Our departure, from the Caprivi Strip in Namibia, was delayed by the collection of colourful birds that had gathered around a number of different flowering trees just outside the lodge entrance. Weavers in their bright yellow breeding plumage made their swizzling, clicking calls to one another, while male Marico sunbirds flashed their iridescent plumage as they chased each other around - at the same time keeping up a steady twittering to attract the attention of the dowdy plumaged females, who were more interested in the abundance of sweet nectar to be found in this first flush of flowers. We left the frantic activity behind and sped down the arrow straight tar road for the Botswana border, mindful of the warning signs that there may be other sorts of animal traffic on the road as well! Having completed the border formalities we drove the two kilometers to the entrance of the Chobe National Park, where we set off for the river to find a suitable lunch spot overlooking the floodplains that were full of grazing zebra. After lunch we followed the Chobe River downstream, passing numerous herds of zebra, kudu, buffalo, impala, elephant, waterbuck and roan antelope. There were also plenty of giraffe, baboons, monkeys, warthogs, hippos and crocodiles, as well as many more birds and other interesting wildlife scenes to enjoy, such as an orange African sunset over the river. Our day’s wildlife viewing ended watching a female leopard sleeping on the side of a termite mound, while her nearly full grown cub attempted unsuccessfully to stalk some francolins. There had in fact been very little that we had not seen in the course of the afternoon!

Our flight from Kasane to the Okavango Delta went smoothly, although due to the still high floodwaters we were unable to land at the airstrip on the island of the lodge as it was now waterlogged. Instead we had to land at another airstrip, which as the "crow flies" was just a few kilometers away. After admiring two elephants and the baboons at the landing strip we set off for the 45 minute boat ride, through the winding reed and papyrus lined waterways and on to the lodge and a very tasty lunch. Our afternoon activity started with a short walk across the island, and down the edge of the waterlogged airstrip to where a herd of red lechwe had taken up residency. As we walked along the lechwe ran off, splashing through the shallow water and heading for the cover of the permanent swamp and reed beds. Further on a blacksmith plover took to the air protesting loudly, then swooped back towards us in a mock aerial attack before landing a few feet away - its mate came flying over to join it, and thereafter the two kept up constant loud and piercing protesting calls, which indicated to us that there was a nest nearby. Finally spotting a slight movement we were able to pinpoint the location of a tiny and cryptically camouflaged chick and then a nearby egg. The chick must have been newly hatched as it was only a ball of down about an inch and a half (4cm) across. Using our big lenses we took a few hurried photos and then moved on to allow the parents to return to the exposed egg and chick. In the late afternoon, while enjoying an Okavango sundowner, we watched another pair of blacksmith plovers with three chicks twice the size and already highly mobile, running along on their less than toothpick thick legs and already seemingly adept at catching insects for themselves. Prior to this we had been peacefully gliding along in canoes through the reeds and channels of the Okavango’s waterways, enjoying the surreal landscape while at the same time admiring some of the smaller critters, such as the painted and long nosed reed frogs, and getting glimpses of fish darting past through the crystal clear waters. We also took in a distant view of an elephant on one of the islands, although our walk back to the lodge was a bit more exciting as we had to find our way around a breeding herd of 15 elephants!

We did not find any buffalo on Buffalo Island where we walked the following morning, but we did find some vultures, circling and landing in the trees above the remains of an impala that a leopard had hauled up a tree. There was no sign of the leopard, and although we could hear the lions roaring they were unfortunately across the water on another island. We continued to explore the island and enjoy the varied birdlife, especially the colourful and striking saddle-billed storks, black-collared barbets, bee-eaters, and the antics of the yellow-billed oxpeckers on the backs of two very friendly and tolerant warthogs - who came walking in our direction from out of the long grass to root about and feed very close to where we stood. By the time we made it back to the boat everyone was ready for the hearty brunch that we knew would be waiting for us at the lodge, after the short exhilarating ride back up the main channel with all its twists and turns. After brunch and a last boat ride we arrived back at the airstrip we had landed at for the flight on to Moremi.

