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Kwando`s Green Season


michael-ibk

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madaboutcheetah

WOW!!! Those Eland certainly did pose for you ...... I've seen Eland several times at Lagoon - but, they'd run like the wind at just the sound of the vehicle ..........

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Ah yes, my bad I missed out the gemsbok skull!

Latest rounds were great. Loved the little Bat-Eared Fox and the Eland photos were great. Some serious tank-like bulls there!
Leopard tortoise was a really nice catch. From it's expression in the picture 'I hate the world and the world hates me' could be used to describe the tortoise too!

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Atravelynn

Those eland were looking very intently at you. Was Vargo or Shoes doing the eland mating call? The male lions are magnificent specimens, with a roar to match.

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It will be fun to watch your journey into "twitcher-hood" or whatever it is called. The springbok closeup without any accessories is precious.

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Nice to read you Nxai Pan summary. Really a lot of variety with the tortoise and bat eared fox, plus the regulars.

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I have been trying to catch up on some TRs here, and spent a very enjoyable afternoon looking through this thread. Wonderful photography.

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michael-ibk

Okavango Delta, Kwara Camp

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We departed at Nxai Pan at 14:30 p.m. to the airstrip. It was quite cloudy, and we were actually a bit concerned if the flight would be possible at all because of the deteriorating weather. Still, the plane was there just in time and ready to go, we were relieved to get to the Delta as scheduled. Halfway in the flight that relief turned into quite a different feeling. We had gone straight into a rainstrom, lightning was crashing down every side of us and ignited bushfires, it rained cats and dogs, and the rolling thunder all around us did nicely contribute to make us feel ... just a tiny tad uneasy. :rolleyes: It didnĀ“t help that the pilot looked about 16 years old.

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I was really happy to finally see Kwara airstrip and even more so when we went down. Glad to be on terra firma again, I thought, but that relief was premature. Of course a reedbuck blocked the way and the plane had to go up again, do a circle and try again. At this point the rain had become so hard that visibility was almost gone. As was my faith in a safe landing. But our 16-year-old pilot did a fine job and brought us down just fine - not without a collective "Pheeeeew" from all four of us after the plane had come to a stop. That was one scary flight, albeit a good adventure to tell about with hindsight. B)

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We were welcomed by several staff members of Kwara with drinks and snacks and had to wait in the airstrip shelter for about 30 minutes together with the pilots and some guests ready to depart. (Though they werenĀ“t thrilled with the prospect of having to fly now.) Finally, the rain dwindled a bit.

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Camp game drives were delayed because of the rain as well. Our luggage was taken to camp, we immediately switched to our jeep where we met our guide Alex and tracker KP. We shared with a German couple for all our stay. Being just 4 people in the car was a delight, and since we had similar interests and all enjoyed birds we got along very well.

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It was very dark and gloomy, but I enjoyed the almost mystical mood the bad weather gave the place, and immediately fell in love with the lush wet green of the Delta.

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We saw Zebras, Kudus, and a nice breeding herd of elephants with many babies. Our only breeding herd at Kwara. Had we known this at the time we surely would have taken the cameras out in spite of the rain. :unsure:

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Impalas were ubiquitous.

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Elephant bulls were a delightfully frequent sighting as well.

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Our afternoon highlight was a meeting with these very hairy lions:

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These are two of the Marsh Boys, members of the 4-headed-coalition that ousted the previous rulers of Kwara, the "Magnificent Seven". Not only their amount of hair is impressive, but their preferred prey as well - they hunt grown-up hippos!

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Fortunately they havenĀ“t developed a taste for other large prey, like cars and its passengers. :)

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No sundowners this evening because of the weather. Alex and KP then switched to "Night Drive" mode. I didnĀ“t expect too much here, the high grass makes sightings of smaller mammals pretty much impossible. But I underestimated our guys, they managed to find an African Wild Cat! No pics, it was hiding deep in the grass, but we clearly saw it for about two minutes.

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We arrived at camp at about 20:00 p.m., quickly moved into our tents and enjoyed a very nice dinner. I fell asleep to the sound of grunting hippos and the metallic clicking of thousands of reed frogs. Perfect night lullaby.

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The next day it was still very cloudy, but at least it didnĀ“t rain anymore, and we went on our way at about 06.20. Alex told us we would try out the "Splash Area".

