Birds and Tiger Fish

Trip Start Jul 12, 2008
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Trip End Aug 04, 2008


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Flag of Namibia  ,
Thursday, July 31, 2008

In the morning, after breakfast, we went out birding. We saw a few new birds and some crocs. Lots of papyrus. Along the way, on many of the islands, were fishing camps. Patrick stopped to speak to people at several camps. After we left one camp, he said that was his cousin who had decided not to get an education. Instead, he had raised cattle - but they all died with the hoof and mouth disease. So he took up fishing instead. After we left another camp, Patrick said that the people were from Zambia. Many Zambians come in illegally to fish because the fishing is much better in Namibia. We also saw some Zambians who had come by powerboat to buy fish from Namibians at a village. The villages must be seasonal as the islands are covered during high water.

At one point, a speed boat came zipping by us - four people on board, one with a megaphone. Patrick said they are administering a polio vaccine to children, and, indeed, we later spotted the boat at a homestead, with a mother bringing four children forward.

There are many channels around the islands; we took new ones all the time; it was a real maze, especially all the islands are flat with no discernible features. One could see how easy it would be to become lost in there. Eventually, we ended up at the Zambezi (before it meets the Chobe). Even though we were close to the lodge, at the crow (or heron) flies, it took over 20 minutes of wending our way through the islands before we returned. The current through the channels is surprisingly strong, given how flat everything is. At speed going up the channel, the speedometer showed us going 28 kmph, while it showed up going 7 kmph going the other way.

We arrived back to the lodge just at lunch time - again, a tasty meal. After lunch, Paul and Keegan went fishing - they each caught a tiger fish. Kyla and I rested in our tents - reading and writing. At sunset, we went to the common area, to await the return of the men from the hunt - then all had cocktails and rested before dinner.

We once again were the last to leave table, staying late with Ralph, discussing politics from California to Cape Town. Interesting talk.
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