Southern Africa - South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia
August 23 - September 15, 2016
Part Five, Page One - Impalila Island, Namibia
From Victoria Falls, we drove to Kasane, Botswana, then took motorboats to
Impalila Island
in Namibia, stopping along the way at immigration offices for
Botswana and Namibia. Impalila Island is at the far eastern tip of Namibia,
bounded on the north by the waters of the Zambezi River and on the south
by the Chobe River.
Arriving at Kaza Safari Lodge on Impalila Island in Namibia.
Impalila Island is part of the Caprivi Strip, a slender eastern arm
of Namibia extending to Zambia and Botswana. Impalila is
surrounded by 60 miles of waterways, including the Chobe and
Zambezi Rivers.
My cabin at Kaza Safari Lodge. We were asked to keep the
door locked at all times, since monkeys living in the area
had figured out how to turn the latch, open the door, and
help themselves to what they wanted.
Vervet monkeys were wandering around the grounds of the lodge.
Purple Heron - a very slender heron with with a black crown and
striped face and neck. This is an immature one, which is tawny
brown. It is a stand and wait fisher in reeds. If disturbed, it often
assumes a rigid, upright stance among reeds.
Frequents lake and river margins and other swampy habitats.
They are generally solitary, outside of breeding season. Hunts fish,
snakes, lizards, small birds and mammals, frogs.
Black egret - a slender all black egret with dark eyes.
Its feeding behavior involves its wings being arched
over the back to form an umbrella like dome. This reduces
glare on the water and may attract fish into thinking it is
a shady retreat.
Great white egret in the reeds near shoreline. Note the
long neck.
Squacco Heron - also saw a lot of these in the Okavango
Delta. They are usually seen alone, like here, in fringes
of channels or floodplains.
Water monitor lizard - a very large aquatic lizard with an
elongated snout. Adults are dark olive-brown or gray brown
on the back.
African Skimmers - occur on rivers and lagoons
Skimmers are most active at dusk when they skim the
water for small fish. Their unusual red bill has a protruding
lower mandible.
Baby African Skimmer on a sandbar - Skimmers breed
on exposed sandbars between July and October.
Hippopotamus - the males open their mouths wide to
show dominance.
Note the tusk-like teeth.
Hippos play a role in the creation and maintenance of channels.
Crocodiles can be hard to spot.
Each evening we were on the Island, we did a sundowner
cruise. Each time we docked on a shoreline to enjoy a
drink of our choice and some snacks before returning to
the lodge for dinner. While snacking, we watched the sun set.
Giant Kingfisher - large charcoal gray bird with a white
spotted back. Feeds mostly on crabs, but also takes fish
and frogs, plunging into water from its perch.
The morning after we arrived at Impalila Island, a local
guide took us on a walk through some of the small
villages. There are about 25 villages on the island and about
2500 people.
The kids were curious about us.
View of a home
No sign to show what this is, but it is a local bar. There
were apparently several bars on the island, but little
else in terms of stores. What they weren't growing/raising for
themselves, people had to go by boat to get.
Woman working outside her home.
A young girl, perhaps about 4, with her younger brother.
As we saw elsewhere, these kids were just sitting around while
parents were working. Notice that the little girl's "ball" is not
a real ball, but a ball made out of a bunch of plastic bags squeezed
together and tied with string.
The younger brother
She looked bored and skeptical. I motioned to her to hand me
the ball, I backed away a few feet, squatted on the ground, and
rolled the ball to her. Then motioned for her to roll it back to me.
She quickly grasped the game, and we rolled the ball back and
forth to each other, until I realized my group had moved on.
Her brother watched our game with a big grin on his face.
I waved goodbye to the kids and trotted off to find my group.
Once I caught up to the group, I heard some noise, turned
around and saw the kids running after me.
When they caught up, I played a little bit more, then we
we had to move on.
Another young child in the village near a goose.
Link to Impalila Island Part Five, Page Two, Namibia
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