I learned on my first safari in Kenya a few years back that, while hippos may peep their head out of the water, they usually only get out of the water at night to look for food. It’s rare to see a hippo out of the water during the day. So when I saw this family of hippos sunbathing on a little island in the Chobe River in Botswana, I knew I was witnessing a rare site.

Check out more photos from my safari in Chobe National Park.

Cape of Good Hope, South Africa

Five months. That means I’m over halfway through my trip now (sad!). It was another absolutely spectacular month of travel. No time for small talk, let’s cut straight to the adventures.

Skydiving Namibia

This Month’s Happenings:
1. Hitchhiked the Trans-Kalahari Highway from Botswana to Namibia (and made it to the coast of Namibia in one day by a small miracle).
2. Went skydiving on my birthday the next morning in Swakopmund. Amazing!
3. Went on a six-day safari to Etosha National Park and Sossusvlei (famous sand dunes) with Chameleon Safaris.
4. Spent two amazing weeks in Cape Town
5. Visited Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and many other political activists were imprisoned during apartheid.
6. Took the cable car up Table Mountain for magnificent views.
7. Went to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope.
8. Took a day trip to Simon’s Town (where there are penguins!), Kalk Bay, and St. James, fishing villages along the coast.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

9. Spent two Saturday afternoons at the Old Biscuit Mill, a funky, crowded market with delectable food options.
10. Made a new friend Nomonde in the township of Langa, spending the afternoon learning about apartheid and eating at her magnificent restaurant.
11. Flew to Bangkok, where I met my college friend (yes, I’m no longer a solo traveler for now!), stayed 1 night and then took the train to Cambodia.
12. Visited Angkor Wat, the largest religious structure in the world, along with other equally as amazing temples.
13. Lounged in a hammock bar overlooking rice fields in Siem Reap. The U.S. really needs these!
14. Rode on a bamboo train in Battembang and visited another beautiful temple.
15. Enjoyed street food every day in Cambodia- including fresh fruit shakes. Yum!

Wow. When you write it down it’s crazy. I think, “Really Laura? Is that all you did in a month’s time?” (hint: sarcastic tone involved).  Today I’m hiking two small mountains to see more temples and then partaking in a cooking class this evening. Can’t wait!

My friend & our awesome driver at Hammock Bar in Cambodia

The Okavango Delta is a 16,000 sq. km. wetland comprised of lagoons, channels, and islands and is the world’s largest inland delta. It is formed where the Okavango River empties into a swamp in the Kalahari Desert, with water flowing down from the rainfall in Angola. My plans to visit Botswana revolved around visiting this enchanting place. I had been staying in Kasane for the past few days to go on a Chobe River Cruise. In order to get to Maun, where most budget trips into the Delta commence, I couldn’t travel straight south to get there. I had to take a bus east to Nata and then catch another bus heading southwest to Maun. Getting to Maun was a small miracle. I had booked a taxi to come pick me up at the Chobe River Lodge at 5:20am. The bus, scheduled to leave at 6am, actually leaves when full so it’s best to get there early. At 5:27am, the taxi still wasn’t there so the lodge called someone else. He showed up at 5:35am, was half the price of the other taxi, and I got the very last seat on the bus. Phew! I was dropped off in Nata a few hours later where I had to wait at a petrol station for an hour and a half for a bus coming from the capital city Gabarone. I passed my time sitting on a curb, people watching and feeding a stray dog. When I arrived in Maun, I took a taxi to my hostel and secured a spot on an overnight mokoro trip for the following day.

Peace & tranquility on the Delta

A Little Background

A mokoro is a shallow dugout canoe typically carved from a sausage tree, although newer ones are being made from fiberglass. Rather than paddles, the mokoro is pushed through the Delta by a poler, a man who stands in the back with a bamboo pole. Most trips organized from Maun are booked through the Okavango Polers Trust. This collective was formed in 1998 by the Seronga Community; it is entirely run by the community and profits are shared by the workers.