With the floodwaters still inundating most of Moremi, there were fewer areas accessible to us and to the animals that were averse to wading through the water - but there was still more than enough to see to keep the drives interesting. Within minutes of leaving the lodge we came across a breeding herd of elephants led by a big tuskless female, who must have been well along in the 22 month gestation period as her sides seemed fit to burst with the calf she was carrying. The rest of the herd were spread out in the forest feeding on the driest looking grasses and sticks, none of which looked in the least bit appetising. Over the next few days various breeding herds and groups of bull elephants followed the same ritual - standing around idly in the dry forest until the late afternoon, then crossing into the flooded areas to feed on the lush green grasses and the still green leaves of the trees of the newly flooded areas. The elephants would then feed overnight, and so early in the mornings we would see small groups as well as large herds of elephants returning through the flooded valleys and waterways back to the higher ground of the mopane forests, as if they had been sneaking into a forbidden area to feed under the cover of darkness! The zebras, wildebeest and red lechwe were more out in the open about their feeding habits, and so we would find small herds feeding along the edges of the advancing water, nibbling at the newest green shoots that were pushing up through the dry grasses. Sometimes we would find a small herd of zebra or wildebeest on their own, while at other times there would be more than one species gathered together to make the most of the new grazing. Whichever was the case we would watch the procession, as one animal would "leapfrog" ahead of the other, to get to the next small patch of green grass - then in pausing to feed would in turn be passed by the next individual. As such we were able to position so that the herds advanced towards us, and being so eager to get to the next green shoots before the others they passed by close to where we sat, enabling us to hear the chomping and tearing of the grass as they feed.

One of the zebras we had been watching had a huge scar running from the top of its rump down to the top of its hind leg, disrupting its otherwise neat black and white stripe markings. The wound had mostly healed, and was probably the result of a close call with a lion that had not managed to get more than one claw to connect during the hunt. The buffalo we had found the first afternoon, on which a pride of nine lions were feasting, had not been so lucky! We could see that the hunt had not gone entirely in the lions favour, as one lioness had a fresh puncture wound that had most likely been caused by the horn of the buffalo, and was obviously causing her great discomfort, along with the fact that the blood was attracting its own swarm of flies. The lions had huge bloated bellies and were mostly just laying about sleeping, but occasionally one of the sub-adult males would go to feed briefly before flopping over again at the effort. In the trees around the kill site vultures and an immature bateleur eagle looked on in anticipation. On returning to the scene the following morning we found that the lions had dragged the carcass out of the bushes into the long grass, and had somehow managed to have eaten most of the flesh off the bones - this meant that there was now much more competition for the bits that were left, and so we were treated to the lions growling, snarling and bad table manners for most of the time we sat watching them. The bateleur eagle and most of the vultures appeared to have realized that there would not be many scraps left to pick over, and so had left in search of better opportunities elsewhere. Leaving the lions to fight amongst themselves we continued our search far and wide for another leopard, following the alarm calls of the squirrels, birds and the impala all in vain - then, when we least expected it, there in the fork of a big fig tree we found a big male leopard. While sitting watching the male we could hear a female leopard calling from time to time nearby and getting closer all the time. The male leopard was alert and was paying attention to the sound of the approaching female, judging her path of travel. After some while I decided to manoeuvre the vehicle to the best photographic angle in anticipation of the appearance of the female, but unfortunately a splintered branch ripped through one of the tyres. I suspect the female was thus deterred from approaching any nearer by the movement and noise of me having to change the tyre. Eventually the male leopard stood, stretched and leapt down from the tree, heading off in the direction of the still calling female. Despite having made the tyre change in a time worthy of a Formula One racing team it was now almost dark, and so we had to head back to the lodge leaving the two leopards to wander the forests alone.

Until next month....