There were pluses and minuses for our stay at Little Kwara Camp in the Okavango Delta. The pluses included the most amazing game drives, and we also had two really nice boat rides on the delta. The minus was the fact that camp here was the much less nice than the other two camps , particularly our Upgrade at Rattrays.
We were in a very large tent, with hot and cold running water. There was a bathroom with a tub and an outdoor shower; the shower was outside on a private deck. I think the main problem was that the tent was very dark in the evening. The lighting was from a 12 volt car battery system, but the lighting was really crappy. Our travel trailer uses lighting powered by a 12 volt DC system, so I know you can get really good lighting from a 12 volt system. There were no electrical outlets in the tent, but there was a power strip set up in the tent that with the bar that served as a shared meeting area, and there were phones, iPads and camera batteries being charged there. There were a lot of camera batteries, and looking at the camera lenses, there were some serious photographers there. You know the phrase, “Mine is bigger than yours.”
Like the camp in Chobe, there was no fence around the camp to keep animals out, so we had to be escorted to and from dinner after dark. While I had thought that the escort was unnecessary at Chobe and at our camps in Kenya and Tanzania four years ago, here in the Okavango Delta camp, on two occasions we saw hyenas fairly close by while on our way to dinner.
Like I said, the game drives here were amazing. Here we had a guide Josiah, who drove the vehicle, and also a spotter, Mike, who rode on the front of the hood of the vehicle. He was higher up, and the elevation probably helped him spot animals. They worked as a team, and what was really amazing they were trackers, using animal footprints on the dirt road.
Josiah asked what animals we would like to see, and we said Cats. We had seen leopards in Mala Mala, and they were amazing, and we had not seen any lions, except from a distance. He said they had been having good luck with that.
On our first game drive we went to see the Puppies. In Chobe we had seen African Wild Dogs, and were told they were rarely seen. Here, a pack of dogs had found an abandoned aardvark burrow and used it as a den for their puppies. African Wild Dogs are very social animals. A pack is seven to ten adults who hunt as a group. Only two animals mate, the alpha male and the alpha female. Females have large litters, from 6 to 16 pups. The female near our camp had 11 puppies. When the pack is out hunting for food, one dog, usually the mother, remains behind to guard the puppies from predators. The first time we came to view the puppies, the mother was resting outside the den. Some of the puppies popped out for some puppy fun, and their mother chased them back in the den. The second time we came to watch the mother was waiting, once again, for the pack to return with food. When the pack arrived there were greetings among the dogs, and the puppies started romping around outside. They chased each other, and fought (played?) over pieces of meat. It was really nice to just sit and watch all of the social interactions. That is one of the nice things about a game drive: you can just sit and watch the animals. The pictures of the puppies are not as good as I like, because of branches and leaves in the way.
It was starting to get towards sunset, and we came across a large group of elephants. Nice lighting in these pictures.
We them moved to our Sundowner location. Drinks and snacks.
And then, our guides spotted a female lion in the distance, on the other side of the watering hole. We all piled into the vehicle and drove over there. Nice Kitty! We finally saw a lion up close. 
One of the interesting things about these game drives is that the animals become acclimated to the game vehicles. The vehicle is not prey for predators (lions, leopards) and it is not frightening to most prey animals. (Except warthogs, which always run away.) They can see the vehicle, and can clearly hear it when the engine is running and can smell the diesel, but they completely ignore it. Outside of the vehicle, however, a human walking is considered prey to the big cats. It is especially dangerous to run, as that is like catnip… One of the rules they have is that when a predator is nearby, our spotter Mike can no longer ride on the hood but must be within the vehicle.
We stayed with the lion for a while, and it got completely dark. Our spotter pulled out the big spotlight, and used it to light up the cat. With the spotlight I got a nice picture of the cat yawning, showing off what nice teeth she has.
We were driving back to camp in the dark, with Mike using the spotlight to look for wildlife. The nighttime game drives are really nice because you see nocturnal animals that you cannot see during daylight. Mike spots a fresh leopard track, from a large male. So he gets off of the front hood and into the vehicle, and we drive off road in search of the cat. Our guides are tracking him, and they find him. We watch him for a little while, and I got some decent photos of the leopard in the spotlight.
