ULTIMATE AFRICA SAFARIS
Ultimate Africa travel and wildlife news archive April 2004 Daylight Savings Time in Namibia, April 4 2004 Namibia will be changing over to winter daylight saving on April 4, 2004 until September 5, 2004. Namibian time will be one hour behind South African time. The Caprivi Strip will not change over to daylight savings time and will keep the same time as Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Mandela Statue Unveiled in Sandton, April 4 2004 A six-meter high statue of former South African president Nelson Mandela has been unveiled at South Africa's Sandton Square, which was also officially renamed Nelson Mandela Square. The event was attended by 500 guests, including members of the Mandela family, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and tourism representatives. Botswana Flood Update, April 4 2004 Each year Botswana's Okavango Delta floods and this year's flood is huge - reminiscent of floods from many decades ago…If you are not visiting Botswana this year you are missing out on one of the world's greatest spectacles…wildlife viewing will be stunning as well as wildlife will be forced onto dry land areas of the Delta! Water flow has reduced over the past few days in the Delta pan-handle. This does not mean that the flood waters are subsiding, but rather just that the intensity is slightly less. Reports are that the water is still coming up 2 to 3 cm a day in the pan-handle. Further reports are that the second phase is already in Rundu (Namibia - Caprivi Strip), which is around two months earlier than is usual for the flood. The entire region is still experiencing large amounts of rain - showers almost on a daily basis. This is having a profound effect on the entire system as water is continually being added to the existing flood waters that are entering the delta. The continuous rain also means that there is very little evaporation taking place. Wilderness Safaris Southern Africa Update, April 11 2004 Wilderness Safaris is one of southern Africa's leading tour operators. Here is their latest update: Wilderness Safaris are in the final planning stages of their new Kruger Park Makuleke / Pafuri and Mkambati camps in the "Wild Coast" / Eastern Cape. The environmental planning process in South Africa is a thorough and very slow one. They have used their Botswana camp building processes and systems as the backbone for their new South Africa camps (but the designs are very different). The South African environmentalists and scientists have given this model a thorough inspection and Wilderness Safaris' environmental systems have come out with flying colors. They hope to open Pafuri Camp in Kruger Park around July / August this year. Royal Makuleke will now only be opening in the middle of 2005. The Pafuri / Makuleke area and experience is radically different from the rest of the Kruger and these new properties will complement the lodges in the south of Kruger, much like a visit to the Linyanti / Chobe area complements the Okavango in Botswana. At the Wild Coast at Mkambati they hope to have their Gwe Gwe Camp in early 2005. Castle on the Cliff in Plettenberg Bay along the Garden Route in South Africa has just been completely rebuilt and renovated and this has to be the finest private villa in South Africa. It is available for "hire" on per night on an exclusive use basis for private parties and families. There are 4 master bedrooms all - with magnificent views onto the ocean. It's built in a private nature reserve with the best views - yet Plett is only 7 minutes away. In Botswana Wilderness have extended the size of Savuti Camp in the Linyanti to seven rooms - and as a result, they have had to make the dining room and lounge area larger. The respected travel magazine - Travel Africa - has just voted the Savuti's "Woodpile Hide" as the best hide in all of Africa and I have to agree with them. I have never experienced a hide like this anywhere in Africa! With regards to visiting Botswana Ultimate Africa client's who book private charter flights ex Johannesburg to get to Botswana can now either travel via Maun or they can route via Orapa Diamond Mine in the Central Kalahari where they can clear customs and then get a tour of the diamond mine before flying from Orapa directly to their camp. The extra costs are minimal and it makes for a fascinating way for guests to start their safari. In Namibia Kulala Tented Camp has been completely rebuilt and now has a thatched roof and a classy bathroom ensuite made from the natural rock. Guests can now sleep out on top of their rooms in wonderful "sky beds" with some of the best star views in the world (similar to what happens at their other Sossusvlei lodges). Orient Express Safaris Update, April 11 2004 Orient Express Safaris operates 3 very luxurious lodges / tented camps in the wilds of Botswana. Here is their latest update: Over the past month temperatures have begun to drop and the feel of winter is definitely on its way. Early morning and evenings now on occasion require a jersey to be worn - a relief after a hot summer. Amazingly, rains have continued to fall, with most areas receiving well over 100mm over the past