ULTIMATE AFRICA SAFARIS
Ultimate Africa travel and wildlife news archive June 2004 Botswana Has Africa's Top Economy, June 6 2004 Botswana ranks as Africa's top competitive economy, ahead of powerhouses like South Africa and Nigeria, according to a survey released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The study makes some damning claims about the state of the continent's economies. "The long-awaited renaissance of the African economy has not taken place," it says, describing dismal economic performance as "the worst 20th century tragedy" after decolonization. Botswana ranks first among 25 African countries surveyed - picking up the highest scores for the quality of its public institutions and macroeconomic climate - and just behind South Africa in the field of technology. The survey places Botswana in 36th place among 102 countries surveyed by the WEF worldwide. Chad ranks the lowest, with problems listed as access to financing, the lack of infrastructure and corruption. Chad's lawmakers last week paved the way for President Idriss Deby to stand for another term by voting resoundingly to lift the constitutional limit on the number of presidential terms. South African Airways Applies for Star Alliance Membership, June 6 2004 South African Airways (SAA) formally applied for membership of the Star Alliance on March 4th, and is expected to join as a full member this June. SAA has been reviewing potential alliances for some time, and was widely expected to join the SkyTeam, given its current strong partnership with Delta Airlines. According to Jaan Albrect, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Star Alliance: "South African Airways is the most prestigious carrier in Africa and will significantly enhance our network across the continent and beyond. It's good for customers, good for South African Airways and good for Star Alliance." The accession of SAA into the Star Alliance represents the first entry of an African carrier into a global alliance. Kenya Airways is expected to soon become the second, joining partner KLM in SkyTeam. SAA already has extensive codeshare agreements with several of the Star Alliance members, including bmi British Midland, Lufthansa, Thai and Varig. The most significant network change for SAA is expected in North America, where the airline will inevitably have to withdraw from Delta's Atlanta hub. Miami and Washington DC have been mooted as the United hubs most likely to replace Atlanta, although Chicago has not been ruled out. Robin Pope Safaris Weekly Update, June 6 2004 Robin Pope Safaris are one of Zambia's most respected tour operators. Here is their latest news: This week has been a very busy week in the Robin Pope Safaris calendar with both Nsefu and Then Tena Tena opening and a wedding at Nkwali. I am pleased to say that all events went off with resounding success! Nsefu and Tena Tena gameviewing has started off in fine fashion with good sightings of lion and leopard at Nsefu and the hyena den at Tena Tena is still providing guests with a lot of entertainment. The last week at Nkwali has been a hive of activity with the final preparations for the wedding of Giles and Illona. Illona had always wanted to get married under a tree in the middle of the African bush, so a lovely big winterthorn tree was selected next to a little lagoon, not far from the Luangwa River, and the site was prepared. They arrived on Thursday with a group of 20 friends and family from all around the world to help celebrate this special event. The first couple of days were spent gameviewing, playing touch rugby on the sand bank in front of Nkwali, having an impromptu stag night at Flatdogs (the local bar) and champagne sundowners in the bush for the ladies and A LOT of drinking and dancing at and on top of the new Nkwali bar (I think it could be said that it has been christened in style!). The wedding day itself was wonderful - behind the scenes everyone swung into action, doing everything from making bouquets (I never knew I had flower arranging talents), making confetti from bougainvillea flowers, chilling large amounts of drinks, making delicious canapés and setting up the site itself in the bush. The ceremony was overseen by the Reverend Mwanza, who gave a wonderful sermon in fine Zambian style about the obedience of women in marriage, and accompanied by the Nkwali camp choir. Needless to say the bride and groom looked wonderful and there were smiles and tears of joy all round. Following the service we had sundowner drinks on the river bank with lots of wonderful photo opportunities, including the official group photos when a herd of giraffe turned up to see what all the excitement was about. The day progressed back at Nkwali with champagne cocktails and a three course dinner - an epic affair that started at 8:30pm with guests only getting down from the tables at 11:30pm. The party then really kicked off with many drinks and hours of dancing. The hardcore crew saw the sunrise and still wanted to go on a gamedrive - that's dedication