Going On Safari

Wednesday, June 30
To my surprise, the Maun airport has free wifi. I just booked a three night safari trip to Oddball's Camp in the Okavango Delta, so this will be my last contact with the outside world until I get back on Saturday. (Correction: we flew off before I could post this so it will not appear until Saturday some time)

It amazes me how things fall into place when one embarks on a trip without a plan. Last night I arrived at Maun without a room reservation, and not really knowing how the town is laid out or where I might look for a room. I took a few minutes in the airport to orient myself, and then I asked a tourist information guy to help me. He called a place and found me a room and then suggested I share a taxi with a man from Joburg who was going to the same hotel. On the way to that hotel, the taxi driver pointed out a cheaper one that was closer in. We, that is, Rajan from Joburg and me, each booked a room at Alfa Accommodations for 222 pula (about $30). Finding a place to stay isn't such a big feat in itself, but the way it worked out so smoothly was a surprise. As I would be finding out, things in Botswana are not as convenient as in other parts of the world.

Maun is a bizarre place. It claims all the modern acoutrements of a large city, but none of the convenience. There are no street lights, so in the evening everyone conducts their business in the dark. I walked through a market area that I thought was closed, but there were stalls set up with people selling things and taxi drivers were negotiating off to the side. The ATMs work like anywhere else, but they dispense P100 bills and no one seems able to make change for anything larger than a 20. Taxis are abundant, but their incomprehensible fare rules seem to always lead to a P20 fare no matter the destination. These are the oddities I would confront as I tried to find my way to a camp somewhere in the delta.

Rajan and I had agreed to meet for a taxi to get dinner that night (which he kindly paid for at the local Nando's) and again the next morning to bear us to the airport. I bought breakfast for us both at Alfa and then we finagled with the receptionist over paying with P100 bills, because she could not make change. Between us, we somehow managed to pay the exact amount required. We hailed a taxi across the road and made it to the airport by 7:45 AM.

I had the driver drop me at an odd looking structure called Power Station, where I presumed I would find a tour agency named Island Safaris. There was no such company, but I stepped into an interesting place called Okavango Tour and Safari, a company that I suspect was formerly the Island Safaris company. The woman at the desk offered me three nights at Oddball's Camp for the "last minute" rate of $160 per night. Apparently, if I had booked in advance it would have been $325 per night. Add a $27 charter flight and I was on my way to my delta safari.

I'm wrapping this up sitting in my tent at Oddball's. This is truly an amazing place. I swear I have heard a hundred different bird calls so far. I have three days to relax and take it all in now. I love it when things just come together.