We woke at about 5.45 and then heard the guys putting the hot water in our outside shower ready for our morning showers - I was first- a really good start to the day. Having got our gear ready for the day we made our way to the camp fire and breakfast table - a cup of coffee to help warm me in the cool morning air - followed by porridge and toast to set us up for the days activities. We set off at 7am and canoed down the river to our first stop - landing was thwarted by a young bull elephant drinking and then eating fruits from the tree - Henry did a quick change of plan and we landed a little further up - we then walked for an hour in an open area and watched a group of big bull elephants eating an acacia branch one big bull had probably pulled down and leaves from tall branches - a real stretch - apparently some can actually stand on two legs to get to the higher branches - they call it the Mana stretch and seems particular to these bulls.
Back in the canoe we paddled to our next stop an island - we arrived at about 1130 and had a lovely lunch followed by a siesta, then tea at 2pm before leaving at 2.30pm. We paddled for another 90 minutes and arrived at the campsite at about 4pm.....during the final couple of hundred yards we passed colonies of white fronted bee eaters nesting in the river bank and sacred ibis perched precariously at the tops of trees. The ground crew were finishing setting up due to a day thwarted by vehicle problems - getting stuck in sand and a couple of flat tyres. Instead of going to visit one of the pools by vehicle we went for a walk for about an hour in the area behind camp and found another group of bull elephants stretching to the high branches - none though on two legs. We returned to camp for the final minutes before sunset and much needed showers. Dinner, camp fire and again bed by 9pm. A great day and a lovely way to see the beauty of the Zambezi and the wildlife that live along it - we really looked forward to another day on the river tomorrow.