After the events of the previous evening, it appeared that the rain had eased off overnight so we were on our way at the crack of 6:30 again, after breakfast.

We were driving through some pretty thick woodlands from the hotel and in a clearing, our first spot of the day, a Kirk's Dik-dik, a small antelope, lit up by the early morning sun.

The problem with early mornings in woodland is that almost everything is in shade, as was this Defassa Waterbuck.

Later , we noticed a female Lion in a tree, which they climb to get away from the myriad of flies.

and a little later, a male Lion about 3 to 4 metres from the bus - head shot time!!!

Getting into the open savannah, there appeared to be birds on every bush and rock. Grey-backed Fiscal

Grey-breasted Spurfowl

as well as on the ground in front of us - a family of Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse.

And now came the star of the show. We stopped at a picnic site where there was a smallish pool near to the tables and a never-ending line of birds coming in to drink and bathe.

Even on the tables - a Speckle-fronted Weaver

and in the pool, White-headed Buffalo Weavers

Superb Starling

Rufous-tailed Weaver collecting grass to weave,

Red-cheeked Cordon-Bleu

and even under the table, a Grass Rat - well a mouse really but that is what it is called.

and a quick appeareance of a Silverbird in the trees.

Quite frankly, I would have been happy to stay there for the rest of the day but, of course, the others in the party wanted to move on.

Next to appear on a branch close to the track was a Dark Chanting Goshawk giving glorious views.

Funny how birds here just sit and look you over as opposed to the UK  where they disappear like rockets.

On the track, a Coqui Francolin also looked us over.

but a Pin-tailed Whydah was rather more shy and kept it's distance.

Next, a Tawny Eagle watched us from it's perch but did not entertain us with a fly-past.

and a Spur-winged Plover or Lapwing showed well.

Next we headed for the Hippo pool - probably 30 to 40 Hippos doing what Hippos do best - which has the largest mouth!!!

We stayed there for over an hour watching their interaction - fascinating.

Now it was getting time to head back to the hotel, passing a herd of Topi

and a family group of Impala, a fawn

and what looked like a mum having a word in the ear of her offspring.

So closure on Day 7, tired, happy, ready to download all the images, have dinner and fall into bed to see what tomorrow will bring.