month. This is somewhat the exception as normally the rains have disappeared by the beginning of March. This year, as we go into April, we still see huge cloud build up and have had thundershowers almost on a daily basis. Flying over the delta you get a great feel for the amount of water that we have received this season - large bodies of water can be seen all over the delta and extending all the way up through to Savute. The Khwai River has risen considerably over the past month - solely due to rain water. Rain and flood waters are still entering the delta. The rainy season should, according to past years have already come to a halt; however, the entire region continues to receive above average rains. Angola, the source of the flood waters that enter the delta, is still receiving high quantities of rain. This will result in a constant flow of water entering the Okavango over the next few months. Water flow entering the delta has dropped significantly over the last week of March. Although the flow rate has reduced, water levels are still rising. The second peak is reportedly already entering the Caprivi Strip in Namibia - this means that it is only a matter of weeks before the next influx of water arrives. At Eagle Island Camp the water levels have risen substantially. Water has now covered the majority of the floodplains in the vicinity of the camp and Eagle Island Camp is once again a true island - totally surrounded by water. With the water levels so high, water has now reached all the tents and guests can now enjoy watching fish from their decks. The view when flying over the delta is totally breathtaking. Water predominates and the vegetation is responding to the presence of the water. Large floodplains are now covered by a variety of aquatic plants and the surrounding areas have turned a magnificent green. The vegetation for the most part remains fairly dense and it will be a while until the termites begin their role in cutting and removing large quantities of the grass sword. At Savute Elephant Camp, the vegetation is beginning to change. The vast areas that have been covered by greenery are now beginning to give way to the browns and oranges of autumn. With the extremely high rainfall over the past month, huge sections of Chobe are now under water. This in the long term will have a effect on the vegetation in the area as the sandy soils will loose a great deal of their nutrients (in a process called leaching) as the waters drain through the soils and effectively dilute the minerals and nutrients that the plants rely on. Sightings have, as already mentioned, been more challenging now that the vegetation is so thick and high. None-the-less, the guides have managed to find the game and have provided the guests with some fantastic sightings. Savute Elephant Camp, has yet again provided fantastic sightings of wild dog. The frequency of sightings near camp seems to indicate that the dogs may have a den in the vicinity. Should this be the case, it is likely that there will be sightings of pups in the next month or so. At Khwai River Lodge, similar sightings of wild dogs have also been seen. The dogs have on several occasions been seen in the immediate vicinity of the camp and have also been seen hunting through the camp itself. The vegetation tends to be slightly denser at Khwai River Lodge than at Savute Elephant Camp and as such no kills have actually been seen. Other sightings at Khwai River Lodge over the past month include several of plains game (which at this time of year are flourishing due to the low predator densities and the abundance of food and water), the occasional leopard, and buffalo (buffalo have been scarce during the rainy season as the move to areas that have been rested during the previous winter season). One of the highlights at Eagle Island Camp was when guests were fortunate enough to witness the entire labor and birth of a baby giraffe. Guests then remained at the sighting until the giraffe eventually took its first steps. This is something few people will ever get to witness and is also one of the most interesting births that you could ever witness. Eagle Island Camp, with the re-introduction of water activities, is now experiencing some fantastic sightings of a variety of wildlife from the water. The elephants and buffalo are beginning to come back into the area after having spread out during the summer season. At Savute Elephant Camp it looks as if the large prides of lions are on the return. During March, lions where seen on practically every drive and at one stage a pride of 30 individuals was seen. This pride had 10 adult lionesses and 20 cubs (no doubt the resident male was somewhere in the vicinity as well). A highlight for many was when this same pride took down two adult and one foal zebra. This allowed them to feast for several days and allowed guests the opportunity of observing the young at close quarters. The rains and floods have definitely provided some great habitat for birds. Water-fowl have been abundant at all three properties and some fantastic sightings have been had over the past month. Greater painted snipe, slaty and black egrets, saddle-billed storks have all