From my hostel, I would be going on the overnight trip with three students from California.  The trip is self-catered so you must bring your own food and camping gear, and typically, it is polite to bring food for your guides as well. I had bread, peanut butter, muesli, and oranges with me, since I didn’t have any cooking equipment. I was hoping that whoever was on my trip as well might have something a little more exciting with them to offer the guides. But I was oh so wrong. These comical kids from California showed up 20 minutes late and hungover. We climbed in the speedboat that was to take us to the village from which our mokoro trip would depart, and halfway into this ride, the students realized they had forgotten their food bag. They only had a half box of corn flakes, peanut butter, apples, and cookies for the three of them for the next two days. What ensued was a fun-filled adventure with two guides who were good-hearted and found us to be a bit of a joke. However, at least we provided them with a good laugh, and in return, they took us on the trip of a lifetime.

The Trip Begins

On the speed boat on our way to the village where we would meet our guides, we passed two horses drinking in the Delta. They were highlighted under the morning sunlight, and it was an omen for the magical trip that was about to begin.

We met our guides Edward and Loxion, and they went to ‘prepare themselves’ in the village before we could leave. Twenty minutes later we tossed our camping equipment in the dugout canoes, climbed in, and drifted off into the delta. We drifted along for about 2-1/2 hours, plowing our own route through the reeds, watching the lily pads and fauna as we sailed on by.

I Hear Elephants

We arrived on our little island and went about setting up our tents- or attempting to. My fellow trip mates had a pole that didn’t go with their tent, and let’s just say when they set it up, it was a lopsided mess! Of course, don’t underestimate the ingenuity of Africans. Our guide Edward swooned in and asked for a pocketknife. Hello, we barely have food, of course we don’t have a pocketknife. Fortunately, one of the girls is a smoker and had matches on her, so Edward melted the string holding the pole parts together and made it the right length to fit. We soon heard a noise, and our guide said it was an elephant. “Can we go search for it?” I asked. “Now?” he replied. “Yeah!” So we dropped what we were doing and went out on the hunt. Within five minutes we stumbled upon two elephants shaking the trunk of a palm tree to get fruit. It was so cool. I can’t get over how strong their trunks are.

We walked back to camp and lazed around before heading back out in our mekoro (plural for mokoro). A short ride later to another island, we went for a bush walk. We got back into the mekoro just in time to sail through the Delta at sunset. It’s unbelievably magnificent, sitting in the quiet of the Delta with only the swoosh of the moving reeds as you meander through them.

Sunset on the Delta

How to be Easily Entertained

That evening, with little food, no alcohol, and just a fire to sit around, we asked our guides to sing for us. And to our surprise, Edward sings a song. We clap and then he proceeds to tell another girl that it is her turn. She jokingly starts a line from “Twinkle twinkle little star,” and it turns out that Edward knows the song. So we all join in to this goofy campfire experience. I’m next, and I believe I sing a Disney song. Our other guide sings a really cool song. This takes up all of about five minutes. Hmm, now what. Games? Yes, teach us some games please. Edward teaches us two Botswana games that I’m pretty sure only five-year-olds play. While I doubt any other campers out that night on mokoro trips are playing children’s games around the fire, we have the best time! We laugh, we joke, and soon we retire to bed.

Sunrise on the Delta

Elephants- before they tried to kill us.

Looking for the elephant

Elephant. Run!

After another night of on and off sleeping due to being cold, Edward wakes us up at 6am to go for another early morning bush walk. We experience the sunrise from the mokoro, and it’s another beautiful day in the Delta. Drama unfolds on this second bush walk. We had been watching a family of elephants for a while, until they disappeared into some trees. We walk through a grassy plain and duck into a brushy area to see if we can spot other animals. And then we stumble upon an elephant, not ten feet away, who starts pawing at the ground. We start walking briskly, Loxion starts wigging out. He ducks to the left and takes off in a sprint, and that’s when I realize the seriousness of the situation. We all take off in a run, however, most of us did not see the elephant so we had no idea what we’re running from. We finally stop by a fallen tree, and the guides climb up to see if they can spot the elephant. He’s maybe 50 meters away and pacing. The guides duck when he turns in our direction. The next thirty minutes walking back to our mekoro were spent in complete silence. No one said a word, and we were all hoping to make it off the island safely!

