DUBAI: Reclining in the middle of a dug-out canoe, slicing through a clump of reeds that gives way to a large open pond covered in lily pads, the wonder of the Okavango Delta truly becomes clear.
A mokoro ride is a staple of a visit to Botswana’s tourism crown jewel — the place where the mighty Okavango River flows in from the Angolan highlands, splintering off across 15,000 square kilometers of African plains towards the Kalahari Desert.
Being punted along by a wiry villager from a neighboring village, who stands sentinel at the back of the canoe with a large pole, reminiscent of a Venetian gondolier, is a favored experience for international tourists, and the waterways are often full with foreign faces taking in the country’s famed wildlife. But not this year, of course.