We skipped the safari activity this morning because it would have been too hectic to do a shortened version of that, then finish packing and be ready at 10:30 when they wanted to take us to the airstrip. We chose for a relaxing morning instead.

We still went out for coffee at 6am since we were up anyway. Ash and I hung out at our favorite spot at the lodge and drank coffee, talked about the trip, worked through our August calendar, and started to think about returning to real life. But that didn’t keep us from snapping multiple shots of the sunrise.

This was our plane out of the Delta. It was a 20 minute flight to Maun.

It is a very small plane. Ash sat in the copilot seat. I sat in the next row. And our bags were behind me. That was the whole plane.

Above and below: a nice shot showing the water, and another showing no water as we got closer to Maun. Make a mental note on the dramatic difference. I will speak more to this when I get to my final thoughts.

Although Michelle and family had left before us, they actually landed after we did. The opposite dynamic of the last time we left this airport. But we had a final meal together at The Dusty Donkey. Ash and I were here in 2023 and loved it. It was just as good as we remembered.

We encountered this billboard on our walk back to the airport and it made us laugh. It’s an ad for an insurance broker with an image of a Painted Dog – the endangered animal we got to watch go on a kill last time. Although that’s the official name, locally they are just referred to as wild dogs. The ad reads: Business can be wild. Make sure you’re covered.

We had a 2.5 hour flight to Cape Town. The rest of the family is going on to Chobe, another place we went in 2023.

And we are now sitting in a lounge in Cape Town, in the exact same seats we sat in when we were here in 2023. We board in a little over an hour for an almost 16 hour flight to Washington DC. We have over a 12 hour layover there where we will spend time with our friend, Erick. Then a direct flight to Sacramento, landing about 9:30pm Saturday night.

So this trip is officially done.

Where to start on my final thoughts?

1. The obvious place is the presence of water in the Okavango. We came back for the sole purpose of experiencing that. The 2nd photo above represents what the entire area looked like the last time. There wasn’t a drop of water anywhere. We knew it would be different but we had no idea how much. I could go on and on about this. But it’s simply this: while the schedule and accommodations were very familiar, it felt like we had never been here before. It was that different. We are talking about returning in 2028 but going to a lodge a little further north.
2. There are So Many ways to describe groups of animals:
   • Clan or cackle of hyenas
   • Pod of hippos
   • Herd of buffalo or elephant
   • Dazzle of zebras
   • Tower of giraffes while standing; a journey while walking
   • Coalition of cheetahs
   • And of course a pride of lions
3. Our cellular connections in Mozambique and Eswatini were very unreliable. We lost count of the number of times we would clear apps and turn our phones on/off then it would be better for a while. WiFi connections at both hotels were great, although in Eswatini only in common places like the restaurant. We couldn’t get much connection in our room. The big surprise was having WiFi in our room at Moremi. That was incredible. And a great balance. We were only in the room maybe an hour first thing in the morning, an hour late in the evening, and 2 to 3 hours in the middle of the day. The rest of the time we were off the grid. It allowed us to keep up with things while also being present when we needed to be. It was a great solution for us.
4. Starting with the lack of connection in the room in Eswatini, I opted to write the blog from my phone. At first, I didn’t care for it. But boy did I get used to how much faster it is. Compared to using the laptop, I got an additional 1-2 hours back every day. And probably more on some days. I am still learning about the different formatting options available, but it was fun to play with it. I have a feeling it will be this way from here on out so if, as the reader, you noticed a difference one way or the other, I would love to hear about it.
5. I do love the toothpick culture here. Little containers of them on every table we sat at without exception. As someone who tends to need one after every meal, I deeply appreciated this.
6. Everything in Botswana was absolutely wonderful. The people there are lovely, everyone was incredibly nice to us, you don’t have the craziness that we saw in the other countries. It’s a very peaceful place. It’s probably related to it not being very populated and also being a fairly rich country by African standards. Diamonds and tourism are the biggest industries.
7. Mozambique and Eswatini are different stories. We were treated very well in the hotels, the restaurants, and any shops like the nail salon or the barbershop. Everything else felt like a hustle. To say nothing of the police experience we had. Pretty much the entire time we were there, I had an uneasy feeling that I just couldn’t shake. It’s hard to explain. I was very happy to get to Botswana.
8. Whenever we are done with a big trip like this, I always feel a little bit changed somehow and it’s interesting to reflect on how that is. After the first trip to Africa, I remember telling Ash that I had this odd impression that the world got smaller. He understood that and guessed that that’s what I was going to say. This time, I experienced some ugliness that I’ve never had before and it will sit with me for a little while. It is sad on some level because I know so much of it is driven by harsh conditions in those places and I get that. So it certainly makes me grateful on the one hand. But it is definitely not something I want to return to. It almost made me feel like I grew up in a way that I wasn’t expecting. Not quite jaded or even tarnished but something in that neighborhood. It will come to me.

In the end, I wouldn’t change a thing. All travel enriches me regardless of how positive or negative the experience and I do appreciate that. So there will definitely be more to come. Still on the list for this year:

• Paris in October
• NYC for Thanksgiving
• An Amazon River cruise for Christmas
• Rio de Janeiro for New Year’s Eve

We hope to have you join us.