After the bush walk, we come back to camp for breakfast, where we make a bowl of cereal for our guides and rest before heading back to the village. As we drift through the Okavango Delta for the last time, we exchange few words. It’s a moment of contemplation and reflection for all of us who have spent our summer in Africa, having some of the best times of our lives. At the conclusion of our trip, we hop out of the canoes and repeatedly thank our guides while apologizing for our lack of food. When we jokingly ask Edward, “Are we the worst campers you’ve ever had?” his response, with a straight face, is “Yes.” We laugh and assume he must have misunderstood the question, for there is no doubt that these polers had a new experience singing and teaching us children’s games.

If you are interested in going on a mokoro trip and are staying in Maun, shop around. All of the backpacking hostels there use the Okavango Polers Trust if you’re going on a trip in the area, yet I found that prices varied pretty drastically. I also think that it’s necessary to do an overnight trip. With a day trip, you’ll miss out on the sunset and sunrise on the delta, and it’s just too short!

Climbing into the back of the truck

I sat against the back of the cab, on top of my backpack.

What's a grown-up?

We discovered that there was a door on top that opened. Driving down the ride as we hung out the top was like Disney World goes to Africa.

Time to board the ferry!

When we got to the Zambia-Botswana border it was a bit crazy. There were truckers lined up forever. You see, when you cross the Zambezi River there are four countries that meet here: Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana. For the 2 minute ferry ride that can only carry one 18-wheeler truck and a few cars, you would think they would have a bridge to resolve the traffic jam. However, Zimbabwe refuses to agree. Why? Because they hope to divert traffic from Zambia going to Botswana to come via Zimbabwe. Therefore, there’s always a long line here.

The ferry between Botswana and Zambia

Glimpse at the trucks on Botswana's side waiting on the ferry.

A clever sticker on the truck.

Parking in the bush

After we got into Kasane, the journalists really wanted to bush camp, so we thought ‘Why not?’  We stopped at the grocery store to pick up meat and headed out into the bush. Not 5 minutes after parking the truck, we heard elephants. Time for a bush walk!

Elephant poop

I promise it's an elephant butt!

We spotted the elephant. And then another. And then we realized we were semi- surrounded by them.  Time to head back to the campsite and cook dinner. Little did I know that these rough looking journalists (one of them is a self-proclaimed redneck) were actually food connoisseurs when it comes to camping. We had ox tongue as an appetizer and steak with stuffed gem squash.

View from my tent

Heating water for tea before we pack up!

After a nice breakfast, we packed up our junk and cleaned up our camping area. The truck did not want to start this morning, but after some TLC by the owner we were on our way. Getting out of the bush was an adventure (I took a video and one of these days I will post it). We stopped once we reached the road to take the truck out of 4 wheel drive. And that’s when we realized that we had lost our front license plate. The driver thought we may have lost it when we were heading into the bush yesterday so it was time to retrace our route.

Back into the bush to search for the lost license plate

Sadly, we did not find the front license plate and the guys wouldn’t be able to cross the border without it. So, we asked around and found out that there’s a tour company in town that can make a license plate for you in a few hours. Apparently it’s quite a common thing to get new plates made.

Warthogs walking in town? Sweet!

A tour company makes license plates?

