We arrived in Maun in the northwest corner of Botswana after a long flight delay out of Gaborone. The guidebooks did indeed warn us about setting unrealistic expectations. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see the Okavango Delta as we flew over because it was too dark. Maun is a staging point for safaris. Back in the day though, it was a sleepy village at the gateway to one of the most prime game viewing areas in the world. You had to drive a long gravel road to Maun before heading into the game parks. There wasn’t much choice in accommodations. Now, there is a hodgepodge of new concrete construction and far more cars on the road. Urban planning? There doesn’t seem to be any.
The beautiful thatch hotel where we stayed for a night turned out to have a colony of some species of large stork? Heron? Crane? Ibis?
Apparently, the birds took up residency at the hotel about 9 months before we arrived and built their nests at the top of the Conbatium trees on the property. We asked a number of people both for the name of the tree and the birds but nobody seemed to know. The only comment we got was, “Ayee, they are a noisy bird.” And that they are, indeed. We woke up to the cacophony of chicks calling for food, dozens of beaks clicking, and endless squawking outside our window yesterday.
The Conbatium trees (if that is what they are) are similar to huge oak trees. There are about four or five on the property and each tree has eight to ten large bird nests at the top. At sunset last night, all of the parents stood sentry on their nests with each nest holding one or two fairly large chicks. Parents flew off to fish in the nearby delta and returned to the nests to feed their chicks all day long. A half a dozen other bird species such as the Hoopoe, Black Collared Barbet, and the Lesser Masked Weaver species also made the trees their home.
The birds, the purple flowering Jacaranda trees, and the thatched hotel buildings made for an intoxicating introduction to Maun and our safari. We spent the day bird watching from the comfort of our pool chairs.
Heading Out
Today we leave for our first safari camp. Camp Kalahari is at the north end of the Makgadikgadi Salt pan which is located on the northern edge of the Kalahari Desert. We fly in a small chartered plane from the Maun airport to the camp. Because it is the end of the dry season we’re not expecting to see much wildlife. Yet, the expansive salt pan on the edge of the desert will be beautiful. The name itself is magical enough. The Makgadikgadi pan is one of the largest in the world and is actually a fossilized lake. More, the camp is a research station focused on Meerkats. I fully intend to bring one home for everyone! I will leave my dirty clothes behind and fill my carry-on with them.
(After asking everyone we could find about the birds they finally found a young fellow who identified them as Gray Herons.)