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Bridge at airstrip

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We saw lots of Impalas, Zebras, Giraffes, and from time to time Wildebeest, Tsessebes and Chacma Baboons.

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Identity Crisis Nr. 1

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Identity Crisis Nr. 2

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An apparently somewhat unusual sighting for Kwara are Ostriches - too wet for them. Still, this family with lots of young, now juvenile ones, seems to be doing fine.

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Peek-A-Bo!

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We had our coffee-breakt at this beautiful place where we saw our first Red Lechwes (far away) at the other shore.

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Game Drives often felt like a boating trip. :)

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michael-ibk

Alex and KP then demonstrated their skills to us. They found some lion tracks on the road and we went offroad for the first time. Lots of fun driving here, but I was highly skeptical how they could follow any tracks here:

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And yes, it was very difficult, but Alex and KP decided not to give up, and finally we found the lionĀ“s "den" indeed. At first the bush seemed uninhabited but soon one lioness came out to eye us.

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The older lioness stayed inside, wary of us. She was very difficult to see, so Alex just drove even closer and took the car up the little hill a bit. So we came into very close contact with her, and since she was a bit higher than us, she was looking down at us - from just two metres away!

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The cub was very, very timid. Only once did it come out just a little bit to have a look, but it almost instantly retreated deep into its home again.

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After a while we drove on and found this Elephant who was obviously very happy to see us:

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DonĀ“t try this at home kids! ;)

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Though the very high grass was obviously a real problem for visibility it was beautiful in its own right, and I enjoyed putting my hands out when driving, my fingers being caressed by it.

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My personal highlight of the day were not lions or elephants, but a sighting of Waterbuck and Kudu:

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"IĀ“m the Boss here. Ladies, protect me!"

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Afterwards these Zebras gave us a bit of a show.

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Many Giraffes took to grassing here, which forced them to go in their "drinking position":

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And this elephant was just having fun:

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Our morning game drive ended back in camp at about 12:15.

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michael-ibk

WOW!!! Those Eland certainly did pose for you ...... I've seen Eland several times at Lagoon - but, they'd run like the wind at just the sound of the vehicle ..........

@@madaboutcheetah

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IĀ“ve read Elands keep a very long flight distance. My impression was that this herd just didnĀ“t know what to make of us, and they were curious. Maybe because cars are such a rare thing at Khama Khama?

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Ah yes, my bad I missed out the gemsbok skull!

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Latest rounds were great. Loved the little Bat-Eared Fox and the Eland photos were great. Some serious tank-like bulls there!

Leopard tortoise was a really nice catch. From it's expression in the picture 'I hate the world and the world hates me' could be used to describe the tortoise too!

Thanks, @@Big_Dog

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I think everyone of us would have that expression if we were just on our way minding our own business and then some giant would turn up out of nowhere and pick you up for his amusement. B)

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Those eland were looking very intently at you. Was Vargo or Shoes doing the eland mating call? The male lions are magnificent specimens, with a roar to match.

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It will be fun to watch your journey into "twitcher-hood" or whatever it is called. The springbok closeup without any accessories is precious.

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Nice to read you Nxai Pan summary. Really a lot of variety with the tortoise and bat eared fox, plus the regulars.

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Thanks, Lynn. No mating call done by nobody. How do you do an Eland mating call? :wacko:

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I have been trying to catch up on some TRs here, and spent a very enjoyable afternoon looking through this thread. Wonderful photography.

Thanks, @@Marks .

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Atravelynn

I could feel the grass on my fingertips too!

You do a great job of attracting shy antelope.

Quick work on photographing your one chance at the adorable lion cub.

Just seeing the plane on the ground with the foreboding skies behind it makes me uneasy and I did not even fly with a 16-year old pilot through storms. Did the pilot say anything about the flight conditions when you landed? Getting zebra shots with less than 4 hooves on the ground is a big score!

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madaboutcheetah

WOW - those are magnificent male Lions ......... You are making me reconsider Kwara for early July...... ;)

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Did Alex tell you the stories of his encounters with those angry Linyanti Elephants when he was at Lagoon? ;) maybe 2011 or 2012? I can't remember now.....

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PS: that Kudu is definitely on steroids........ I have no doubt :)

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Kitsafari

That is one big handsome kudu dude.

