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After a cup of tea in the dawn halflight, we left our camp to go down the
escarpment and across the plain to the second pool. There was more vegetation
surrounding this pool, and as a result, there were a lot more birds around.
A pair of malachite kingfishers hunted at the shallow end, resplendent in
their blues, greens and chestnut brown. A flycatcher hawked for insects,
returning to its perch a couple of yards from where we sat, while a flock
of ducks foraged on the opposite bank.
Then an elephant appeared, striding through the trees, accompanied by a
small flock of cattle egrets who were feasting on the insects disturbed
by the passing of their huge companion. He came straight for the pool, flopped
into the water, and luxuriated in its muddy coolness.