Day 13: July 6, Mokoros & Cats

The mokoro ride this morning was very calm and serene. On the way to the launch, we spotted more of the uber-rare roan antelope, which had never been seen in this portion of the park, according to our guide: The ride reminded me a little of gondolas in Venice, but completely different, of course.

We didn't spot a lot of game, but did see a few very cool birds, including a lesser jacana, which the guides were very excited about. The guides were fabulously sweet, and told us stories of their home (they grew up in a village in the delta, and had been "polling" the mokoros since they were 6 years old). They made us bracelets from palm leaves, and told us long African lore tales of crazy mother-in-laws and witchcraft. There are a few bugs and mosquitoes here too, but not nearly as many as were in Namibia. Still, I can't imagine how bad they are in the rainy season.

The dry, winter season in this part of the world is painfully dry. There is absolutely no humidity in the air at all, and my skin is cracking from the lack of moisture. I put on sunscreen every hour or so, and it just soaks right in. After showering, I slather on moisturizer, and it's gone within minutes. I feel so high maintenance (and for those of you who know me, you know I'm not high maintenance at all!) But the dry air just sucks the moisture out of you, and the dust coats everything. The grasses are all crispy and dry, and if it weren't for the river, I would swear there hadn't been water here in decades.

Here's a photo of the fire pit at the new camp:

This afternoon was another game drive. We saw quite a bit, including another baby giraffe - who was quite happily munching on this acacia tree, even if his three guardians weren't so sure about us.

No ostrich today, as I was hoping, but on the drive back to the lodge, we came across a serval (a small spotted cat) sitting literally in the middle of the road! The guide had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting him, and he darted off into the bush. He was absolutely gorgeous, and of course, I didn't get a photo, but here's a link so you can see what he looks like. Gorgeous!

About 2 minutes later, two caracals (more cats) were also sitting in the middle of the road, and dashed off into the sage brush when we approached. They lead us on quite a chase... We spotted them, and they darted into the bush, so we went around the bush to get a better peek. As soon as they saw us, they ran behind another bush, and we followed them again. This happened about 5 times, and the guide said that they were a mating pair who was playing with us. They certainly weren't panicking when they saw us - it was more like a domestic cat playing hide & seek... too funny. I still can't believe that I'm seeing this for real...

The stars are - if it's possible - more incredible here. I am in awe when I look up at the sky at night. I'm going to try some long exposure photos one night to see if I can capture even a bit of what it looks like. It's unbelievable. And if I wasn't terrified of being eaten by lions (or freezing to death), I would sleep under the stars every night.

As I lay in bed writing this, the frogs along the Delta are deafeningly loud. I can't imagine being a nocturnal predator around here and trying to locate anything other than frogs in this din. Crazy. The people who really need to come to Africa are serious bird watchers. The variety is amazing, and so exotic. I've also come to the realization that I'm going to be seriously disappointed in zoos from now on, having seen the "real things" in action like this. At zoos, the animals just seem to lie about, doing nothing and bored to the point of catatonic states. But out here, animals are always doing something - even if it's running away from us.

Tomorrow morning is my first game walk... yay! Very excited... Hope I don't get attacked by anything...