Page 60 - Discover Botswana 20th edition

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lightening caresses the netswnnn skies. cach carrying a billion volts, and — . i l
where they trtuch lht: cnr1h.¢xplrtdc trees and grass. causing the fires that V '\ ’
rage. but refresh the land. -
The Carmines I've been fnllowlng knuw about this, and are here at ' '
exactly the right time for the dry lightening strikes because when the
Okavttngo burns. ll llusltcs up timttsands at’ Insects. 'lheir appearances
around the buflialu and lions are realty a dnthanre. 'ihey are heading for ;_. x _ -
the tires. _ ‘ ~' ’,_g Q 4 __-_.—,t
But it was flying over the incredible papyrus and reed tires that set my '\_‘ -. . ‘_ ‘ . ., ‘.~ _
mind in dcveloytingthr central the-mu nfmtr film series. it was as ifwe were ' i _’ ‘ ‘ 3 . V‘ ""
looking down into purgatory, Dante's inferno. But someone’: purgatory .t?_ , K V .4
ts sttmcuitc elsds pttradlse. '11:: deep water. as tt pushes ullt) Botswana is ‘ ., : . ‘ ;y
when the river ix-comes it real river. snaking lhrnuflw the reed beds. It is . _ "V. >5’-‘
always green. and reminds me of the first stage at‘ Dante; l’arad|sc. In the ' .
upper Okttvange cmcodlles ttnd elephants move around as irthcy own the , ' _ f’
river. hippos and ta strange and beautiful Sltatunga anlelupc rule. But the _
river seems to he on ll mission [0 gta stmtewhertz else. it river serpent on ,. '
the move. Legends talk of Dikakn lhai river serpent. but ttttcr 35 years I ' ' I ‘
have not seen it. Instead I see beauty. and harmony, and when Ll icupardess . ' ..», "1
we are following melts down the true llkc mcrwry to surprise a family of ff" ' ‘ ‘
wttrlltogs, it is not the death I see, ll is the “hope” she takes back it) her t
three cuhs that desperately need the (nod. ‘ . ' _ '
‘lite ll lrillitm iitcrs ofwztlcr that the river delivers ttnnually, changes .t| .4 ~ , A t
everything and everyone. But even the river can't be forever. or consistent. 3,‘ ‘t,- V l , -
it comes and goes. [I takesfimonths for rainwater ta find its way into the ' it —’
delta. Then, as it gets thmugh Parudisejl httsnwntt nfsanrl. Kalahari sand. "'5' ‘ ~ t “- .
the desert under the delta. lt thtttens, and spreads, acmss 15,000 sq km " ’ ’ ' . -5-’ -_,, . -
orwettand. And here, in my mind, the Okavango changes character. and
slides into “Lintbttf waitittg. no more titan a meter or so deep, evaporating
dramatically. losing volume. uncertain about what path to take, at the
whim ufhippos Ur clephztms creating new chnnne|s. working it. retreshtng
it, using it. There is a Eut-hythtnics song that says a lot about the okavango.
ttlmttt how "same of them want to use you. mm: of them want Ln be used
by yu",'-Aland that is st» tntr. All the players on this stage called “The
Okavattga" have dilferem motivations. Some use it. tttkc from it. Others
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