find awe. radiate optimism
Khwai, Okavango Delta, Botswana
When I was 18, I met some people in South Africa who’d just left the Okavango Delta; I can’t remember the details of what they said about it (leopard walked past their campfire? kayak past elephants?), but the way they talked about it stayed with me all these years. They were giddy about the Delta.
So this trip to the watery wonderland was a long time coming. We spent most of our time in Khwai concession — Khwai is a small village on the east side of the Delta; Khwai is also the name of a river, and it’s also the name of a community-run concession (protected wilderness area). Moremi Game Reserve is in this area too, but we spent most of our time in the concession, where we had special moments with leopards, big herds of elephants, the incredibly rare African wild dogs, and so much more.
We stayed at the remarkable Khwai Lediba, and had the fortune of being guided by Phefo, who grew up traversing the Delta in a mokoro with his dad.