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That cub is so cute.

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The tall swaying grass, the combination of grazers and those flooded roads bring back warm fuzzy feelings of Okavango in the green season. It's beautiful and serene, isn't it?

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Stunning male lions. Just look at the size of them, and their black manes! Interesting on the identity of the 'Marsh boys' too; I saw another one of them alone in my own trip to Kwara.

Niced shots of mixed herbivore herds too; a great way to spice up the more common and visible animals. :)

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hey you are seeing everything we saw.......we really miss Tau Pan and Little Kwara...we talk about our trip daily.....thanks for the report. the pilots we had looked 16 as well.....

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michael-ibk

Birds, pt. 7 (Waterbirds)

Naturally the Delta had not only brought us a totally different landscape, but totally different birdlife as well. Goshawks, Falcons, Chats and Larks were gone - in were Ducks, Geese & Friends.

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Kwara, Splash Area

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Kwando

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Lagoon

Spur-Winged Goose, a huge bird, the largest African waterfowl, which can weigh up to 7 kg.


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Egyptian Goose, (Lagoon) probably the most common sight on waterbodies. A very successful species, Europe has lots of self-sustaining populations now, derived from escaped birds.

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Egyptian Geese Chicks, Kwara


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White-Faced Whisting Duck. (Kwara) Far-ranging, I also saw this species in BrazilĀ“s Pantanal.


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With Chicks. (Lagoon)


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Red-Billed Teal, Nxai Pan waterhole.


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African Jacana, Lagoon. Often seen, but hard to take photos of in the high grass. Very "modern" birds, the female has harems, not the other way round.


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Reed Cormorant, proudly safeguarding the bridge at Kwara airstrip.


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African Darter. A surprisingly rare sight, only a few during the boattrip at Kwara, nowhere else.

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Hammerkop, Lagoon. Though a comparably small bird, they build huge nests, sometimes more than 1,5 m across. According to Wikipedia, there are many legends about the Hamerkop. In some regions, people state that other birds help it build its nest. It is known in some cultures as the lightning bird, and the Kalahari bushmen believe or believed that being hit by lightning resulted from trying to rob a Hamerkop's nest. They also believe that the inimical god Khauna would not like anyone to kill a Hamerkop. According to an old Malagasy belief, anyone who destroys its nest will get leprosy, and a Malagasy poem calls it an "evil bird".

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michael-ibk

The Camp

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Kwara Camp and its sister camp Little Kwara are located in the 175,000 hectare private Kwara concession, bordering on Moremi Game Reserve to the south of the concession. It consists of eight tents built on raised teak decks.

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The rooms are much smaller than their enormous counterparts in Tau Pan, Nxai Pan or Lagoon, and yes, a bit rusty, but the beds are comfy and washroom and shower more than adequate. Actually, I quite liked the feeling of really being in a tent rather than in the more luxurious units.

And the view to the lagoon is just beautiful.

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Just sitting on the terrace, watching birds, monkeys, squirrels, from time to time even elephants, water monitors or kudus, makes it very easy to feel like in the middle of paradise. Impalas take shelter every night in the camp, one passes them by just two or three metres away when returning from game drives.

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Every night the Painted Reed Frogs are giving a very special concert. At first I thought I would have trouble falling asleep, but I rather quite enjoyed their "song":



There are lots and lots of Tree Squirrels, always fun to watch:

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Vervet monkeys are quite naughty here, always trying to steal themselves some snacks from High Tea.

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We were warned of baboons as well. One has to close the tent door with a chainlock, otherwise they will come in and make a mess out of everything.

A warthog family also has made the camp its home:

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This Crested Barbet is a very special camp inhabitant - because he has found a mortal enemy here. Every afternoon he works up all its courage and returns to the lounge to face its adversary...

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The Fridge! Poor Barbet thinks it has a rival in his mirror image, and attacks it, day in and day out....

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...always losing out. Poor guy. But one canĀ“t help but admire its doggedness. :D



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The Lounge

Camp was managed by GT and Russ. GT was nice enough, but decidedly much less present than other camp managers, we only saw her at dinner. Russ, on the other hand, was super friendly and competent in every way, really an impressive guy.

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I loved Kwara Camp, the setting, the friendly staff (Lets and Ocean deserve special mention here) and the amount of wildlife passing through.

