by Ant Paton
The Okavango River of northern Botswana is unique for several reasons, most notably because it is one of the world’s few rivers that is not destined to reach the sea. The river forms the spine of one of the great tracts of wilderness remaining in southern Africa and the water reaches its peak levels in the middle of the dry season.
The best way to visit this remarkable paradise is by mokoro, a traditional dugout boat, that is propelled by punting with a long straight stick called the ngashe. Mekoro (the plural of mokoro) were brought to the Okavango River by the WaYeyi people who have lived along the river for centuries. Seitsane “C-Company” Boitumelo is amongst the most senior of the polers still operating, having piloted mekoro for over half a century. At the age when most people doing physical labour have retired “C-Company” still propels a mokoro with strength, grace and apparent effortlessness. Every day after setting up camp, he goes off to place his nets to catch barbel and other fish, and almost every night he makes an extra firepit to cure his catch of the day.
We would go daily and several times twice daily on two to three hour game walks to look for buffalo, elephants and Seitsane’s favourite, big cats. Walking into a lion with him required stealth, speed, strategy, determination and of course cool heads. Approaching a lion without a vehicle or a rifle is a very different experience to finding big cats when out on a game drive or with an armed ranger.
The main focus of the trip was being able to record unique soundscapes- such as the hollow resonance of the mokoro hull where water ripples were eerily similar to a scuba diver’s sounds. Weird midnight waders or slinking scavengers in camp are always something to get the blood pumping. The shrill cry of the African Fish Eagle is a widely known signature sound of this landscape, but there were dozens of other incredible moments sponsored by frogs, bats, hippos and a wide variety of birds. The African Jacana, the Hartlaub’s Babbler, the Long-toed Lapwing and the Coppery-tailed Coucal all made memorable avian exclamations. Getting front row recordings of the hypnotic whirring display of the African Snipe was the ultimate sound highlight of this incredible wilderness adventure.
