Life at Jao has been very exciting these last few weeks. Once the flood arrived at Jacana, Frank moved the mekoro (dug-out canoes) from the mekoro station back to Jao.
That night at dinner his jovial bunch of Italian guests said that they wanted to mekoro the next morning, and Frank promised them a mekoro experience right from the front of camp. His guests thought he was crazy as the river was completely dry apart from one muddy patch in front of the lodge. Frank did not have an easy night as he worried about his hasty promise, but the next morning (25 February) the guests thought Frank was truly amazing as they arose to this huge river spanning over 400m across and spilling over across the road on the opposite side of the bank. During those few hours the water had filled the channel and risen over 700mm to be level with the lowest section of the Jao bridge and 30mm lower than the highest peak ever recorded in our 6 years of intense Jao knowledge (previous peak was July 2001).
The guests had an awesome mekoro experience and were totally absorbed with the miracle of the flood arrival. Within 2 days of the water arriving, the flood moved past the previous peak and the resistance of the water flow against the bridge caused the river to push past the sides of the bridge threatening the access road from Jao. This area had to be sandbagged and the road topped up with sand to repair the damage. The water is now 190mm higher than we have ever experienced and still rising. There is 50mm to go before the water flows over the low part of the bridge. From the air it is immediately apparent how little dry land is left on Jao, there is a dry patch from the main area to the kitchen, the tree line along the front of camp is dry, a little in the staff village and a little in the workshop - most of the island is flooded.
Our resident band of banded mongoose have relocated from the bridge area to just behind room 4 with all their little ones and are now a great source of interest from the walkway. The Kwetsani lions are now the Jao lions and are relaxing into their new home on Pupup Island which is the largest dry land we have on the floodplain side of the concession and a very sensible choice. Although we have not yet seen the cubs, we have seen their tracks a couple of times, and we have mating lions this week. We have completed the floodplain sleep out platform / hide although the lions stopped work for one day when they became a little too curious. We can now offer hide sleep outs from Jao, Jacana and Kwetsani (weather permitting).
We managed to extend the Jao airstrip by 100m on the higher eastern side before the flood arrived, and we have built a bund on the western side which is holding the water off the strip nicely. Should part of the strip flood we should still have at least 900m of usable runway.
Jao truly is at its best when it is surrounded by water, and this year it looks simply stunning with the camp perched right alongside this flood which is filling the Okavango to levels that we have not seen for 20 years although they were once the norm!
Jao Camp, Botswana is situated in a private reserve on a remote large island, to the west of the Moremi Game Reserve in the heart of the Okavango Delta. Across the waterway in front of camp, guests have access to open flood plains and savannah for a wonderful Okavango experience.
Guests are accommodated in 9 large and spacious rooms. Each of the unique and beautiful twin-bedded canvas and thatched rooms has been individually handcrafted under the direction of renowned architects Sylvio Rech and Leslie Carstens. The rooms are built under a canopy of shady trees, with en-suite bathroom, hot and cold running water, a large bath and double vanities. There is an additional outside shower under the stars for those more adventurous guests who want to shower closer to nature. There is an outdoor "sala" for guests to enjoy midday siestas with a view and a breeze. The rooms are raised off the ground and offer wonderful views of the surrounding flood plains.
A raised walkway connects the rooms to the dining room and lounge area. There is a plunge pool and an outdoor 'boma' for dining under the stars, as well as an excellent wine cellar. Jao also offers a Salon with a fulltime therapist offering a wide range of massage therapies. The activities at Jao include mekoros (dug out canoe) excursions, boats, fishing, day and night game drives and guided walks. If the area has a large flood, we will usually have to boat to a large island called Hunda Island where vehicles are waiting and the game drives start.
The area is extremely seasonal and the annual flood transforms the habitat from dry green open plains in summer to shallow flood plains in the winter. Access to this area is only by aircraft.
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Posted by dsc01 at April 3, 2004 02:29 AM | TrackBack