Xugana (Pronounced Kugana)

Day 1

The Planes

We travelled to Maun (a “city” in the Okavango Delta) on an international flight from Johannesburg, which only lasted 1 hour since it was just over the boarder line of South Africa and Botswana!  We arrived in a small international airport, even smaller than Napier Domestic Airport, I know hard to believe, right?  We were escorted off the plane, across the tarmac and into the terminal where we were given our bag and greeted by a man who was a representative of the lodge we were staying at called Xugana Lodge.  He showed us through to the waiting lounge for our plane to arrive and after 30 minutes of waiting we were called to our plane.  As we ventured once again across the heat cracked tarmac we stopped outside a small plane and I mean a small plane.  It could carry six people (including the pilot) and some luggage in the under carriage (lucky for us we only had one bag!).  It took another 30 minutes for the pilot to actually turn up and when he did we were let into the plane and were seated down.  Before he started up the engines he said to us in a strong African accent “It is a bit windy today, so it will be a bit bumpy.  I have brought some sick bags in case you need to make use of them.” How encouraging is what I thought!  He had heaps of gizmos and gadgets in the cockpit and I was curious on how he knew what every single button meant.  We were in the air and off the runway within minutes and it was extremely bumpy.  You know the feeling where your stomach goes up and then drops again well it was like that continuously for the whole 35-minute journey!  After flying over some elephants, some hippos and heaps of water we touched down on a grass runway and when we stepped out I was glad to be alive!  We were greeted by some of the Xugana staff and were taken by boat to the island the camp was situated on. 

Our First Okavango Water Safari

It was 20 minutes of luxurious relaxation on the way to the lodge.  As soon as we docked we were given a lovely fruit drink, which I thought was absolutely delicious and kind.  The lodge looked brand new but a staff member told me that it had just been renovated.  The kitchen and open dining room were just like the ones you’d expect in a hotel (oh yeah) and there were free soft drinks and drinks as well, which made it even better.  There were 9 two-bed rooms around the island which (if my math’s is correct) means they can take up to 18 people at a time.  We were briefed and then taken to our rooms, which were right next to each other.  I was to sleep with dad and Steve with mum.  Once we were settled in and unpacked in our straw roofed houses with modern equipment in it (which took 30 minutes) we were ready to go on our first Okavango Water Safari!  We all went back in the same boat we came in and were driven back to the airstrip that we arrived at.  There were several Makoro’s, which are thin wooden boats that a person (in this case a staff member) pushes you around in using a long pole.  We were gone for 1 hour in the Makoro’s down a waterway called the Hippo Highway, which is made when Hippos wade through the reeds, which are in the water.  It was quite, beautiful and the best part was that it was silent.  It was as silent as a lion stalking its prey and all you could hear was the trickling water as the boat broke the water surface.  The funny part of the safari was a frog leaped up onto our boat and stayed there the whole time while my mum kept taking photos of it.  It was one of the frogs that changed colour to blend in with the surroundings and he was only the size of my thumbnail.  We couldn’t find him when as pulled up back at the airstrip, which was actually sad when I thought about it.  The 20 minutes back to camp was pleasant and when we got there it was dark and dinner was not that far away.  For dinner we had tomato soup for starter and fish or lamb with vegetables for a main and for dessert was a lovely chocolate cake, which I had two servings of with warm custard, which was a great way to finish off the night.

Day 2

Hippo Pool

The wind was blowing through the mosquito net of our hut and my dad and I were freezing!  When I finally had the strength to lift my withered body out of bed it was almost time for breakfast.  I showered and got changed into the warmest clothes I could find, which still wasn’t warm enough!  Once we had finished breakfast, which consisted of cornflakes, yogurt, milk, sugar and toast we jumped into the almost iced up boat and ventured out to the Hippo Pool, which was a 1- hour boat trip from the camp.  On the way there I saw my first otter, which are rare to find because it’s a crocodiles favorite meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  When we finally arrived at the Hippo Pool we encountered a thunder of hippos (thunder is a collective noun for hippos), which was a great start to our one and only Hippo Safari.  Hippos form in pods where there is one male and many females.  The male is extremely territorial and if another male gets too close then they could end up fighting (hippos always fight to the death).  We enjoyed a warm coffee each and moved further around the pool and encountered a tree full of herons!  We found Grey Herons, Great White Herons and some other species of bird as well like the Darter Bird which is a long slim bird that darts into the water to catch it’s food. 

The Walking Safari

After returning from some excellent Hippo and Bird sightings we changed into some hot weather clothes and prepared to leave on another trip this time to on a walking safari, which was only 20 minutes away from the lodge to an island called Sausage Island.  It was called Sausage Island because of the Sausage Trees that are situated all over the island.  The fruit in the tree is shaped like a sausage and is not edible and not very tasty either, only Giraffes eat the fruit and monkeys eat the seeds.  We encountered a new animal that we hadn’t seen called a Lechwe which is almost identical to a Impala, we also ran into a Lilac-Breasted Roller, which is an incredibly pretty type of bird that rolls in the air to attract females.  The walk lasted for about 1 hour and by the time we had finished we felt sad because we knew that that was the last activity at Xugana we were doing.

The next day we sadly left Xugana with some tokens and got on yet another plane to Kasane, which is on the Chobe River near the top right corner of Botswana.

Lilac-Breasted Roller

Me Flying a Commercial Plane (In Flight!)

The Hippo Pool

A Lechwe

Xugana Eating Area and Hang Out Place