Simbabwe, Botsuana, Namibia – July 2016

22 July 2016

A kind of tinnitus bird wakes me up – at first I thought I had set the alarm wrong. Then silence, but still pitch dark despite the solar lamps on the jetties of Nguma Island Lodge in the Okawango Delta, but cosy and warm under the blanket. This is also the best starting position to slip into the clothes, put on my padded outdoor jacket and off to the small private tent bath. After hot rooibos tea and an English breakfast at Nookie’s, we go by boat through the Okawango lagoon to the island, where my poler El Bee is already waiting for me with the mokoro. He keeps the balance in this narrow dugout canoe, keeps a lookout and always stops when I bring the camera to my eye. It is indescribably beautiful – extremely calm – we glide through the reeds, past small papyrus islands, the water is so clear that I can see all the way to the bottom. Fauna and flora open up in front of my eyes.