The Okavango Delta - the perfect place to Safari or holiday? = Yes for me! Part 3/3 - Sights and sounds ..

The blessing – the “pula” – the soaking rain beloved and so essential to life in Africa. Dark cruel grey thunderous clouds gathering on the horizon, the streaks of lightning seen in the distance, the smell of the earth as the storm draws nearer .. sometimes it disappears – a day cursed, sometimes blessings come, the “pula” starts .. usually large heavy drops – splat onto the dusty red earth, blobs of wet powdery earth splash up .. more and more the rain pelts down the ravaging storm is here.

‘Pula’ in Botswana is the name of their currency – but in “Setswana” literally means “rain” ... rain is so scarce in the Kalahari Desert, covering much of Botswana, that it also means “blessing”.

Cumulonimbus capillatus incus floating over Swifts Creek, Victoria in Australia.c/o Wikipedia: Taken by Fir0002, flagstaffotos.com.au

This blessing splattering onto the mountains of Angola in December January time – the new tributaries gush down, until the Okavango is driven along a broad trough known as the panhandle; here within this well-defined trench the high velocity and great volume of water pushes on with greater intensity, ensuring the trickles of life-giving water spread like tentacles across this inland Delta.

Lilac Breasted Roller

Life can begin again ... the elephant can frolic, the hippos can expand their territory, the birds pour in to a sanctuary of paradise, the insects appear from nowhere, plants burst forth – so this crystal clear swamp becomes a Garden of Eden for so many.

Who would have thought that that great lumbering beast of a hippopotamus has two essentials for this watery world? But they do – firstly are nature’s natural dredgers creating paths from marginal swamps into the channels, causing the water to flow.

Painted Reed Frog

Secondly, they have that wonderful habit of defecating in the water, while at the same time spreading the dung with their tails. Thus hippos here can frolic all year around with no worries about drying water holes, snorting and snuffling, or gently submerging .. not even knowing that the act of defecating their pure grass dung with gay abandon, is of huge benefit to the aquatic food chain helping speed up the vital replenishment of nutrients.

Wallowing .. the elephants appear to be of the opinion that mud was made especially for them to clumsily and heavily roll around - I suspect the little warthogs would disagree, but would not be around when the elephants flopped down and blew bubbles from the water through their flexible trunks.

Splashing along through the reeds, which thrash backwards and forwards, the lechwe (see picture part 1) on their delicate legs, covered in a water repelling substance with feet adapted to running quite fast through knee deep water, the larger Tssessebe (as shown) thundering along the marshy edges or standing tall with their lyre-shaped horns in full vision. The Sitatunga forces its way through the dense papyrus channels on its specially evolved hooves – the only one of the larger mammals to utilise these beds as a habitat and food source.

The slithering snakes .. the ornate green water snake waiting patiently, or the boomslang (tree snake - pictured), or the brown camp snake which decided to tie itself into the reed fencing of the local facilities, when I was in a camp site – did my modesty come first, the cri de coeur, or a dash for freedom .. we were both undecided and went our separate ways .. un-phased – well slightly!

The rustle of trees, the dry mopane leaves that hang down ensuring the least amount of the burning sun reaches them, the trumpet calls of elephant as the herd lumbers towards the water, stopping to use the trees as scratching posts, or desperately shaking a tree with great determination to bring down the juicier leaves near the top – causing navigational problems for the intrepid traveller.

The gentle pad of the giraffe making their way across the savannah to the next acacia tree, their tongues prodding and poking through the thorns to reach the budding leaves, no desperation here – nature has allowed this high and mighty beast to be gentle .. beware its legs though – which have a ‘thwack’ kick: worse than a mule.

Lions have learnt to swim across the channels in pursuit of their prey, while they roar in the night air – a sound that can be heard five miles (8 km) away .. starting with a few deep, long roars that trail off into a series of shorter ones .. a call of the wild, a powerful and intimidating sound.

The laughing hyena .. the haunting laughter-like calls of the Spotted Hyena .. as it devours all in front of it. They have extremely strong jaws and a very powerful digestive system making them capable of eating and digesting their entire prey, including skin, teeth, horns and bones. (video below)

When we were travelling we had an experience and were told another .. we had had chilli bully beef for supper (yes .. but when you’re away for over two weeks and there are no shops – “you’se just get on with it”! – it was a ‘demonic’ mistake .. it was meant to be plain!). Seconds were refused by one and all and our fiery supper got left out over night .. but while we were preparing for the night a hyena trotted into the camp and was seen raiding the chilli pot?!

The other campers had left their fridge out in the day to go game viewing .. to come back into camp – no fridge! Disappointing to say the least – as all the beer was there! Some way off – the fridge was found – empty, the hyenas had taken it, opened it .. and enjoyed the beer & slept the afternoon away .... perhaps a headache?!

Early evenings by the water’s edge are idyllic ... the wind drops the fish begin to rise to the warm surface of the channels ... suddenly, the quick plop-plop sound of gulping, leaping fish breaks the still air, the insects are abundant and this is the time the skimmers begin to fly.

Lily Trotters tiptoe amongst the tulips – no .. across the lily pads; a tiny chick tottering on its long toes reaching up to peck at the blossom of the day-flowering lily towering above it. The hustle and bustle of the flapping wings of the bee-eaters, the swirl of air as an iguana scrapes up the sandy bank invading their nests, while from nowhere a fish eagle darts down to take its prey by surprise and one carmine bee-eater has been lost forever. The video clip below is beautiful and well worth watching, as my description of the iguana, the carmine bee-eaters and the fish eagle really cannot do it justice.

Fish eagles have that amazing plaintive cry, being one of the most evocative sounds of Africa. Particularly vociferous at dawn these most attractive eagles, often singing in duet, produce a sound never to be forgotten. (See excellent video clip below ..)

Bateleur eagles, probably the origin of the “Zimbabwe bird”, soar high in the sky ready to dive on unsuspecting birds or small mammals, generally silent in their approach, they can on occasions produce a variety of barks and screams.

The squawks, chatter, rustles, scuffling, whistles, trickling or lapping water, the gentle buzz of all the ‘silent’ noises of the bush can be haunted by the unusual call of the Pel’s Fishing Owl, whose unearthly wails were once unforgettably described as similar to ‘a man who has lost his soul falling down a bottomless pit’.

This earthly paradise with its kaleidoscope of jewel-bright greens, blues, amethysts, lilacs, turquoises, russets, carmines, yellows and greens, this lush haven of wildlife, a world of true nature still – where else would hear these sounds, or see these colours .. all the colours of the rainbow, of the earth, of life itself .. giving us, the lucky few, who have travelled there an experience of this amazing world: enjoy my tour ...

Lizard strikes first, but African Fish Eagle kills Carmine Bee-eater (50 secs)

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACAWJPDw_HA&feature=related

Hyena http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC-bXVuImDc&NR=1 (just over 3 mins – the laugh occurs within the first 40 secs)

Dear Mr Postman .. it was truly magical .. I consider myself really blessed to have been there with friends and my mother. My mother is getting better very slowly, but obviously has taken the strain .. and is sleeping more – however the staff have ‘chats’ with her when she’s awake if I’m not around.. she still can’t hear, but I’m sure that will return.

Fish Eagle Green Bee-Eater White Throated Monitor Lizard

Hilary Melton-Butcher
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