Apparently it will look very different soon, I was told they will remodel this very year. ItĀ“s understandable they want to catch up, itĀ“s undeniable that all other Kwando camps are in a different league accomodation-wise, and several guests we met at Kwando remarked on that. I, however, rather liked this more rugged atmosphere, and I hope they will be able to maintain that somehow.
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michael-ibk

I could feel the grass on my fingertips too!

You do a great job of attracting shy antelope.

Quick work on photographing your one chance at the adorable lion cub.

Just seeing the plane on the ground with the foreboding skies behind it makes me uneasy and I did not even fly with a 16-year old pilot through storms. Did the pilot say anything about the flight conditions when you landed? Getting zebra shots with less than 4 hooves on the ground is a big score!

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@@Atravelynn

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Thanks, the pilot said "Pheeeeeew" as well. The flight hadnĀ“t been fun for him, and he said he was glad that everything had worked out well.

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WOW - those are magnificent male Lions ......... You are making me reconsider Kwara for early July...... ;)

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Did Alex tell you the stories of his encounters with those angry Linyanti Elephants when he was at Lagoon? ;) maybe 2011 or 2012? I can't remember now.....

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PS: that Kudu is definitely on steroids........ I have no doubt :)

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@@madaboutcheetah

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No, Alex didnĀ“t, but Paul mentioned some hairy situations after we had a young elephant mock-charging us at Lagoon.Understandably he wouldnĀ“t go into details, I guess they donĀ“t want to scare their clients away. B)

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That is one big handsome kudu dude.

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That cub is so cute.

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The tall swaying grass, the combination of grazers and those flooded roads bring back warm fuzzy feelings of Okavango in the green season. It's beautiful and serene, isn't it?

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@@Kitsafari

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It is. Garden Eden, nothing less.

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Stunning male lions. Just look at the size of them, and their black manes! Interesting on the identity of the 'Marsh boys' too; I saw another one of them alone in my own trip to Kwara.

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Niced shots of mixed herbivore herds too; a great way to spice up the more common and visible animals. :)

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Thanks, @@Big_Dog

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The Mixtures looked quite funny, but as Alex told us, thereĀ“s a more serious reason for them to do that ... safety in numbers is a cross-species-concecpt. Actually I felt kind of sorry about the wildebeest doing that. There were so few of them, and always on their own. I wonder, is this because their numbers crashed so badly after the fences have blocked their migration routes, or has it always been like this in Botswana? I always got the impression of "last survivors" with them...

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hey you are seeing everything we saw.......we really miss Tau Pan and Little Kwara...we talk about our trip daily.....thanks for the report. the pilots we had looked 16 as well.....

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Thanks, @ . I feel the urge to talk daily about it, too. In order not not bother everyone around with my enthusiasm non-safaristas donĀ“t really get I write this trip report. ;)

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Camp looks really nice. For some reason I always find pictures of safari camps/lodges to be so evocative. I love maps like that; taking a picture of it was a smart idea. Nice darter picture, as well.

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Good question on the wildebeest. I doubt they've ever been as numerous in Southern Africa as Eastern, but just how hard the fences hit them...unsure. One for Richard Estes to figure out!

Lovely shots of the camp too. Suprised me how little the lake swells in the green season. The Crested Barbett was quite funny too! :D
Out of Lagoon, Lebala and Kwara which would you say was your favourite; for both game viewing and camp / amenities?

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SafariChick

We have birds here in the Spring that seem to have the same problem, thinking their reflection in our windows is another bird and attacking it over and over again. Poor things!

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michael-ibk

Thunder growled, and it started to rain in the afternoon, but at game drive time it had become more of a drizzle, so game drives started on schedule. Every time the rain started to increase, we would slip into our ponchos (or at least tried to, whereĀ“s the upside with that damn thing?!), and rain would instantly stop again. Get out of it, and it was on again. Someone up there was definitely having fun at our expense. :)

The afternoon started quiet, we saw a nursing Tsessebe, Impalas of course, a Pied Kingfisher and a Great Spotted Cuckoo. And a Common Reedbuck (from afar), our only one of the trip.

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Alex and KP soon found our lions from the morning again, just lying around.

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After a while the sun came out again, and bathed everything in a beautiful golden light.

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That was apparently the signal for the lionesses to get going, they started walking purposefully.

