Days 30-32

{First car I've ever seen with my name on it's licence plate happens to be in Africa, awesome}

DAY 30-32?!? Who knew I could survive 30+ days in Africa alone, not me? Get me to day 37, and I'll be home in DC...for at least 10 hours anyway. I don't know if I'm looking forward to that or not? I'm congratulating myself on being out of the country for an entire month! I know, not that big of a deal, people do it all the time. But other people do things like this, not me. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine having an experience quite like this, especially one that's paying me as my eyes become opened to this magnificent world.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine I'd enjoy staying in accommodations that looked like this...

That's right, I basically spent the last two nights in what I like to call a "deluxe" tent. When we pulled up to Nguma Lodge in the Okavango Delta, my first thought was, "You've got to be kidding me?" But it didn't take long for me to LOVE everything about this place. And how could I not love it when the trail to the lodge and my tent looked like this:

Where I feel asleep to the cries of the birds, and the stomping around of hippos, and splashing of the fish.

{hippo tracks}

I couldn't help waking up with a big smile on my face as I listened to the sounds of monkey's swinging from the trees, and birds out singing their songs.

Both mornings I'd stand at the end of the dock mesmerized by this view:

Simply breath taking. But it gets better.

My last night there I went out on a boat ride and captured all of this...

The most dangerous creature in the Okavango Delta...the crocodile...just look at those teeth!

The beauty of the Delta:

And a sunset that I couldn't capture quick enough...

The exact same spot two different times of day, sunrise, and sunset:


However, the real reason for visiting the Okavango Delta wasn't for pleasure, wasn't for capturing those amazing sights, and it definitely wasn't to see more animals that I've yet to see since I've been out here. All of those reasons were merely added bonuses to this trip. The real reason for this visit was to meet with various NGOs and stakeholders to learn more about what we can do as the U.S. Government to help them...

Who happen to live in huts that look like this..

.

Botswana is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to be, and I'm not so sure I'm going to want to leave next week!