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Okavango Delta

Sanctuary Chief’s Camp

15th February 2022

Sanctuary Chief’s Camp

What is it like to spend a day on safari in Botswana? Mostly it is fun, involving and exciting. You’re always seeing new things, even if you’ve been on many safaris before. It may be new or different mammals and birds, animal behavior, or unusual interaction such as between crocodiles and hyenas, or between eagles and herons. Even the most common of antelopes like the impalas and the gazelles of East Africa look different when seen in ideal light conditions, or when they are rutting or reacting to the proximity of a predator. No two African sunsets are ever the same and invariably visitors to the continent will experience a particularly gorgeous start or end to one of their days.

A day on safari in Botswana

What is it like to spend a day on safari in Botswana? Mostly it is fun, involving and exciting. You’re always seeing new things, even if you’ve been on many safaris before. It may be new or different mammals and birds, animal behavior, or unusual interaction such as between crocodiles and hyenas, or between eagles and herons. Even the most common of antelopes like the impalas and the gazelles of East Africa look different when seen in ideal light conditions, or when they are rutting or reacting to the proximity of a predator. No two African sunsets are ever the same and invariably visitors to the continent will experience a particularly gorgeous start or end to one of their days. Occasionally there will be a ‘slow’ day. This is a euphemism for not seeing much at all. A great guide – one of the elements of a successful safari to which we pay special attention – can make even a slow game-drive interesting. They can liven it up with their insight about the environment or about the connectedness of it all. Sometimes they will focus on the lesser known aspects of the bush, like the medicinal plants, notable insects like the dung beetles or quirky reptiles like chameleons. Incidentally, if things like these start cropping up on a game drive, it is also a pretty good clue that the guide is having a tough time. Be sympathetic. Sometimes you have to simply appreciate the great outdoors, and be thankful for the privilege of being in one of the world’s most amazing places, the African bush. Most of the time though, there’s plenty of action, never-ending opportunities for photographs and a blizzard of new information, facts, trivia, and bushcraft (trails and tracks, animal droppings, bones etc.) to be experienced and savored

Activities on Safari

To be sure, each day is different – of course. What you will do, see and experience depends largely on where you are. If you’re in northern Botswana‘s Okavango Delta, your day might include a mokoro outing (the local version of a dugout canoe), or a boating trip to explore some of the quiet waterways and lagoons of the Delta. In the Moremi or Savute, game drives would likely be at the top of the list of activities, but walking or simply observing wildlife from a blind or hide may also be possible. Chobe is famous for its boating safaris. This is where visitors observe elephants congregating on the banks of the Chobe river or standing or swimming in the river. Elephants are remarkably good swimmers and it is an amazing spectacle to see them chug along with not much more than trunk-tips showing, the adults giving the babies a bit of assistance every now and then. A boat outing provides a nice, steady platform for photography and just like a land vehicle, the animals see it as an inanimate object so its presence does not alarm them. Two other animals seen at their best on boating safaris are giant Nile crocodiles and of course, hippos. There are several other activities available at various camps in Botswana, including catch and release fishing (for bream or tigerfish mostly) and interacting with habituated meerkats at their den. At several properties, you will be invited to explore the culture of the San hunter-gatherer people, observing them making fire from scratch, demonstrating the amazing water-retention capacity of various plants with large subterranean roots or showing off their prowess with a bow and arrow. The main event of the day is the game drive which comes in two installments. The morning drive is from first light to around 10 am and the afternoon game drive, from around 4 pm to sunset and often beyond, in areas where night drives are allowed. For a ‘blow by blow’ description of what to expect on a typical game drive, scroll down to the end of the blog.

An early start

One thing that all days on safari have in common is that they start early. Often before first light when you are likely to be woken up – gently. No harsh alarms or startling phone calls here in the bush. Rather, a gentle voice calling out a greeting and often delivering a steaming hot cup of tea or coffee.

Once you’re up and ready to roll, the custom is to take everything you will need on your morning outing with you. So that would be your water bottle which you can refill at the lodge, your hat, suntan lotion, a jacket if it’s cold, your binoculars and all your photographic equipment. Whether it’s an iPhone or a professional full-frame DSLR camera and several lenses. Or something in-between. Most Botswana camps offer a light breakfast before the morning activity. It may be as simple as a cup of coffee or tea and a rusk. Rusks are distant cousins of biscotti but just better, less dense, not as sweet, more dunkable and without the heavy dose of aniseed flavoring. Freshly baked muffins are often available, as is toast grilled over the coals. Most properties will also have some fresh fruit, fruit juice, some kind of porridge (like oats) or a couple of cereals. Muesli is a popular item. Depending on the season (earlier in summer, later in winter) your guide will pull away from camp anytime from about 5:30 am. Don’t be late – it is a cardinal sin to keep the other people in the vehicle waiting while you make a dash back to your room for a left-behind item.

Safari etiquette and ‘rules’

Once you settle down in the safari vehicle – which may be totally open or have a roof with struts – you will notice that there are three rows (for the passengers), with two persons per row. Many of the latest model game-viewers have a ‘box’ with a lid in the middle, between the seats. For all your stuff other than your binocs and camera which you need to keep handy. The unspoken rule is that guests rotate seats at the start of each subsequent game drive. Last row moves to the first row. First row moves to the middle row, middle to back. And repeat. Any other rules on game drives? Nothing too onerous, just common sense. The single most important one is not to stand up in the vehicle as it may draw unwanted attention from predators. If you stay seated they won’t recognize you as a separate entity. In which case the vehicle is just one inanimate, non-threatening (if somewhat noisy) object. Which most of the animals tolerate quite well and all but ignore completely.

Other ‘rules’ are to keep the sound level down, don’t get on your phone, don’t make any clicking or lip-smacking or other silly noises to attract an animal or bird’s attention, and that’s about it. If you need to make a comfort stop, say something and the guide will find a safe spot. The guides will often have their own colorful ‘code’ phrases for this that you can feel free to use such as needing to ‘get out and check the tires’. There’s usually at least one mid-morning stop for tea and coffee and to stretch the legs. The afternoon game drive often ends with sundowners when guests exit the vehicle in a scenic spot, such as on a hill or overlooking a water hole, to enjoy a beverage and some snacks. The ride back to camp will be in the form of a night drive, with the guide using a spotlight to check for nocturnal mammals and birds

In-camp relaxation and meals

When you’re not out driving or participating in a different safari activity, there are lots else to do and experience. During the siesta period over the warmest hours of the day, between 11 am and 3 to 4 pm, you may rest up in your room or in the public areas, take a dip in the pool, enjoy a spa treatment or work out in the gym. Currently, not many safari camps have properly equipped gyms, but it is a growing trend. Meals and drinks? A day on safari in Botswana is not complete without several opportunities to partake of what is usually an array of delicious foods and beverages, served over brunch (some camps have a proper lunch instead), afternoon tea, sundowners and dinner. Add in the light early morning breakfast and a stop for tea (with scones or something) during the morning game drive, and you have what we often refer to as the ‘eating safari’. Return to the USA five pounds or so heavier? Almost guaranteed. All dietary requirements and preferences are catered to, whether it’s gluten-free, vegan or keto. Evenings are fun and entertaining. Over pre-dinner cocktails or a local beer, the events of the day including of course memorable sightings are discussed, and new arrivals announce themselves. A multi-course dinner – often al fresco – is served from around 7:30 to 8:00 pm. Plated dinners are becoming a standard offering, but a few camps still serve only the starter and dessert, with the main course items being available in a buffet format. A handful of guests may linger around the campfire, enjoying a beverage such as Amarula, a sweet liquor in the style of Bailey’s Irish cream, but flavored with the fruit of the marula tree.