for you. The group all left this morning to continue their holiday down in Livingstone - we are all really sad to see them go but are looking forward to a few early alcohol free nights!! Cheers Simon & Shanie South African Airways Fuel Levy Update, June 13 2004 South African Airways recently introduced a fuel levy due to huge increases in fuel costs. Here is an update: For flights originating outside South Africa, SAA is charging US $10 per person, per international sector (outside Africa); and US $6 per person, per intra-Africa flight. Robin Pope Safaris Weekly Update, June 13 2004 Robin and Jo Pope are considered two of Zambia's leading tourism personalities. Here is their latest update from South Luangwa where they operate several small tented camps and lodges: Well we had an incredible sighting last night. Just outside the office Shanie came across what can only be described as a seething mass of what looked like male termites - they covered an area of about half a meter in diameter and were over a centimeter thick on the ground. They seemed to be attracting sausage flies into there midst and then carrying them to the centre the squirming circle and then they disappeared down a hole as if being sucked into quick sand - it really was quite a disgusting sight but we were all fascinated. Simon was not sure of what was happening and so we sent for Robin, however, this was a first for him too, having never seen termites behave in this manner, in addition it is late to have so many sausage flies around. I think there may have been a few sci-fi type nightmares last night. Game viewing this week has been good. Dave Back, who guided here for many years, returned with a group of guests from the UK. They had a super drive seeing several groups of elephant with numbers exceeding 10 to 15 and also a herd of buffalo, around 50 at Wafwa Lagoon. The highlight was a leopard kill. Guests had just boated across the river and set off on their drive when a puku was heard whistling. The vehicle reversed back to the edge of the lagoon and a leopard was spotted. The leopard grabbed an Egyptian goose and trotted off across the lagoon with the bird in its mouth. Slightly less gory than your average kill! This group set of on a birding morning the next day. Alec Paul who has stayed with us on several occasions had seen 133 birds in a day on one of his trips and so this was held up as the target. Birding highlights were spectacular - Lillians Lovebirds, black collared barbets and various raptors including both brown and western banded snake eagles and gymnogene. The total over the 2 mornings ended up at 158 so all were happy with the final tally. 2 grey headed gulls were spotted when Nkwali were dropping guests at the Tena Tena boat crossing and a crowned eagle was seen in behind Nkwali camp. Yesterday morning we had 3 large visitors in camp - big bull elephants.They ambled past my house and up to the chalets, lopping off branches as they went - fantastic to see them at such close quarters. Tena Tena have been having great fun watching the hyena cubs who are at the same den as last year. Meanwhile at Nsefu Kerri took a group of guests up to the salt pan to look for temincks courser - and found it….In fact they found a pair. What a girl! 700 buffalo were also seen at Baka Baka Lagoon when Kerri and Aniek drove down to Nkwali this morning. Stay well and have a great week - Cheers, Kim Jacana Safari Update, June 13 2004 Here is the latest guide update from one of our "Jacana Safari" departures in Botswana: The first game drive of the safari yeilded an excellent leopard sighting - a young female eating a baby buffalo in a tree at Kubu Lagoon. An exciting day ended with the first of a series of three slide shows talk presentations. This was done around the campfire after dinner and were exceptionally well received by all the guests. The first covered Botswana geology and formation of the delta and an introduction to Botswana's history, geography, politics and people. Day two we spent most of our time tracking the Big Red Pride (ie.lion pride) which went exceptionally well. Whilst at Jacana Camp we continued to enjoy great game in addition to a visit to the cultural village. Whilst at Linyanti Tented Camp, highlights included the tracking of a leopard and its cub - due to a combined team effort and the use of mimicked alarm calls of monkey and francolin, we came out trumps. Muchenje Lodge Update, June 13 2004 Muchenje Lodge is located on the western boundary of Botswana's famed Chobe National Park. Here is their latest update: New arrivals this week - Roan antelope, a very big herd of sable with many young, our 1 zebra who thinks it's a water buck is still here - and doesn't seem to recognize the others when they come. He/she has been here for about 3 years and is still alive. We also have a lone sable bull who seemed to live along the ridge last year and is now back. Amazing how he has survived on his own. He doesn't come too close to the Lodge but is close enough to be seen clearly