Jacana wet and dry

 August 11

Our first full day at Jacana Lodge (aptly named as we constantly see the colorful and noisy African Jacanas in the surrounding wetlands) began with a motor launch ride from dawn till lunchtime. We of course took a break for morning tea and snacks... we cannot break the pattern of eating every 3 hours on this trip!  We had amazing experiences with hippos and elephants this morning.  On two different occasions a pod of hippos surfaced very near our boat, and we watched as they played, yawned and moved around, while keeping a careful eye that they were not getting annoyed or too close to us.  A family of six elephants, including two quite small young ones, crossed a channel very near to us. It was fun to watch them all lift the end of their trunks out of the water as they crossed, especially the young ones who went entirely underwater except for that snorkel. When they emerged you could see the water line on the adult elephants, and proof that the young ones were submerged.  We also had fun taking videos of red lechwe, a type of antelope, as they went leaping and splashing through the water when they got spooked by something. There were also beautiful water lilies, some of which only open during the day and others that only open at night. 

The lodge is on an island that stays dry all year. Most of the islands have only large trees and a few low palms, because of elephant grazing. The lodge installed electric fence around their perimeter, and the difference is striking: lush mid level vegetation not seen elsewhere. It is fascinating to consider that by October this area will be dry and all these aquatic or water-loving species will have to move further east to areas that retain water year round... that concentration is a benefit to predators but not to prey.

This afternoon we went out in makoras, small dugout wooden canoes that are poled through the channels. Being lower than the tops of the reeds was an interesting perspective, especially for little reed frogs and dragonflies. It also showed that our leader Francis really can do everything: trip logistics, nature expert, Jeep driver through the brush ( sometimes literally through it) motor launch pilot and makora poler.  His ability to know where he is in the wet and dry bush is amazing.

Pictured: elephants after a swim, hippo yawning, Malachite kingfisher, African jacana