River Full of Light
The call of the fish eagle resounds early in the morning. It welcomes the new day. Babblers intone their harsh song. A few black crakes join in the chorus. The wingbeat of a flock of geese sounds sharply from the sky. And the mighty Okavango gently laps.
By Stefanie Rach
Golden wafts of mist flow by. They are heading for the sun that is just rising, to ascend into the sky in front of the first light of the day. They flow in the same rhythm as the waves of the Okavango below them. But the Okavango moves on, through the brightly shining rays that the sun now sends to the other shore, past grazing hippos, on through marshlands, to the last corners of its delta.
Later, I will follow the course of the Okavango for a while in a mokoro, the traditional boat of the Hambukushu. Not as far as its lush green marshlands, but also past the hippos, who will then probably be in the water again, only their heads barely peeking out.
It’s another beautiful morning in the Caprivi Strip in Namibia. Every morning I get up early to watch the sunrise over the Okavango, marvelling at rosy clouds reflected in the shallow waves of the river, at flocks of White-faced Whistling Ducks whose dark silhouettes cut through the bright orange of the morning. And now, today, a second river of golden mist is flowing in twisting patterns across the river of dark, life-giving water. Flowing towards the sun.
Maybe the guide should have stopped for a moment and told this to his guests.
Music: New Sky by Rafael Krux
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/5693-new-sky
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://www.orchestralis.net
Every problem has a solution, every solution needs support.
The problems we face are urgent, complicated, and resistant to change. Real solutions demand creativity, hard work, and involvement from people like you.
Stay in the know.
Be ready to act.
To keep up to date with our latest news, events, marches,
campaigns and fundraising activities.