For as long as I can remember, The Okavango Delta has been on my bucket list. Through primary school lessons and nature documentaries I conjured up an image of a magical place with islands and waterways, like Africa’s Venice, teeming with wildlife where migrations look like scenes out of Disney films. With this in mind, it had to be one of our stops on this epic honeymoon roadtrip and it worked out to be the perfect way to round-up our adventure.

Our previous stop on the Khwai River was in a drier part of the Delta and (while not quite at a Disney level) it really satisfied our game viewing plans. Our final destination was on Chief’s Island, bang in the middle of the wetland areas of the Okavango Delta. We checked into an amazing place called Oddballs Camp, which is an eco-friendly site with fixed tents on platforms among the bushes.

After sweet-talking the manager and reminding her that these were the last two nights of our honeymoon we were upgraded to the honeymoon suite which was an actual building with an indoor shower – as opposed to a tent with an outdoor bucket and pulley system for bathing. The honeymoon suite was an upgrade but in keeping with the rustic feel of the campsite, it only had reed shutters for windows and doors. At night we could hear hippos sloshing about outside the front door and there was a family of bats nesting behind the bed’s headboard.

During our stay, we had a personal guide named FNB who was brilliant. He would take us through the canals on a traditional wooden mokoro (dugout canoe, propelled by a stick in the water). During our stay we took a number of walking safaris with FNB. It was a really down-to-earth change from the boat or 4WD game viewing we had previously done. He spent a lot of time teaching us about the plant life on the islands and telling stories about stand-offs with lions. We didn’t see any lions or leopards but FNB explained that you only see them if they want you to see them (not sure if that was reassuring or terrifying). We did come across zebras, impala and baboons while walking at a safe distance.

We had a truly humbling experience when we walked through a clearing and found ourselves a few meters away from a large elephant bull. FNB stopped us in our tracks and we carefully but swiftly backed away and positioned ourselves downwind. We had been closer to elephants on our trip, but standing there without the protection of a vehicle made this an incredible experience.

I jokingly asked where the locals go swimming and FNB said he would take us there. He steered his mokoro to a part of the river that he assured us was free from hippos and crocodiles where we plunged into the Okavango river for a refreshing and unique swim.

On our final day it came into question whether Mother Africa would let us leave. Returning to camp from our final walking safari, we encountered an ‘elephant roadblock’. There are limited routes where you can drive a mokoro through the reeds and our only route back home was blocked by an elephant snacking on water lilies. We clapped our hands and shouted in an attempt to annoy the elephant away but he wasn’t having any of that. Eventually we had to go around – which involved abandoning the mokoro for a massive walking detour and shouting to our camp to come and rescue us from another island. We made it back just in time to jump on the six seater plane that would take us to Maun, Joburg and eventually London.

View more photos from this trip