We try to time our trip to catch them swimming or wading out to the grass islands, where you will be able to glide quietly alongside these awesome giants. Their age makes them so placid they tend to ignore us, probably realising that we are no threat. Lunch coincides with the heat of the day. To find an escape, we pull up our canoes below a grove of mahogany trees whose dense shade provides a welcome relief. The camp stools, tables and lunch are all offloaded from the canoes.
Lunch consists of cold meats, freshly prepared salads, pizza or quiche and cheese and biscuits.
After we've eaten and refreshed ourselves with ice cold drinks you have a choice to either take another short walk through the mahogany forest or to just relax and enjoy an afternoon siesta. The late afternoon and evening is spent drifting down to camp and enjoying the game and birding on the river's edge. Once again we reach the camp at sunset where we arrive to the welcoming faces of our support team. Frequently the plain hosts buffalo, waterbuck, elephant and hippo in the evenings. In fact the only road is 3 to 5 km in-land and is the one that our support team will use.