In August 2004 Ross, Vicky, Tommy, Louise, Bill and Pat head off to Southern Africa for a great two weeks of safari. Vicky heads off a week ahead to prepare the ground and we follow on a Johannesburg flight a week later. Events conspire against us - Tommy and Louise are almost bumped off the flight in London and our flight is so late we miss the connections to Maun. To cap it all our dive bag stays in London. Vicky arranges a charter and soon we are flying across the Kalahari desert in a small twin-prop. At 5pm we meet up with Vicky, Pat and Bill on a small airstrip in the Okavango delta.

First stop is the Okavango Delta in Botswana where we stay in the excellent Tubu Tree Camp. Elegant tents with lions roaring underneath at night make an exotic base for our first two days.

Early morning starts are FREEZING with frost on the ground. Vicky wears every stich of clothing she has brought. By 11am it is warming up (as are the Impala) and we slowly ditch jackets and jumpers.

With great luck we spot a young leopard crouching in the grass, late in the afternoon. We watch for nearly an hour as the leopard stalks a Francolin, climbs trees, drinks in a pool and finally takes up residence on a large ant hill (below right).

Termite mounds are responsible for most of the islands in the Okavango - they form the foundations for the tree clad mounds that stand out of the delta. As the sun goes down we stop for a drink and photo shots as a flock of herons flies across the sun.

Click the roller for more Okavango action