We were up at 6 am to catch the spectacle of the sunrise, with the mandatory early-morning brew. As I went up on deck Jacqui and Malcolm were just rousing, having spent the night sleeping on the deck beneath mosquito nets. They swiftly put orders in for two teas, and for a brief time I became the galley tea-boy!! After a leisurely early-morning cuppa, 7.30, and it was time for (a substantial) breakfast. Shortly after 8 we were off on a boat safari - with two boats, six aboard each, and Robson at the helm.  Needless to say, a beautiful morning, as we navigated various channels of the

river, with all manner of bird life. We had a visit to the riverside village of "Kalikalka" - which translated means "trying to do something." The village was in the process of being rebuilt. This is virtually an annual process following the seasonal flooding of the river. At this time the residents move further inland, then as the water recedes, move back to their riverside homes to make their living from fishing. Their fishing boats are the traditional mokoro, dugout canoes, made from various types of wood, each having its own individual quality when it comes to longevity, with ebony being the most durable with a life of over 20 years, though this comes at a price.

Several of the village inhabitants were resident, though, as the village was still under reconstruction, the women and children were not yet here, with the exception of one young lad who was busy mending nets. Another local produce was home-brewed beer which they sold to neighbouring villages.  After leaving the village we stopped midstream for a cold drink as we drifted slowly downstream with the current. Then it was back to the boat for a lunch prepared by Peter - salad, with cheese, hot-dogs, chicken, potato salad and meatballs. Then it was time to relax on deck once again, and Colin retired to the Jacuzzi

enjoying a cool beer in the afternoon sun. We watched an African spotted otter working its way along the bank, and an African darter fishing nearby - a cormorant-like bird who seemed to have established its own territorial fishing area upstream from the boat. A local fishing boat drew alongside during the afternoon, and Peter, our chef bought some fish, which could not have been any fresher, for our evening meal.
 4 o'clock and it was back into the boats for an afternoon-evening cruise. Once again, the birdlife was plentiful, with the highlights being one of my favourite little birds, the colourful

malachite kingfisher. Amongst others we saw pied kingfisher, jacana, and our helmsman, Donald, took us in close to the bank to obtain some stunning views of little bee-eaters. Once again, beautifully coloured little birds who were really quite bold, allowing us to get really close to obtain our photographs.
Then, as the daylight started to fade, Donald took us to a very picturesque area of the river, amidst a sea of floating lilies to watch the sinking sun. As we stopped, a family of otters. probably five or six in number started to play games - breaking surface some distance away, then as we moved to get closer

they dived, only to reappear at the spot we had just left. Having taken a few photos, it was 6.30 and time to return to the boat in the darkness of the early evening. As we boarded, the generator was started - this to heat the water for showers and provide mains power for lighting and recharging batteries etc.
After time to freshen up and enjoy a cool beer, the floor was once again Peter's as he entered the dining area to announce that dinner was served, taking us through what he had prepared for us - fillet steak, tilapia (a freshwater fish) chicken, salad, baked potatoes, a delicious combination of spinach

in a peanut sauce, butternut squash and stir-fried vegetables. All this served with a cool bottle of white wine. At the end of our second day on the houseboat we were all very impressed by the quality of the cuisine served up by Peter. One could not have asked for more. After dinner we had one or two beers , and as promised, I introduced Robson, Donald and Doctor to the world of the single malt whisky, (whilst Peter stuck to soft drinks.) I taught them the Gaelic toast of "Slainte mhealth" (Pronounced "slanj-ivar") but omitted advice that a fine single malt should be sniffed, sipped and savoured, and as I

got to the sniffing part, theirs was straight down the hatch like a shot of local palm-nut oil. I laughed out loud as all I could see in the darkness of the upper deck was three sets of pearly-whites, and three empty shot glasses.They readily accepted a refill, but I'm afraid I was still unable to get them to "sniff, sip and savour." I asked them to estimate the price of a bottle of Talisker single malt. About five dollars Robson guessed. Had I told them it was nearer fifty dollars then perhaps they might have indeed sipped and savoured!! Still - they enjoyed it - that was all that mattered. However, my illusion of initiating them