Okavango Delta

So we sacked Killer. When the knock came on the tent flap at 4am - kill me, kill me now - we decided that if we were going to get up, we were going to make sure that it was worthwhile. So we went with the other guide, a tall, native bushman by the name of Phil, who also had another advantage over Killer, he carried a bigger stick.





It was a four hour walk, and we did in fact come across a herd of zebra, wildebeest and impala. They all stick together as the wildebeest can't see or hear, but the zebra can see, and the impala can translate the early warning calls of the baboon. The zebras play chasey with the young wildebeest, and the impala ride on their backs. You couldn't help but think you were watching an episode of play school.

Also came across the rare sight of a large African Python lazing in the sun. About 2 meters long and very docile, even though he was very aware of us. Most of us hung around the back end so he couldn't lunge at us, until we were gravely told that, because of their bone structure, they can't lunge forward quickly, but they can spring backwards up to 2 metres at a time. Suddenly the beady eyes were far more attractive.

Back to camp before the sun got too hot, for a leisurely brunch and morning spent relaxing at camp. The clouds and thunder started rolling in late in the day. There was a 5pm Mokoro (canoe) cruise scheduled, but we decided not to get drowned, and stayed in camp instead. Inevitably an hour or so later, a group of wet, bedraggled canoers returned to camp having seen very little. The rain didn't give up all evening so we huddled under the trees to eat our dinner. Not even the promise of popcorn could tempt everybody to stand around in the rain and learn African dancing - can't imagine how anybody could pass that up - so we all drifted off to bed early in anticipation of an early rise at, you guessed it, 4am.