On November 5th, 2024, under the hot Namibian sun, I prepared for a special experience: a sunset boat cruise on the Kavango River in Divundu. I was staying at the wonderful Ngepi Camp, a gem on the bank of the Kavango. Located in the Caprivi Strip, a long stretch of Namibia squeezed between Angola in the north and Botswana in the south, this area is known for its lush nature and abundant wildlife. Across the river lies Bwabwata National Park, where elephants roam and hippos graze.
However, I was here for a different animal… an owl. Pel’s Fishing Owl is a large species of owl found in Africa. It lives near rivers and lakes and feeds nocturnally on fish and frogs snatched from the water’s surface.
Since I was a little boy, I have had a fascination with owls. These mystical animals start calling when night falls and fly silently overhead in the pitch-dark sky. Precision hunters, kings of the nocturnal sky. There was one particular species I longed to see. Seven years ago, in this same location, a guide proudly showed me a picture he had taken of this elusive animal. Since then, the desire to see this owl with my own eyes had burned within me.
Upon my return, I immediately started talking to the guides, hoping for recent sightings and maybe some tips for finding a nest. Their responses were lukewarm, understandably given the difficulty of finding this bird and their reluctance to raise false hopes.
Nevertheless, our boat departed from the dock, and the guide from Ngepi Camp proved to be fantastic. It didn’t take long before we saw hippos and crocodiles, and many beautiful birds. On the riverbanks, elephants came to drink, but our guide seemed tense. He kept looking at the treeline.
The other people on the boat didn’t understand, nor did I, until he looked at me and said, “There, high in the tree, between the leaves, do you see him?” A broad smile appeared on my face. I pointed my 560 mm lens, searching and scanning. Hard to find, and then… there he was… the Pel’s Fishing Owl!
It turned out I was the only person on the boat able to spot it, and then to see it through the big lens. A huge thank you to the guide for making an old dream come true.
That evening, I dined on the terrace of Ngepi Camp overlooking the Kavango River. As darkness fell, I thought about that magical animal. It was time, his time…to hunt.
The night descended, and as the sounds of nature around me grew, I knew I had experienced something truly special. A long kept dream, fulfilled on the banks of the Kavango, in the heart of Africa.