Rosettes are for prize-winners. The newly-launched Pangolin Voyager Houseboat, swanky and stylish with room to swing a big cat both in the cabins and the communal areas is surely going to garner tourism awards. All that va va voom, plus its 93 per cent electric. What’s not to love?  Our first accommodation on this river trip was already turning heads along the Chobe. A winner if ever we saw one.

But it was rosettes of a totally different order that lay in wait for us upstream on our first afternoon once we’d properly checked out, and checked into our exclusive-use, floating boutique hotel – home for the next four nights.

Our guide Laskey – who multi-tasks as captain of the new houseboat – had just received reliable intel that a leopard, spotted earlier from the river between Elephant Bay and Puku Flats, was still resting up in the area. Revitalised after high tea we whizzed off on our custom-built photo boat to check out this enticing prospect, little expecting that almost as soon as we rocked up the rosetted cat (a leopard’s signature markings are often referred to as rosettes) would explode from her cover in the bushes to chase a small huddle of startled impala that had wandered on set. Dust and animals flew in all directions.

Our guests opened their photographic accounts on the trip with action shots of a chasing apex predator and some not too shabby stalking shots as it hugged the craggy rocks along the river bank. All over in seconds, the leopard slunk back to its hiding place. No meal for the hungry cat on this occasion, but the appetites of the assembled photographers were well and truly whetted. We’ve been fortunate to see, and photograph, leopards well from our specialist boat on the Chobe river a fair few times over the years, but it’s still very much a red letter day when it happens. Everyone is hoping this quick-off-the-blocks start augurs well for the rest of the trip.

The next morning’s photography, while a tad calmer and less adrenaline-fuelled, was no less enjoyable as we headed to the rapids at first light to concentrate efforts on the abundance of birds roosting picturesquely in the half-submerged trees among the swirling waters. It was a relief to see so many candy-coloured yellow-billed storks and their monochromatic mini-me chicks adorning the branches like Christmas baubles once again.

Last year due to different conditions on the river we were missing some of the Chobe’s iconic photogenic birdlife (storks, pied kingfishers and skimmers in the main), but on this trip it soon became clear normal service on the avian front had been resumed. The storks were busy in the early morning flying to and fro with nesting material to repair, and adorn, their nests. The repeating behaviour allowed us to perfect dramatic flight shots all the while keeping eyes peeled for other photogenic species in the early, flattering light.

Bright flashes of kingfishers firing off papyrus reeds as we passed were a thing of beauty and delight.  We photographed five species in total during our stay. After taking a star role last season the one kingfisher we’d have loved a little more time with on this trip was the diminutive malachite, but the water was a little too high for much photography of these attractive birds this time round. Nobody was complaining, especially when we were afforded excellent views of a pair of elusive half-collared kingfishers sitting out in the open and bathed in warm light. We also had some of our best ever opportunities with giant kingfishers including a very brash, but stunning pair who regularly joined us on the chic sundeck of the houseboat at one of our moorings.

Skimmer sightings were plentiful this season. It was a joy to see these characterful Chobe specials nesting on the sandbanks again. A species that began the trip as everyone’s nemesis – given their fast-flying traits and unpredictable habits – became everyone’s best friend when, with a little practice, dramatic sharp images were nailed by our sharp-shooters. Shots of them skimming, both front-lit and back-lit at sunset, or carrying freshly caught fish in their bright red bills as if brandishing cigars, were soon mastered. We’d rarely travel far along the Chobe’s waters without one of our crew joyfully shouting ‘Skimmer!’ or ‘Skimming!’ by way of a photo op alert to fellow photographers in the team.

With the national park drying out, riverine mammal activity was never too far from our lenses with multiple elephant crossings and some good hippo encounters. A pair of playfighting young hippos stand out in the mind along with a memorable evening spent with a pod whose members obliged with a chain reaction of wonderful backlit yawns; providing us with the longed-for gaping jaws, sprays and splashdowns we’d hoped to capture.

The accumulating action shots were added to admirably in subsequent sessions on the river when a leaping puku antelope suddenly straddled a narrow gap in the bank from a standing start. Not forgetting the fabulous fish eagle opportunity when it took off from the river with a sizeable catfish in its talons. An explosive piece of action that truly contrasted with a previous near 40 minute wait for a well-positioned fish eagle to fly earlier in the trip!

Then there was the unusual and intriguing  encounter one afternoon with a large herd of balletic impala (apparently spooked by something we never put a name nor face to) that came hurtling over the horizon above us on the bank in what seemed like endless leaps and bounds.

The Chobe’s famous vibrant sunsets, as ever, were suitably showcased to excellent effect in the backgrounds of our many silhouette shots  – thanks to the giraffes, ellies and sunrise buffalo that obliged.

If you factor in that we got wild dogs on a kill ( a rare sighting and only the third time we’ve seen them here in almost 10 years of river trips) on the single game drive we did into the Chobe national park you’d have to conclude the luck was with us.  We even had another leopard sighting on the same morning drive, plus a decent view of the resident lion pride, but it was the critically endangered wild dogs that had us rubbing our eyes in disbelief. We came upon a small pack of four finishing up a young kudu they’d just run down.

And then there was that final afternoon on the photo boat. Unusually that day, with no clear goal in mind, we decided to head all the way up to Puku Flats. Just as we were approaching the spot where we’d seen the female leopard on day one of the trip one of our photographers shouted ‘lions’, bringing us all, including the boat, to a standstill.  We scanned the banks but couldn’t see hide nor fur of them. ‘Are you sure you saw them?’  The guest flipped his screen to show a clear image of three sleeping lions. What a spot! We sailed closer and beached the boat. Waiting to see if the trio budged was a no-brainer given there were no better prospects on the go at the time. The sun would soon be dropping and a few decent lion shots would be a fine finish for the trip…

We settled in for a long wait. Every so often a half-hearted yawn raised expectations a little. But then we got another stroke of luck. A water monitor lizard, not a particularly big one, came lumbering along the water’s edge, tongue flicking. The movement caught the eye of one of the lions, a young male with the bare traces of an emerging mane. An older, wiser lion wouldn’t have risen to bait like this, it would not be worth the expended energy, but this young gun just couldn’t resist. He began to move slowly down the rocky slope in stealth mode stalking the unwitting reptile. Closer and closer the lion came – almost onto our boat. His burning eyes were fixed on the foraging monitor…but to us sitting ducks on the boat it felt they were honed on each one of us.

And then…Pounce….Click,click,click…

Hearts in mouths our line of nervous shooters bravely kept firing as the monitor shot like a lightning bolt into the river while the lion just stopped short of joining us on our little vessel for sundowners.

These are the moments you never forget. When the steel-eyed glare of a lion lights up your every nerve. You live to tell the tale and come away with a dynamic capture to prove it.

Just time to thank the people who made our wonderful riverine meanderings possible – in particular, our two great guides Laskey and Kim who once again served up a steady supply of stunning subjects, coffees, cookies and sundowners. We couldn’t have done it without you. Many thanks also to all the staff on the houseboat and at the hotel for the good food and great hospitality throughout.

We can’t leave, of course, without a low bow of gratitude to a great group of photographers who rode the river with us. Applauding hands emoji please for the eagle-eyed, super-spotter KC who facilitated our fab finale, to Devon DH for finally clearing up the dratted cream tea question, to ripple-meister PB for keeping it pure and analogue, to Captain Skimmer GA and lion whisperer MA. And of course the team would not be complete without MB. That’s if we could find her to thank. We suspect she’s still out there somewhere on the river on her eternal quest for more birds to photograph. Cheers all for making our job easy!