We set off from Windhoek heading for the Botswana border with 2 new family members on board - Carl and Virginia from Brisbane Australia - They were "thirtysomethings" ..… a new demographic, with unknown drinking habits.

The border crossing was uneventful and soon after, at a town called Maun the group split up - The Twomey's and the new couple from Oz were taking a plane into the Okavango delta for 3 days and the rest would remain in Maun until we returned.

The plane was a 5 seater and the pilot told us that it would be a bumpy ride ….. Heather told the pilot that she was terrified of flying and he wasn't helping. The pilot helpfully suggested that he would fly higher (to minimise the effect of thermals, I guess) ……. Heather responded "What, so I have even further to fall?"

After landing we transferred to a boat and sailed upriver to our camp - We arrived to the staff waiting on the jetty and singing a welcome song as we approached, combined with a drink in our hand as we disembarked……...a good start. The day's spent in the Okavango were truly "a holiday within a holiday" …... 5-star glamping - High quality permanent tents, with huge elegant beds and excellent showers. The service at Camp Monpiri was first class - only the 4 guests, with 10 staff tending to us.

The days were spent exploring the Delta in either motor boats or "Mokoro's" (a shallow bottomed canoe-like craft poled along by a guide standing at the back). Hippo's, crocodiles, elephants, Antelope and numerous birds were our constant companions as we navigated around the Delta in our flimsy unstable crafts……. Always returning by 4:00pm for high tea. Dinners were excellent an afforded us the opportunity to discover that Karl and Virginia were not averse to a pre-dinner aperitive, some wine with dinner and a closing session before retiring - The barman introduced to a local rum which taken with ginger beer turned out to be a suitably sleep-inducing cure for insomnia.

All too soon it was over and our final task was to chase the donkeys and cows off the runway to allow our plane to land to pick us up and take us back to Maun.