30th March, 2015, Monday. Osprey and Crocodiles

We were up before light to get breakfast before our boat trip at first light.  We were joined by two Dutch guys for the trip, a bird guide, the boat captain and the resident bird guide for Tendaba.  We set off after breakfast of omelette, bread, cheese and jam, and boarded our boat at the end of the jetty.  The boats here are large wooden canoes called pirogues, lots of room for the 9 of us and we set off across the river which was quite rough today, causing Omar to sit in the centre of the boat away from the waves lapping over the edges.  Martin helped out by bailing out with a can provided for the purpose.  The boat made it's way into the mangroves on the North bank and then slowed down for us to take full advantage of the views of the wildlife, we chugged along slowly with the guides pointing out birds of interest on the way and stopping should anyone want to take photos.  They are very patient, moving the boat back and forth until everyone is happy that they have seen a particular bird, or in some cases crocodile.  There was a very large crocodile which slid into the water and disappeared before I had chance to take a photo, prompting Omar to move back into the middle of the boat and take his hand out of the water!  We were also lucky to see an osprey, a rare sight both here and in the UK. The boat trip lasted two hours before we returned to the camp to for a cold drink and check out.  We set off back home, and decided to call at Kanilai on the way back to take some photos for Gill and Shaun of the library they had sponsored.  Omar spotted a turning from the south bank highway and asked if it was a short cut to Kanilai, we were told yes, and set off on the road, reaching the back of the President's safari park quite quickly.  The guards at the gate stopped us and said as the President was in residence we had to go round the perimeter wall, so our short cut was longer than we thought, we did get to see monkeys though, climbing the walls to steal the cashew nuts.  We arrived in Kanilai, took some photos and continued on home, arriving late afternoon.  A quick shower and change and we went to Cabanas for our dinner.  Back home for the evening, and another film for the boys.