11-Oct-2007 -- Continued from 12N 5E.

It is 7:30 a.m., we are leaving Birnin-Kebbi and heading for Bunza. Just before Bunza we crossed the river Sokoto and surrounding wetlands. After Bunza we turned off onto the road to Kende. Approximately 10 km from Bunza on this road, we found the confluence 12N 4E to be only 50 meters away from the road. That was a relatively easy one, all the way through was a nice road and hardly any traffic and because it was early in the day, it was also cool.

After we had documented the Confluence, we continued towards Kende, where we crossed again the river Sokoto. It was a pleasant drive. The villagers along the road were busy processing their harvest. At Kende we took the road to Kaoje. This road leads through wetlands and over the River Niger. There was no traffic, therefore it was possible to stop on top of the River Niger bridge for a rest. As we looked around and into the river we spotted a three meter long python crossing the river Niger as well. Although the snake was much too big for the circling kites, three kites tried to attack the python which seemed to have out-smarted the birds of prey by letting her body sink deeper into the water and sticking only her head out of the water, ready for a counter attack. It was an exciting sight to watch this game.

With approximately 30 km from the next confluence 11N 4E and judging the way we were going, we expected to be at the Confluence by midday. As we found out later, it took a little bit longer than that.