#Okavango16 Journal Day 10
Yesterday was a rest day for the team, and so being the observant team player that I am I didn’t write a journal entry.
We got an early start this morning for the push from Hippo Hide to Sambira, which has historically been one of the longest and trickiest days of the transect. While it’s not a long physical distance — 10km or so- it’s a stretch that is densely populated with the two large animals that we’re most aware of while we’re on the water: hippos and Nile crocodiles.
In some ways hippos make it easier for us. In 99% of encounters they’ll make themselves known to you, usually in blustery and dramatic fashion. As I’ve written about here before, our approach is to wait them out; to allow them to exhaust their territorial theatrics before we sneak by through the shallow water on the opposite bank.
Crocodiles on the other hand, tend to sneak into the water long before we see them, and remain hidden until we are literally on top of them. For small crocs, 1m or 2m, this isn’t a problem. We drift over them, usually getting a clear view through the transparent water. For large crocodiles though, of the 4m or 5m or 6m variety (12–18 feet!), there’s a traffic issue. If the water is low enough, there just isn’t enough room for a boat and animal the size of a boat to pass by each other. So the crocodile has two options: turn around, and find a wider stretch of water in the opposite direction, or barge past the boats, often with a tail thrash for good measure.
Today the gods of the Delta were smiling on us. All of the large crocodiles we passed were in deep water, and we got a good view of their prehistoric bulk as we floated over top of them. We even stopped over one huge individual to dip an underwater camera in beside it to get some footage; the 5m crocodile remained motionless through the whole process.
It was also an excellent day for our research crew. Not only did we record well over 700 bird, mammal and plant observations, we also installed a sensor array at a river junction about 1/2 way along our path today. This sensor will allow us to monitor water quality and local weather conditions remotely, part of a series of 16 sensor units that we’re installing along this transect.
Tonight we’re camped under the Sambira baobab. Probably just short of 2,000 year old, this beautiful tree is one of the best parts of our annual journey, and we’re all looking forward to a good sleep in its shadow.
#Okavango16 is an expedition to survey biodiversity in the Okavango Delta. You can follow along on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and at IntoTheOkavango.org.
