Day 207 - Early sunset cruise

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We got up late, well rested and full of energy for the day ahead. We went into town (or village perhaps) to have a look around and to buy some food and alcohol for the afternoon's cruise. We saw a sign saying 'Hot Bread Shop' and followed the arrows hungrily (bread is not up to much here on the whole). Next door to the bread shop was something even better - a deli selling the sort of things you'd find in Waitrose and loads of nice South African wines. We spent a 'kitty' fortune in there, and it was almost all gone just a few hours later. Everything from peanuts and pickled onions to a selection of cheeses and over a litre of wine per person (and that included people who only drank beer). It was all for a sunset cruise we had arranged to go on (that weirdly left at 3:15pm with the logic that as it was cloudy the sun sets earlier!). We were very lucky with the wildlife we saw, when we weren't tucking into the food and wine. Hippos and crocs all around us, many antelope and monkeys, but the two highlights were firstly spotting a young leopard by the water's edge, which we watched for a good 15 minutes and which completed the Big 5 (lion, leapard, elephant, black rhino and buffalo) for Ed. It was the first the guides had seen of the year. We also watched a lone elephant racing through the vegetation to get to the water (maybe he had also tasted one of the not-so-mild jalapeno peppers!).

The drinking and chatting carried on into the evening playing cards and once thoroughly sozzled, Ed embarked on a half hour chat/debate with the group's oddest member, expressing cynicism at his claims of sage-like wisdom when it comes to playing financial markets.

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