We arose before sunrise and walked down to the nearby river jetty where we were met by Charl and Shar. We were told to expect cold early morning conditions but there being no wind meant that the air temperature was very pleasant especially as we were well rugged up in our down jackets.
Our group of six photographers (us four plus two from Warnambool in Victoria) plus our two guides headed out onto the Chobe River just on 0640. The pre-dawn light was beautifully soft and the mirror calm conditions provided perfect conditions for photography.
In the early morning sunlight we encountered a most enthralling spectacle amongst the tall reeds on the river’s edge. Four small green coloured bee-eaters were huddled up together keeping each other warm in the cool morning air.
Little bee-eaters
These beautifully coloured birds were perched on a reed stem and had their feathers ruffled out so as to provide greater comfort to the group. The birds seemed unperturbed by our presence and allowed us to approach to within a metre or so without fleeing. Moving further along the river’s edge we encountered two other groups of bee-eaters engaged in the same group warming activity.
The next sighting of note was a stilt like bird with a bronze body colour and white face. These birds scurry around hopping from one water lily to another giving the impression they are walking on water. Not surprisingly they are called Jesus birds.
Amongst the dense riverbank reed we once again encountered a malachite kingfisher. The one we’d seen yesterday was a juvenile but this one was more mature and had a strikingly bright azure blue body and a blood red coloured beak; an extraordinarily beautiful (and apparently quite rare) kingfisher.
There were numerous sightings of the cormorant like bird called darters that dry their wings by spreading them wide whilst sitting high on dead trees or sticks. In one such group there was a single black cormorant which enabled us to see the difference between these species quite clearly. The darters have a much longer neck with a prominent needle shaped beak where as the red-eyed cormorants are smaller and shorter in the neck and beak.
We saw orange capped swallows, numerous geese and an assortment of other water fowl as we ventured further up the Chobe River and crossed over the border into Namibia. The only hint of there being a border is the presence of a Botswanan flag on a high pole in the middle of the river.
Incidentally at this location on the border we were at around latitude 17° south, longitude 25° east and at an altitude of 928m.
In the early morning sunshine we encountered a family of baboons sitting in a tree high above the river’s edge. The male was sitting back as if in an armchair enjoying the warmth and appeared to be almost asleep. The female baboon had a baby in close attendance. Nearby, grazing along the riverbank was a group of about twenty impalas, one of which was a senior male had very prominent and elegantly curved antlers. Baboons and impalas often co-habitate areas as each can warn the other of potential predators. The baboons see danger as look-outs from high tree tops and the impalas have an incredibly acute sense of smell enabling them to detect lions and other such carnivores from a great distance.
Baboons
Amongst the water lilies and reeds we saw many hippos but at one point we encountered a group of about twenty out of the water although some of the largest were sleeping on the river’s edge only partly submerged.
We managed to approach a group of water buffaloes grazing on a mid-river island. These incredibly powerful creatures are a force to be reckoned with and with their massive horns and what appears to be an armour-plated head one can well imagine that it’s a brave lion that attempts to attack one.
With the sun now quite high in the sky we returned to our Chobe Bush Lodge for a scrumptious breakfast and some free time before a return performance on the river later this afternoon.
The afternoon session on the river began at 1500 when the sun was still quite high and the ambient light probably a little too harsh for good photographic lighting.
Our group on the boat waiting for registration
After doing our usual form registering to enter the park we headed northwards along the river to a spot where Charl had our group taking set photographic shots but varying f stops to show the difference in the depth of field. On the riverbank we saw water monitor lizards, small crocodiles and the plentiful pied kingfishers. A white fronted bee-eater performed for us by flying around us and catching a butterfly and then slowly consuming it on a branch close to the boat. We were then fortunate to catch a fleeting glance of a green chested heron, a rare sighting apparently. On a tree branch nearby we managed to see and photograph a grey capped kingfisher, one of the seven species of kingfisher found within the Kobe National Park.
After spending an extended period of time watching a herd of elephants going about their everyday business we came upon a small group of kudu antelopes. These shy animals were quick to move to bush cover when ours and other boats approached.
And just when we thought the day was complete with all superlatives achieved we came upon a group of about ten giraffes, ambling through the scrubby bushes close to the waterline. These handsome creatures are so gloriously tall and so emblematic of the African savannah that we were quite taken aback by their sudden and unexpected appearance.
Giraffes
We ended the day’s photographic experience with time adjacent to a group of ‘out of water’ hippos and associated waterfowl including guinea fowl, egrets, geese and herons. A nearby cluster of storks was sighted but being hidden in tall grasses meant that they were too hard to photograph adequately.
Colonies of baboons were frequently seen along the river’s edge as were herds of elephants including one with two calves estimated to be only one year or so old.
With the sunset upon us we photographed a very obliging fish eagle and then Corinne with great aplomb managed to get a stunningly sharp photo of a very rare skimmer bird as it flew past. This is the most ‘endangered’ bird in Botswana with there being only as estimated 1200 pairs of birds still existing.
Skimmer bird and fish eagle
We took sunset shots and then headed back to our Chobe Bush Lodge for some rest and relaxation prior to our evening meal.
This has been another absolutely superb day with so much to see and enjoy.