The plate would take an hour and it turned out that this tour company was offering a better deal on the Chobe River Cruise than a lodge we had asked. So, the journalists decided to stay another night and go on the river cruise. One of the journalists has done this cruise five times and said that this time around was the best yet. Stay tuned to read about the Chobe River Cruise tomorrow! (Btw: I ended up camping with these guys again for another night but we stayed at a campsite to have a shower)

Bush Camping Info:
In Namibia, it’s quite common to camp freely along the road. In Botswana, I think it’s slightly more strict. If you decide to bush camp, make sure you get far enough away from civilization that people won’t see your fire. ALWAYS take everything with you that you brought into the bush. And have someone with you that’s experienced at this sort of thing. Someone should sleep near the fire in case they need to scare away an animal. In general, you should never get out of your tent if you hear an animal (especially if you hear a lion in the area as we did).

I know last week’s Montage Monday was a sunset photo. But what can I say… I’m a sucker for a good sunset. I spent two days on a mokoro trip in the Okavango Delta in Botswana, and it was magical. That’s the best word I can use to describe it. Of course, I think the picture speaks for itself.

July 11th. Seven eleven. Perhaps the greatest day ever. While it is the finals of the World Cup today between Spain and Holland, more importantly, it’s my birthday! I’m spending the day in Swakopmund, on the coast of Namibia. It was a rough couple of days in order to make it here, but with some determination, it all worked out.

The Bus That Didn’t Exist
Friday, July 9th, I left my hostel in Maun at 5:40am to get to the bus station by 6am. It turns out that contrary to what my hostel told me, there was actually no 6:30am bus to Ghanzi but rather an 8:30am bus. After taking this bus, I am to hitchhike to Windhoek, as there is no public transport once you reach the Namibian border for the first 100km. I sat bundled up in my sleeping bag for nearly two hours waiting for the bus to come. It showed up, and I couldn’t wait to seek warmth inside, however, the driver had misplaced the key to the boot so I had to stand outside for another 15 minutes with my bags waiting for the key search to conclude. I climbed on the bus and people-watched until we pulled away from the station. We hadn’t even made it out of town when I was passed out. I recall being woken up at the first stop we made to pick up other passengers but I had fallen back asleep before we even pulled away again. Camping in the freezing cold clearly has not treated me well. My seat buddy poked me awake again when we came to a Veterinary Control Point. These points are on all the major roads in Botswana, and you must exit the bus and have your bags searched for any cattle products (beef, milk, etc.) as they are trying to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease. You must then step through a puddle of water and board the bus on the other side of the puddle. I got back on the bus, and as you probably already guessed, I fell right back asleep. We got into Ghanzi at 1pm. I knew it was too late to hitchhike to Namibia, but I was living in denial so I had the taxi drop me off outside of town. After one hour with no success, I walked into a nearby market with my tail between my legs and asked the girl at the counter to call the taxi to come back and pick me up.

Friendly Folks
I checked in at the Kalahari Arms Hotel and set up my tent to camp for the night. While it is a nice hotel, don’t ever stay there. The owner is horrible to the workers and nearly as rude to the patrons as well, going so far as to lie to me so she didn’t have to get up out of her chair. Anyhow, I hit up the grocery, where I met a white farmer who came back to the hotel to have a drink with me. It was quite funny, as he’s lived in Botswana his entire life, and has barely traveled in Africa. ‘Aren’t you scared traveling alone?’ He was even shocked that I was hitchhiking in western Botswana, which is perhaps the safest place in Africa to do so. After this funny conversation I walked back to the camping area where I was greeted by a South African couple around my parents’ age. They were headed for a 24 day tour through Angola, and when I expressed to them that I had no idea Angola had tourist sites and asked what they were, they replied that they weren’t really sure either ☺ I sat down for a cup of tea with them, which led to a hearty dinner and good conversation.