Best ever days on Safari

I asked the members of the Fish Eagle Safaris team about their recollections of special days or sightings on safari in Botswana and here are some of their fondest memories:

Lyndon: “One of the most memorable safari experiences I ever experienced in Botswana occurred on my first official trip for Fish Eagle Safaris after graduating from college. My brother and I visited multiple camps in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Botswana. While in the Linyanti area of northern Botswana we came across a couple of big male lions very early one morning. Our guide had heard them roaring from quite some distance before they went silent for a period of time. As we sat there in the early morning silence the lion closest to the vehicle (and he was quite close) suddenly started roaring. Since then I have heard lions roaring close up multiple times but none of them will have the same effect on me. This sound was so loud, different than I imagined in its guttural glory and you could feel it in your bones. I will always remember thinking to myself then and there that people need to come to Africa and experience this for themselves because there is nothing else like it”.

Jason: “In 2014 I was at Duba Plains in the Okavango Delta. We had already seen some great lion interaction with buffalo and impala, but I was very interested in how the lions handle being in such a wet ecosystem. We managed to find a lioness with her three male cubs, two of which were nearly full grown. The two older cubs were playfully fighting with each other, as brothers do. Within a few minutes the mother stood up and started towards the floodwaters, all three cubs followed closely behind. She waded in with water just to her feet, then to her mid leg, then belly deep. The cubs were a bit more timid but eventually followed. Carefully they made it deeper into the water towards where our vehicle was parked on the opposite bank. This was a dangerous spot for them, out of their element and vulnerable to crocodiles. Luckily I took one of my favorite photographs while on safari with the whole family scanning in different directions for threats. A moment I’ll always remember and a photographic souvenir to show off”.

Kathy: “Elephants, the African gentle giants. I can spend all day in Botswana at a water hole watching elephants. This is especially rewarding in the winter during the dry season. Get your camera ready because here they come! A breeding herd with their young calves racing in front of the herd and always first to reach the water. After a long day of walking and foraging for food their excitement is on full display, as they approach the water hole. The young calves often run ahead, eager to start drinking and frolicking, followed by the matriarch and her family. Baby elephants can be seen shadowing underneath or behind their mothers and dipping their trunks in the water, splashing around and trying to learn to control their trunks which have around 150,000 muscle units. Young calves often seem to use them as toys, swirling them around and splashing them in the water. They look like they are having so much fun. When it’s time to drink they kneel down and drink the water through their mouths. The big bulls come to the water slowly and with dignity. Sometimes, if you are lucky, you will see them approach other bulls. You’d almost think a fight is imminent, but that’s quickly dispelled as they stretch out their massive trunks and gently twist them together. An elephant handshake is always special and a very intimate sight to behold. Might this be their brother, relative or an old friend they have not seen in a while?

Some of the water holes have freshly pumped spring water from a borehole beneath the ground. The elephants love to put their trunks over the source of freshwater and drink it in. The bigger elephants hog the freshest water and the less dominant ones have to wait their turn.

Elephant herds leaving the water hole are refreshed and the young continue to frolic. My fondest memory is of two young calves walking downhill, one behind the other with one putting his front legs on the other’s backside. It honestly looked like a circus performance. They were
having so much fun!”

A typical game drive – minute by minute

On a recent Botswana trip, I randomly picked one day for a ‘minute by minute’ account of a typical game drive. It ended up not being quite typical – due to the wild dog sighting – but otherwise it is representative of a good morning game drive. Some will be quieter than this and some might be a bit more exciting, maybe with another predator species thrown in.

We started off from Lebala Camp right at 0600. It was a cloudless morning, cool until about 0900A and then a scorcher until about 1500 when a large thunderstorm rolled through the area. In the vehicle were our guide Spencer, our tracker P.D., Kathy and myself and two Danish guests

  • 00:1:00 A juvenile kudu chewing on a wild cucumber, rolling it in its mouth, the white ‘lip gloss’ and white chin clearly visible. What massive ears! We spent several minutes with the kudus (several more emerged from the bush).
  • 00:5:43: A Black-shouldered Kite.
  • 00:8:00: Six Egyptian Geese at a water hole; we witness a very intense squabble between two males, with lots of wing-flapping and chest-bumping, and even more noise. Soon enough one of them gave way and the victor strutted around for a bit to show everyone who’s the boss.
  • 00:10:00: Three Wattled Crane including one sub-adult, very close. Magnificent birds with elegant tails.
  • 00:14:30: A massive hippo re-entering a waterhole. A family of Egyptian Geese with 8 ducklings.
  • 00:16:00: Yellow-billed Storks and a pair of Namaqua Doves.
  • 00:18:00: A solitary Hooded Vulture right at the top of a tree. Several Red-billed and Yellow-billed Hornbills, a flock of Helmeted Guineafowl.
  • 00:19:49: A Red-crested Korhaan fly-by.
  • 00:25:00: Ten Impala antelope and some warthogs.
  • 00:26:19: Four giraffes at a distance.
  • 00:27:00: A small group of Burchell’s Zebra.
  • 00:28:41: An impressive Kori Bustard, the world’s largest flying bird.
  • 00:41:15: A juvenile Bateleur Eagle impersonating an owl, turning its head 360 degrees to look back at us.
  • 00:46:00: A couple of Temmincks’ Coursers, a new bird for the trip list.
  • 00:50:26: A Tawny Eagle, first of many for the day.
  • 00:56:00: 20 adult and 11 young Blue Wildebeest grazing with lots of Cattle Egrets following them around. A peaceful, almost pastoral setting.
  • 01:00:00: Three ground hornbills in a tree. Massive birds.
  • 01:03:00: A dainty Steenbok female in the grass close to the vehicle; a first for the trip.
  • 01:07:00: An African Fish Eagle, Hamerkop, and a Little Egret.
  • 01:16:00: A solitary hippo in a small waterhole, with a Hamerkop using the hippo as a mobile fishing platform.
  • 01:17:00: A Giant Eagle Owl in a tree, at a distance.
  • 01:22:00: A very nice mature kudu bull with massive spiraled horns.
  • 01:29:00: A Sacred Ibis.
  • 01:30:00: We make a comfort stop, aka a bush break, pit stop, or checking the tires.
  • 01:38:00: Two breeding herds; one of about 20 Blue Wildebeest and the other about 30 Impala. Both herds sport several youngsters, small but already firmly implanted with what makes up their species characteristics. Tiny impala darting off and making elegant leaps just like the adults. Tiny wildebeest just slightly less homely looking than their parents.
  • 01:40:00: A duo of Wahlberg’s Eagle, adults feeding young.
  • 1:45:00: Green-backed Heron at a pond.
  • 01:48:00: A pair of Pygmy Geese in the same pond, first just one and then 5 altogether. Once seen, these compact, colorful ducks are unmistakable.
  • 01:57:00: African Fish Eagle and Saddle-billed Stork, one of the most striking birds in Africa.
  • 02:09:00: Three young Kudu bulls.
  • 02:16:00: Two secretary birds on a nest in the distance.
  • 02:30:00: Two large adult Kudu bulls close up.
  • 02:32:00: We stop for morning tea. Redbilled teal at the waterhole. A solitary Wattled Crane. Tea, coffee and some snacks (rusks and cookies) are served.
  • 02:40:00: During the tea break, I notice one and then several African painted dogs running out of the woodland towards the water. The dogs have found us! We spend the next hour in their company. There are six in total.
  • 03:40:00: Still following the six African painted dogs, now resting up in a grove of Kalahari Appleleaf trees. There are 2 females and 4 males. Very handsome animals, quite oblivious to our presence. They engage in some horseplay, or perhaps more correctly canine capers. I manage to take about 200 mediocre photographs of African wild dogs. A couple or so turn out ok.
  • 4:01:00: We say goodbye to the dogs and head off in the direction of camp. I spot a woodpecker back at the waterhole where the dogs found us.
  • 4:06:00: Bateleur Eagle, Tawny Eagle. We would have repeated sightings of both of these birds of prey during our stay at Lebala.
  • 4:09:00: Breeding herd of about 30 wildebeest with 15 young. Also five Burchell’s Zebra, one of which (a youngster) has three pretty bad lacerations on its flanks, apparently caused by a lion.
  • 4:20:00: Breeding herd of about 60 elephants. We watch as they emerge from the woodland, feeding as they go. A very relaxed, peaceful scene. The elephants continue to feed as they move past us from our left to our right. We stay with the elephants for about 10 to 12 minutes, then head off back to camp for brunch.
  • 4: 45:00: Burchell’s Sandgrouse, a new bird species for the trip list.
  • 4:48:00: Leopard Tortoise, our ‘reptile of the day’ and one of the ‘small five’. The others being the rhinoceros beetle, the ant-lion, the elephant shrew and the buffalo weaver.

