Our morning game drive took us to a new area of the Moremi Game Preserve quite a distance from our camp. Along the way we saw the usual zebras, impalas and some elephants. As we approached the area of our interest we saw vultures circling overhead, and then the stench of rotting flesh. We saw a dead giraffe, half eaten on the ground. Behind the giraffe, swollen with meat and barely able to lift their heads were a pair of lions, who had taken down the giraffe three or four days earlier.

We spent some time watching the pair, and got quite close. There was little risk, they were too gorged to move. We the started the long drive back to camp.

As we sped along the dusty road, Rodgers suddenly veered off the road and accelerated. Branches scraped the sides and slapped into the open cabin. We couldn’t tell what the problem was and saw no evidence of danger. Rogers slowed down and pulled back onto the road. “There was a large Black Mamba snake back there” he said. “A mamba that size could raise itself high enough to strike into the cabin” of the Land Cruiser . We were sitting five feet off the ground! Our first encounter with a deadly snake had been entirely unseen by everyone but our guide.

After lunch and a siesta at camp, we had a boat trip into the Delta scheduled for the afternoon. From the water it very much resembles the Everglades, with interlacing channels through the tall grass. Larger islands had trees. Most of the vegetation is pampas grass and Papyrus. Fish Eagles, cormorants and African Darters are common. Otters swam near the far shore.

We pulled into a small channel near a large tree. “Can you see the crocodile?” Rodgers asked. He looked like a rock next to the tree, but as a second boat approached he suddenly turned around and moved away from us. He was at least fourteen feet long. Again none of us could see the danger.

I’ve been repeatedly impressed by our guide’s knowledge and vision. Roberts seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to spotting wildlife, and when it comes to avoiding trouble. All the pampered tourists would be in dire straits without people like him, and yet it’s taken for granted that everyone will be fine. We approach a satiated lion because he’s too full to move. We chase an elephant into the bush. When there is real danger the guides react before we even know there’s a problem. Ignorance is bliss.