Magical - 29th May

The morning is magical – the early risers occupy the top deck – they look out over a pristine wetland entirely devoid of other human interlopers – the water calm and delightfully the colour of weak tea – the winds low – the sun just rising – the birds in the reed-bed announcing the arrival of the day – swans occupy the middle ground of the scene – they cruise the nearby waters,  then like some lumbering 707, propel themselves along the long watery runway flapping and flapping until flight speed is achieved – they then gracefully cruise off for a day’s hunting – the right foreground continues to be occupied by a mixture of avian species all perching on a crop of dead tree and reed – they move in and out occupying positions that seem to be dictated by some strange “pecking order”.

The scene enthrals and eventually attracts a significant proportion of the traveller numbers before their depleted stomachs call for replenishment. The view from the deck in the early morning however serves to enhance the traveller’s expectations of their day – a day of bird watching and bird watching and some more bird watching.

The bikes are securely tied to their barge and their barge securely fixed to the rear of the houseboat – the travellers are loaded onto the small boat to enable the exploration of the waterways within the Delta.

It would be inappropriate for someone such as me to attempt to describe the day – suffice to say – delightful scenery – amazing sights – spectacular wildlife – we cruise the waterways and lakes of the Delta – we stop at floating reed islands – we explore their ferns – we prod the silt under the floating island and allow the methane product of the underlying deceased vegetation to bubble its way to the surface – we talk about the habitat of pelican and heron – of crow and of egret – we spot snake and frog and leech and reed and tree and bird.

We see practically no other human group – we marvel at the stillness - We traverse man-made channel and we traverse natural channel – we traverse channels bordered by trees – we traverse channels bordered by reed, and reeds and more reeds - We traverse channel lined with yellow water lily – we traverse channels with yellow waterlily – we traverse channels lined with green aquatic weed – we traverse channels with every possible combination of tree, reed, lily and weed!–

We cruise past the communist attempts at converting the Delta into land suitable for agricultural enterprise – the birdlife still abundant but the scene depressing – the existence of plastic bottles though less than copious in volume a shock compared to the pristine nature of the preserved Delta wetlands.

We cruise some more – photograph and photograph and photograph the avian and the amphibian - Cormorant - Swan - Heron - Red legged grebe - Pigmy cormorant - Harrier - Crow - Tern - Pelican  - Dalmatian Pelican Poacher duck - Forget me not - Marsh harrier - Frogs on lilies - Dragon fly - Spotted heron - Moor hen - -  Kingfisher - Polar duck - Bee Eater - Stork - European Roller - Kestrel - Purple heron - Pheasants - Egret - Grey Heron - Roller after Roller - Egret and Egret - Lapwing - Reed warbler – Cuckoo -  Leach - Frog - Snake

The four hour cruise has gone in a flash – we meet the mother boat – a quiet afternoon – universal delight in the day.