Our schedule for the afternoon was clear until after tea time. We were then to proceed down river by boat while Niel would drive the camp's Land Rover as far in that direction as the roads went before the flooding made them impassable. He would meet us at the river at sunset and drive slowly back to the camp as darkness fell for a night game drive.

As I mentioned in an earlier installment, the camp was located in a "Game Management Area" that bordered the national park, and there was a good chance of seeing some nocturnal animals. We would use a powerful spotlight and see what we could find.

We decided after lunch that due to all of the physical exertion we had experienced sitting in a canoe for two hours that morning (while others paddled for us!) we would take a nap. Les allowed that reeling in all of those hard-fighting tiger fish had exhausted him as well, so he napped also. After about an hour I couldn't lie in bed any longer, so took a book and walked over to the flagstone patio area under the ebony tree and alternately read and stared out across the river.

When tea time arrived, Annerita brought out a carrot cake she had baked. She continually amazed us with the different recipes she would prepare! It was served with hot tea and cold juice, and really hit the spot. Sometimes it seemed that all we did on the entire trip was eat and eat!

Niel asked us if we had heard the boy yelling during our nap. We told him we hadn't, and asked what had happened. He told us that not long after lunch a boy had arrived at the camp out of breath and yelling for help. He had come from another camp about a mile down the river, and had run all the way barefoot. It seemed that an elephant had come into their camp and didn't act like it would leave, frightening the people there. Niel put the boy in the Land Rover and drove him back to the camp. By the time he arrived there was no sign of the elephant. I wondered if that was the same elephant that had been swimming across the river the evening before. Such was life along the lower Zambezi!

At 4:15 we loaded into the boat and set out, having plenty of time to pause along the way if we saw anything of interest. As the sun dropped lower and lower in the sky, the lighting became really dramatic. The first photo-worthy animals we saw were two crocodiles lying on a sand bar in the shallows, facing each other but about thirty feet apart. One was nearly twice as large as the other, and both had their mouths wide open. I have no idea why. I later told Carol that they reminded me of two alley cats squared off and hissing at each other. We managed to get a long-distance shot of the two of them before the larger one slid into the water and disappeared. We were able to creep in a little on the smaller one and get a closer shot of him.


Are they laughing or having an animated conversation? What do crocodiles talk about, anyway?


The birds back there seem unconcerned.

At about 4:30 we saw some large birds walking on an island. As we approached them Tryson identified them as saddle-billed storks. They are so-named because of the dramatic coloring of their large bill. It is red and yellow near their heads, then has a 2-3 inch wide black section, with a tip that is bright red. The black section looks a bit like a saddle. Unfortunately our picture was from a distance and the birds were walking away from us. This was the only shot we were able to get of this bird on the entire trip.


These saddle-billed storks had really neat coloration. Too bad about the picture. Our book says they have a wingspan of 9 feet!

By 5:00 the shadows were beginning to get long. Off on the South side of the river we saw an elephant near some black shapes that, as we moved closer, turned out to be buffalo. There were also impala in the area, but the photograph is from such a distance that only the elephant and buffalo are really evident.


Oh, for a higher-powered zoom! We couldn't get any closer in the shallow water.

I'm sure that by this time you're amazed that we haven't even mentioned hippos. Yes, they were as ubiquitous as ever, and at about 5:30 we found some in very shallow water that let us get close enough for the shot below. I really like the colors and the lighting of this picture.


Neat reflections.

Just two minutes later we caught this crocodile trying to get in a few more minutes of sun before diving for the safety of the river.


You can tell from the shadow that the sun is low.

Ten minutes later, at 5:46, the sun was just about to disappear behind the escarpment to the west. The few clouds in the sky gave a nice effect of depth in this last sunset picture along the Zambezi River.


Our last sunset on the Zambezi.

In the gathering dusk we crossed to the Zambian side and found Niel waiting for us at the designated spot. His Land Rover was really more like a pickup truck with no roof over the cab. In the back were two bench seats, and a few bars up and over the top that could support a tarp or canvas roof in bad weather. With no tarp, the effect was very open and exposed. Tryson rode shotgun and handled the spotlight once it became a little darker, but when we first set out there was still enough twilight that he didn't need to use it right away.