been regular sightings at the camps. Purple gallinules have been seen regularly and in abundance at Eagle Island Camp and Khwai River Lodge (last year they were not seen at all at Eagle Island Camp). At Savute Elephant Camp, the carmine bee-eaters have still been following the game drive vehicles (the vehicles disturb insects and the bee-eaters come down to catch them). Other interesting sightings at Savute Elephant Camp have included the three banded plovers, blue-cheeked bee-eaters and Kittlitz plover. Eagle Island Camp has again this month had several sightings of Pel's fishing owl (often at very close range) and of Scops owl. With many of the trees now coming into fruit (such as the marula tree - Scelrocarya birrea), many species such as the grey loeries (go-away birds) and green pigeons are seen feasting. As with last month, amphibian life has been very noticeable in and around the camps. Yet again the abundance of standing water has come into play - this time by providing the ideal habitat for breeding. Eagle Island Camp has had several sightings of snakes and a variety of lizards over the past couple of weeks. This is mainly due to land areas now being flooded and the reptiles (and other wildlife) now being restricted to smaller areas. Effectively this results in higher densities of reptiles in smaller areas. Probably the highlight at Khwai River Lodge was witnessing a battle between what is thought to have been a boomslang and a slender mongoose - both animals where battling it out, until the mongoose eventually ended victorious - a meal worth fighting for. Savute Elephant Camp has had several sightings of spitting cobras while out on drives and have also had a couple of good sightings of African rock pythons. The event of the month is again water related - however this month it is not the flood (which still remains extremely impressive). This month it is the rain. The reason why it is so impressive is that on a normal average year, the rains are long gone (having normally stopped towards the end of February). This year this is far from what we are experiencing - in fact this year in March we have had our highest rainfall figures yet. Savute has recorded rainfall figures for March that come close to the normal average annual rainfall for that area. Daily, clouds are still seen building on the horizon and the entire delta area is still receiving significant amounts of rainfall. Ultimate Africa guests staying at Orient Express properties in Botswana may now fly direct from Livingstone to any of the Orient Express Safaris properties, stopping en route in Kasane to clear Botswana immigration and customs. This service now offers the ultimate in convenience for seasoned travelers staying in the Falls area. Khwai River Lodge, Savute Elephant Camp and Eagle Island Camp continue to be rated amongst the most luxurious in southern Africa. Offering the best in sophisticated décor, five-star African cuisine and luxurious facilities, the camps also offer the ultimate in game viewing through the combination of completely diverse eco-systems, a phenomenon found only in Botswana. All three properties offer air conditioning, mini bars, luxury outdoor lounges and hammocks, and in-room safes in every tent. They have also added a number of new touches to the camps for guest's pleasure - a wonderful "Boma" at Savute Elephant Camp allows one to enjoy dinner under a spectacular African Sky; an extended Fish Eagle Bar, with additional decks for private dining; and Naturally Wild - a health center at Khwai River Lodge offering aromatherapy spa treatments, massages and for the fitness fanatic, a fully equipped gym! As well as offering some of the most luxurious accommodations in Botswana, the camps is proud to have its own on site environmentalist ensuring guests the best guiding experience. Robin Pope Safaris Update, April 11 2004 Robin Pope is one of Zambia's leading tour operators. Here is their latest update: Nkwali Camp is now open and in full swing. The first guests arrived on Friday and as of tomorrow we are back to full camp. Keyala, Daudi, Paul and Jacob are here doing the guiding and the guests had superb gameviewing over the weekend. Daudi came across a lioness at the Wafwa in the process of moving her cubs and was seen carrying a month old cub in her mouth - a lovely sighting. There have been many siting of lions in the past few days - not large prides but lots of small groups of both males and females. Also on the cat front our first guests - 3 ladies from Norway had the luck to come across a leopard in a tree during daylight and sat for sometime with this beautiful animal. A large herd of around 400 buffalo have also been seen as well as lots of elephant, zebra, giraffe and even a few hyenas. Kerri was in the park again with trainees this week and they saw a gymnogene trying to pull a squirrel out of a hole in a tree. He was successful even whilst being mobbed by a group of longtailed starlings - quite an achievement. We are at that in-between stage at the moment - the river is too low to boat up as the sandbanks get in the way, but the Kauluzi is still running and not quite crossable but we are hoping that an