without binoculars, and we are seeing him often. A little background on the Chobe lion population. Apparently the two young males that were the sons of Shaka and Khama - for those who don't know, these two boys were joint kings of Chobe for quite some years, holding the fort against any other males that tried to get friendly with the "girls". They died a year ago of old age. Several other males have introduced themselves to the girls and sired cubs. Now two males have come to the area from further inland and they seem to have taken on the personalities and aggression of their fathers, (not sure which one was the father or if it was one to each) pushing out all the other males between here and Kasane. Our two Muchenje females apparently did have their cubs because Neo saw them, heavy with milk but now they are no longer suckling so he thinks these two males have killed the cubs - as they do - when they want the girls to come into season again. Same seems to have happened with the Sedudu pride cubs. Also, the prides seem to be breaking up, whether to get away from these two males, but they seem to be regrouping and marking new territories - still along the Chobe. Water level is still high infront of the Lodge but parts of the low road in the park are now accessible. Drives have been amazing as the large herds are coming back. Night drives have been up and down, but seen recently, elephant, buffalo, zebra, ARDVAARK, genet, bushbabies, and impala were seen. Bye for now from a very cold Muchenje - Sandi Okavango Flood Update, June 13 2004 In Botswana the early and dramatic flood of 2004 is now spreading out into the Okavango fan proper. In fact, it has actually passed the Kunyere and Thamalakane faults, via the Boro, Matsebe and Xudum distribution river systems. As can be expected with the incredible dynamics of the Okavango, this years flood has shown itself to be very different to recent years, in both timing and direction. The wonderful combination of early rains in the catchments of the Cubango and Cuito rivers in Angola and rainfall that fell throughout the season over the Okavango, has resulted in large areas of the system to be flooded. Many distal floodplains that have not flooded for 20 years are now dressed in shallow water. It is amazing to see, what looks like a floodplain, filled with dry grass, but on closer inspection, has 20cm of water. The Duba, Vumbura, Little Vumbura and Kaparota areas feature huge areas of this newly flooded grassland. Get out of your vehicle and wade a short distance into the water. Stop, and let things settle around you. Then you will see the life that these waters bring. A myriad of tiny fish, including the fry of several species are everywhere. Tiny green flushes on new emergent grasses, and aquatic insects abound. It is going to be a wonderful year for the ground nesting fish species, as these shallow floodplains are extremely rich in food and especially cover from the long grasses. The water is also warmer than in the deeper distributor channels, which will suit them. Mombo is now a complete island, water on all sides, although there is still lots and lots of dry land everywhere - so their game driving is superb! In a southerly direction, along the tree line of Chiefs Island there is water to the very edge of the floodplains, a phenomenon not seen since 1984. Red lechwe antelope love these conditions, and can be seen in large numbers throughout the Okavango. The lechwe is another species, which will benefit from the widespread floodwaters. They will have increased areas to live away from many of the dry land based predators. It can be expected that their numbers will increase dramatically this year, back to the numbers of years gone by. Of interest has been the distribution of the flood waters. Although, the entire Okavango has increased amounts of water, a large percentage increase has traveled down the "west" of the fan. One needs to look at a map of the Okavango to see this clearly. The fact that the Okavango is dynamic and there are periodic shifts in the direction of water flow, is well known. This phenomenon is one of the dynamics that drive the Okavango and make for the unique make up and distribution of habitats and species. By the "west", I mean the Jao flats (Home of Jao, Jacana, Kwetsani and Tubu camps), down the fan via Xigera, thence through Pom Pom and into the Xudum and Matsebe rivers. These two rivers travel south after gathering the remnant waters of the vast areas described above. After joining on an extension of the Kunyere fault they swing south west towards Lake Ngami. Lake Ngami is an ephemeral sump, which has a long history of filling and drying. It was described by Livingstone in 1879 as being a "shimmering lake, some 80 miles long and 20 wide". At that time it was the headquarters of the Batawana tribe and subsequently became the focus for explorers, adventurers and ivory hunters. The Okavango waters flowed into Lake Ngami via the Thaoge river at that time. However, over the next thirty odd years, the