Beasts & Birds at the Waterhole – July 2019
We stayed at the Old Bridge Hostel in Maun, Botswana for one night before starting our overland safari. One of the best features of the hostel is the viewing area above the waterhole, home most of the year to hippos, crocodiles, and many varieties of birds.
During our stay we watched several adult hippos and one baby eating heads of cabbage provided by the hostel staff as a special treat. Unfortunately they ate the cabbage so quickly that we weren’t able to get a photo of the afternoon snack.
One hungry hippo munched loudly throughout the night on one small clump of grass. In the morning we noticed that his noisy nocturnal smacking and chewing didn’t seem to result in much food intake. The clump of grass looked the same size as the night before.
Here are a few of our favorite photos of the many species of birds and seemingly docile crocodiles at the waterhole.
Hammerkop 
Grey heron 
Green squacco heron 
Green backed heron 
Giant kingfisher 
Pied kingfisher 
Marabou stork 
The most abundant type of bird we saw at Old Bridge Hostel was the beautiful African fish eagle. What a treat for us to see so many of these large birds enjoying the late afternoon or morning sun and fishing in the waterhole!
Breakfast!
Wonderful photos! Thanks so much for sharing. Lynda and I wish we were there with you! What a fantastic adventure! Lynda wants to know what kinds of foods you are eating while there.
In Botswana we enjoyed eating several of the traditional foods such as mealie pap topped with chakala sauce, fried cabbage, mixture of fried leafy green vegetable, curries, and many varieties of fruit. Sometimes we also ate maize porridge for breakfast. Lots of tasty options unique to this beautiful country!