ADVENTURE TRAVEL

Walking Barefoot Through the African Wilderness

A trip on a dugout canoe into the world heritage site

Slowly and gently we cut through the reeds in the water. The sun is shining. Birds are chirping. Now and then are we pass some cattle grazing on the riverbanks. It’s so peaceful. Tranquil. I lean back in the mokoro and take a deep breath. I would like to pause moments like these and lengthen their duration.

“Live your life by a compass, not a clock.” — Stephen Covey

It was early 2015. I had finished my studies the previous fall and went off on a solo trip through several African countries. Alone as a woman. A journey I will never forget. And a journey that will shape my years to come.

I just arrived in the southern African country of Botswana. I stayed on a campsite at the edge of the world-famous and UNESCO heritage site Okavango Delta, an inland delta, rich in vegetation and wildlife like no other.

But staying at an established campsite at the edge of town wasn’t adventurous enough. I wanted to go deeper into the delta. And further away from civilization. Looking at the various activities being offered at the campsite I quickly found the one for me.

I took an overnight trip into the delta on a Mokoro (local name for dugout canoe) boat and slept in a tent in the wilderness. It sounded perfect to me. The very next day I got picked up by the guide and off we went.

The Mokoro trip

It ended up being a private trip. Not because I had too much money as a backpacker but because nobody else signed up for the activity. And there I went into the wilderness. It was a 45-minutes drive through thick bushland to get to the water where we would leave the vehicle behind and move over onto the Mokoro, a dugout canoe, the only possible transportation through the Okavango Delta aside from flying.

My guide knew everything. He explained about the origin of the water being in the Angolese mountains and that the water levels, therefore, depend on a good rainy season. This water never reaches the ocean. It evaporates or gets used up by vegetation and wildlife, which is the cause of the incredible diversity of flora and fauna in the inland delta.

Every single bird flying up out of the reeds was being called by its name. Hw explained the difference between night and day water lilies, all while the guide himself pushed us through the water. With strong, but smooth movements of a stick, he pushed us further into the wilderness.

Sometimes he had to avoid oncoming traffic of locals on their own Mokoros and escaped into the reeds. We glided across a lake of water lilies, while blades of grass touched my face. I wanted the full experience of the delta. Here it was!

The ride took about two hours to get through the delta. I only believed the guide halfway when he said that crocodiles only come into this water during nighttime. Apparently, they stay in deeper water during the day. But who says this water isn’t deep? It was milky and I couldn’t see the ground or anything in it.

The guide scouted out the area before I was allowed to go onto land. He said elephants walked through there the night before. Now it was going to be our camp. We set up the two tents and the guide dug a hole in the bushes. The toilet.

The camp

Now, this was real wild camping. There was nothing to protect us from lions, crocodiles, elephants, or other animals. But I wanted to experience the raw wilderness of Africa.

And talking about adventure — we walked through the wilderness!

Before coming to Botswana I had visited the famous Serengeti already and was on a 5-day Safari where I saw all the African animals I could think of. But I saw them while sitting in a vehicle.

A walking safari

Now we were on foot. In the wilderness. Walking through water, mud, and bushes with no protection but a rifle the guide was carrying. This was for sure not going to bring me closer to animals. But it was going to give me a different experience.

A walking safari is fascinating in so many ways. Being on foot, you are usually lower than when sitting in a car. Looking up at a giraffe while standing on the ground, you realize how small you actually are.

Hiding behind the bushes while watching a herd of wildebeest grazing in the meadow and trying not to make a sound to not scare them away is surely more intense than sitting in a car and driving past the animals with 50 kilometers per hour.

The guide showed me hyena tracks, bones of a buffalo, and monkeys sitting in a tree. He taught me how to approach animals always downwind so they can’t smell you from afar. He showed me animal trails that looked like hiking trails due to the repetitive movements of the species.

We sat down next to a waterhole eventually, listening to the exhaling sound of hippos. They didn’t come out (which I was happy about) but we could see their faces in the water. Slowly, but surely, the sun was setting and it was time for us to go back.

The bush-tv

Later that evening we sat around the fire and exchanged words about our cultures. The guide explained that they call the campfire “the bush-tv.” I love the description. There are always so many stories being told while sitting around a fire. It’s like watching TV. Just better.

I learned that a man has to give eight cows to the family in order to marry a woman in Botswana and I explained to the guide that a man first has to ask the woman in Germany before being able to take her hand. We discussed the differences in our cultures and found similarities in the cuisine to my Romanian heritage.

The night was rather loud. I’ve never in my life heard such a loud frog's chorus and also never heard lions from so close that I had no desire to use the bathroom at night. I guess this was what it’s like when you wild camp in a national park. You are surrounded by wildlife and nature.

Barefoot through the delta

We were heading out for the morning safari before the sun rose. The guide was walking fast being seemingly on a mission. He was aiming to find the lions we heard during the night while I was hoping he wouldn’t find them. I wasn’t that keen on looking a lion into the eye while standing with both feet on the ground.

A big piece of wetland was between us and the area the guide was aiming for. When he said we were going to cross it I laughed while scanning the water and spotting a piece of wood floating in the water looking like the back of a crocodile.

But he just went. So I took my shoes off and sunk immediately up to my knees into the water. Mud between my toes. It was a weird feeling. I thought it could be better if I didn’t look where I stepped and just walked ahead instead.

Every splashing sound around me made me twitch. This was now the real experience. Walking barefoot through the African wilderness.

To my delight, we didn’t find the lions but met instead two male elephants. I’m telling you those animals are huge! I felt so tiny and vulnerable while trying to hide behind a bush watching these majestic animals feeding on some trees.

As we continued, we got to approach a few giraffes. Slowly walking closer we kept our eyes on them and I’m sure they saw us. Sometimes they would stop eating and just looked at us. But they seemed convinced we were no danger to them. How should we? I felt tinier with every step I did out here. And so incredibly vulnerable.

On our way back we ended up in a big wet area again and I took my shoes off one more time to get through the water. But I kept them off for the rest of the walk to experience the wilderness fully. Barefoot through the delta.

Final words

This trip is something I am never going to forget but it is also an activity I wouldn’t hesitate for even a second to do again if I were given the chance. The whole package from gliding with the dugout canoe through the waters in the delta, sleeping in a tent in the wild, and going on walking safaris — all of it was absolutely amazing.

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