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10th August 2021

Xakanaxa Camp, Botswana


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Xakanaxa Camp, Botswana

What is there to be said upon one’s return from a trip to Botswana? That it was fun? Definitely. That it was educational? For sure, especially when visiting as many as 10 different camps in 12 days, as we often do on what we refer to as familiarization or more commonly ‘fam’ trips. That it was exciting? But of course. A safari is all about excitement, anticipation, even a glimpse of danger when you find yourself within spitting distance of some of the largest and most powerful mammals in the world. It is exhilarating, yet peaceful at the same time. Between game drives or other activities, there is ample time to relax and do (almost) nothing, perhaps gazing out over a watering hole or lounging by the pool with a book.


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It is also quiet, almost startlingly so. The absence of practically any ambient noise is immediately noticeable on arrival at one’s first camp. At night, it is easy to imagine hearing the swish of a shooting star, while the roaring of lions is only too real, sometimes uncomfortably close to camp. In the mornings, the absence of city noise becomes less noticeable, because this is when the bush explodes with the calls of a myriad of birds: francolins, robins, hornbills, kingfishers, louries, parrots, doves – all intent on getting an early start in yet another wonderful day in the paradise that is Northern Botswana.


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Visitors often travel to Botswana to find wildlife and come back talking about all the wonderful people they met. I can’t imagine that anyone could not be touched by the warmth, spontaneity, genuine friendliness and dignity of the Botswana people. Spend a little more time in fewer places and you are likely to make some lifelong friends!


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On his recent fam trip to Botswana, Fish Eagle Safaris’ Lyndon found himself at Desert & Delta’s Camp Xakanaxa (‘kuh/KAHN/knee/kuh’) on the edge of the Moremi Game Reserve, in early July 2021.    “The area is cold and dry this time of the year but due to exceedingly high rainfall earlier in the season, the presence of tall grass in many areas made game-viewing more challenging than might usually be the case.


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Photo – Great Plains Conservation

The camp staff have been great to this point but Xakanaxa takes the cake.  It prides itself on being the ‘authentic’ camp.  That became evident from the word go, when we were treated to a stirring song upon our arrival.  The rooms are quite simple with a bed in front of the room, and a partitioned bathroom behind.  More than adequate though.


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I thought that the spacing between the tents on the right hand side of the entrance was a little tight.  The main area has a top notch view over the beautiful Xakanaxa Lagoon, one of the largest of its kind in Botswana.  Baboons are a problem at this camp.  At the time of my visit, the trees above the tents were fruiting so the baboons stay overnight and can make a racket.


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Our evening drive was rather quiet.  We did see some elephants, giraffes and general plains game.  The drive ended on a peaceful note at a pretty sundowner spot next to a body of water with a family of hippo.  We enjoyed some delicious grilled chicken kabobs and steaks as a snack – it almost but not quite spoiled my dinner appetite!  I think I caught a brief glimpse of a leopard as we made our way to camp after sundowners.


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Photo – Great Plains Conservation

Speaking of dinner I think it is safe to say this camp wins top marks in this category as well.  Courses included grilled chicken, chicken stuffing, lamb, mashed sweet potato, mixed veggies and a cheesecake for dessert.  The starter was some wonderful mushroom and cheese dish.  It was fun being with a group and enjoying our meals at a long table with everyone around it.


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Our final morning drive started inauspiciously but ended with a bang.  Our vehicle was just about to cross a wooden bridge when four African painted dogs appeared in front of us.  Our guide asked us to keep an eye on them as they headed to where we had come from, as he tried to reverse on the narrow bridge.


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We only briefly lost sight of them and from there the chase was on.  Both for them – and us.  It is no mean feat to try to keep up with a pack of dogs on the hunt.  We were aided by a flock of hooded vultures who followed them in hopes of stealing some scraps after a kill.  The dogs chased multiple groups of impala right in front of us.  Thrilling.  Eventually they outran us but we will all remember this day.

More Info

Email bert@fisheaglesafaris.com

Email jason@fisheaglesafaris.com

@fisheaglesafarishouston

#FishEagleSafaris

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Duba Explorers & Duba Plains Camp, Botswana DUBA EXPLORERS CAMP

30th July 2021

Duba Explorers & Duba Plains Camp, Botswana
DUBA EXPLORERS CAMP


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Photo – Great Plains Conservation

Duba Explorers & Duba Plains Camp, Botswana

DUBA EXPLORERS CAMP

Great Plains’ Duba Explorers Camp is located in the northern part of the Okavango Delta in Botswana.  After a 45 minute flight from Maun, the gateway to the Delta, Fish Eagle Safaris’ Lyndon and his wife Christine arrived at the airstrip in early July this year.  Due to the road to the camp being inaccessible as a result of high water, they transferred to camp by helicopter, in just five minutes.


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Photo – Great Plains Conservation

Duba Explorers is a lovely camp with a fantastic view over a large floodplain which is typically occupied by various antelope species, baboons and elephants.  On arrival we were able to spot one of three resident Pel’s Fishing Owls.  These enigmatic large brown nocturnal birds are much sought after by keen bird-watchers.   The rooms at Duba Explorer are a perfect size with plenty of space made possible by what appears to be tent extensions for the shower and toilet sections.  Stylistically it is very ‘Africa’.  The rugs are a great touch and very handy during the cold winter months.


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Photo – Great Plains Conservation

Shortly afterwards, we met our guide, J.R.  Easy enough of a name to remember, especially for a Texan.  J.R. was knowledgeable and very personable.  A real hoot in fact.  The camp management and staff were all top notch as well.  Although it is a mixed activity camp with both water and land activities available, there is a surprisingly large area available for game drives.  It was obvious that game was plentiful but it was tough to find some of the predators due to a lot of tall grass and foliage.  We did get an absolutely fantastic view of some African painted dogs and their ten young puppies.  They tend to den during the months of June and July so our timing was quite good.  We also had a pleasant mokoro ride just next to camp.  Very peaceful and relaxing and we got a decent look at a jewel-like malachite kingfisher.


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Photo – Great Plains Conservation

The meals at Duba Explorer were simply delicious.  Francois, the head chef, met with us before our evening activities to tell us about the dinner menu and to let us make our entree choices.  On the first night we had butternut soup, lamb, and a fruit sorbet.  Despite current Covid regulations prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcohol, the camp was able to move our dinner table to a non-public area so that we could enjoy a glass of wine or mixed drink, should we desire it.


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Photo – Great Plains Conservation

On subsequent game drives, we saw plentiful general game including elephants, impala, kudu, warthogs and countless species of birds.  The strengths of this camp are its beautiful location, design of the main area and tents, attentive staff and management and great guiding.


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Photo – Great Plains Conservation

DUBA PLAINS CAMP

From Explorers it was about a 40 minute boat transfer to Duba Plains Camp. A malachite kingfisher seemed to be just in front of our boat for a good portion of the trip. We said our goodbyes to J.R. and met our new guide Mots who took us from the boat dock the rest of the way to camp.


