My Luv Letter to the Okavango Delta (1/3 ACE edition)

Dear Okavango Delta,

This is the first week of my three week adventure in Africa for volunteering work. I have written everything down that happened during the days, all my thoughts (positive and negative). A bit different then how I usually write but here’s the naked truth of my first week.

Day 1: A day in the Air

My journey started absolutely wonderful (not) with a flight to Johannesburg that, of course, got changed last-minute so there were fewer seats—and I landed on a waiting list. Love flying these days, it never goes to plan haha. Luckily, I was the first one to get a seat assigned, and even luckier, it was just a different seat letter, not a different row. Small wins.

Leaving home, I’ll admit I was a little nervous. First time going outside of Europe alone. Sure, it wasn’t my first time to Africa, but it’s still a bit terrifying going into the bush alone, surrounded by wild animals and total strangers.

On the flight, I watched Moana 2 (finally!) and, although The Lion King would’ve been more thematically fitting, Moana’s solo ocean adventure felt strangely motivating. Sure, it’s animated, but it gave me a tiny bit of courage for the weeks ahead.

Day 2: Into the Wild

After a lovely night at the airport hotel, I woke up very emotional—the nerves kicked in again. Quick pep talk with the fam (lots of laughter at the awards my brain handed out for panic), and off I went for my next flight. At the airport, I met the ACE team and some people flying to a different park. Divan, the director, was there too, and he had some absolutely wild stories (more about that in the “Luvly Lessons” post that will come at the end of my ACE experience).

After a slightly bumpy flight, I landed in an extremely green Botswana. Helicopters and tiny planes were all lined up already—not for me this time—but it instantly brought back memories of my last trip to Botswana almost two years ago with my family.

I was picked up by the team and we tried (and failed) to get a SIM card—after 45 minutes in line, I gave up. Moving forward: no service for me. Luckily, the store had free WiFi so I could update the fam one last time before disappearing into the bush.

After a three-hour drive to camp, the “was this a good idea?” thought started creeping in. But no time to dwell—I got thrown into helping the chef with dinner. At least it was a distraction. After dinner, I chatted with one of the “rangers in training” who’s around my age (thank god), and at 9 p.m., I crawled into my tent.

Cue the loudest and longest night of my life yet: every time I was about to fall asleep, a hyena whooped, a lion growled, a bird sang opera, or a bug decided my tent was a trampoline. #lovecamping…

Day 3: Log Log Log

We headed out at 7:00 a.m. to collect animal tracks and sightings. The first two/three hours were mainly leopard and hyena tracks, but then the safari gods rewarded us: an elephant, a buffalo, a hippo, and a waterbuck all chilling together. Straight out of a Lion King movie.

Later, we spotted more hippos playing hide-and-seek, then went back to camp for lunch and a shower… which turned into a bug party with cold water. #stilllovecamping

Honestly? The “what am I doing here?” feeling kept creeping back—and staying longer. I really hoped it would get better, otherwise it was going to be a very long five days… and another very long 2 weeks after that if I didn’t click with other people.

In the afternoon, we saw 22 elephants and some pretty birds. I went to bed early and—hallelujah—finally got a decent night’s sleep.

Day 4: Log Some More

Another 7:00 a.m. start. We saw elephants in mourning (heartbreaking), a giraffe tower, and zebras. Nothing too crazy, but nice.

Meanwhile, my legs had developed some kind of mystery rash, and my mood was hanging by a thread. Luckily later, I got the chance to sneak off to a nearby lodge with WiFi and call my parents. Cue happy tears and a reminder: I love Africa, but I love sharing it even more with family/friends. Definitely a wise lesson for future trips: don’t go alone into the wilderness.

The evening was long—we stayed out on a night drive from 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. At least we spotted porcupines, a wild cat, and a caracal. Downside: I was so tired and the roads so bumpy that I legit fell into micro-naps mid-drive.

