I have a slight preference for taking trains when I travel from place to place within a trip. Trains are (generally) cheaper than planes and (usually) faster than buses. They do not require a lot of extra time for checking in (unlike airports) and brings you on a less bumpy ride (I often get motion sickness on buses) while giving you a good look at the land you are travelling through.
Recently in Botswana, I got to experience a new type of connection – the light aircraft. The aircraft we were on only holds 7 passengers and so check in at the airport was a breeze. And in preparation for the potentially bumpy ride (since these planes are smaller than commercial airplanes, you feel the bumps from the wind more) we took motion sickness pills. Too many past episodes of puking on holiday has made me overly-cautious in this regard.
About to take our first light aircraft flight at Kasane airport| Photo credit: Juxxtapose
We flew with Major Blue Air to our camp within the Okavango Delta. The flying added to our cost but Chobe to Okavango Delta is too far a distance on road. Once in the air, we were treated with vast views of Botswana that seemed to go on endlessly into the horizon. (We later read that Botswana is a flat country and so, often, views of the land look like they stretch on forever in every direction.)
Light aircrafts do not ascend as high as commercial aircrafts and so you get a relatively close-up view of what’s on the ground. As we took off from Kasane Airport, the ground beneath us looked brown and dry. We caught sight of elephants making their way to water. And then got further ascended and we couldn’t quite see animals anymore.
Flying over the Okavango Delta | Photo credit: Juxxtapose
While we are busy being fascinated by the view, the landscape gradually changed from that brown dry land to a lush green oasis. The availability of water increased drastically and it hit me that we were flying over the Delta. The view from every window was never-ending stretches of unspoilt greenery. Coming from a country with scarce land area, untouched chunks of natural land like this is a luxury, and I hope man never gets his hands on it.
As we began descent, we were slowly able to make out tiny animal shapes once again. And before we knew it, it was a smooth landing at Xarakai Airstrip.
Arrival at the ‘airport’ that had only one ‘terminal’ | Photo credit: Juxxtapose
I can’t say I have had much experience with small domestic airports. I think Kasane and Victoria Falls airports would be among the smallest I’ve been to. This, however, is the by far the tiniest one I think I’ll ever come across. Okay fine, it’s not even called an airport, it’s just an airstrip.
The good people from Kana Kara Camp where we stayed were already waiting to pick us up. We didn’t even have to carry our bags – they just went directly from plane to truck. Also waiting were the people leaving the Delta on the plane we arrived in. No check-in for them (and for us when we leave), bags just go directly from truck to plane. No passport checks either. Easy peasy.
Stopping for lunch on the way to camp | Photo credit: Juxxtapose
Next we enjoyed an hour’s ride to the camp, stopping for a picnic lunch along the way. Upon leaving the airstrip, we drove through an interesting portion of land, one that we affectionately named ‘destruction zone’ because it was filled with trees and shrubs that were all broken and leafless. Our driver and guide informed us that the elephants got to them – elephants always leave a trail of destruction in their wake. Then we drove through some bushes and, hey presto, we were back in lush green oasis land again. We even did some game viewing on the way.
Our game drive vehicle came to a stop at its designated parking spot in front of some water. For brief moment I genuinely thought we were going to have to wade through the channel to the camp which was on the island on the other side. I really don’t know why I thought that. Everyone had been taking such good care of us and our itinerary wasn’t even close to the roughing-it-out type.
We’re almost there! | Photo credit: Juxxtapose
Past the tall papyrus lay two mokoros (traditional dug out canoes) waiting for us. They look so flimsy and lightweight but they handled 3 people (including the guide) and out bags with ease. I was sure we were going to flip over but thankfully that didn’t happen.
Even though it was a lengthy transfer process from Chobe to Kana Kara, it was pleasant and memorable. It felt like a tour in itself. Anywhere else in the world, and I would be contemplating whether the destination would be worth the journey. I will not go so far as to say that travelling is about the journey and not the destination (cos let’s face it, the destination is pretty great too), but instead, I’ll say traveling is about the journey too.
Juxxtapose 