Buffalo, Bwabwata NP, Namibia

Back blipping when WiFi allows.

The highlight of our Bwabwata NP safari today was seeing so many Buffalo.

The lions continued to roar intermittently last night punctuated only by hippo noises. We were up for dawn again and it was spectacular to see the colours changing. We spent a relaxing morning on the sun deck by the bar watching the hippos in the water and bird spotting using the amazing telescope provided for guests that was set up to observe wildlife across on the other side of the river.

Mid afternoon we set of with a guide in a boat to cross the Okavango river and on the other side a safari vehicle was waiting to take us into the Bwabwata West National Park. We had an amazing three and a half hours seeing lots of elephants, herds of buffalo, a herd of Sable antelopes and some Elans. We stopped for a drink and snack and we’re joined by monkeys and could see hippo starting to come out of the water. We were meant to be back at the boat before sunset but elephants then buffalo blocked our path for awhile. We crossed the river in the last rays of colour, very slowly to avoid any wood or crocodiles.

When we arrived back at the lodge the temperature was dropping quickly so we sat around the campfire chatting to the owners for an hour or so. It was interesting to hear about the water level in the Okavango river. Until the last few years it regularly flooded over its banks but now much of the water is taken out higher upstream, mainly in Angola, where one of the main crops is blueberries. Apparently, National Geographic did a survey to see how many water pipes are taking from the river from the source until it reaches the delays:4000! The concern is now that the river might dry up rather than flood. Another interesting topic was the logging of the trees (rosewood) in the area by a Chinese company which is causing concern at the rate of which the big old trees are being cut down as that is what most of the locals use to cook with. Eventually, we dragged ourselves away from the fire and went to bed listening to the roar of the illusive lions again from the other side of the river.