Mornings are glorious in the Delta. It is a comfortable temperature and the light is stunning. I don't know what's different about it but I just loved the dramatic sky of pristine blue swept with billowy cotton ball clouds. The gentle breeze on your face alternately warmed by the sun is lovely. I can only describe the overall smell as fresh. I guess what I'm trying to say is it's God's country - paradise.

We were on a mission to see elephants, giraffes and zebras. We had nary a hope to see rhino and buffalo in these parts at this time of year - it was summer, the rainy season, which means water is readily available most places so the animals don't need to travel to the basin for access - but we had our eyeballs wide open anyway. There are a lot of "magic logs" in the bush. It's a concerted effort to spot the animals and sometimes your imagination gets the best of you. We saw lots of birds, some of our old friends like guinea fowl, hammerkop, African fish eagle and jicanas, and some new like 2 vultures scoping the area from atop their perch. We were giddy over this sighting because we thought just maybe there was some action nearby. If there was we didn't see it but what we did see waaaaayyyyy off over yonder was what looked to be giraffe. As the crow flies it was maybe a 1/2 mile from where we were but it took us a good 15 minutes or more to get over there. It felt like a lifetime since they are very mobile (as you might imagine giraffes can cover a lot of ground in no time) and this is not a zoo. Thankfully for us they found a secluded arbor to graze upon and the sweltering heat of the day hadn't driven them deep into the forest quite yet.

Their beauty is like that of a model with a neck up to 6 feet long, eyelashes to envy and lanky legs that transport them with incredible grace. They are most curious critters, staring you down for the longest time. Don't be fooled by their gentility as they will put up a ferocious fight often hoofing their predators to death in a fatal battle. From afar we'd only seen a single giraffe but as our truck approached a herd of maybe 15 including a handful of unweaned babies was within view, albeit obstructed by the surrounding acacias. We watched them and they watched us with the same intensity for the better part of an hour. They prefer to travel in herds mainly for protection as they are a favorite food source among lions. After a gestation period of fifteen long months, calves "drop" from their mother's womb 5 feet and hope not to break any bones during the process. Barring the aforementioned, babies get up and walk almost immediately. Giraffes are herbivores and prefer acacia trees. It is imperative that they chew food completely and that their neck is not bent went swallowing even water because of the design of their digestive tract. The only way to really tell males and females apart, particularly if they're not standing next to each other is by the size of their horns. Males are generally larger in stature but their horns are much thicker and often the hair is rubbed off of them because of necking. Necking is done both during fighting and sexual rituals, mostly by males. There is a range and variation in color of a giraffe's camouflage coat keeping them safer than many in the wild savannas of Africa.

During morning coffee we had the pleasure of watching an eagle soar across the sky above of us in a maniacal dance with outstretched wings spanning 6 feet. She was probably panicking that we were lingering under the tree that held her nest.

Since Judy was so omnipotent regarding the giraffe and produced them on demand (we said "we want to see giraffe" and the next thing you know Judy said "I think I see giraffe over there off in the distance") we put in our order for elephant and zebra. We heard that another truck had spotted zebra but by the time we made it over to the pasture they were gone. So we're back on the beat and drove right up on a herd of blue wildebeest. For being so ugly these creatures are positively stunning. Their "blue" coats just glisten and gleam in the sunshine as they plod along gobbling up their path. Like giraffe, wildebeest are a favorite lion lunch and the two prey can often be seen together each with the idea that the other one is an easier target.

After lunch a few of us decided to cool off in the pool. It had been a couple of days since I got sunburned so with caution I positioned myself just right under the umbrella and slipped in and out of a lovely nap resting poolside where a cooler of cold drinks including my favorite, Bolingers, was so attentively placed. Non-stop activity made it difficult to journal every day so now was a perfect opportunity to get caught up. Soon it was time for tea and I wanted to check out the library since this was our last day at Moremi so I headed up to the lounge. As I stepped off the long deck leading away from the pool there were two baboons wreaking havoc on the stairway to the lounge and Judy was yelling at them like they were family pets! Apparently she had just witnessed them pulling flowers out of the pots, eating the tops and discarding the rest on the ground. They didn't take too kindly to her ridicule so like smart alecky children they did it faster and with more aggression even swatting at her (as pictured) and showing their teeth. I have to say I was a little frightened since they were standing right in front of me and blocking my path upstairs, oh, and they're WILD ANIMALS! But this was just the beginning of their antics. One of them ripped off a book of matches from somewhere near the fire pit and the other was annoyed that he wouldn't share so the chase was on. Bouncing on and off the thatched roof like it were a trampoline, swinging from limb to limb of the surrounding trees, in and out of the lounge, on and off the deck. It was madness. I had managed to get up to the lounge but now I was trapped until they disappeared into the forest screeching and fighting the whole way.

When I emerged from my tent for tea there were more baboons, or maybe the same imps, but on MY deck this time. We hadn't been briefed on how we should behave when they are that close to you so I stopped in my tracks and waited for them to move, my girlfriend laughing at my paranoia but I wasn't about to get my face sheared off as I still had elephants to see.