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Photo – Great Plains Conservation

It was evident quite early on that Duba Plains is quite a grand camp. The main area sprawls with several large, interconnected tented rooms.  There is a library, couches and furniture, a photography room, an interactive kitchen area, and a large deck overlooking a floodplain.  One feature of the camp is that each room is assigned a professional quality Canon camera with a 100-400 mm zoom lens which guests can use if they so desire.  Whatever pictures you take are uploaded to a memory stick to be taken with you at the end of your stay.


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Photo – Great Plains Conservation

Before heading to our room we enjoyed brunch in the main area.  At Duba we had a 6:00 am wake up call and left camp by 6:30 with a packed breakfast so brunch is served upon returning to camp.  Brunch consisted of four different salads and a protein.  We had a quinoa salad, beet salad, green salad and an Indian salad along with grilled chicken breasts.  It was the first of many excellent meals from the talented staff.


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Photo – Great Plains Conservation

The rooms really wowed us with their decor, amenities and sheer size.  The ceilings are elevated and the room is actually built on several levels.  At the entrance are huge wooden doors kept shut with a chain link from either the inside or outside.  There is an extensive mini bar, tea and coffee station, plunge pool and outdoor sala, wardrobe area, large copper sinks and bathtub, indoor and outdoor shower, and a separate toilet.  Very impressive!

Legendary Lodge


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Photo – Great Plains Conservation

Game drives are done on the camp’s sole use concession, Duba Island.  It takes a little while to get there as you must first cross a long wooden bridge and then navigate several long stretches of high water.  The 6-cylinder diesel Toyota Land Cruisers are totally in their element here and capable of handling anything that is thrown at them.


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Once you are on the island the game-viewing is, frankly, spectacular  We saw an African rock python, a sleeping pride of about eight lions, another solitary male lion, a pack of African painted dogs barking at the lion to distract it from their nearby den, numerous rhinos, a civet, and countless antelope.  Mainly red lechwes and tsessebe.  And this was just during our first game drive!  Rhinos were reintroduced on the island and by the looks of it have been very successful.  They – along with the innumerable antelopes and herds of buffalo – keep the grass nicely ‘mowed’ which helps with the game-viewing.


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Highlights from the rest of our stay include several more lions including seeing some feeding on a recent kill, many more rhinos, large herds of buffalo, and getting to follow a pack of four painted dogs (who had very young pups which we were able to see) during a hunt that lasted the better part of an evening.  They were unsuccessful but what a thrill!


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Photo – Great Plains Conservation

Dinner is served in courses and you will be asked before departing on your evening activity, about your choice of entree.  Typically it will be a choice between red meat, white meat or vegan/vegetarian.  If you choose meat you will get the vegetarian option on the side.  Meals begin with soup and fresh bread.  On our first night it was a tomato and carrot soup, beef fillet, and gingerbread cake dessert.  It was truly fine dining.  I appreciated that they kept the portions to a manageable size.  We did not have a meal we didn’t love.


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Our guide Mots was an absolute pro.  He had surmised from a warning call that there may be a snake around and spotted it literally less than one minute later.  He positioned us well for photography and masterfully followed the dogs on their hunt.  Very personable and a great sense of humor.  The staff back at camp was incredibly attentive and really made our stay feel special.  They set up a dinner in the outdoor sala at our room and were a joy during our stay.  The game viewing was so spectacular that even without everything else being so top notch, it would be a ‘must visit’ camp.  When you pair it with excellence across the board it is a no-brainer.  A worthy new addition to our Groundhog Day list of properties!”


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NOTES FROM EARLIER TRIPS TO DUBA PLAINS

I fondly recall a couple of earlier visits to Duba, which we first started to visit in 2008.  The memories of several game drives are still quite vivid.  One afternoon drive started on a promising note when we spotted what would turn out to be our only Wattled Cranes of that trip to Botswana. Striking and unmistakable, they strutted around the edge of the incoming water, keeping a wary eye on us. Wattled cranes are extremely sensitive to any disturbance while nesting, which has resulted in these birds practically disappearing from much of their former range in Southern Africa, the Okavango Delta being a notable exception.


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Almost immediately after our stop for sundowners, the tenor of the drive changed completely and within a couple of hours it turned into one of the best night-drives we had ever experienced. One after the other we started seeing some of the most elusive nocturnal animals, including Bateared Fox, Side-striped Jackal, Aardwolf, Civet, Porcupine with young ones, and African wild cat. We could not believe our luck.  At one stage a couple of very vocal Spotted Hyenas ambled past us and our guide did not hesitate for a second, swinging the Land Rover around and bouncing off after the fast disappearing animals.


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When we finally caught up with them, they had disappeared into a thicket, and all we could do was to sit and wait on its edge, trying to imagine what was happening in there. The unearthly whoops, growls, giggles and yells emanating from the bush were fodder for the imagination. The loud alarm snorts and distress calls of a buffalo completed the picture. A solitary buffalo must have been fighting off several hungry hyenas and we expected the bloodied animal to come crashing out of the undergrowth at any moment. Unfortunately, the encounter would remain an imaginary one for us as we had to leave the animals in the bush. Pangs of hunger affect not only hyenas – we had our own dinner appointment!


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On a later visit, we realized that Duba had undergone a complete transformation. Visitors from earlier years may remember that buffalo herds used to be located by the pall of dust which they kicked up – not any more! Duba Plains is nowadays a much wetter camp and the vehicles spend a great deal of time ‘swimming’ on game drives.  On that trip, our best sighting of lions was early one morning when they were well-positioned around a woodpile, in intermittently good light. Even though there was a little rain falling at the time, it did not hamper the photography.


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The following day, we found the lions just as they were crossing the water into an unreachable spot. We turned around, and used a different route through a watery expanse where likely nobody but our guide could even attempt to find his way. Sure enough, about 20 minutes or so later, we were perfectly positioned just as the female lion and her cubs sloshed by us, wet and bedraggled and shaking their skins just like dogs would do. Our guide’s ability to anticipate and predict the lions’ behavior and movement was nothing short of uncanny. Actually it was remarkable!

Photo: Desert & Delta Safaris

More Info

Email bert@fisheaglesafaris.com

Email jason@fisheaglesafaris.com

@fisheaglesafarishouston

#FishEagleSafaris

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In Search of Leopards

29th October 2020

In Search of Leopards


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In Search of Leopards

What is the only regret that many African safari travelers go home with?  Not seeing a leopard.  I know of several repeat visitors to Africa who have struck out on leopards more than just once.  Three, four trips even and including some known leopard haunts and – nothing.  Some animals are more equal than others, and among the much celebrated ‘Big Five’ mammals – lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and buffaloes – leopards are clearly a standout.


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Not because they are rare – in fact they are more abundant than any of the African big cats – but because they are naturally evasive, skulking and mostly nocturnal.  Other than in a handful of places across Africa, leopards are rarely observed beyond perhaps a quick glimpse, a flash of spots disappearing into the green.


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When you do get lucky with a leopard sighting, it is always fodder for camp-fire talk, something to casually mention over dinner back in camp.  The reaction being a predictable mix of envy and admiration. Suddenly, you’re the most interesting person in the room. There will be an invitation to provide more details and the conversation will probably meander into reminiscing about old but not forgotten leopard sightings.  Memories of this sleek, beautiful cat – pound for pound the most powerful of any of its kind – barely fade with time.


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Prod any safari aficionado a bit and they will tell you about seeing a leopard practically run up a tree in Samburu in Kenya, the warm body of a good sized impala firmly clamped in its jaws.  Or the time they saw a leopard stalk and kill a careless blackbacked jackal in Etosha National Park in Namibia, in the middle of the day.  There are lots of good leopard stories out there.  And almost just as many places and opportunities to experience this most memorable of animals, and start working on your own stories.  Here are some notes on a few of these special places, with some of our favorite leopard photographs.


