I have forgotten to mention the documentary we watched when we arrived at the delta. An explorer not that many years ago set out to find the source of the Delta. There are many tributaries feeding into it all in Angola. An agreement has now been signed by the two countries ensuring the sustainability of the water source. Yay for conservation I thought as the next day we headed to another island on a mokoro. Our mokoro driver (they would be called a gondolier in Venice) was from the local village. We gave him a good tip as he found the going tough with the low water levels and enormous amounts of reeds. I felt like an explorer - going into the unknown - if we were alone we would be lost in no time.
Today's island walk was similar but different. Watched a wood pecker pecking a tune and some blacksmith lap wings (who really didn't like us anywhere near their territory). The highlight was seeing elephant and hippo footprints, a bed for three hippos and the most exciting a hippo highway. I walked on it! Just imagine this morning the family trekked down to the water and tonight they would tread that same track back to their bed. The highway even has a median strip as they are very exact where they put their feet. Elephant highways are different, wider as elephants walk side by side rather than single file.
Then back to our glamping digs where there was a traffic jam on the narrow canal and a lot of ducking and diving to avoid getting whipped by papyrus plants.
A lazy afternoon - I slept, Harry read and protected our washing from the monkeys. Another sunset cruise - the barge was followed by the little swallows who have their nest under the floor. That night golden bats, monkeys and squirrels joined us for dinner.
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