From Zim we crossed over into Botswana and went on a river cruise in Chobe National Park. It was pretty cool, as we saw hippos on land and got within 2m of them. I've seen lots of hippos before but never completely out of water, so I really enjoyed it. They are so big and so funny looking, but I think I'm secretly in love with them! We also got within a metre of a couple of crocs and I got a little scared, as the were within pouncing distance of my seat on the boat, but we're all still alive!

From Chobe, we drove onto Maun which was our base for seeing the Okovango Delta. Five of us went on to do a 3 day trip into the Delta - we travelled on the local Mokoro boats, which are more or less really wobbly little wooden canoes, which weren't the most stable! When they told us there were hippos in the Delta, we didn't believe them until we heard lots of roars. We then entered one of the hippo pools, and despite the hippos swimming towards us, our guides remained very calm and didn't move away. I was nearly having a heart attack as they proceeded towards us, but apparently hippos work on a respect system (I had a hard time believing that by the way!), and that if we stay still and don't antagonise them, they will let us pass. After staring at us, they did eventually swim away and we managed to pass - a scary moment for us though! We've been told that the Delta would be a relaxing ride, but it was pretty stressful. It was through all the weeds, so we spent most of the trip with our hands over our heads batting the reeds away from our heads! We only spent an hour on the boats though before reaching our campsite. The next couple of days were spent relaxing, swimming, going on bush walks and a sunset cruise. We didn't see many animals, but we did stalk zebras which was fun, though it did involve wading through a river in bare feet (long story). It was pretty amusing though, as we were just walking through bush where there were lions etc, lead by an old man who didn't have a gun or any type of weapon - luckily we didn't see any predators so it was fine! I don't quite understand though how man is a good predator, as the zebras heard us from a mile off and were constantly watching us as we approached. If we actually got stuck in the bush, we would definitely die of starvation!!

From the Delta, we left Botswana and headed into Namibia. I enjoyed Botswana, but again it rained a fair amount (though luckily it was pretty dry in the Delta). You can definitely tell that Zim and Botswana are far wealthier than other countries we've visited on this trip, so its been quite luxorious.