Hitchhiking Botswana to Namibia
I didn’t sleep well as I nearly froze camping; my feet were like blocks of ice. That night was the final straw for me. There will be no more camping until I get a warmer blanket. I took a taxi to the hitching spot again and assumed I would have immediate luck, as everyone I had met who had hitched this area before made it out to be ‘so easy’. The minutes ticked by and more locals continued to show up for hitching. The traffic was slow, and it was mostly locals. By some miracle, I met another man who also was hitching to Windhoek, and he said we should hitch to The Junction 40km outside of town There, you will also find the traffic coming from South Africa so you’re much more likely to get a ride. We jumped in the back of a lorry at 9:45am. At The Junction, it was again, a small miracle. Botswana was conducting a Road Safety road block, by which every vehicle had to pull over and get out of the car for a briefing on road safety. Therefore, even truckers who may not normally stop for hitchers were having to stop. The first truck willing to pick us up was only going as far as the border. No good. The next truck wouldn’t take hitchers. Then, two trucks pulled up together with the address printed on the side as Windhoek, Namibia. They got their briefing and as one of them was stepping away I ran up to approach him before others could. “Are you by chance going to Windhoek today?” He said, “Yes” and I’m pretty sure you could see the glimmer of hope in my eyes. “Would it be possible for me to get a ride?” I asked. They wanted to know if I was alone. I explained that I was traveling alone, however, another man wanted to go to Windhoek too. “Well, we are not allowed to take passengers into Windhoek so we can take you as far as the border or maybe Gobabis.” “Gobabis sounds great,” I said, as I knew I could get public transport from there. I grabbed my bags and never looked back.

Climbing into the giant rig, I was amused by the built-in shocks on the seats. They bounced up and down at every bump in the road, and I was like “Wow this is so cool.” Yes, I know, probably not the ‘cool’ thing to say. I again got lucky because my driver was really normal while his friend who was driving the truck behind us was a bit of a sleeze. My driver said, “That one, he is very naughty. He drinks a lot. And he really likes women. I don’t know why. But he can’t just see a woman without talking to her.” I had a good laugh at this, but when we made our first stop for gas, the other driver climbed up to the cab where I was sitting and told me about these ‘beautiful Canadian women’ he had once picked up hitching. As I was telling the driver how I wanted to make it to Swakopmund that night in time for my birthday, he said, “Well maybe I can take you all the way to Windhoek. Otherwise, you won’t make it,” I practically leapt out of the seat to hug him, and for the first time that day, I think the knots in my stomach went away.

The border crossing was fine, we just had to wait about 20 minutes on Namibia’s side for the trucker to declare his goods. He stopped at a shop after the border so I could change my money, and then we were back on the road. We had a nice conversation most of the way, and when we got into Windhoek 7 hours later, he drove me out of his way to the shared taxi station. He parked his rig at a gas station and walked me to the taxis to make sure I could still get a ride to Swakopmund that night. I am forever grateful for this driver who picked me up. He wished me a Happy Birthday, I thanked him again, and was almost sad to say good-bye.

I climbed into the shared taxi, which by the way is a great idea. It’s essentially a mini-bus of people heading in the same direction but you don’t pick up people along the way. The ride was about 4-1/2 hours to Swakopmund. The driver said he knew the hostel Desert Sky where I wanted to stay but instead pulled up to a place called Desert Adventures, or something like that. We drove around and asked directions, and when we did find the hostel, it was dark out front. Grreeat. We rang the bell and a woman came out who I’ve clearly woken up. They are full. Although I said I wouldn’t camp again, I was desperate. Also full. I tell the driver I’ll be fine, and he starts to get back in the van. I pull out my map to search for another place. It’s dark and the streets are empty. Ten seconds later the driver gets out, picks up my bags, and puts them back in the car. It’s 11pm at night, there are still 4 more people in the minibus waiting to be taken to Walvis Bay, but he wants to makes sure I have a place to stay. We drive around town to three other places until we come upon a hostel with an outrageously loud bar above it. By this point I’m desperate and as the minutes pass, I feel so guilty making the other passengers wait. The bouncer says that they have a room, and I jump for joy. I run out to get my stuff but the driver is still worried that he’s leaving me at some bar and not a hostel, so he walks me back to the reception. I thank him a million times over and then check into my dorm room. Although the bar is raging since Germany just won the game over Uruguay (and Swakopmund is a German settlement), I shower, fall into bed, and sleep more soundly than I have in weeks.

