Falie and the pilots took a spotlight and went to investigate. To their surprise they discovered a young hyena was chasing the elephant across the plains in front of the camp. As the hyena raced along the grass Falie noticed four more hyenas lying in the camp’s undergrowth, watching with great interest.

Every once in a while the elephant would spin around, trumpet loudly and chase the hyena away. However, hyenas are known for their persistence and the pair put on quite a show before the elephant finally decided he’d had enough and retreated to the papyrus bed at the rear of the camp.

Entertainment of this nature happens more often than you’d imagine in camp and often involves the same leading stars. The elephant in question is a camp regular, Snorey (so named for his terrible snoring habit), and Falie suspects that the young hyena might be Mike the Mechanic, a name he picked up as a pup after stealing parts from underneath a game drive vehicle!

A pride of eight lions – three male, five female – have been making their way in and out of the area around Pom Pom, and crossing the river at the Pontoon where the water is extremely deep. Two of the females have collars on, courtesy of a local research team, and we are sure the researchers will be gaining some valuable information from the pride’s activity.

When the lions are out of sight, a number of leopards brave the area. We have spotted at least three different leopards and believe them to be a mother and her two male offspring; however, they are always seen alone and remain solitary. We have not recorded any kills of recent although we have seen tracks through the camp most nights, possibly in search of baboons.

Other notable sightings around the islands include the elusive Pel’s Fishing Owl, and the much sought-after Sitatunga, plus our usual contingent of hippos, crocodiles and so on. A particularly entertaining sighting last week occurred courtesy of a fish eagle and a vervet monkey: the fish eagle was defending its nest from the vervet which was hoping for a tasty meal. Suffice to say, the fish eagle won.

As the seasons change in the Okavango Delta and a complex web of migrations occur, so elephant herds have returned to the area – and in large numbers. We’ve seen two separate herds every day for the last five days, and the bulls are wandering in and out of the camp, much to the guests delight.

Finally, we have also spotted several Dagga Boys of late. These are the old male buffalo which have left the breeding herd in their old age. Buffalo are cantankerous by nature: the Dagga Boys even more so. We’re hoping this sighting is a prelude to the arrival of the breeding herds.

The Lala Palms at Shinde are full in bloom and the dates are much sought after by the resident elephant population. These gentle giants visit the camp at regular intervals, shaking the palm trees in the hope that some dates will fall to the ground for them to feed upon.

Great sightings continue away from camp

Lions featured heavily on the game viewing menu, with a pride of six taking up residence around an elephant carcass on the channel. Easily visible from both land and water, the pride gorged themselves for a week.

Juvenile Hippopotamus - Shinde Fire Deck

Shinde is renowned for the refuge it provides to wearily travellers from all over the world. A couple of weeks ago this include a juvenile hippopotamus, who seeking refuge from an older bull spent some time on the fire deck reflecting on the trials and tribulations of growing up.