Africa - Days 8-10 - 05-08-2025 to 05-10-2025

 I haven’t written much the last few days as they have mostly been the same each day so I thought I would just combine them into one entry here.  Each day started early, with a 5:00am wake up, 5:30 breakfast and then we would head down to the boat and get all loaded up for the morning river cruise. I was worried it would be colder on the water early in the morning, but I found it not to be too bad at all.  A windbreaker and my knit cap did the trick in keeping me warm as we cruised up and down the river.

Since we were limited to staying inside the boat the last few days, everything we saw had to be on the river’s edge or in the water itself. We saw families of elephants come to the river to drink and bathe, and even watch one elephant take a mud bath, feet from the front of the boat, spraying our fearless leader with mud while doing so. He was covered, but not nearly as bad as his camera gear was. Thankfully, no damage was done and we all just got a great laugh out of it.

We saw hippos and crocodiles in the water, saw Cape Buffalo crossing between two crocodiles, and narrowly escape being attacked, only to come back the next day to find a cape buffalo dead in the water, with two crocodiles feasting on the body and moving closer to shore to make it easier to eat. We couldn’t be sure if this was one of the same buffalo we saw the day before, but it did appear that it might have been the young one from that group, as it was about the right size.

We saw a colony of King Fishers and their nests, saw monitor lizards, Impala (yep, even at the river!), Baboons, Eagles, Bee eaters and all numbers of cool birds among the reeds and along the river.  We even managed to get chased by two different Hippos on the river. It was amazing to see how fast those big animals can move in the water!

The days were nice and the ride so much smoother than what we’d been experiencing so far.  The only complaint I might have is that our boat driver wasn’t the most skilled when it came to placing the boat in a good spot for photos, and more than not, would race into the shore or into bushes with the front of the boat, and scare away what we were hoping to photograph.  It got to be a little frustrating at times, but overall, it was still a good experience, and I think we actually got to photograph most everything we wanted.  Sometimes it just took multiple attempts before he would get it right. 😊

We would head back to the lodge each afternoon for lunch and a break before heading back to the boat and the river each afternoon, to repeat the morning sessions. 

Dinner every night was nice, and we would eat outside under the stars. The chef would come out, welcome everyone, announce what the meal would be, and then serve it.  It was a great way to relax and wind down each night, before returning to our rooms for a good night’s sleep.

Tonight is our last night here, so I packed my bags before bed. Tomorrow, we take our second domestic flight and head back to Johannesburg for a rest day.