Awake before 6 as usual - but I waited tucked up and warm in bed until I heard the water for the shower arrive and go into the shower bucket.....then I ventured to the outside shower - the hot shower helped conquer the cool of the morning air. During the night I had heard lion and hyena calling - sounds that really remind you that you are in the African bush.
After my shower and with coffee in hand I photographed the sunrise which was just stunning. Breakfast today was porridge from polenta - lovely - especially with fruit. Another 7am start, Henry wanted to canoe to the lunch spot before the wind got up which it does usually around mid morning. That said the first hour was very easy as we floated down a channel looking at the birds and animals on the flood plain - waterbuck, impala, spur winged geese, sacred ibis, Egyptian geese, blacksmith plover, white crowned lapwing, white fronted bee eaters, pied kingfisher, and egrets - it was idyllic - everything was covered in a lovely morning dew and the air was fresh and clear....the current and the odd paddle from Matthew took us down stream - I was madly taking photographs - indeed at the end of the first hour my paddle was still dry! As we moved towards the main channel there were more hippo but as ever Mathew tapped the boat to wake them up and ensure they knew where we were, waited until they made their move to deep water where they felt safest and then masterfully manoeuvred us around them.....me now paddling of course.
We arrived at the lunch spot at about 10ish it was a lone natal ebony tree. We left the canoes and went for a long walk in the bush returning just before 12 for lunch and siesta. The highlight of the morning was hippos seeing us and getting out of their mud pool and hurtling off on their hippo pathway back to the water - the speed they were travelling showed why should not be on their path when one is coming towards you - you'd be flattened! We also saw a group of temincks coarsers and fresh serval poo but sadly no servals. The afternoon padle took us to the wider part of the Zambezi - 4kms wide and past the longest island where we saw a breeding herd of elephant.
We continued to navigate around pods of hippos, shallow sand bars and deep water - we saw a Goliath heron and yellow billed stork. Finally we reached our night stop - sad because the river trip was over - the beauty of it can only be seen from the river and it is unbelievable at this time of the year - the trees are all different colours, the colour of the water and the often cloudless skies make it really beautiful. On arrival we had a refreshing towel and then went for a quick walk to see the environment behind camp which was mainly mopane woodland- there was a purple crested turaco in one tree and the normal assortment of animals.
While drinking around the camp fire we did hear lions on the Zambian side and during the night I heard lions on the Zimbabwean side together with lots of sniffing around our tent which tracks would suggest was a hyena.
Dinner - cauliflower soup, rump steak for the carnivores and lentils for me with malva pudding to finish - I intended to leave a bit but it was so good I didn't !
Bed again at 9 - particularly as John was seen to fall asleep in his chair around the fire!