Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Chiefs Island Walking Safari
Our first evening at the mobile tented camp on
Chief’s Island, the frog calls are deafening! (raucous toad, painted reed
frogs, and others), and a bull elephant browses in the reeds towards the
setting sun. Just an awesome time before darkness falls. This is our first trip
to the Okavango Delta and we have chosen an itinerary organised by Africa
Geographic Travel comprising flights between Maun and Chief’s Island, the first
and last nights at Gunn’s Camp, and three nights at a mobile tented camp. June
was a great time for the trip as the seasonal flooding is almost at it’s peak,
but also chilly at night. The trip comprised a combination of boat trips from
Gunn’s Camp exploring the nearby delta channels, and mokoro trips and walking
from the tented camp. We did have our first lesson in piloting the mokoro ourselves
which was a lot of fun, and we stayed dry. In our opinion walking safaris are
the ultimate adventure, experiencing the environment and wildlife on foot. Our
two guides who looked after us for the six days were phenomenal and very
knowledgeable and safety aware. Several times we encountered male buffalo on
our walks without incident. We respected the distance to them, watched them for
a time, and moved on. The birding in the delta is just spectacular and
highlights for us included wattled crane, coppery-tailed coucal and a pair of
Pel’s fishing owls. Elephant sightings are frequent and a highlight of the trip
was watching a breeding herd crossing a river channel feeding as they went.
Some excitement as we navigated narrow channels passing territorial male
hippos. On this trip no predator sightings for us, but every night we did hear
lions calling.
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