This morning we had our last safari at Chobe: an early morning river cruise.

We spent most of the morning watching a couple of troops of baboons going through their morning routines.

Some were up in the trees, while others were down by the water. They were spending time grazing and grooming.

Then as we moved farther along the river, we came across the lodge’s lion pride. We were able to spend the rest of our time watching them walk along the river. They eventually reached the baboons, who were not pleased.

We left Chobe and flew to the Okavango Delta. This is UNESCO World Heritage site as it is one of the few major inland delta systems in the world. It is a huge, protected wetland. There are permanent swamps, but there is annual flooding that, ironically, occur during the dry season as floodwaters make it downstream from the Okavango River. The Okavango River is the third longest river in Africa.

We flew an 11-seat plane to the delta, making a couple of stops along the way.

There was a severe drought in Botswana in 2019, and we saw evidence of it along with big cat hunting…

And then we were introduced to the local lion pride.

We actually watched the females stalk and chase down prey, but they were unsuccessful.

On the way back to camp, we saw a small-spotted genet. This is loosely related to cats, but, like the civet, is a bit racoonish. These are quite small, with males topping out at less than 4.5 pounds. They like to hang out in trees and are most active at twilight. This one was very small. It also wasn’t a fan of our floodlight.