expedition will be ready to head north at the end of this week. Our family of elephants came back to camp this weekend. I was rudely awaken at 4 AM on Saturday by a huge squeal which could only have been a young elephant running around the staff compound. They remained, pulling down the trees around camp and then surrounded my house about 2 hrs later - a lovely sight and hopefully I got some good shots of the young one just after the sun rose - luckily no-one spotted me creeping around in my nightie, camera in hand. Stay well and have a great week…Kim Mombo Camp Update, April 11 2004 Mombo Camp, in Botswana's Moremi Reserve, is one of Africa's premier wildlife viewing locations and provides brilliant wildlife viewing throughout the year. Here is the camp's latest update: This month has been one of quite incredible transformation. 2004 could just enter the record books as one of the most remarkable years in the Okavango Delta in living memory... after two years of below-average floods we are finally seeing the full power and beauty of the Delta, in a way not witnessed for 20 years... this year's flood is going to be awesome! Water which fell months ago as rain in the highlands of Angola has slowly been making its way towards Mombo, across Namibia's Caprivi Strip and down the Okavango Panhandle, filtered by great stands of papyrus and sand banks, until it began arriving in the Mombo area at the very beginning of the month - a good two months early. Combined with this we have had much of our year's rainfall arriving late in the rainy season, with the result that huge amounts of water have caused some radical changes in our area in the last few weeks... It is hard to believe that an area as flawless and beautiful as Mombo could be improved upon, but the arrival of the floodwaters have lifted the area to a new level... Those of us who have had the privilege of calling Mombo home for some time are particularly taken aback by the earliness and intensity of the water flows into the Mombo area. Comparing this year's flood with last year's, there is already much more water here than there was at the height of last year's much less impressive inundation. You can see the water pushing in day by day as it creeps nearer and nearer to the steps of Mombo. The view across the floodplains from the main area is simply breathtaking - infinite expanses of green grass and reeds, and occasional stretches of open water which reflect the glittering sun. The floodplain is dotted with the black, half-submerged shapes of buffaloes, each with a brilliant white cattle egret perched on its back. The arrival of the floodwater at Mombo has brought many animals and birds in closer to Mombo - we have seen slaty egrets and pygmy geese searching flooded grassy areas for food, and we have had some remarkable moonlit sightings of groups of hippos grazing. The buffaloes and red lechwes especially have been enjoying the lush vegetation in the newly flooded plains. The late rains have added to this spectacular transformation - we have had another good month for rainfall, with most of the rain occurring during afternoon thunder storms, carefully timed so as not to interfere with game drives! As we head into winter, temperatures have been a little cooler - the sun has lost a little of its intense summer heat and daytime temperatures are very pleasant. In March we have had a total of 121.5mm of rain, giving us a total of 400mm since November. This however is only just above the average likely to be experienced in this area around Maun during the summer season. While temperatures have been generally getting cooler, with some cloudy and windy days being experienced, the sun has been particularly intense following rainstorms. This is probably due to there being less dust in the atmosphere after each rain shower. Minimum recorded temperatures have ranged from 18°C to 23°C, with an average daily minimum of 20.16°C. Maximum temperatures have ranged from 21°C to 30°C, with an average daily maximum of 28.00°C. This "sunshine and showers" weather has meant that we have regularly enjoyed seeing rainbows arch over the Mombo floodplains... anyone looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow need go no further than Mombo! As well as a month of water, March has been a month of leopards. After an absence of almost a year, the Maun Road female leopard made a welcome re-appearance in some of her old haunts, now accompanied by a ten month old cub. This means that we currently have three female leopards in the area with cubs born at various times during the last year. We believe that there are about 30 leopards in total in and around the Mombo game drive area. The huge Burned Ebony male leopard used the cover of some of the new plant growth to kill an impala, and then concealed his kill close enough for us to have some very personal encounters with this incredible but elusive predator, the ultimate in deadly stealth. March has also been a month of frogs - the nightly chorus fills the Mombo opera house to the rafters, with hippos, hyenas, and lions, all performing too to create a perfect nocturnal African symphony - sounds that we know none of our guests will