Thaoge became blocked by papyrus and the waters flowed elsewhere in the delta. The lake started to dry, forcing the tribe to re-locate to Maun, today the gateway to the Okavango. During the last century, Lake Ngami filled several times and subsequently dried. Older residents of Ngamiland remember a full Lake in the 1970's, but it has remained largely dry since then, with only minor amounts reaching the lake. This year should see a large puddle within the lake bed, but not a full lake. My guestimation is possibly 10 kilometers by 5 kilometers. Just one indicator of the amount of water within the Okavango this year. On the other side of the Okavango, in the so called "east side", there are reports of the Gomoti river flowing strongly. This is an indicator of much water to come in the Chitabe area. The combination of wet and dry habitats which will emerge make Chitabe an exciting destination. The Okavango is absolutely dressed in her finery. It is a hugely important wetland, in a wet year, at the beginning of what may be a wet decade. Almost impossible to describe in words, the diversity and beauty are just that - indescribable! Wild Dogs at Kwando, June 20 2004 Kwando Safaris operate three safari properties in Botswana. For those travelers hoping to view wild dog one of the wild dog packs present in the Kwando River concession has established a new den near Kwando Lagoon camp. This is the 8th consecutive year that Lagoon Camp has been favored with by this pack. Many people now realize that the African wild dog is the most exciting African predator to observe while on safari. Lagoon camp has developed a reputation as the best place to watch wild dogs - raise their puppies and hunt and forage in the vast 573,000 acre Kwando concession. The puppies are still hidden underground in the den while they wait for their eyes to open fully. We expect to have the first sighting of the puppies in a week or two. The den was discovered on June 15 when the dogs killed an impala right next to a Lagoon Camp guest tent while the guests were getting ready for early morning game drive. Trackers worked feverishly to follow the dog tracks back to their new den site some 4 miles from camp. Over the year some amazing wildlife spectacles have been revealed while observing this pack. Guests have seen battles between dogs and lions, leopards, cheetahs and most commonly with hyena. One of the most unusual sightings was the dogs attacking and killing an adult leopard that came too close to a former den site. In order to feed their fast growing and numerous puppies (13 was the highest number in the past 8 years) the dogs have to hunt twice a day for several months and then rush back to the den to regurgitate meat for the puppies and the alpha female (the mother of the puppies). Ropin Pope Safaris Update, June 20 2004 Robin and Jo Pope operate Robin Pope Safaris in Zambia. Here is their latest news: Whilst driving toward the stork colony near Nsefu, where we intended on starting a walking safari, we not only saw a lovely herd of buffalo but also a leopard sitting in a tree surveying a group of puku. This leopard has only one eye, apparently lost last season but was in excellent condition so it must not be hindering her hunting skill. At the stork colony we spent quite some time studying the youngsters and watching them learning to fly. We spotted a juvenile Marshall eagle feeding on one of the young yellow billed storks who had not made it. After lunch at Nsefu we moved on to Tena Tena. We set off for our evening drive a little late however, Rocky soon spotted a Pels fishing owl in a mahogany tree just as the light was beginning to fail. We missed the sunset but no-one was too worried about that. Then on the way back past this same spot we looked to see if the owl was still there - disappointed. But just 100 meters or so further on we saw 2 Pels sitting on a dead tree right on the edge of the river - magnificent. We were quite close and were able to see their superb coloring and markings well. We then progressed north. I had not seen a hyena den or pups before and so we thought we would take a look. Nothing seemed to be around so we turned off the lights and waited for a short time. We had just about decided to move on when one of the older pups popped it's head out of the den and had a good look around - a lovely sighting. Happily it did not stay outside for long as it would not have been safe without the mother around. We were now perfectly content to return to camp and yet all was not finished. We came across 2 porcupines on the road and we followed them for a short tim. One then dove into the bush and another 2 popped up so 4 porcupine in the same frame - amazing. On returning to camp we discovered that the only other animal that was on our wish list had been seen by Ross and another guest - but not one but 5 honey badgers in the Tena second ebony - really who needs lions…. Other highlights were super elephant in family groups and lovely giraffe sightings. On the bird front we saw Arnots