Moremi Game Reserve - Day 1

130 liters of diesel, 50 liters water, firewood, lots to fit in. 

It's time to pack the car again and head to northern Botswana. We had a 9 trip, 2 days to travel, and the rest of time in Moremi Game Reserve. The big difference compared to our trip the same time last year was the water levels. 

The waters for the Okavango Delta are fed from the Angolan highlands. Their summer rains slowly feed into the delta channels before sinking into the Kalahari desert sands. This year the rains in the region had been so good that the water levels were rising faster than usual. 

10 liters of gas, 90 liter fridge, camping gear, you need a tried and tested plan. 

This time last year the waters hadn't reached Maun by the time we'd got there, this time the water was already flowing past. That meant the waters in the delta were already flooding some of the channels and crucially some of the water crossings that we needed to go through. Already we'd made alternative plans to camp. 

The news was that some of the bridges had to be closed and the detours for other bridges were filling with water. One of our campsites we planned to stay at - 3rd bridge - was only accessible through water which was getting deeper by the day so we'd looked for a different campsite. We were only able to secure a booking outside the park but were hoping to try and stay inside the park once we got to Moremi. 

So with trepidation of water and warnings that animals were dispersed because waterholes were still full, we packed the car on Friday evening, ready for the long drive to Maun on the weekend and excited to see what Moremi held for us in the week to come.