ever forget... As we reach the end of March, the moon is waxing again towards its monthly zenith, casting a silvery light over the buffaloes and hippos as they graze, and casting shadows over the water as the giant eagle owls drift silently among the raintrees. In the Camp itself, we are continuing to refine the many little details that make a stay at Mombo or Little Mombo so special... couples on honeymoon are enjoying intimate and romantic private dinners and our chefs have been busy making special cakes for birthdays and wedding anniversaries. Freshly boiled water delivered to each tent with the morning wake-up call gives our guests the chance to have an "emergency" cup of coffee at first light - although of course they soon realize that the bush experience delivers a far greater boost to the body and soul than caffeine ever could!! As this area undergoes its annual change into a much more watery kingdom, we are taking advantage of living in a huge natural classroom to extend our meet and greet talks to explain to guests some of the wonder of the flood and the rivers that turn their backs on the sea. Many guests have commented that this additional information has really helped them get even more out of their Mombo experience as it has further opened their eyes to the wonder that is the Okavango Delta... While some of our roads have flooded and are now impassable, this has not compromised the quality of the game viewing experience at Mombo in any way. Rather, game viewing is in many ways more intense as with the floodplains now inundated, many animals have been pushed into smaller areas in the center of islands. The beauty of Mombo, and the reason that it boasts such exceptional numbers and variety of game, is that it encompasses a variety of different and contrasting habitats, thus providing the perfect habitat for a great many species of animal and bird all year round. Recent unusual sightings include a caracal (a large lynx-like cat) and a large grey mongoose, the largest southern African mongoose but a very secretive animal and hard to spot despite its size. Also a male leopard mating with two females at the same time, and somehow dividing his time (and energy!) between the two of them. Also some rare daytime sightings of honey badgers and porcupines. Perhaps the most spectacular sighting was one which set a new Mombo record: seven of the reintroduced white rhinos grazing together on a large open area known as Suzi's Duckpond. One quarter of all Botswana's wild rhinos together in one place at the same moment. It was late afternoon, and the sky was brilliantly lit up by the setting sun, bathing the whole scene in that special soft light so beloved of photographers... and what a scene to photograph! In the background were hundreds of zebra, and a quick glance around the area would also reveal giraffe, warthog, wildebeest, jackal and tsessebe... Meanwhile the abrupt alarm calls of impala hung on the still air as they spotted the female leopard we had watched playing with her cub only a few minutes earlier... and that was not so very long after we had seen one of the four black rhinos near the airstrip... the kind of hour that only ever seems to happen at Mombo - a place so magical that it can have twenty-four hours like that in just one day! And of course we have still to see this year's flood reach its peak, so no doubt many more spectacular moments and special sightings await us... 2004 is simply flying by, proof (if any were needed) of how much fun we are having... As ever, we will leave the final word on Mombo to some of our guests who stayed with us in this special place in March: Everything was fantastic - a true five star plus experience - thanks for everything Everything was simply perfect Francis (our guide) was top rate in all areas. A very dignified gentleman and a prize for your Camp Thank you for the most wonderful three days The Little Mombo staff truly contributed to making this visit to paradise a once in a lifetime (hopefully not!) experience It could not have been more enjoyable. We had the best time and will come again This trip was our first and we felt very spoiled and fully intend to return. Thank you for making our African experience so great and unique Mombo is a very special place! We now appreciate Africa even more! Looking forward to our return! Everything exceeded our expectations - we can't wait to share it with our friends Nothing was too much trouble for the staff - they were wonderful My stay at Mombo has been the highlight of ALL my trips - Mombo is a MUST! Mara Reserve Hosts Tourists From Asia, April 18 2004 Tourists from Asia flocked to Kenya's Maasai Mara Game Reserve over Easter giving an indication that Kenya's effort to market the trade in the Asian continent is bearing fruit. Guests from Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Bangkok and New Delhi were the majority of all the tourists booked at hotels and lodges in the Reserve. At least 50% of all the bookings at the Mara Serena and Mpata lodges were from Asia. Tourism Minister Raphael Tuju was in various countries in Asia a few months ago to market Kenyan tourism sites potential visitors. The move