Zakouma Expedition
Canoeing on the Dikere stream is one of my favourite adventures anywhere in Africa. The shallow waters of the stream are a huge attraction to the region’s wildlife in this scorchingly hot and dry landscape.
Pushing our canoes off the muddy bank we are straight into the action. Black-crowned crane honk incessantly at our presence, this triggers hundreds of Whistling ducks to join the throng. They take flight, circling and whistling. Now the Egyptian geese start! Wow, with this crazy noise all the wildlife along the river is definitely going to know that we are coming! It seems not to matter – around the first bend, still accompanied by the noisy, flapping, circling, honking, whistling waterfowl are Kordofan giraffe. They line the stream bank, some drinking, others calmly watching our two canoes approaching. The evening light is on our backs and the scene is magical.
Other birds are quieter, but no less numerous. Yellow billed storks are fishing the shallows in their hundreds. Heads held low with their bills open in the water waiting for a passing fish. Flocks of Spotted Redshank feed in frenzied and comical “bottoms up” style whilst a diversity of shorebirds patrol the muddy fringes. Spoonbills, stilts, night herons and fish eagles are everywhere.
Ahead on the bank a movement catches my eye. Lions! Two cubs make a dash for cover, but their mother remains on the waters edge. Her gaze does not leave us for a moment. We are drifting towards her. The twitch in her tail betrays her displeasure at our presence but she is unafraid and perhaps even curious? Canoes are not a common sight here. Sitting low in our canoes at water level she is higher than us on the slightly raised bank. This is an unusual and thrilling angle to be face to face with a lioness. As we drift closer, she gets up and moves back from the waters edge. Lying down under a large fallen tree she is once again joined by her cubs and another subadult lion. We continue along the stream; she watches us until we paddle out of sight.
A Large troop of Olive Baboon seek large, streamside trees for their evening roost. The little ones cavort on the short grass enjoying the pleasant relief from the days searing heat. The sun is dipping below the horizon. Thousands of red billed quelea fly past, following the stream towards their distant roosting site. As the sky turns pink, flocks of ducks, geese, cranes, ibis, storks and herons take to the skies. Some heading to nocturnal hunting grounds, others to safe resting places. Flying late helps them to avoid the abundance of large eagles that regularly hunt waterfowl by day. We too start to look for a suitable landing spot.
Up ahead in the soft light a lioness stalks along the river. She seems very focussed on the woodlands ahead of her. She barely looks at us before disappearing into the thickets. We stop our canoes and get out onto the opposite bank. Nitza can smell a herby plant and mentions it as the scent reaches me. It smells like Ocinum…something must have trampled the plant as they only smell when crushed….
Behind us a few hundred buffalo appear out of the dusty thickets, thirsty, they move quickly to the water and head straight into the muddy shallows. The colours of the buffalo here reflect the evening perfectly. Red, pink, warm brown and black. The scent of the crushed herbs is replaced by the earthy smell of the mud they are stirring up. As they leave the water the lower half of their bodies is completely covered in slick glossy mud. Somewhere in the gloom near them a lioness is watching, waiting for darkness.
Our pickup arrives and we drink an icy G ‘n T on the bank, barefoot and muddy. The red sky is still full of birds even as darkness envelopes the land. I am grinning from ear to ear. This is Zakouma and it is incredible!