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The cub did its best to follow suit, again it seemed so shy and afraid of this big dangerous world, completely different than the brash bunch of rascals at Nxai Pan. Maybe because itĀ“s alone, without siblings.

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The lioness sharpened her claws here.

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And then they went into position, patiently waiting for their chosen prey to come closer. (The cub was hiding about 50 metres behind them, watching with big scared eyes.)

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We watched them for maybe half an hour, but the Impalas and Tsessebes wisely kept their distance to the trees. When they approached a bit closer, and we were hoping to see some action, we had to leave! The Kwando rule dictates no more than three cars are allowed at one sighting, and some others were already in a standby position. ItĀ“s a good rule, I tried to convince myself, but itĀ“s hard to believe that when one has to leave a potential hunt. (The only time the rule came in effect during our whole time, and I expect it would only happen at Kwara, which shares with Little Kwara, especially during afternoon drives, when cars donĀ“t spread out that much.) Well, as I heard, it didnĀ“t come to a hunt anyway.

We then went for sundowners to a beautiful pool - with a little accident on the way. One wheel broke into a warthog burrow, the inhabitant dashing out, squealing loudly of fear and disapproval. We apologized for destroying its home, but IĀ“m afraid that must have been little consolation. Alex and KP managed to get the car out of the hole with a lifting jack in no time.

We then enjoyed sundowners here.

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Even got a glimpse of a crocodile in the pool. ItĀ“s funny, for an area full of water, crocs are all but invisible in the Delta.

On the way home big excitement ensued again near the airstrip - one jeep had spotted a leopard, and all cars were now skimming the high grass with flashlights. For naught, the spotted cat remained invisible.

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michael-ibk

The weather god smiled on us again next morning, clouds had mainly dispersed and the sun let the morning dew glitter soon.

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We and another car spent some time taking pics of Little Bee-Eaters on the road, which of course led to big excitement in the cars coming behind us. Surely, if someone spends so much time stopping on the road, something supercool must be lying there. Hyena? Leopard? CHEETAH?

They all were very disappointed when they were told that tiny birds were the source of our attention. :P

When we passed by a little grove Alex and KP called our attention to the agitated Vervets in the trees - alarm calls! We spent almost an hour searching between the trees, soon reinforced by some other cars, and the guides were sure that something had to be there, Leopard in all likelihood. But even though we could tell which way the Vervets were looking, we were not sucessfull - the big cat had either hidden too well or already moved on. A bit frustrating.

Soon we found lion tracks again, but after only little discussion we decided against following them. We had all had so many cool sightings of them by now we were a bit "lioned out" at this point, and were hot for Cheetah! Leopard! Wild Dog! As a matter of fact, these three words were pretty much dominating my thoughts by now.

But of course, one canĀ“t enforce these things, and while the way to the Four Rivers area was very beautiful scenically, and good for interesting birds (Saddle-Billed Stork or MeyerĀ“s Parrot for example), we "only" saw the usual suspects on the way, predominantly Impalas and Giraffes, with a few Baboons and Warthogs interspersed and one Kudu. And a business of Dwarf Mongoose, which disappeared again too quickly unfortunately.

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We made our coffee break here, a beautiful pond with lots of waterbirds and some Red Lechwes nearby.

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When we returned KP saw a young Python passing the road immediately in front of the car, but it had inexplicably completely disappeared when we stopped. Alex and KP even checked the motor and the carĀ“s lower side, but nothing.

The way back was pretty much the same as vice versa, beautiful but without special sightings. The highlight was the tail of a Large Grey Mongoose I could only glimpse when it disappeared in the shrubbery again.

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We arrived in camp sometime after noon, and beautiful as the game drive had been I couldnĀ“t help but feel a bit disappointed by now. It was our third camp, and my three "most wanted animals" still eluded us, and for some reason I had been quite sure that Kwara would "deliver". Worst of all, no one had sighted cheetah, leopard or wild dogs for several days now, and we only had one game drive left. So the prospect of seeing them was not too good.

But I soon forgot my somewhat bleak thoughts, because we had a very special guest for lunch - ST moderator @@wilddog coming over from Little Kwara, so a mini-STGTG was in order. Manager Russ was super nice and helpful about this, I had asked about the possibility of a meet-up, and he took care of everything. We had a nice long chat, about Safaritalk and (of course) Mana Pools, only interrupted by an elephant coming through camp and the activities of Mad Little Barbet (see post above).

