Today was our last walk to the east. We walked along by the river - and luckily saw a big bull elephant who was hidden but the swaying leaves gave him away.
Our bird sightings list is growing we are slowly marking off species from the list provided by Moli in the room - with the bigger & easier species seen we are now starting to concentrate on the smaller harder ones - today we saw the violet backed sunbird, black cuckoo, Boheims spinetail and the grey backed cameoptera.
Towards the end of the walk we spotted fresh lion tracks going up a sand tributary but no lions; then in the jeep driving back to camp Dunstan ( the mechanic) became a guide by spotting two lions lying in the shade slightly up a slope with their ears protruding above the grass. Even though they were predominantly hidden they were wary and checking us out - but great to see them.
Back at camp, after lunch I had an afternoon sorting out my photographs and getting our clothes ready for fly camp as we are heading there tomorrow for 3 nights. As we felt we needed more time today we agreed just to go out at 5.30pm for sundowners. We went to their previous camp site by the river where they were flooded out during the rains - it was a lovely sunset over the river. Although it's nice to stay by the river I think their new permanent base is the best place, the views are some of the best we have had anywhere ....I am sure it will also give them greater peace of mind in the rainy season.
I did get a nice photo of a crowned hornbill, ( today's photo) and we had more good views of elephants, the final foraging of baboons before they went to their night-time roost and giraffe - a large journey moving around near camp.
Tonight my major find however was that my cashmere wrap had very neat little holes in it - the mice had clearly been looking for bedding materials as well as food! Indeed this provided the first topic of discussion as we sat around the campfire before dinner. Moli informed us that mice frequently plague camps by nesting in the rolled up canvas and often nibbling through it - we have never been aware of them before but you live and learn!