chat and racket tailed rollers whilst driving through the cathedral mopane outside the park before Milioti gate and a lovely view of African skimmers at the Tena boat crossing. Stay well and have a great week - Cheers, Kim Victoria Falls Hotel Special, June 20 2004 Travelers can now enjoy three nights at Zimbabwe's famed Victoria Falls Hotel for the price of two nights. This special offer is available to new bookings for travel between now and the end of the year. The offer, applicable to all room and suite categories, includes complimentary high tea for two, a gift on arrival, a 50% discount in their mini-spa and complimentary laundry service. Wildebeest Arriving in Mara, June 27 2004 Over the last week the first wildebeest have been arriving into Kenya's Masai Mara. Small groups of less than a hundred have crossed the Mara and Sand rivers and are now in the Rekero Camp area, with larger groups of about five hundred seen crossing the Sand River whilst recent guests were on a scenic flight. At Rekero Camp the lone bull hippo is back in front of camp, as are the three buffalo brigadiers. The camp lion pride was also back in residence over the last few days and is now a male, eight females and a six month old cub. Even with the incredibly long grass, the game viewing has been excellent. Keke (the female cheetah who along with her three cubs stars in the BBC's 'Big Cat Diary') welcomed the first group of guests of the season by jumping straight onto the bonnet of their car and then calling all three cubs up. That was ten minutes after they landed! Within the last week Keke has left her cubs and was last seen in the Rhino Ridge area, the cubs have headed out south and have been seen regularly on the Ol Keju Rongai. Their hunting techniques are by no means perfect, quite entertaining at times, but they seems to be managing and like their mother seem to have learnt that the best vantage point to select the next meal is on top of the Landcrusier! Also in the Rongai area is a young female cheetah with her first two cubs. They are now about six weeks old so have a long rocky road ahead. Further a field guests have been seeing plenty of hungry lions - the Ol Kiombo pride, the Ridge pride and River prides are all in their usual territories. With the grass being so long most animals had moved north to the short grass plains of the Conservation area so it's been tough for the lions and they have had to adapt by living off bigger animals such as hippo and buffalo. On the leopard front, sightings have been frequent but often fleeting. A BBC crew is back in the area trying do a follow up episode on Bella and her cubs, but they two have been struggling with only three sightings of her in two weeks and none as yet of her cubs. She has moved nearly a mile into a new territory on the double crossing and it seems that her old spot has been filled by another female who has one cub. Jackson recently spotted the big camp male leopard up a tree on our Talek crossing with the remains of a warthog which you don't see too often. Elephant and buffalo numbers are incredibly high in the Ol Kiombo area and the smaller grazers are beginning to move their way back in as the Loita zebra migration works their way through the longer grass. Stanley's Camp Balloon to Undergo Maintenance, June 27 2004 Stanley's Camp in Botswana's famed Okavango Delta is the only camp in Botswana to offer hot air ballooning. As a heads up the hot air balloon will not be operating July 7th through the 14th, 2004 due to the balloon having to go to South Africa for the all important yearly air worthiness certificates and some general maintenance. Muchenje Lodge Update, June 27 2004 Muchenje Lodge is located on the western boundary of Botswana's famed Chobe National Park. Here is their latest news: Another uneventful week at Muchenje, life is tough! Two more leopard sightings on two consecutive days - and 3 days later, 3 leopards in a tree. Neo has the crown again as the leopard man, one sighting was a kill, directly after the kill, (does that make sense?) the impala was still kicking. Lions have been seen an average of every 3 days at this stage so things are looking up. Hopefully the prides are settling down again zebra seem to be less this year, maybe because there is still water. We have seen them every day but not quite the huge herds of previous years. We have seen many sable with babies which are adorable. The weather has been really funny - like August save but a few lovely days thrown… so don't forget to bring a warm jacket. Many, many elephants - to everyone's delight and just to cap things off - mock charges by the teenage elephants and lots in the water. Even had a charge by an old buffalo but I think he saw that our vehicle was much bigger so he backed off. We recently saw a croc eating a python. Donald is the wild dog man having seen wild dog on a kill this week. Our resident Crested Barbet is back at the bird bath again. Now that the leaves are falling, the birds are starting to come for breakfast again. I