06/08/2026
Last night, about 10 minutes after we got into our tents ⛺️, lions started roaring about 2 km away. It was as if they had been waiting for us to go to bed. I couldn’t sleep for the first one to two hours, praying they wouldn’t come any closer to our campsite. Eventually, I drifted off, although I’m not sure when, only to wake up again at exactly midnight. It was a very strange feeling.
The night was also quite cold. I tried not to move too much, partly because of the cold and partly because I wanted to stay as quiet as possible in case the lions were nearby. Thank God we woke up with no strange stories to tell.
We were greeted by a beautiful morning as the sun rose directly in front of us. The same group of wild animals we had seen the previous day was still around, and once again it was time for my camera shutter to start working. Personally, I enjoy photographing sunrises and sunsets the most. I’m usually the last person to finish setting up my tent or unpacking because I get so excited by the incredible light during those moments.
We left camp at exactly 8:30 a.m. for our next destination.
I have to take a moment to talk about Rob, our scientist and leader for the West team. He’s incredibly eager to master driving a mokoro using an nkashi, and it’s truly inspiring to watch. No matter what challenges he faces, he keeps going. Since the start of this trip, Rob has ended up in the water a couple of times, yet he refuses to give up. Keep in mind that this is his very first expedition driving a mokoro on his own with an nkashi. He told us he had been practicing well before this Delta Crossing, and it definitely shows.
Once again, the hippos had other plans for us. A group of more than ten of them blocked our route and made it very clear that we weren’t welcome to cross in front of them. They gave us enough warning signs, so we backed away and found another route through thick, tall grass with edges as sharp as kitchen knives.
Today’s journey was by far more demanding than the previous three days. We had to take short breaks every now and then because the route wasn’t easy. At one point, the water became too shallow, forcing us to get out and pull our mekoro for a while. Just as we finished that challenge, we were met by dense reeds mixed with thick grass, leaving us with no choice but to cut our own path through.
It felt like we were navigating a maze. All we could see was the sky above us, with no clear view of where we were heading. It took us about 45 minutes to cut through, and by then it was around 4:15 p.m. We were already running behind schedule, so we had to pick up the pace to reach camp and get everything set up before we lost the remaining daylight.
🖊️ and 📸 by Letso Leipego
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