This morning, a 6 am shout, all in preparation for our boat trip on the delta. Once again, a stunning sunrise, with the trees presenting a dark silhouette against the glow of the morning sky. No game drive this morning however - straight to the boat. Well, in actual fact - No!! That was the idea, but the local wildlife had obviously failed to read the finer detail of the itinerary. A hyena, only a fleeting glance, scurried away into the bush. Bibi was not to be out-foxed and took our Land Cruiser off-road, demonstrating its ability to go virtually anywhere, as we snaked our way around the trees and mud-holes.

 A bit of local knowledge, a bit of cunning and we found ourselves face to face with our spotted hyena. We reminded Bibi (in jest) "no game driving today Bibi" and  snaked our way once again, this time to find ourselves back on track. Further down the road we spotted a cheetah, but too fast I'm afraid for my camera on this occasion, as it became nervous at our approach and ran off ahead of us, across the track. Back on route again, but only temporarily. Bibi spotted some leopard tracks, and as he stopped at a junction, there were clear indications that a kill had been dragged away.

 We met another safari truck, and as is the custom, Bibi stopped to speak to his counterpart. We were unable to understand their exchange, but we had the impression that something was afoot. Within a short time Bibi was once again threading a path for the Land Cruiser through the bush. We met another safari vehicle, and again, an exchange between the two guides led us to a dense group of bushes. Finally, we saw the leopard, though to be honest, it did not draw the same level of excitement as our last leopard encounter. It was probable that this leopard had indeed taken its kill to a spot

nearby, but judging by its demeanour - and its ample belly - it was apparent that this leopard had long since finished feasting on its prey and was now in snooze mood. But as always, nice to get up close. Back on track once again, and further sightings, not so exciting this time - wildebeest - but we had not seen a lot of these thus far, so it was again worth a stop. As we finally got to our destination, that of the jetty, I asked Bibi if he could arrange another of these "non-game drives" for the following day. And so - at around 8.20 am, if a little behind schedule, we boarded our boats for our trip into the

Okavango Delta. African fish-eagle, little bee-eaters, jacana, pied kingfisher, African darter -  all featured prominently, but our guide told us that at this time of the year, the birdlife on the delta was not at its most prolific. We stopped for a tea break on one of the delta's many islands, after which our guide took us for a short walk. We had a spell of trying to sight some hippos which we could hear, but, despite the efforts of our guide, we were unable to spot them. We returned to the jetty at 1pm, to be met by Bibi, who had pre-prepared a lunch of cold meats, with a salad of carrots, tomatoes, olives,  raisins

and peanuts, and rice and tuna. We all ate our fill, and what remained was donated to the boat crews before we left at  2.15 pm. Back to camp - afternoon routine - Game Drive 4pm. (There now - I've saved myself several lines of text!)
On this drive, we once again spotted a cheetah briefly, and on this occasion I at least managed to obtain a photo.
We saw elephants in good numbers, some of which were very vocal, trumpeting in alarm as they gathered tightly around their young. And again, we spotted hyena. On this occasion there were three, plus a youngster suckling its mother.

Back to camp for 6.30 pm. Evening routine - Dinner tonight - Spaghetti Bolognese and cauliflower followed by ... yes ....you've guessed it - Tinned fruit and custard. Simple, but always welcome - rhubarb crumble? No chance !!This was our last opportunity to say a proper goodbye to our support crew - Gee and David - two lads who never failed to give of their best. Always busy - and nice to hear - often whilst we were around the fire in the evening, their laughter as they cleared up. Nice lads who we could trust beyond question - on one occasion, Gee brought me a cheap biro that I had

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