Day 5: Chilling and Miracles

No game drives today because we got back at 2:00 a.m. Just chilling, finishing my book, and experimenting with the shower system (boiling water + cold water = roulette). Miraculously, my hair and scalp survived.

Big miracle moment: out of nowhere, we got WiFi at camp! Hearing the ping of a group chat pop up was confusing at first, but when I saw the WiFi symbol, I immediately texted everyone I know. Lifeline reconnected.

I cried again when I called my mom—because I wasn’t having the magical time I’d romanticized before leaving. Classic Isabella move: overhype trip –> disappointment when reality doesn’t match. I swear I’m not that emotional usually.

That night, Ralph and I talked. He really understood my worries. It’s lonely being the only young woman in a group of much older men—and even Ralph wasn’t originally meant to be here. His kindness helped ease the homesickness and the worries for the actual camping during the weekend.

Day 6: New Campsite

We headed off camping with a glorious pink/orange sunrise—fitting for King’s Day in the Netherlands. Along the way: herds of elephants with tiny babies showing off their sass, two lionesses with a fresh kill (but hiding), and lots of ungulates.

For once, the team vibe improved: jokes about my “telescope” camera lens, teasing about ACE T-shirts, and general better energy.

At the campsite, we set up tents and had lunch before heading out for a Mokoro ride. In theory, peaceful. In reality, it started raining the second we got on the water. I was soaked within minutes, desperately shielding my camera. Thankfully, it survived. And we got rewarded with an elephant in the water, just a few meters from our Mokoro boat.

Later, another game drive = rain again. And a heartbreaking sighting: a heavily injured lioness, unlikely to survive.

Dinner was under the stars and we even managed a little group selfie. That night, lying awake with every animal noise magnified x100, I decided I would need positivity to survive the night and the only thing I could think were the tips on how to deal with dangerous animal encounters from Ralph. #positiveaffirmations

Day 7: An Elephants Day by the “Pool”

We spent hours tracking wild dogs the next morning—no luck—but eventually stumbled on something even better: an enormous floodplain teeming with 100–150 elephants. Babies, teenagers, grandmothers… pure magic. We stayed an hour just soaking it all in and still having the feeling that you missed something because so much was happening at once. From teenage elephants playing in the water to mothers protecting the babies and those babies playfully running away. They came up to us to greet us as well, the elephants were so happy to be in the water that they didn’t even mind us being there.

Later that night, we had another brush with magic: running into four massive lions (Mufusa x4) —and learning from Ralph about the myth of Orion and Scorpio in the stars. The myth goes that Orion was in love with Demeter but she didn’t want him and therefore Zeus helped that Orion could only marry her if he catches Scorpio, the only chance he has is only 2 weeks a year when they are in the same night sky. Somehow, that night, both constellations were visible together. Ralph has crazy manifesting powers, I swear.

Day 8: The Lion King Life Action

The last game drive started at 6:00 a.m. More wild noises overnight (snake dropping on my tent? hippos around camp? casual hyena laughs? check, check, check), but I slept better somehow.

We had a very beautiful sunrise with the red African sun and mist over the grasslands. We saw the same waterbuck family as the evening before, which was very pretty. And best news of all, we found lion cubs that morning—finally! Watching them play was pure joy, and honestly, it helped wash away a lot of the homesick blues I’d carried all week. Then it was time to go back “home” and for me almost literally because tomorrow, I am leaving for JNB again!

Day 9: Time to say Goodbye

And just like that, it was time to leave Botswana.

One week down, two more to go (next stop: South Africa)!

This week had crazy highs and crazy lows. I felt exhilarated and exhausted. I saw hundreds of elephants—and felt very alone. I learned how to cook on fire, pitch a tent, and track animals thanks to Ralph, Thembos, and OP.

I’ll never forget the animals, the sunsets, the thunderstorms—and the way it forced me to grow up just a little more.

Kea leboga, Okavango Delta.

And thank you to everyone on the team who made it unforgettable, in every chaotic, beautiful way.

Spread the Luv,

Isabella