It’s my party and I’ll (insert word here) if I want to!
My transportation issues were practically pure dumb luck. I am so thankful for meeting a man who told me about The Junction, for my truck driver who took me 500km to Windhoek, and for my taxi driver who refused to leave me stranded at 11pm at night. The forces aligned, and now I’m in Swakopmund for perhaps one of the best birthday celebrations thus far (and an adrenaline rush that I’m sure not to forget)!

Victoria Falls, Zambia

I’m nearing the halfway point of my trip. When I take the time to reflect on where I’ve been and what I’ve done in four short months, it’s baffling. Sure I’m a little over budget, well maybe more than a little, but purely by choice. Some of the countries I’ve been to I’m certain I’ll revisit, while others on this trip may be my only chance to explore and discover what they have to offer. I’m not about to miss out!

So, what did I do in month 4 you ask?

1. Volunteered in Monkey Bay, Malawi at the Back to School Foundation. An excellent organization sponsoring orphans to go to secondary school and providing free tutoring for the community.
2. Took the Ilala Ferry on Lake Malawi for 36 long hours. The most miserable transport to date, I was fortunate to find some really great friends aboard that made up for the seasickness (post coming soon!)
3. Spent a week of paradise on Likoma and Chizumulu Islands, Lake Malawi, witnessing one of the world’s most beautiful sunsets and mingling with some of the friendliest people in the world.
4. Was hit by a motorcycle on Likoma Island. Ouch!
5. Sent a package home from Lilongwe and didn’t realize that the U.S. does not accept sea mail. Try sending 30 lbs. home via air mail. It will rob you! But when I show you what I sent home, you’ll see that it was worth it!
6. Visited the pounding waters of Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia.
7. Caught a ride with NY Times journalists and went bush camping with them in Botswana (ie I camped next to a family of elephants).
8. Took a river cruise in Chobe National Park, Botswana. I saw hippos lying out of the water, which is rare during the day. I also got to see elephants cross the river.
9. Took a magical overnight mokoro trip in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Definitely one of my favorite travel experiences.

Baobab Tree, Malawi

I have less than one month left in Africa. It’s bittersweet. My desire to travel more on this continent stemmed from a trip to East Africa in 2008. I didn’t think it could get much better but Southern Africa has been full of new experiences. Never having stepped foot in Asia, it will be a great change of pace when I arrive there in August… it’s just difficult to look forward to something when you’re already enjoying yourself here and now!

So, what’s in store for my last month in Africa?

1. Hoping to make it to Swakopmund in time for my birthday on July 11^th for a little birthday present to myself (yes, I’m keeping the details to myself for now, but check back soon to read about it).
2. Heading on a six-day safari to Etosha National Park and Sossusvlei to see the sand dunes.
3. Although I can’t afford a trip to Fish River Canyon, and hitchhiking isn’t all that reliable to get to this more remote place, I’m determined to go! How I will get there, I have no idea but one way or another, I’m going to spend an evening overlooking this beautiful canyon.
4. Then it’s off to Cape Town for about five days of sight seeing in what’s rumored to be a great city!

Tomorrow I am leaving Botswana for Namibia, a country that’s been on my bucket list for a while now. Most likely I will be hitchhiking which sounds crazy but should be yet another adventure. I have had to put running on hold since my motorcycle incident, as my ribs are pretty severely bruised. Sitting up is quite a task, so running will probably not be happening for awhile.  Regardless, Sole Purpose is still going strong, and I hope you can help me to continue to spread the word to support education.

On Saturday afternoon, I took a three hour river cruise in Chobe National Park, Botswana. It was one of the most impressive and worthwhile experiences to date. I was on the boat with a New York Times photographer who said it ranked in one of his top two safari experiences (and he’s done this very river cruise five times before, not to mention all of the other safaris he’s been on). Yes, it was that good. This is just one photo from the trip, but I have high hopes to post more soon. I also saw hippos out of the water, which they rarely come out except at night, along with giraffes, monkeys, impalas, and vibrant colored birds.