Hello everyone! This is Dennis Mokapisi of Dennis Mokapisi Wildlife Photography,
...from Pangolin Photo Safaris. So, for today's video, I am going to talk to you about one of
the oldest transportation systems in the Okavango Delta, which is a mokoro,
or a dugout canoe...which means I am going to put my camera to the side and put on my guiding hat.
All right...so a mokoro is a mode of transport. It was first introduced into the Okavango Delta by the
Bayeyi tribe, which is a tribe that I also originate from. This tribe introduced to the mokoro in the
Okavango Delta around the early 1800's. Typically, the mokoros of those days, were built
using three different trees. This was the Jackal-berry tree, the sausage tree and the African mangosteen.
So, these are some of the huge magnificent trees that are found in the Okavango Delta.
So basically, the mokoro, or the vessels itself, would be constructed by each and every family.
Each and every family would have their own mokoros. These mokoros took approximately -
to cover the whole thing - took approximately five to six months. You can imagine it was a
really cumbersome job to complete. It was a a really, really tough job...designed for
the fittest of the fittest within the tribe. After completion, they would use
this vessel to go fishing. They would also cross big channels and small channels visiting different
tribes, and different families within the Okavango region...and they would go even as far as Maun
to access vital services...and these journeys would take them anywhere from two
to three weeks...traveling from deep within the Okavango Delta to reach Maun, which is the administration center of the
Okavango region. All the villages - even as far as Kasane - back in those days, people would travel
from the Chobe region to come and access vital services in the Maun region....
within the Ngamiland region. So, the Okavango Delta, being a difficult place to manoeuvre because of all
the floods, and all the islands located within the Okavango Delta, the vessel was an easy way
of exploring the Okavango Delta. It was so easy that even when the first explorers came through,
they used these vessels to intimately explore the Okavango Delta...
and years to follow, the tourism industry took up this way of life from the Okavango residents...
to also show international travelers how the people of the Okavango lived...to be able to see
this magnificent wonder of nature. The tourists could only intimately explore the Okavango Delta
by getting into one of these vessels...which brings us to where we are now. We are now in
a village called Matlapaneng, which is one of the villages along the Okavango Delta ...
or the Thamalakane River...to be specific. So, just like the people in the Okavango Delta, the people
of Thamalakane River, and the people of Matlapaneng, also explore the Okavango Delta. They also go fishing...
there's quite a few people now moving around. This is actually one of the perfect times for
the people of the village to go and check their fishing nets. Some are coming down to do fishing
with lines...and some of them are crossing the channel to go into the different islands.
As you can see now that the river is flowing, the village has been cut in half, which means for the
people to be able to access the other side of the river, they have to use these vessels
for them to be able to access their plowing fields...and also to see family on the other side. So, for me
being a nature lover, I come down more often, to also explore the river. To celebrate
with the people to do a little bit of fishing here and there, and also to observe wildlife...
and for some time now, I have been seeing some interesting species...the African jacana.
We've seen an African fish eagle on one of the days...coming down...swooping down. Unfortunately
he couldn't catch any fish...and the Sacred ibis, grey herons...and from the plowing fields
we often see the hamerkop. I saw a mating pair not so long ago. So, the river has brought a lot of life.
The river has brought amazing things. We are happy to see the system flowing once again.
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