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Hunda Island, Okavango Delta Botswana

Hunda Island is a large, well-wooded island in the Jao concession in the western part of the Okavango Delta.  The Jao concession is exactly what one might anticipate the Okavango Delta looking like, even before you’ve ever been there.  A stunningly beautiful mosaic of small, palm-fringed islands, meandering channels and pretty lagoons with sizable stands of reeds and papyrus.  When the annual flood is in, large expanses of the Jao floodplain become inundated, creating a water wonderland like no other. Hunda Island is a few feet higher than the surrounding plains, so it stays dry year round.  There is no lack of trees though and plenty of game including impalas, baboons, hares, warthogs and rodents.  Leopard food, all. Some of the leopards to be seen on Hunda Island are quite relaxed – as the guides will say – being habituated to the presence of vehicles.  Which means they can see and smell you – but they don’t care.


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More than once, I’ve seen a leopard in a tree on Hunda Island.  Which is a photographer’s potential dream shot – and also his or her biggest challenge.  The issue being the dreaded ‘bright sky’ background which messes up the exposure, resulting in either an underexposed (dark) leopard or a totally blown out, overly bright sky background.  On the day that I managed to get this shot of a leopard in a tree on Hunda Island, this very same animal had been in another tree just minutes earlier, with ‘just sky’ in the background.  With zero chance of getting a nicely balanced exposure.  I was beyond myself.  Only to have the leopard calmly clamber down that tree, and into another one, with – halleluja – green foliage in the background.  Leopard in a tree shot?  Check.  My advice is to be patient and to stick around.  Things change, and often for the better.  If you’re really keen on getting some great leopard shots, spend more time on Hunda Island (like four nights instead of three) and stay at Tubu or Little Tubu camp.  They are right on Hunda Island and you won’t be wasting time getting there.


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MalaMala Game Reserve, Sabi Sand Reserve, South Africa

I always think of MalaMala as a place where leopards can be seen strolling down a track at 11 in the morning.  It is that kind of a place.  The consistency with which leopards are seen at MalaMala is simply astonishing.  Practically not a day goes by without a leopard sighting, week in and week out.  There were a total of 1,216 sightings in 2019,  an average of 3.3 sightings per day.  Leopard sightings are measured on a per day basis, so if the Island Female is seen on the morning drive and again in the afternoon, that is counted as one sighting. The record high number for different leopards being seen at MalaMala on one day is no less than fifteen.  So if you absolutely, positively ‘have’ to see some leopards on your next or first Africa trip, MalaMala needs to be on your itinerary. You can thank me later.


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If you’ve been there recently or are planning a trip, names like the Piccadilly Female, the aforementioned Island Female, the Nkoveni Female, the Split Rock Male or the Maxim’s Male may either be familiar to you, or soon will be.   The most widely accepted method of leopard identification is by using spot patterns.  A spot pattern refers to the uppermost row of spots on the leopard’s cheeks, above the upper line of whiskers. Probably best to get a good close-up shot of the leopard first, and check the spots later…


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This photo of a young male leopard was taken on our most recent trip to MalaMala in June last year.  What made it special was that we spent nearly an hour observing him walking around, patrolling the area and checking for the scent or signs of any intruders into his territory.  He was completely relaxed and did not so much as look at the vehicle, despite walking right by it on a couple of occasions.  Eventually, he selected one of his favorite spots on a flat rock and stretched out.  We were one of only two vehicles to enjoy this sighting, the first vehicle leaving the scene within minutes of us arriving.


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Mashatu, south-eastern Botswana

Likely the most underrated of any Southern African wildlife sanctuary, Botswana’s Mashatu Game Reserve delivers big cat sighting after big cat sighting to match any other wildlife area in Africa.  With no exceptions.  Lions, cheetahs, leopards.  All three can currently be seen there consistently.  On a recent September trip, we enjoyed two different cheetah sightings and three different leopard sightings in the course of a relatively short stay at Mashatu Tented Camp.  Unlike the true ‘bushveld’ regions of Southern Africa, Mashatu is relatively arid with less in the way of impenetrable thickets and dense riverine bush.  While there’s plenty of cover for leopards in the way of mopane scrub, woodland, craggy terrain and rocky outcrops, visibility is generally quite good and I’ve had more unobstructed views of leopards and other cats here, than practically anywhere else.  Except perhaps for the Serengeti/Mara complex in East Africa.


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This photo of a leopard at Mashatu was the culmination of a guiding clinic, of sorts.  Initially, our guide – and tracker – had spotted some fresh leopard tracks in one of the dry ephemeral rivers in the reserve.  Following the tracks down into a gully, we had every expectation of bumping into the leopard. Soon.  It was nowhere to be seen.  The tracks had petered out in a gravelly patch.  We circled around a bit and just when I had pretty much given up on the sighting, the guides heard the alarm call of a helmeted guineafowl.  Looping around a few bushes, we approached the loudly protesting bird which was practically pointing at a nearby bush.  If a bird could point.  Sure enough, not seconds later, a leopard emerged from the bush. It gave us the barest of glances and calmly crossed the dry riverbed, prompting a torrent of machine gun-like shutter clicks from my Nikon D4 at nine frames per second.  Success!


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Mombo Camp, Chief’s Island Botswana

Wilderness Safaris’ Mombo Camp has gained a worldwide reputation and recognition for all-round excellence.  Hospitality, guiding, game-viewing, atmosphere, food – there are no shortcomings. On first arriving at the Mombo airstrip many years ago, we were given the choice of proceeding to a cheetah kill or a Martial Eagle which had just taken down an impala. Of course we did both, and they were both phenomenal.  The photos, much to my regret, were lost in a subsequent hard drive failure.  I know.  Back up on the cloud…  The following day we experienced the first of many leopard sightings at Mombo, a streak which remains unbroken over the course of several return visits.  As recently as March 2020 we were on a fantastic sighting of a female leopard in a tree – with her cub – within fifteen minutes on our first game drive.  So Mombo.


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One of the most legendary of Mombo leopards was Legadima, which Kathy and I were fortunate to see more than once.  She was truly a ‘movie star’ leopard, featured in Dereck and Beverly Joubert’s ‘Eye of the Leopard’.  It followed every step of her life, as the cub of Tortilis, from just eight days to three years old.  Two of Legadima’s cubs namely Pula and Maru then became Mombo favorites, as did Phefu, the daughter of Maru.  Currently a young male leopard named Tladi – the son of Phefu – is being seen all around Mombo, walking on the boardwalk and clambering onto the roofs of the guest tents.  At just 14 months Tladi successfully hunted a full-grown kudu – quite an achievement for such a young predator.  The Legadima legacy lives on.


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Kaingo Camp, South Luangwa Zambia

Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park is known as good leopard habitat, and there’s no reason not to anticipate seeing one or more at practically any of the camps in the reserve, over the course of 3 days or so.  Some South Luangwa camps do have an edge though, as does Shenton Safaris’ Kaingo Camp.  It definitely belongs in the top echelon of safari properties where you are likely to see and properly photograph a leopard.  On our first visit to the camp we witnessed an extraordinary spectacle one evening when we were out on a night drive, checking for predator action in some open floodplain terrain, along the South Luangwa River.


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It wasn’t long before we had the spotlight on a big male leopard walking into the arena, as it were, checking around for what might be available for dinner.  And then, just minutes later, from stage left, a female lion dashed into the picture, going straight for the leopard.  To her instant regret, our guide had inadvertently lit up one predator for another. She later told us that she would have felt awful if the lion had been successful in getting to the leopard.  In the end the leopard made a successful getaway, scampering to the safety of some nearby trees.


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Another interesting phenomenon which we first observed at Kaingo involved hyenas and leopards.  In this part of Zambia – and likely elsewhere – hyenas often follow leopards around at night, instinctively realizing that they may benefit if and when the leopard makes a kill.  Either by appropriating the carcass for themselves – which we have witnessed on Hunda Island – or by scavenging for leftovers.  So on every subsequent night drive, whenever we would see or hear hyenas, we’d be thinking and looking around for leopards.  More often than not, that is how it turned out.


