The Okavango is a place of great contrasts and dramatic happenings, and visitors to the region experience much of the excitement through the eyes of their guide, but at night the senses are on their own.
The events of a day in Africa are never the same, always providing an experience to savour, and in the deep hours of the night, in the hours before dawn, the enormity of the place that is Africa opens our souls to a distant past.
4.15 am: an eerie silence
holds the darkness captive
but only for a moment
for if you listen closely
you can hear the stars
sharing the secrets
of the universe
a fearful sound
beautiful
echoing an ancient song
4.50 am: a faint distant roar
from beyond the stars
speaks of the approaching dawn
The Hint of Dawn 5.30 am: the first hint of light
touches the eastern horizon
5.55 am: the tree-lined horizon
is etched against the sky
silhouetted on the water
in a pale glow orange6.15 am: the lover that is dawn
embraces
murmurs
then whispers
as she slowly awakens
6.45 am: the dawn chorus
is in full voice
heralding the new day
6.55 am: the sun peeps above the treeline
rising into a dust-stained sky
Leigh Kemp
The Okavango is the most widely known area in Botswana.The Delta is an area of tranquil, Lily covered lagoons and channelshemmed in by papyr...