Timothy's wake up call came with a warning not to leave our tents until he had cleared Barrack (one of the camp elephants) off the path to the main house. Seems Barrack was sleeping (or rustling) behind Hilary's tent leaning against a termite mound! Once we got the all clear, we assembled on the main deck for a beautiful sunrise breakfast before heading out on our boat launch for the 4x4 morning drive in the Jao Reserve. We saw scads of animals and birds but the spotted cat eluded us. The foursome from London and New York had their hearts set on a leopard sighting. A stately giffafe won the morning photogenic prize and the birds, one again, gave him a run for his money! Morning tea was served on a platform overlooking the reserve.
One incredible brunch awaited our return with the camp monkey keeping an eye out for easy food! Retail therapy in the camp shoppe increased the weight of our luggage with a few more take-home treasures. We hiked around the camp exploring the island and visiting with the delightful kitchen staff. Wonderful naps and outdoor showers rejuvenated us for our afternoon mokoro safari. Of course we had tea first while being treated to a basket-weaving demonstration and sale by the Jacana staff. More prizes to take home!
Our mokoro poller, Sox, a delightful native, gently glided us through the reeds and papyrus of the Delta seeing late afternoon wildlife, especially elephants and more stunning birds. We searched in vain for an elusive Sitatunga that our guides claimed to hear in the distance. These swimming antelopes are unique to the Okavango Delta. The island location for sundowners had been claimed by an exhuberant elephant who was madly shaking the nuts out of a coconut tree - we yielded to the elephant and found a nice shoreline to enjoy liquid refreshments and another award winning sunset. Cocktails were enjoyed around the bonfire followed by a marvelous dinner on the deck under the stars hosted by Dominique. A rather raucous dinner was capped by shots provided by Dominique which resulted in all of us chanting in unison - C L I N T ON -who was trying to sleep in their nearby tent! We didn't need any rocking to sleep tonight!
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