according to stakeholders will see Kenya achieve its target of one million tourists a year without involving the European countries that have issued travel advisories against Kenya. Many tourists' experience may have been dampened due to bad whether. Several game drives were suspended and roads were badly damaged by driving rain, making it difficult to take tours around the park. Tanzania Update, April 18 2004 The long rains have come to northern Tanzania and the majority of visitors are heading home. February and March provided some of the best wildlife viewing ever on the southern Serengeti plains. Some lodges are preparing to close for a month or two, undertaking refurbishment projects and giving staff a much needed break. Even with the rains the migration is still very much in residence. The wildebeest are gearing up for the annual rut that precedes their northward march. The calves born about six weeks ago still have the newborn brownish color and are adept at keeping up with the wandering herds as they dash from one area to another following localized showers. Newborn "tommies" (Thomson's gazelle) are numerous and it's not unusual to come across one with the umbilical cord still attached. The region will still host the greatest wildlife show on earth for the next few months (into June) as the migration slowly moves toward Moru Kopjes and other segments travel eastward to Loliondo. Construction Starting at Cradle of Humankind, April 18 2004 Construction of the new multi-million rand Cradle of Humankind interpretation center in South Africa is starting in April and is scheduled to be completed by September 2005. The R163 million private-public partnership project will see two visitors' sites being built, one at Sterkfontein and another at Mogale's Gate at the World Heritage Site. The experience at Sterkfontein will focus on the scientific aspect of the site, while Mogale's Gate will offer a more hands-on, educational experience. The partners in the new development are Furneaux Stewart GAPP Consortium, the University of the Witwatersrand, and the Gauteng department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs. Three million years of human activity have taken place in and around the caves, including man's earliest-known mastery of fire. Forty percent of all the world's human ancestor fossils have been found at the area's 40 different fossil sites, as well as over 9,000 stone tools. Wits University will be monitoring the construction process to ensure that there is no disturbance to the broader site. Wilderness Safaris wins Kwa Zulu Natal Award, April 18 2004 Wilderness Safaris' Ndumo Wilderness Camp in South Africa recently won the Zulu Kingdom Award, presented by Tourism KwaZulu Natal, for best accommodation in the 'Community Based Projects and Lodges' category. The Zulu Kingdom Awards are designed to reward and recognize service excellence in KwaZulu Natal and to encourage the provincial tourism industry to maintain international best practice standards. The award recognizes the service excellence and world-class facilities that Ndumo Wilderness Camp has achieved. Robin Pope Zambian Update, April 18 2004 Robin and Jo Pope are arguably Zambia's most well known tour operator. Here is their latest update: Well it's really good to be back in the bush. Although we had a wonderful time - the time of our lives, in fact, it is good to be home !! Our wedding was absolutely amazing - we couldn't have choreographed it better if we had tried!! The day was made even more special by the large contingent of our African friends and family that made it over. What was a bit of a shock was how some of them scrubbed up !!!! Seeing these guys in suits and not clad in khaki was a real surprise!!! It was strange to arrive back here with everything in full swing. We both knew that we were going to hit the ground running - it was just a matter of finding out which direction to run in!!! The new look Nkwali bar is fantastic and the deck on the front has been a resounding success with a number of our guests opting to miss the morning drive and have a large, lazy breakfast on the deck overlooking the river. The traditional Easter egg hunt took place yesterday afternoon and the little scrub hare, who is growing daily, made an appearance in its official capacity as the Easter Bunny much to the delight of the children in camp!! Emily, Daudi and Jacob accompanied the kids on their rush around camp, following all the clues, in search of the eggs. The hunt ended at the bar where the Easter Bunny was on hand to make sure that they got an equal share of chocolate eggs. The game viewing, as always, has been amazing with particularly good wild dog sightings. With 2 large packs in the area, all of the guests have been lucky enough to see them on several occasions over the last week. Hopefully we will see a lot more of them throughout the season. Yesterday afternoon the "behind the scenes" staff treated themselves to an Easter Sunday gamedrive - it was wonderful to get back into the park. On the way back, just as we got in the boat to cross the river, we saw a huge crocodile with a dead baby hippo in it's jaws. We managed to drift