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Kaingo is exceptionally well attuned to the needs of serious photographers, from the way the vehicles are equipped to the abundance of photographic hides, the kind of advice you get and the ability of the guides to anticipate behavior and movement and get you in the right position for a pro shot, time after time.


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Kirkmans Kamp, Sabi Sand Reserve

AndBeyond’s Kirkmans Kamp and its younger, deluxe sibling Tengile, are leopard mainstays.  On three different visits here the professional guides at both camps have found leopards for us every time without fail.  And not just your common, garden variety of leopard sightings.  We’re talking leopards in trees, leopards just a few hundred meters from lions, and most recently a ‘leopard alert’ where I was cautioned to stay in my room early one morning, waiting for a leopard to walk out of camp.  We’re talking adrenaline-pumping, action-packed sightings which add 200 shots to your photo count in a hurry.


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Despite some back-lighting issues, I managed to get a couple of decent exposures of the leopard that had walked into and then out of the camp, a little while later.  It had climbed into a tree to survey the area.  For whatever reason it was not happy about having the vehicle to the side of the tree, and snarled at us a couple of times.  Uncharacteristic behavior for a leopard, in my experience.  

In our blog post next Friday we will take a look at the where, why and when of chimpanzee trekking in Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.

More Info

Email bert@fisheaglesafaris.com

Email jason@fisheaglesafaris.com

@fisheaglesafarishouston

#FishEagleSafaris

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Seeing and photographing Giraffes on safari in Africa

14th October 2020

Seeing and photographing Giraffes on safari in Africa


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Seeing and photographing Giraffes on safari in Africa

As long-time safari planners and regular African travelers, giraffes are often on our minds, or in front of our camera lenses.  Other than perhaps elephants, it is the one mammal that we get the  most questions about.  Everybody wants to see giraffes on safari.   Just like the big cats, these quintessential African mammals are high on everyone’s must see list. It is easy to see why.  They are simply spectacular in so many ways.  There’s the sheer size of them, their stilt-like elongated necks and unmistakable ‘horned’ heads literally towering above the landscape and everything else.  There’s the way they feed, drink, stare at you and run.  Pretty much everything about a giraffe is weird and worth a second look.


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Linyanti floodplain, Botswana

This photo, taken in the Linyanti area in Northern Botswana, illustrates a couple of things about giraffes and about getting useful images of them.  Be ready with the right lens.  If all you have available is a big telephoto lens, this is all you might get.  A portion of a giraffe.  Legs.  Or a head, maybe a neck and head.  So either shoot them at a good distance where they can fill the frame or use a shorter zoom lens to frame them properly.  On this day I was fortunate to have a yellow-billed oxpecker bail me out of the tight photo spot.  These birds have a symbiotic relationship with giraffes, helping them to get rid of disease-carrying ticks, food for the birds.  Even ill-equipped photographers can be the beneficiaries of symbiosis, with a bit of luck. 


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Kwara concession, Okavango Delta

When it is not possible to get the entire giraffe – or more than one – inside the frame, consider grouping together a few giraffe necks, heads or upper bodies.  Sometimes, you can get lucky and three giraffes will be facing in the same direction, with a nice cloudy background.  It doesn’t happen all the time but keep looking for such an opportunity to present itself.  Some years ago in the Kwara concession in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, I did just that, got lucky and succeeded in getting a visually pleasing shot of these three giraffes.


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Kwandwe Game Reserve, Eastern Cape

I captured this photograph of three plains giraffes feeding at Kwandwe in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.  It is another example of framing more than one giraffe in the same photograph, by isolating their necks and heads.  The more giraffes, the better.  Four necks may even be better than three; I’ve just not come across a suitable opportunity to try that!


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Samburu region, Kenya

There are several species of giraffe in Africa.  The three photos above have been of the most common of these, the Southern giraffe.  In north-eastern Kenya one finds what I consider to be the most handsome of the giraffe species, the Reticulated giraffe.  This photo of a few of them was taken in Samburu, a mostly stark, arid area where a good number of these endangered animals co-exist with a couple of other northern Kenyan endemics such as Grevy’s zebra and Beisa oryx. I’ve always described the Reticulated giraffe as the oil painting of giraffes, compared with the more washed out – ‘watercolor’ – Southern giraffe.  If you’ve seen Reticulated giraffes in nature, I think you will agree.  Their spots are a vivid, dark burnt orange which make the white stripes stand out even more.  Another good place to find and observe Reticulated giraffes is the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. 


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Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya

Taken in the Lewa Conservancy in northern Kenya, this photo of three Reticulated giraffes also illustrates their striking color pattern.  And my penchant for trying to get  several giraffe necks and heads in the same photo…


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Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya

There is considerable disagreement among scientists as to the specific number of giraffe species.  Some maintain that there’s only one ‘giraffe’ with several subspecies.  Others contend that there are as many as eight distinct species.  A giraffe that is widely considered to be a subspecies is the Rothschild’s or Nubian giraffe.  I photographed this one walking in a yellow-barked acacia forest on the edge of Lake Nakuru in Kenya.  Full species or not, it is certainly a handsome beast with its characteristic white ‘sox’.


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Giraffe Center, Nairobi

There are several Rothschild’s giraffes at the popular Giraffe Center in Nairobi, Kenya.  The Giraffe Center is operated by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, to educate Kenyan youth about the country’s wildlife and environment and to provide visitors an opportunity to come into close contact with the giraffes. ‘Armed’ with a handful of giraffe pellets, visitors walk up a ramp to a balcony from where they can feed the giraffes at eye-level.  The giraffes know the game.  Whenever there are visitors, there are giraffes ready to stick out their crazy long tongues to retrieve a treat and be photographed.  All for a good cause.  Funds raised by the Giraffe Center have helped with efforts to re-establish the endangered Rothschild giraffe in several wilderness areas elsewhere in Kenya.


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Royal Malewane, Thornybush Reserve – South Africa

A giraffe drinking is quite a sight to behold.  This photo which I took on a game drive from Royal Malewane in South Africa illustrates the peculiar posture which a giraffe has to adopt in order to get its mouth down low enough to drink water from a pond or river.  The exact mechanism by which a giraffe gets enough water in its mouth and up its massively long neck, isn’t entirely clear. What is clear is that  giraffes are vulnerable to predation when they are drinking and they are always careful to look around for lions, before assuming the position.


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Skeleton Coast area, Namibia

A little known fact about giraffes is just how adaptable they are. As a result giraffes are widely distributed in most habitats throughout Africa, even in some areas which are inhospitable to many life-forms. On two separate visits to Namibia’s Skeleton Coast we saw several groups of desert-adapted Angolan giraffe, a sub-species concentrated around ephemeral or seasonal rivers such as the Hoarusib, Huab and Hoanib.  Wherever you see groves of acacia albida (Ana) and acacia erioloba (Camelthorn) trees, you can expect to find these giraffes.  This photo was taken on a game drive out of Wilderness Safaris’ Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp.


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Okavango Delta, Botswana

Baby giraffes are cute.  Like most other animals.  These two youngsters were photographed on a game drive out of Wilderness Safaris’ Abu Camp in Botswana’s Okavango Delta.  Even at a young age, giraffes adopt the typical habits of the species like being inquisitive and observant.  They can see you long before you can see them, and they fully utilize their special advantage,  always looking and staring.  When safari guides are out on game drives searching for predators, they make a point of checking out where the giraffes are looking.  If giraffes are standing still and staring consistently in the same direction, it is always a good indication that a predator is around.