The next morning we go out on the shallow waters of the Okavango Delta in a Makoro or traditional dugout canoe. We sit, and Josiah stands and uses a pole to move the Makoro. Terry and Jill from the UK were with us on our game drives, and Mike piloted their boat. It was really beautiful out on the water, and very peaceful.
We were out on the water for about half an hour when we saw hippos up ahead. So we turned around. I don’t know why, as you know the old phrase that hippos are only dangerous when they are wiggling their ears….
You can guess who would win in a confrontation between a hippo and a small boat. Our guides had brought protection, but avoidance is the best strategy.
We got into our game vehicle, and our guides quickly found fresh leopard tracks. They follow the tracks, and we find the leopard who had just killed a large antelope and had just dragged it under a small tree (emphasize small). We spent a long time watching it, and listening to our guide tell us about leopards. This was a female, with two very small cubs hidden somewhere; our guide did not know where. Unlike lions who are social, leopards are solitary. Leopards evolved for speed as well as powerful jaw muscles for killing prey. They are not good fighters, and when other animals (lions, hyenas, wild dogs) try to steal their kill, the leopard will surrender. So a leopard’s favorite strategy is to drag a carcass up into a tree, where another animal cannot steal it. There were several problems for this leopard. One, this was a large antelope, which would be much harder to drag into a tree than a small deer. Second, the nearby trees were very small; large trees were quite a distance away. So the leopard needed to either use a butcher knife to slice off a big hunk to take back to the cubs, or eat a bunch and then regurgitate it for her cubs. Yes, regurgitation is very common in the animal world; how do birds feed their young?
The kill was fresh, and our guide explained that the leopard was biting at the antelope to remove fur and then skin, and then she could eat. (No, I am not posting either pictures or video of these activities.) She then stopped, and moved away and rested. Our guide said that she was probably still very tired from the chase. She needed to rest, and then eat more, and then go to feed her cubs.
And, a big kitty bathing.
Our guide heard on the radio that two male lions had been spotted nearby, snoozing. They had been lying in the sun, and one of them had gotten up and moved 50 feet into the shade. We drove over to them, and they were like our house cats, simply sacked out. This one was in the sun on his back; he heard the vehicle drive up, raised his head to look, and then just closed his eyes and let his head snap back and roll to the ground. It was so amusing. 
My best pictures are when you can see their faces…
We then drove over to see the other male, sleeping in the shade. Our guide told us that lion number one would be getting too hot in the sun and would move over into the shade, near the second lion. He was right.
This are female waterbuck. I love the heart shaped noses.
On our way back to the camp for lunch and afternoon siesta, we stopped by the leopard and her antelope. It was clear she had a very full belly.
At 4 PM we headed off for our last adventure, not a game drive, but a boat ride on the Okavango Delta. This was a much larger boat, and we went in much deeper water. Terry (from the UK) and I spent the entire time on the upper level. Except when we stopped for Sundowner cocktails.
It was a beautiful boat ride.
And finally, the birds were amazing! Thanks to Kathryn for help with bird identification.
This is a Lilac Breasted Roller.
This is a Kori Bustard, the largest flying bird in Africa.
And the Ostrich, the largest bird, but flightless.
A Natal Francolin Quail, also known as a Natal spurfowl.
A Verreaux’s eagle-owl, sleeping in the daytime.
A Swallow-Tailed Bee-Eater. I thought these were gorgeous.
I saw this Southern Yellow-Billed Hornbill on the ground, and he grabbed something and flew up into a tree. It was a big centipede. It took him a few minutes to eat it.
And a Red-Billed Hornbill.
We saw a lot of Greater Blue-eared Starlings. They have this wonderful luminescent color.
A Grey Go-Away Bird. Their call sounds like Go Away.
And finally, a Yellow-bellied Greenbul. We first met this bird at a picnic area in Chobe, and our guide Kenneth said to be careful as these birds are known to steal part of your lunch!
We really enjoyed Botswana, the land, the animals, and especially the people. The following morning we were driven to the airstrip for our flight in the tiny plane to Maun, and then a flight to Cape Town, South Africa.
David, I think you could be a photographer for National Geographic and write the articles too. I hope you send the safari companies copies of your blog/photos. They could use them as testimonial advertising!
Love traveling along with you folks through this blog!
What a joy to “be there” with you, especially when hearing the conversation bits with the videos. Great photos. Do you ever watch the neighborhood birds & flash back to African birds? Thank you for sharing this adventure.