Day 10

After breakfast we got into a mokoro (a dugout canoe) and went for a ride in the everglades. Bo and Al sitting and our guide standing in the back with a long pole. The water varies in depth between 6 inches an 3 feet and the method of propulsion is by pushing the pole on the bottom. It is very quiet. Lots of reeds and water lilies. Our guide pointed out indigenous frog (Angolan red frog) which is smaller than your thumb but very pretty. We also saw a lot of water birds – fish eagles, a fishing owl, herons, and many others whose names we don’t remember. At some point a group of red lechwe ran through the water making a big splash. There are lots of little islands in the delta, formed by river sediments. Elephants often wander from island to island to look for their favorite foods. We saw some on our mokoro ride. After 1 ½ hours we stopped for the obligatory drink and cookies. Then back to the camp for lunch and rest. After rest we reassembled at 4 pm for the obligatory high tea, and then embarked on a boat tour of the delta. We saw tons of birds, baby crocodile, lots of water lilies, elephants, red lechwe and a couple of other boats from the Jao camp. We stopped in still water for drinks and snack at sunset. Sunsets here are magnificent – a huge red sun reflected in the water with unobstructed view until it disappears behind the horizon. Then back to camp for drinks and dinner. After dinner Lets took us to our tent, we had to be careful because there was an elephant near tent 5 (we are in tent 3), He must have wandered close to our tent because we heard him for quite a while on the side of our place. It is very dark outside so we can’t see much, but the night sky is absolutely amazing – the number of stars and their brightness is something we have never seen before.