downstream, below the croc, and got some wonderful photo's - gruesome but that is the way of the wild. Botswana Update, April 25 2004 Rain has fallen in abundance - both in the catchment areas of Angola and Zambia as well as locally, transforming the dry landscape into rich, lush floodplains and grasslands. There is much speculation that the annual Zambezi river flood will reach extraordinary highs this season and we always celebrate joyously the volume of water expanding the boundaries of the floodplains, bringing nourishment and the promise of sustained life in abundance within our intricate ecological area. At Impalila Island Lodge guests have enjoyed the antics of our ever expanding troop of vervet monkeys - having bred successfully during the last season; as well as small spotted genets, abundant birdlife and water monitors - feeling very at home around the lodge; and our ever increasing hippo population restricts us to certain safe waterways with our mokoro activities. Chobe game viewing, despite the lush green surrounds has produced elephant, puku, sable and buffalo - not to mention the wild dog seen by Gerd Niehaus our pilot on the Kasane Airport boundaries...Birding has been superb with plentiful migrants and the extended rains seem to be causing a delay in their departure. Lesser Flamingoes and Pink Backed Pelicans just to whet the appetite.... Our newly introduced ethnic evenings are a great success! And experiencing beautiful sunsets on wild islands in Mambova rapids with a fire crackling and a drop of Chardonnay - certainly a great way to spend an afternoon celebrating Africa at Impalila. A new Tiger fish record of 9.9kg has been set by Gavin Stewart - part of the Wesbank group! Victor was the skipper and Ronnie Watson the coach! Well done - a hard act to follow... At Susuwe Island Lodge the rising Kwando river is a tribute to wonderful rains - so exciting as last year there was no change in the river at all. Despite the dense and lush bush, we continue to see elephant around the lodge, and in the last months 2 wild dogs have been spotted, as well as hyena, leopard, giraffe and large herds of the migratory buffalo. Birding has been exceptional - and our highlight has been a Pale Billed Hornbill - spotted by Bruce - and never seen in this area before. Other specials include Caspian Plovers, Temmincks Coursers, Barn Swallows and Eurasian Swifts. On one morning activity our guests Roger and Merry Cox saw 75 different birds. Ntwala Island Lodge, a new ultra luxurious new lodge is under careful construction on the most beautiful and unique island in the Chobe region within the remote Zambezi river. Limited to just 4 private suites with overriding exclusivity, where individual guiding and boating, private plunge pools, indoor and outdoor hot showers, feature baths, salas and if required private dining can be accommodated. Ntwala consists of a number of islands complete with white sand and palm trees, linked by floating walkways and allowing for a truly impactful African experience. Muchenje Lodge Update, April 25 2004 Muchenje Lodge is located on the western boundary of Botswana's Chobe National Park. Here is their latest news: The view from the Lodge as those of you who have been here can imagine, is spectacular. The water goes farther than the eye can see - through the trees on the other side. Game drives are a little quieter as the water is many meters higher in the park, covering 90% of the lower road along the river, reducing the game viewing roads quite some. Guests have however not been disappointed, still seeing elephant, giraffe, kudu, sable, hippo, crocs, impala and some I have probably forgotten, yesterday the "Aussie contingent" saw 7 lions on a kill. That was a real blessing as the cats have been a little scarce with the thick foliage. They were only about 20 meters from the road. The leaves are starting to turn yellow, the grass is starting to die off, so even though we have lots of water, nature is doing its thing and we should have a great peak season. Pete and I went into the park before we started back at work to see for ourselves what it was like and saw most of the above - no lions though for us. We did see the tiniest hippo though, it would have barely been a week old. Mum had brought it into the quiet waters of Serondela and it peeped at us through the weeds. Eles are regular visitors at the Lodge at the moment as the marula trees are in full fruit, they are quite vocal as well - it always adds a little excitement when you hear game nearby at night. We are also hearing hyena, impala, buffalo, jackel, all these have been seen on the night drives. Bye for now…Sandi Savute Elephant Camp Update, April 25 2004 Here is the latest news from Savute Elephant Camp located in northern Botswana: Recently, bird life has become one of the major attractions at Savute. With the large standing pools of water, a variety of water-fowl have become common residents in the area (an area which is often compared to a desert like environment). One of these birds is the three-banded plover. Another bird, a common year round resident has made Savute Elephant Camp its home for the time being. This is the African