Today was Friday and we were off for a weekend of relaxation at Little Okavango Lodge just outside the gate to the Serengeti. The idea was to do a bit of bird watching and just chill out.
We left Mwanza at 9.15am. It was actually pretty sunny on the drive but as we got closer the the lodge we saw that the continuous heavy rains of the last few months had led to a lot of flooding. The main road to the lodge was actually flooded so we had to drive in by an alternative route.
On arrival we were met by Edward with a cool towel and fresh juice. There was a lot of water around the lodge but the path to our tent was ok. We have a lovely room with a nice terrace.
After settling in we headed back to the bar for a pre lunch drink. The bar is set up so you can look out over the creek and watch the birds. We are the only people staying here at the moment so we have the place to ourselves. We arranged to go out for a canoe trip later in the afternoon.
After lunch we noticed that the water levels around the camp were rising. By mid afternoon the path to our tent was under water so Edward brought us some wellingtons to use!! We hadn’t expected to need these when we left the UK!! Apparently this is the worst flooding they can remember.
We spent a lovely afternoon watching the birds and got some good photos. I have added a few below.
Hadada Ibis
Slender Billed Weaver
Black Headed Heron
Speckled Mousebird
Then at 4.30pm Amos and 2 of the other guys took us out in the canoe. It was quite overcast when we left and after about 20 minutes the rain started. It wasn’t too bad to begin with but gradually got heavier. We did however still manage to get all the way out to the lake and back with a few nice sightings of birds including malachite kingfishers but we were all completely drenched by the time we got back to the camp.
Malachite Kingfisher
We both needed a shower and change of clothes before dinner. It was now raining very heavily and we were very glad of our wellies and umbrellas just to do the short walk to the bar. Dinner was relaxed as it was only the 2 of us and the food was excellent.
Day 11
We woke up this morning to heavy rain and even higher water levels - wellies would be a must for getting to breakfast. Luckily our terrace is pretty sheltered and we managed to get a few nice bird pictures before breakfast.
Below is the view from our balcony
Striated Heron
The paths around camp were now all under water
We had arranged to have breakfast at 8.30am and it was great to be able to just sit and linger over coffee. I had some lovely banana pancakes, it was probably the best breakfast we have had this trip.
We spent the morning bird watching and chatting with Edward. By mid morning the rain had stopped and the temperature had risen a bit. We spent the time in the bar area, doing more bird watching bird watching, reading and just chilling.
Long Tailed Cormorant
Swamp Flycatcher
Dwarf Bittern
A pair of Pied Kingfishers
Small Monitor Lizard
We left Mwanza at 9.15am. It was actually pretty sunny on the drive but as we got closer the the lodge we saw that the continuous heavy rains of the last few months had led to a lot of flooding. The main road to the lodge was actually flooded so we had to drive in by an alternative route.
On arrival we were met by Edward with a cool towel and fresh juice. There was a lot of water around the lodge but the path to our tent was ok. We have a lovely room with a nice terrace.
After settling in we headed back to the bar for a pre lunch drink. The bar is set up so you can look out over the creek and watch the birds. We are the only people staying here at the moment so we have the place to ourselves. We arranged to go out for a canoe trip later in the afternoon.
After lunch we noticed that the water levels around the camp were rising. By mid afternoon the path to our tent was under water so Edward brought us some wellingtons to use!! We hadn’t expected to need these when we left the UK!! Apparently this is the worst flooding they can remember.
We spent a lovely afternoon watching the birds and got some good photos. I have added a few below.
Hadada Ibis
Slender Billed Weaver
Black Headed Heron
Pied Kingfisher
Pete in his wellies!!
Red Chested Sunbird
BLack Crake
Malachite Kingfisher
We both needed a shower and change of clothes before dinner. It was now raining very heavily and we were very glad of our wellies and umbrellas just to do the short walk to the bar. Dinner was relaxed as it was only the 2 of us and the food was excellent.
Day 11
We woke up this morning to heavy rain and even higher water levels - wellies would be a must for getting to breakfast. Luckily our terrace is pretty sheltered and we managed to get a few nice bird pictures before breakfast.
Below is the view from our balcony
Golden Backed Weaver
Striated Heron
We had arranged to have breakfast at 8.30am and it was great to be able to just sit and linger over coffee. I had some lovely banana pancakes, it was probably the best breakfast we have had this trip.
We spent the morning bird watching and chatting with Edward. By mid morning the rain had stopped and the temperature had risen a bit. We spent the time in the bar area, doing more bird watching bird watching, reading and just chilling.
Long Tailed Cormorant
Swamp Flycatcher
Dwarf Bittern
Peter and I had not realised that Lake Victoria was tidal until now. However it became obvious when we could see the water flowing into camp at certain times and then flowing back to the lake at other times, though the water never completely left the camp for the whole time we were there.
A pair of Pied Kingfishers
We had a nice lunch and then about 4pm Amos suggested we go out in the canoe. It was still raining a bit but we decided to go for it anyway and we were very glad we did. Before we set off Bahare had to bail the rain water out of the boat.
We had a really great boat safari. It stopped raining very soon after we set out and there was hardly any wind so it was a very pleasant temperature.
Common Bulbul
Amos explaining about some of the fruits.
Black Headed Gonolek
Immature Malachite Kingfisher
The Lake, much calmer today.
The guys rowed us quite a way out into the lake.
On the way back to camp we stopped and had a look at some fishing traps set up by the local fisherman. These were actually made by Bahare’s uncle.
A Red-Eyed Dove sitting on its nest.
After a while we all noticed a large number of bubbles in the water stretching ahead of us. Amos said it could be a hippo and sure enough as we went round the next bend he was proved right, Luckily the hippo disappeared very quickly when it heard us.
By the time we got back to camp the sun was setting.
Dinner this evening was very good, in fact all the meals we had during our stay were excellent.
Looking forward to more! Your trips are fascinating :)
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