Okavango by air

After our makoro tour through the delta, I jumped on the chance to see it from the air. This is the plane we took, and yes, it is a pig.
Some rural homes as we flew out of Maun
On this flight we saw all the animals that we missed during our walking 'safari'
The only real pictures I got were of the elephants. They are big enough to see. Can you count them?
This guy was alone
The contrast between the dry islands and the green marshes was even more apparent from the air
We flew for almost an hour and it was amazing how extensive the water was. Even more so when we got back and realized how little of the delta we had actually covered!

The animal trails were fun to look at

Especially the hippo trails through the marshes

The hippo trails are important in this system because they break through the reeds and provide paths to allow water flow

See the salt on the islands?

It really does seem to go on forever

so very dry

beautiful channels

Less than 4% of the water in the Okavango river actually reaches the bottom of the delta in Maun.

To give you perspective, all of the green areas in these pictures are actually flooded reed beds

This is less than 4% of the water in the delta!

(well, the be precise, we are slightly north of Maun, so that is not an accurate statement, but work with me here)

See why a makoro becomes the best form of transportation?

It was fascinating to see this place, especially after having the perspective of spending 2 days in the thick of it on the groundIf you are bored, open up these pictures and figure out how many have elephants in them. It's kind of surprising.

Maun, from the air

Our pilot Hugo

Isn't it fun when your dreams can come true?

(and I'm not just talking about the fact that I managed to avoid loosing my lunch on this flight!)