think he looks like a punk rocker, with his mohawk and messy colors but beautiful. Other birds around now are trumpeter horn bills, regulars in camp giving their wailing call, lots of raptors, blue wax bills, Jamesons fire finches, puff back shrikes, and many more. Our greatest delight is in the sighting of one of the Muchenje females (lion) with three new cubs. This is very exciting as the new lions in the area (the sons of Shaka and Khama) have been rather demanding, and killing off the cubs. It looks like they are "planting the right seeds" so to speak! Neo reports that the cubs were fat and health but still very tiny. Pete has been doing the walks for a while and guests have really been enjoying them, With Pete's yeeeaaaaarrrrrsssss of experience his knowledge is endless. Yesterday they encountered a herd of buffalo. They were not interested in Pete's little party, just looked and kept on their way. Stay well - talk to you soon…Sandi Robin Pope's Weekly Update, June 27 2004 Robin and Jo Pope are two of Zambia's most well known and respected tourism personalities. Here is their latest news from South Luangwa, Zambia: Simon has just returned from leading the first mobile safari of the year and had a super group of guests. By all accounts they had a lovely time. Plenty of game was seen including - can you believe it - wild dog. Robin said that they were seen in that area quite a few years ago but you can imagine Simon had the guests virtually jogging through the bush to try and catch up with them. It was a brief glimpse but non the less very exciting. During the walks the group had a lovely sighting of roan antelope and a big male lion. On the bird front they saw white backed duck, a long-crested eagle and black breasted snake eagle as well as many of the usual suspects. Guests have had to get used to lion and leopard calling at night close to camp - a fantastic sound but can be a bit disconcerting the first time. Music to the ears for those of us living in the bush. I was driving back to Nkwali a couple of nights ago when a large leopard crossed the road just in front of me. He seemed to be coming from camp but I think he must just have been hiding in one of the thickets behind the staff houses - a beautiful sighting. Robin and Jo are seeing some super game from their new house too. Robin said that just this morning he saw 9 giraffe whilst having his first cup of tea on the platform at the house. They are also regularly seeing buffalo and herds of up to 25 elephant - maybe we should turn their house into the Nkwali hide! Stay well and have a great week, Cheers - Kim Africa's Black Rhino Population Growing, June 27 2004 Numbers of African black rhinos are rising in the wild, conservationists say, suggesting the endangered animals could be on the road to recovery. New figures put the current number of black rhinoceroses at 3,600, a rise of 500 animals over the last two years. The black rhino had been on the decline since the 1970s due to hunting, war and increasing demand for land. The estimates come from IUCN - the World Conservation Union - and the Worldwide Fund For Nature (WWF). The black rhino suffered a near-catastrophic decline from about 65,000 animals in the 1970s to only 2,400 in the mid-1990s. But the continuing rise in black rhinos since the mid-1990s is encouraging, say the conservation groups behind the new estimates. "One of the greatest challenges facing the future of rhinos in Africa is maintaining sufficient conservation expenditure and field effort," said Taye Teferi, WWF's African rhino co-ordinator. "Illegal demand for horn, high unemployment, poverty, demand for land, wars, the ready availability of arms and internal instability also pose a threat to rhino populations." Rhino horn is highly sought after by practitioners of traditional medicine in the Far East. In the Middle East it has traditionally been carved and polished to make dagger handles. The number of white rhinos, which had fallen to just 50 individuals one hundred years ago, now stands at 11,000 and appears stable. But two rhino sub-species still face a high risk of extinction. The northern white rhino has been reduced to a single, small population of just over 20 animals in the Democratic Republic of Congo and continues to be vulnerable due to organized poaching. And in Cameroon, only a few scattered western black rhinos are thought to remain. "Despite threats like poaching and habitat destruction rhino numbers are moving away from the brink of extinction," said Callum Rankine, WWF's international species officer for the UK. But he pointed out that there are around 90% fewer black rhinos now than there were 30 years ago. The African Rhino Specialist Group (AfRSG) of IUCN's Species Survival Commission recently held a meeting in Kenya to discuss biological management and security for the animals. It concluded that, although numbers of the animals are on the rise in general, specific populations continue to be threatened by increased poaching. Return to Weekly Update Archive |