Scops owl. The coloration of the bird is fantastic camouflage and the plumage that resembles bark. The characteristic "ear tufts" helps distinguish it from the other small owls. This is also one of the easiest birds to identify by the call - it has a short chirping sound that it repeats every ten seconds (it literally is ten seconds between calls). Savute Elephant Camp has done it again. Wild dogs everywhere it seems. During the past week, every guest that went through Savute was privileged to see wild dogs at least once. Highlight of the week were the dog kills in the camp. On two separate occasions wild dogs hunted their prey right through the camp - once killing an impala in front of room #2 and the other at the entrance to the lodge. Guests at the lodge at the time were faced with many decisions - such as which lenses to put on the camera and which of the dogs to watch. With the now frequent sightings at Savute, it is likely that the dogs are denning near to the camp itself, and that they are utilizing the water-hole in front of the camp as a place to "freshen-up" after a hard days work. Robin Pope's Zambia Update, April 25 2004 Robin and Jo Pope are two of Zambia's leading tour operators. Here is their latest news: This week has been full of excitement, potential disasters and great game. The week started with Daudi finding an aardvark - a great view of this rarely seen creature ambling across the road near Mbangula and ended with a pack of 13 wild dog being spotted playing and being very social near the Katete river. In between we have had many lion sightings, both day and night as well as good leopard - mostly during the night drives, seen at various spots in the park as well as just behind camp. We have also seen serval and grysbok on several occassion which is quite a treat. Great excitement when Paul and his guests found a half collared kingfisher - a very uncommon sighting. In fact the last time one was seen was at Tena Tena many years ago, so a great one for the birders. Robin has been busy re-establishing the road around the back of camp. This is quite a major operation at this time of year as the grass is so high that it covers the vehicles. With Robin leading the way and Adam in the tractor with mower attached following, these intrepid explorers set off one morning. Around a bend in the old track Robin quickly stopped as the "track" was blocked by a big bull elephant. With nowhere to go, Robin turned off the engine, with the ele literally a few meters away. The elephant happily continued eating and just ambled past them. Bernard, one of our mechanics, who was sitting in the back to the cruiser did not feel quite as happy and was seen trying to disguise himself as a spare tyre! A few of us popped along the new road for sundowners and it is a beautiful area. We had a storm brewing and the sky was just spectacular - the sunset it self was amazing but the colors were all around making it seen like a 360 deg show. Later in the week Robin had another super elephant sighting - a big tuskless male chasing a young, and clearly sexy female. They were hurtling around at full speed with the male keen to catch her and the female seemed keen to keep out of his way. Robin has only seen one large tuskless male before and that was at Tena Tena, so we are wondering if he has relocated to Nkwali. Jacob managed to get his cruiser stuck in mud this week - last year it was the river! Richard and Mary, who are regulars, were out with Keyala and got the SOS call and raced off to rescue the others. On the way they managed to see a lovely leopard so that was worth the call if nothing else. On arrival after much pushing the vehicle was extracted from it's muddy hole and all set off again. Archie, one of our young guests got back to camp very excited by the whole ordeal and especially impressed that he was covered in mud - with a legitimate reason. Ross and Simon, our resident photography fanatics, have been out and about. They have some superb shots which included African Monarch butterflies and a male Red Bishop still in breeding plumage. The next amusing event was yesterday afternoon. The rain started and in all we had about 22mm in about half an hour. Keyala, Emily and Aliyele hopped in the boat to cross the river where a vehicle had been left ready for the afternoon gamedrive. They needed to cover the seats so that they would not be soaked when guests arrived after tea. So, barefoot, off they set with Aliyele, our room attendant and trainee waiter, wearing his oversized plastic raincoat with peaked hood looking quite a sight. The guests all had their binos trained on the party to watch the antics. First, Emily jumped out and managed to hold onto the boat but with little grip underfoot it looked like she was going to be dragged into the river. Breaths were held. And then Aliyele, after somehow managing to scramble up a hippo run, jumped up on the top of the bank only to slip spectacularly over and cover himself with mud. Keyala played typical manager - and sat in the boat giving orders. Laughter could be heard from both sides of the river. Stay well and have a great week - Cheers, Kim Return to Weekly Update Archive |