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Samburu, Kenya

Giraffes are relatively common in many areas in Africa.  We always expect to see some – and sometimes many – in places like Mashatu in south-eastern Botswana, in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, pretty much all over northern Botswana, the north-eastern lowveld of South Africa including all but the far northern part of Kruger Park, and in most East African parks and game reserves.  While it is still fairly easy to see giraffes on a trip to Africa, it is a disturbing reality that giraffe numbers have decreased by 30% over the last three decades, with about  110,000 remaining.  Even though giraffes as a species are not endangered, they are considered threatened and the situation could get worse, if current trends persist.  Mostly, their numbers are dropping because of habitat loss, which happens when woodlands are converted into farms and ranches. Trophy hunting and poaching also play a role in their steady demise.  Some of the species – or subspecies – such as the Reticulated Giraffe are in fact endangered, with their numbers down more than 90% compared with earlier times.  These Reticulated giraffes photographed in Samburu in northern Kenya are nowadays found mostly in a few wildlife sanctuaries, with less than 10,000 of them surviving.

In our blog post next week, we will take a look at Africa’s signature mammal:  the African elephant.  With plenty of photographs and a few of our most indelible memories of interacting with these behemoths in all parts of Africa over the years.  

More Info

Email bert@fisheaglesafaris.com

Email jason@fisheaglesafaris.com

@fisheaglesafarishouston

#FishEagleSafaris

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Destinations
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Read more
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A Visit to Northern Botswana Continued

3rd September 2020

A Visit to Northern Botswana Continued


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A Visit to Northern Botswana Continued

JAO CAMP, OKAVANGO DELTA

Having taken my farewell of the Kalahari for a while, I was driven back to Maun where I got back on a small plane for the half hour flight or so, to Jao in the western part of the Okavango Delta.   What more is there to be said about Jao other than that it is perfect. Since way back to when we first visited it in 2000, not long after it was opened, Jao has been on our ‘Groundhog Day’ list – a place where you can wake up every morning for the rest of your life and be happy.

The rooms are gorgeous: massive, romantic, dramatic, the stuff of dreams.  The same adjectives can be applied to the rest of the property:  the main lounge and bar area, the outside seating areas, the library, and extending right out to the gym and spa.   Even the dingiest of camps can look romantic at night, but Jao passes the daylight test with flying colors. Does it still look good in the unflattering glare of the midday sun? Definitely yes. Which puts it in very select company.


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Dinner was predictably excellent on the night I was there.  Even the most jaded of travelers will long remember nightfall at Jao.  The sensational views of the sun setting over the Delta, the soft pink glow lasting for what seems to be hours as the birds go silent, the reed frogs start up to their metallic clinks, and the last few baboon noises dying away as they settle down in the trees.

On an afternoon boating outing I caught (and released) a decent-sized tiger fish, much to my surprise and much to the delight of the guide, who was even happier about it than me.  Even if I hadn’t caught a thing, it would have been a great afternoon.  Being in a small aluminum skiff exploring the bywaters and lagoons of the Okavango Delta can easily push you into a Walter Mitty moment.  There you are, expertly piloting the craft along the deceptively serene-looking waterways, taking just the right line to smoothly glide around a tight corner.   Fortunately, the imaginary helmsman doesn’t have to concern himself with the myriad of unseen obstacles lurking below the surface.  Shallow sand-banks, hidden tree stumps and sometimes – a misplaced hippopotamus.  Those ones that are supposed to be in deeper water…


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Our morning game drive at Jao  was fairly uneventful except that I got a couple of  nice bird photos including a Plainbacked Pipit and a Malachite Kingfisher in superb morning light.  To be sure, there were lots of elephants around and some general plains game.  Ordinarily, we’d advise guests at Jao to take a day outing to nearby Hunda Island, if they are keen to see predators such as leopards and lions, among others. 

Upon my return to Jao, there was a surprise waiting for me: a 20-minute helicopter flight over the Delta with Helicopter Horizons, courtesy of Wilderness Safaris.  What a treat and what a special experience!  This was fast turning into the ‘helicopter trip’.  Great to start working on a new skill, aerial photography.


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PELO CAMP, OKAVANGO DELTA

En route to Pelo Camp – which would be a new property for me – I did a site inspection at Kwetsani which is now even more impressive than before. Pretty much the ideal – classic – Okavango Delta experience with rooms that are well beyond the standard of a normal, run-of-the-mill classic camp. One thing which will always be the same at Kwetsani is the time tested views over the large floodplain in front of camp, where there’s almost always some birds and animals around. Then it was on to Pelo which I liked right away.  Quite small, with only 5 rooms, tucked away on a well-vegetated island right in the heart of the Delta, Pelo is all about experiencing a typical Okavango Delta water camp with boating, mokoro outings and walking on the islands.  Pelo has a particularly nice communal area, intimate and inviting. The afternoon boat trip was rather quiet but the other boat saw a breeding herd of 50-plus elephants.  As always it’s a matter of time and place. 


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We enjoyed a boma dinner outside with an entertaining singing and dancing performance from the staff.  Great memories!

On my last morning at Pelo, I took my best photos yet of a Pel’s Fishing Owl, a rarely seen nocturnal bird.  Prior to my visit, I had been alerted to the fact that there was a female Pel’s raising a chick outside tent number four.   Emerging from tent #4 that morning, there it was:  staring me down as it was bringing some food (it looked like a piece of fish) for the baby.  I managed quite a few exposures in good light. Simply an amazing bird!  Later that morning I enjoyed yet another enjoyable and interesting boat ride.  There were lots of colorful birds to be seen, with African Fish Eagles being visible practically every few hundred meters.  We also had great looks at a few decent sized Nile crocodiles.


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SABLE ALLEY CAMP, KHWAI

After a good breakfast it was back to the airstrip for a flight to the Khwai area, where I would  spend the next two nights at Sable Alley.  The main area is about as good as it gets in Botswana, with a huge open-design deck and dining room, overlooking a pond.  The camp also has a beautiful pool.   The tented rooms – spread out along a boardwalk in a wetland habitat, were well planned and executed.  Spacious, with a large veranda and a usable bench, excellent ventilation, and superior indoor lighting – the best of any camps I’ve been to lately.  Add to that a comfortable bed and bedding, separate toilet, ample storage space, an effective waterfall shower head as well as scaldingly hot water, and an outdoor shower on a raised wooden deck.


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Our afternoon game drive with guide Tony and trainee Teenage turned out to be surprisingly good despite conditions not being ideal. There were several small groups of elephant, some seen quite close up, and we had some good views of kudu and impala. The most notable sighting was a couple of sub adult African Painted Dogs at a suspected denning site. We watched them for a while before they loped into the bush. According to our guide Tony the alpha female had already given birth to a litter of pups; it remained to be seen how many pups there were, and if the pack would raise them in that location.

We returned to camp for a quick shower, drinks and excellent dinner.


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Our Sunday morning game drive was on the quiet side although first time visitors to Africa would’ve been quite happy to see as many elephants as we did. It was noticeable that the elephants in the concession have a lot of ‘attitude’ compared with elephants in most other areas. Likely a holdover from the days in which hunting was allowed in the area, resulting in the elephants being a bit wary and giving  vehicles and people a wider berth than one might anticipate. We came across several small groups of up to 10 or so elephants with several young ones including a couple of tiny babies.  Clearly the elephants are doing well.

Later on during the drive we came across zebra, kudu, some giraffe, and plenty of impala. Fantastic birds.  In line with my previous experiences in this area, it is best visited in the dry season from July through October.


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That afternoon I relocated to Hyena Pan, which looked like quite an interesting spot, again likely to be a much better bet in the dry season than when we were there.  Located on the edge of a water hole, the camp is rustic but perfectly comfortable, with a cozy common area and large dining room. Our guide there – Daniel – was one of the best to date on the trip:  energetic and enthusiastic. We drove about 40 minutes in the Khwai village direction, mostly through non-productive mopane forest.  Once we reached the more open area and riverine bush strips of the NG 18 concession, we started to see plenty of game.  Initially a mating pair of lions and then a group of four painted dogs which we followed for a while.  They kept moving so photography was hit and miss; lots of excitement though.  The evening was rounded off with a  good buffet meal with beef stroganoff as the main attraction.


