As I flew the Plane Hattie was Sick

The Okavango is one of the world's largest deltas and often referred to as "the river that never finds this the sea". It is a peaceful and isolated oasis set in Botswana's harsh Kalahari Desert. A visit to Botswana, without visiting the Okavango, is a sin.

There are really only two ways to see the Okavango, by mekoro and by air.

A mekoro is a wooden dugout canoe made from local jackal berry, marula or sausage trees. These trees are used as they invariably grow tall and straight and have strong wood which is favourable for carving. Before tourists visited the area the demand on local resources for mekoros was relatively small, but with the onset of tourism there's been an increase in trips into the Delta. Luckily, a new type of mekoro has emerged which has a limited impact on the forest, these are in the form of fibreglass canoes, modelled on the original mekoro.

I remember the first time I settled into a mekoro, the poler pushed our mekoro away from the land and we glided into the clear waters of the Okavango. We floated past waterlilies with their bright white flowers opening up to the blue sky, past storks elegantly moving through the water and a herd of antelope galloping along the edges of the waterway. Our guide had very good eyes and was able to spot wildlife from far and it was not long before we saw an enormous herd of elephants drinking the cool crystal water. We had come down wind from them so we had not disturb the herd and we spent over an hour watching these animals in amazement. For most the members on this trip, this was their first ever sighting of elephants, and to see so many was a real treat. It was truly magical.

The other way of seeing the Okavango is by air. This is a completely different experience and not really for the fainthearted. You can charter a plane for about 40 min to take you over the Okavango, spotting vast herds of buffalo and elephant from the skies. My advice would be to make sure you sit next to the pilot, as the views are tremendous. The best way to engineer this is to get into your group of four, the plane only carries five people one of which is the pilot, and make sure you're last in the queue. This will ensure that you are sitting next to the pilot in the co-pilot's seat. And if you are very clever the pilot may even allow you to fly the plane for a bit.

That was when Hattie was sick. It is quite tricky flying a plane, keeping the horizon steady and also trying to see the animals at the same time. I probably only flew the plane for 10 min and by that time Hattie had been sick and the other two people were begging for me to hand over the controls!

So when you go to Botswana, make sure you visit the Okavango. Take time to spend at least a day in a mekoro and when you get into a plane make sure I am not sitting in the co-pilot seat!