We woke up to a layer of mist hanging over the Okavango. As the sun rose, it turned a glowing orange. It was quite magical. We were all looking forward to our Mahango visit and in no time we were at the gate. It is only 3 km away from the campsite, but it did take some time to drive out to the road and cross the long series of bridges with their speed bumps over the marshlands, where there were lots of birds. The route along the Okavango Floodplain has always been great and we turned this way. Some of the pools on the Rukange River still had water and there were hundreds of waterbirds about. We could make out lots of Egyptian Geese, Spurwing Geese, Red billed Teals, Stilts, Knob Billed Ducks and many more. Impala and wildebeest were grazing in the background and some roan antelope appeared. I remembered the obscure turnoff at the dead tree down to the Okavango Floodplain and the views here were breath-taking. One is still far away from the actual Okavango River, but the plains were full of water and teeming with lechwe. There were also an amazing number of Spurwing geese and White faced duck. It was a bit far for good photography, but it was a wonderful place to enjoy our morning coffee. We now proceeded and tried to follow the water’s edge as much as possible. I was sad to discover that the lovely old Baobab had now fallen, but it still was a lovely place to stop. We had coffee at the Kwetche picnic spot. We were amazed how busy if was with little touring groups and self-drive tourists. Obviously tourism had picked up in Namibia. We decided to return to the lodge by following the water’s edge as much as possible. We spotted a very big crocodile, the lechwe were still there and a huge flock of ostriches were also on the way to the water. Some kudu wandered off into the bush. We pulled off for lunch under a tree and on the way back we decided to drive down to the pools on the Rukange River to have a closer look at the waterbirds. A herd of elephant had come down to drink and dispelled my thoughts that there were no elephants around. Some zebra also appeared.

Mahango Game Reserve was established in 1986 and today is a protected area within the Bwabwata National Park. This greater area was formed in 2007 in northeastern Namibia and covers 6,274 square km. It was created by merging the Caprivi Game Reserve and Mahango. This second largest park in Namibia includes a number of zones: the Divundu area, West Caprivi triangle, Mahango, Popa Falls, Kwando and the former West Caprivi Game Reserve. It was a declared military area by the South African Defence Force during the border war in Namibia. In that period the once plentiful game in the area was decimated. Wildlife has made a slow comeback, but poaching is still a big problem.

We had arranged for our boat trip at 16h00 and decided to go back to the campsite rather than go off exploring the other side of the main road. After relaxing at our campsite, we joined Christof, our excellent boatman and birding guide on the river. We had the boat to ourselves and it felt rather exclusive floating on the Okavango with snacks at hand and a private guide. Christof called out the name of the one bird after another and we could hardly keep up with him. There were many species flying about and walking in the shallows . My photographic efforts were not good, but the birding was great! We first went down river and then slowly proceeded up stream passing several of the lodges. It was idyllic and the sunset exquisite. We got back as darkness set in. Christof had done a great job and we had a very long bird list (well over 50 species!) but the highlight had to be the dozens of white fronted bee-eaters nesting in holes in the riverbanks. Back at the campsite we decided to skip making a fire and we both enjoyed pre-cooked meals. The floodlight at the corner of the camp produced another surprise. A little African barred owlet was sitting there in the bright light waiting for its photograph. It was obviously attracted to the insects that were drawn to the light and every now and then the cute little owl hawked a few and then just came back to pose!! Paul and I clicked away happily!! It was a wonderful ending to a very successful day.

Geschreven door Leartravels