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CHITABE CAMP, MOREMI

Late this morning I was on a flight to Chitabe, a Wilderness Safaris classic property in the far south-eastern part of the Okavango Delta. Almost immediately I started seeing giraffes, zebras and  elephants –  clearly there was an abundance of general game all over the area.  Since my visit the main area at Chitabe has been rebuilt.  The rooms were superb:  plenty of space, good lighting, huge mosquito nets, hot water bottles at night, a tea and coffee station, sufficient charging points.

On the afternoon game drive we had yet more views of elephants, zebras, giraffes and a large pride of lions.  We enjoyed sundowners at a small, peaceful lake.  The excellent dinner that evening was served family style.


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I was up at 05:30 am the next morning for a light breakfast, embarking on the game drive just after six.  The drive presented our best views yet of spotted hyenas at their den, producing a few nice shots in good morning light. Then we got word about a pack of African painted dogs, and found 20 of them resting up and snoozing in the shade of a vehicle on the edge of the Chitabe airstrip. The light and vantage point was not great but I managed a few photographs.

Then it was back to camp where a huge elephant bull was barring the front entrance, at least for a while. Following on a tasty brunch, we enjoyed an impromptu drumming performance by one of the staff members.  By 2:30 pm I was back at the airport,  with multiple elephant,  zebra, kudu, impala and giraffe sightings en route.  Indicative of the wealth of game in the Chitabe area, I had to assist the guide in chasing impala, warthogs and giraffe from the airstrip to make it safe for the incoming aircraft, who would take us on to our next camp.

Chitabe certainly lived up to expectations and indeed exceeded them. The rooms are great and now that the rebuild of the main area has been completed it will likely rival just about any other northern Botswana camp for supremacy in delivering a big game experience.


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VUMBURA PLAINS, OKAVANGO DELTA

Just after 3:00 pm I was on the way to Vumbura Plains in the northern part of the Okavango Delta. A bit later than planned, due to an unexplained flight delay.  Once in camp – it is a rather lengthy and bumpy drive from the airstrip to the camp – I spent the next hour or so looking around the recently rebuilt main building.  It was quite impressive with clean, elegant lines, open to the environment and awash in natural light, with ample seating options in an expansive dining area.  Even if you spend several days at Vumbura Plains, you would rarely enjoy a meal in the same spot twice.


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After a quick introduction, we walked down the boardwalk to room number one. There were no apparent changes to the room which I had seen for the first time some years previously. Spacious, lots of natural light, decent interior lighting, an impressive indoor shower with a view as well as outdoor shower. A bathtub was oddly lacking – one would expect to see it in a deluxe property like Vumbura Plains; in fact an outdoor tub would be a nice touch.  After a delightful dinner with the camp manager it was off to bed, early.

After an early breakfast it was time to saddle up for the morning game drive with my guide Ron. Initially it was slow but after about an hour we found four beautiful young male lions, not quite into their prime but not far from it either. Next was a herd of about nine or so sable antelope.  These rarely seen and sparsely distributed antelope are fond of fairly tall grass, often seen in relatively thickly vegetated woodland such as in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.


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This particular group was as approachable as any Sable I’ve ever encountered, the two females allowing us to approach them quite closely. The light was still fairly good and I captured a few decent images. The dominant male sable was not at all cooperative. It was as if he knew that he was the one that we ‘really’ wanted to see, playing hide and seek with us for 30 minutes.  He proceeded to deliberately and seemingly determinedly walk from one thicket to another without as much as stopping even once, to give us a good look.  The sighting was a big plus in my book as Sable antelope was the one species I had specifically mentioned when asked by Ron – at the outset of the game drive – whether there was something particular I wanted to see. Being able to deliver on a very tricky animal such as this one counts a lot.


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The game drive got even better with sightings of a large herd of buffalo at the waterhole and then an equally large herd of fifty plus elephants stampeding through the woodland. Their irate trumpeting and a dust cloud announcing their whereabouts, from afar. They were apparently entering a new or dangerous area and all of the older females were trumpeting and running around.  Towards the final stage of the stampede, three of the females – including what appeared to be the matriarch female – started to approach the vehicle in somewhat of a threatening pose.  We were ready to decamp at a moment’s notice, but in the end it was not necessary.  Plenty of adrenalin though.  


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CAPTURE AFRICA, KHWAI REGION

Due to a flying mix up my planned 11:25 a.m. departure from Vumbura did not take place, but it was deftly replaced by a helicopter flight of about 20 minutes or so direct to Khwai River Lodge, where I was picked up by Brian Gibson of Capture Africa. An hour or so later we were at Capture Africa‘s private campsite on the Khwai River

Capture Africa specializes in high-quality private mobile tented safaris mostly in the Khwai, Moremi and Okavango Delta areas, but they can set up private mobile campsites and provide support services literally anywhere in Botswana.

Adding a few days of “real“ camping to a mostly lodge-based itinerary adds an extra layer of authenticity and adventure to a trip; for many people this is as close as they may ever come to the bush.


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That afternoon, from our exceedingly comfortable camping site we saw an elephant walk along the floodplain, splashing its way through the shallow water and down the river. It was a pleasant change to what I had been doing seemingly nonstop the preceding few days, which was finding the wildlife out on game drives.  Having them come to you is infinitely more rewarding and relaxing.  

Brian Gibson – who heads up Capture Africa – is clearly passionate about the wilderness.  He is a highly experienced guide himself and it was quite a revelation spending a day or so in his company, trying to absorb his pithy advice and in-depth knowledge of the area and its wildlife as well as its people. On a drive with Brian the next day we got lucky with African painted dogs on the move – the thrill of the chase! – and we enjoyed a great lion sighting as well.  The Khwai region is clearly a productive game-viewing environment, however the number of vehicles per sighting was notably higher than most of the other areas we visited on this trip.


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Our party of four people enjoyed a particularly splendid meal at Capture Africa’s mobile tented camp that night, spending another hour or so around the campfire afterwards.  It was just us, a  brilliant sky, and what must have been close to 4,500 stars above.   That being the maximum number visible to the human eye, which can only detect stars brighter than magnitude 6 to 6.5.  Just as noticeably, there was practically no man-made ambient light, no noises and no disturbances.  Not that it was totally quiet.   If you knew what you were listening to, there was what sounded like a lost – or lonely – jackal, a few hungry hyenas  and a couple of African scops owls advertising their presence with their chirp-like calls.  The African bush at night.


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EBONY CAMP, LINYANTI

This morning I flew from Khwai to the Linyanti floodplain for an overnight at Ebony camp, African Bush Camps’ family option, adjacent  to the similar but slightly larger Linyanti Bush camp.  Room number 10 at Ebony Camp is the designated family room.

Either camp would be an ideal safari choice for visitors, particularly from about June/July through October and early November, in the dry season. At that time of the year the floodplain attracts good numbers of elephant, buffalo and other big game species including predators.

At the time of our visit in mid-May the surrounding bush was still quite thick which made game viewing challenging. Even so, we saw several small herds of elephants, hippos in the river and a coalition of three male lions. As well as some giraffe, waterbuck, impala and exceptionally good birdlife.


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The camp is clearly well-managed and I found the staff to be friendly and approachable. It would be nice to have the tent door zippers replaced with regular doors. Only two of the rooms (honeymoon room and family room) have bathtubs. The other rooms have showers with hot water available at all times.

The grand finale of my Botswana trip was yet another helicopter ride, this time to check out the Linyanti River and its denizens which included several pods of hippopotamus, giraffes drinking, a few crocodiles.  From the air, there was a dearth of any signs of human encroachment.  There are so few places left in the wilderness which are truly remote and this is one of them.

My next stop would be South Africa, for a return visit to the Kruger Park and Sabi Sand reserve.  Details to follow in our blog post to be published next Friday.

More Info

Email bert@fisheaglesafaris.com

Email jason@fisheaglesafaris.com

@fisheaglesafarishouston

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