The terrain was fairly flat, with some open grassy areas but mostly trees and fairly dense brush. The road we were following was simply two well-traveled tire-tracks winding around the trees and brush, and occasionally descending through a washed-out area. It was anything but smooth. This was the only road along the river in this part of Zambia! We drove along very slowly, looking into the brush, along the ground where it was open, and up into the trees for birds or maybe even a leopard!

The engine was so quiet that I actually heard some crunching noise ahead before we saw anything, but as we came around a clump of brush we almost drove right past an elephant that was standing right beside the road having supper! The crunching noise I had heard was the elephants teeth chewing up the small branches along with the foliage he was eating. Was this the elephant that had terrorized the other camp earlier today? No telling.

Niel stopped immediately, and we were all very quiet. The elephant, only about 15 feet away, stopped eating and looked at us. Niel kept the engine idling for a quick getaway if needed. I tried to take a picture, but it was too dark and I certainly didn't want to use the flash right in his face! The shutter did open, but it stayed open so long in the low light that the picture is extremely blurry.

The elephant shifted his weight from one side to the other and stared at us. Then he lifted his trunk and pointed it at us as if trying to catch our scent. We remained quiet, marveling at this huge creature so close to us. Instead of lowering his trunk straight down, he move it to one side and draped it across his right tusk, letting it just rest there. It was a look of puzzlement and confusion, like a person who crossed his arms, wrinkled his brow, and said, "What IS that?"

At that point Les tapped me on the shoulder and said conversationally, "How far do you think we are from him, maybe 20 feet?" in a tone that indicated, "Can you believe how close we are?" IMMEDIATELY the elephant, who heard the voice and knew instantly what we were, stamped his foot, waved his ears and looked agitated. Also immediately, Niel let out the clutch and moved us quickly about 100 yards down the road. He then cautioned us to keep as quiet as possible when in close proximity to animals. He needn't have bothered; the lesson had just been reinforced quite well!

As we continued in the now almost complete darkness, Tryson switched on the spotlight and began sweeping the area in front of us and on both sides. Niel explained that we were mainly trying to first spot the reflection of eyes in the dark, then Tryson would steady the light on the animal. We passed some impalas and waterbucks, and even surprised a hippo out of the river grazing on the grass. From what we had heard I assumed that when the light hit it, the hippo would bee-line for the safety of the river, but she just ignored us and moved slowly into the brush.

The nearly full moon rose behind us, and after a while provided enough natural light that we could have stayed on the road without lights if we had wanted to. There wasn't much else to see until we came to the turn-off to the camp. With only about 200 yards to go, Tryson saw eyes gleaming in his beam right beside the road. It was a civet, a small raccoon-like animal that is nocturnal and not often seen by tourists! It stayed put long enough for us to get a good look at it. Then, clearly bothered by the bright light, it disappeared into the brush. An exciting end to our only night game drive.

After briefly cleaning up, we had time for a cold drink in the lounge area before the drums signaled that it was time for our last Zambian supper. Another of Annerita's specials, causing us to once again eat more than we knew we should.

After supper we stared for a while at the "bush television" before going back to our tent to write up the day's notes and sightings. During the canoe trip and boat ride back to the camp we saw an elephant, lots of hippos, and crocodiles. Birds included fish eagle, green-backed heron, red-billed queleas, bee-eaters and a hornbill. Before and during the night game drive we saw hippos, elephant, buffalo, impala, bushbuck, waterbuck, baboon and civet. Birds were fish eagle, gray heron, black-headed heron, cattle egret, saddle-billed stork, African dikkop, Egyptian geese, great white egret, queleas, giant eagle owl, spotted eagle owl, water dikkop, and three-banded courser.

A quick final note about the red-billed queleas. These were small, sparrow-size birds always found in very large flocks. They roost together, filling small trees and bushes. Then, when one takes flight, the entire flock goes into the air at once. They can be seen wheeling and rapidly changing directions in perfect synchronization. Evidently you never see just one of these birds by itself. It is the only bird in our guidebook that is pictured as a flock, not as a single bird.

NEXT: Day 24, On to Victoria Falls and Zimbabwe

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