Afterwards Wilddog asked Russ if she could walk back to Little Kwara, and so he went to fetch his gun. Best of all he allowed us to accompany them on the way. One does not realize from either camp but Little Kwara is very close to Kwara, as a matter of fact the last tent at Kwara is probably not more than 300 metres away from staffĀ“s area at Little Kwara.

Still, the little walk was exciting enough, with an elephant blocking the way again and again, sending us in circles several times. "Never ever walk in front of an elephant", was the lesson I learned here from Russ.

Finally, the grey giant had enough of us, retreated to the lagoon and let us pass.

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At Little Kwara manager Charles(?) was very friendly too, even offered to show us around. But since we had taken up so much of RussĀ“ time already we declined, said good bye to wilddog and went back.

It really was extremely generous of Russ to organize all this, even making a mini-walking-safari out of this, and so I insisted that we wanted to reciprocate for all he had done for us, for giving us the chance to meet wilddog.

But he would have none of it and just said "It was a pleasure meeting her."

And it was. :)

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michael-ibk

Good question on the wildebeest. I doubt they've ever been as numerous in Southern Africa as Eastern, but just how hard the fences hit them...unsure. One for Richard Estes to figure out!

Ā 

Lovely shots of the camp too. Suprised me how little the lake swells in the green season. The Crested Barbett was quite funny too! :D

Out of Lagoon, Lebala and Kwara which would you say was your favourite; for both game viewing and camp / amenities?

Ā 

Ā 

Ā 

@@Big_Dog

Ā 

I havenĀ“t been to Lebala, but out of Lagoon and Kwara itĀ“s definitely Lagoon. I do think the Delta boasts the most beautiful landscapes, but we had our best sightings at Lagoon, and camp and staff there are just exceptional.

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madaboutcheetah

I blatantly disagree with remote controlled game drive rules!!! Surely, there is plenty to go find/do and see in such a game rich area ............ instead of waiting in the queue and to enforce others to leave, when things get interesting....... very bizarre!!! is all I can say.

Ā 

I have not spent quality time at Kwara since maybe Feb 2011. I was there for 24 hours last October, when there were lots of cars going to 4 Rivers to find wild dogs that were seen that very morning - we stayed away........ We went away to Tsum Tsum to find cheetah

Ā 

Wow - lucky you!!! I haven't seen Ras since maybe 2005. He was a full time guide back then and a brilliant one!!! ...... Great GTG with @@wilddog and a Charles sighting too!!! All fabulous .........

Edited by madaboutcheetah
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madaboutcheetah

Ā 

Good question on the wildebeest. I doubt they've ever been as numerous in Southern Africa as Eastern, but just how hard the fences hit them...unsure. One for Richard Estes to figure out!

Ā 

Lovely shots of the camp too. Suprised me how little the lake swells in the green season. The Crested Barbett was quite funny too! :D

Out of Lagoon, Lebala and Kwara which would you say was your favourite; for both game viewing and camp / amenities?

Ā 

Ā 

Ā 

@@Big_Dog

Ā 

I havenĀ“t been to Lebala, but out of Lagoon and Kwara itĀ“s definitely Lagoon. I do think the Delta boasts the most beautiful landscapes, but we had our best sightings at Lagoon, and camp and staff there are just exceptional.

Ā 

Ā 

The tall grass and water in your pictures shows how difficult viewing probably is right now in Kwara......

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@@michael-ibk -Just beginning the see the overlap of our trips. I have almost the identical shot of those lionesses stalking the tsessebe calf! At that point of course I had only just arrived at LK and we did not realise that we were in adjacent vehicles!

Ā 

Yes, it was a great pleasure to meet you and of course the 'Mad Barbet of Kwara'. Russ was very accommodating and friendly and our walking safari back to LK was only a short journey but exciting, as we attempted to avoid irritating the elephant. :)

Ā 

and yes, Charles was the Manager at LK.

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I'd agree michael, I think dry areas are better for game viewing, and as a predator man Lagoon is superb. Lebala is actually really close by, and sometimes if there's something of interest drive routes may overlap.

I hope the 'Mad Barbet of Kwara' becomes a big thing...:D

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