, such as the mopane. But such trees can take 200 years to grow and the government has been trying to discourage deforestation - so this example is made of fibreglass.

The delta is a place of intense beauty. Lilies dot its placid surface. Their pads support the African jacana bird, which stalks delicately on feet that evolution has stretched to spread its weight. This apparent ability to walk on water earns the jacana its alternative name - the Jesus bird. The eye is caught suddenly by a tiny malachite kingfisher, with scarlet bill and flashing blue plumage. Crocodiles slide furtively from view at our approach. Hippos, observed from a respectful distance, feed noisily on great bundles of grass.

Sunset is a sudden fire, quickly extinguished. We watch it from the waterside bar at Eagle Island before being escorted back to our tent by a staff member in case a dangerous animal has slipped into the camp. 'Tent' is a loose description for our en-suite thatched hut with a bed under a mosquito net, double wash basins, air-conditioning, a phone and a wooden balcony with loungers. This is not for those who feel camping should involve an element of hardship.

The camp is one of three in Botswana run by Orient-Express. To reach them we flew overnight to Johannesburg, spending a day there and a night at its sister hotel, the tranquil and luxurious Westcliff, flying north next morning to the small delta gateway town of Maun and completing the journey by light aircraft.

First stop is Elephant Camp, which is outside the delta on the enigmatic Savute Channel, which fills with water every 25 to 30 years. It is about due but during our visit it is dust-dry and the herds of huge elephants that give the camp its name gather at artificial watering holes.

On an afternoon game drive, a keen-eyed fellow traveller spots lion tracks and, after a long search, our guide spies a large male lazing beneath a bush about 50 metres away. But male lions are the couch potatoes of the animal kingdom and this one is true to form. We wait silently for around ten minutes in fading light before he deigns to raise his great head, allowing us a proper view.

A short flight takes us to Khwai River Lodge, a camp on the edge of the delta. Just sitting by the pool there with binoculars makes the stay worthwhile. A purple heron waits motionless for the flicker of fish. Red lechwe (antelopes) graze on the flood plain and the inevitable hippos lumber and snort through the long grass just a few metres away.

Excursions with a guide known as KG and his dreadlocked trainee assistant Bob - after Marley, that is - prove even more rewarding. Towards dusk we find our first leopard, a female, slinking co-operatively close in the undergrowth with a cub. She seems totally unfazed by our presence and the furious clicking of cameras.

Early next morning we drive across a rackety wooden causeway into the Moremi Game Reserve, where we see wild dogs stalking more antelopes, impala this time. "One of those impala is going to be someone's breakfast," says KG, but they are too fast. They show the dogs their black-and-white rump 'M' markings - which guides call "bush McDonald's" - and go leaping off among the scrub. The dogs turn their attention to a group of lechwe but are frustrated again as their intended prey splash into a small lagoon and stay there, braving the crocodiles to defy their reluctant pursuers.

Days in camp begin at 6am, with coffee and biscuits delivered to our tent. Then it's a light breakfast at 6.30am, of porridge or the universal African staple, mealie-meal, followed by a game drive and a huge late-morning brunch.

Mornings are very chilly but by now it is hot and there are three hours or so to relax or swim before afternoon tea and another drive.

Drinks after dark are served around a fire of mopane wood, which is so hard and heavy it burns all night. Dinners, under a blaze of stars, are memorable. Besides delicious dishes such as sweet potato soup and Cape Malay chicken curry, we sample a splendid warthog stew and some crocodile tail.

Before each evening's drive we are offered sundowners. As we stand by the vehicle watching two hippos scrapping in the river, KG pours an American an enormous beaker of white wine. "Now," he tells her, "you will see pink elephants."

Fact file: BOTSWANA

This safari was organised by Edinburgh-based Exsus Travel (0131 476 6522, www.exsus.com). The firm offers packages including flights from Edinburgh (via London and Johannesburg), local flights in Botswana and two nights at each camp (Savute, Khwai River and Eagle Island) from 3,738 per person, based on two sharing, this September and October (availability is limited).

Next year's rates (January-April) start at 3,198. Prices include all food, wine, beer and spirits (except premium brands), game drives, park fees and laundry. A night for two at the Westcliff costs 216 including airport transfers.