Chobe

This morning the recently appointed UK High Commissioner to Botswana addressed the room, emphasising the British government’s commitments to wildlife conservation in the region. ‘What can the UK do?’ he asked at one point, rhetorically. I truly had the urge to stand up and yell ‘be less complicit in the destruction of Gaza’, but it would have been inappropriate. To be fair, I may have received some galvanisation from the South Africans in the room, as that has been one of the leading nations drawing attention to the plight of Palestinians.

We had a packed day of useful sessions and presentations, and we wrapped up three excellent days with a sunset cruise on the Chobe River. This week has involved a positive and proactive group of people, so there was a fun, relaxed atmosphere helped along nicely by free alcohol covered by one of the meeting sponsors. I do vividly recall my first trip to Kasane in 2004 and getting similarly merry on a Chobe boat cruise. Back then a few of us were told off by some middle-aged birders for making too much noise, which was entirely fair.

So not much has changed in twenty years, except for becoming a more enthusiastic twitcher and a denizen of middle age myself.