Mobile camping in Botswana

[safarigirl.se]

@deano Wow, yes that would be a awesome picture! But sadly no Lechwe in Chobe, or we didn't see any and i didn't ask, but now you got me interested so i should ask Katembo our guide! We saw lots of Lechwe in the delta though. 

 

@KaingU Lodge aha, so that's where you suppose to go if you want that a combo!

 

@Game Warden @LarsS I´m not sure if it´s a new feature as this is my first report but when I added the videos I did it just the same way as when I add photos, super easy just drag and drop  or click your way to the folder where I have saved the videos! @LarsS it would be great to see your videos, or a Vlog would be great! Jey! 

 

@pomkiwi you should definitely do, it was amazing and we haven't gotten to the delta yet with was my favorite place i Bots. 

 

[safarigirl.se]

DAY FOUR - The lion brothers stole the show

 

If I had trouble sleeping the first night there was nothing compared to this night, all night I heard load roaring from lions. Christian sleeps like a rock so he did not understand anything when I lyrically told him about the night in the morning.

 

Katembo, however had not missed the lions and he was sure that it was a group of three brothers who earlier this season had infringed the area. Because they were so close we decided skip breakfast and we headed out to see if we could find the brothers!

... the clock was no more than 7am when these majestic cats appeared in the sunrise. We all sat dead silent and bubbly with excitement when one of them slowly walked past the car. We saw two of them and we could hint the third one a bit further in the grass. 

As most of the time so far here in Botswana, we were all alone and no other cars insight! 

 

 

There was a lot lion talk this morning and imagine our surprise when we just a few hours later found the battered hero - the previously dominant male in the area. He had no injuries so he had probably made the right choice to escape before it was fight. Even though he was much bigger than the brothers, it would not be easy to cope with 3 young powerful intruders. 

 

He was lying in the shade of a bush and rested, probably a little confused about where he was going? Hope it works well for him, he was just stunning!

 

A yellow billed Hornbill sat in a tree close by,  somehow I got a flashback to the "Lion King" - Mufasa and Zazu

 

After a really exciting morning we head back to camp for lunch and a little rest before the afternoon's adventure.

 

Nice lunch spot in the shades 

 

A little Jackal ran just outside our tent

 

 My dwarf mongoose friends were back in business.

 

The afternoon was almost the opposite of the morning focused on predators, now we had more focus on herbivores and especially zebras. In Botswana during this time their is are also a migration going on, though not as extensive as in the Serengeti and Mara, it is still thousands of zebras and wildebeests. 

 

Perfection of patterns

 

 

In the distance we also saw a group of Elands - the largest of all antelope. They were very shy and we got to sneak not to scare them and although it was far away, it was awesome to see the whole group running like a string towards the forest we they discovered us. This was my first Eland sighting so cool. 

 

First one to the forest wins!

 

Back at camp the guys had prepared the campfire and put on a crazy show. We laughed so much about their snappy humor, this was quality - bush TV, haha! Wonderful people <3

 

Noah, star of the show!

 

MJ, Gary, Noah, MT och Charlie, we will miss you guys! 

 

This is a video  of Savute National Park, lions!!

 

https://youtu.be/RgZBQjGzufM

 

Edited August 2, 2019 by safarigirl.se

[Game Warden]

@safarigirl.se Glad you were able to test run the new video feature  It may be that you'll get more views if you upload to Youtube/Vimeo and then just embed the link here. BTW how long did it take to upload?

 

Thanks, Matt

[deano]

@safarigirl.se Great stuff with the lions in the early morning  - especially like that backlit one.

 

As for puku and lechwe together  - there are some very experienced and some very knowledgeable people on Safaritalk (some are experienced and knowledgeable!) and hopefully someone will be able to answer the question and maybe even post a picture for us.

 

Kind regards

 

deano.

[safarigirl.se]

@Game Warden it was really quick to upload, no problem at all

[safarigirl.se]

DAY FIVE - The Okavango Delta

 

In the morning we set out on a game drive on the way to the airstrip where we would hop on a small safari plane that would take us to our next destination - the Okavango Delta! I must admit that this was the part I was most nervous about before the trip, I've never flown such a small plane before, and was not fully lit on the idea: / mostly because I was afraid to become crazy carsick.

 

On the way to the airstrip, we met some more lovely creatures, a herd of Impala with a group of Kudus grassing in the morning sun. We also saw one of the lion brothers from yesterday, he posed on the rock where he lay and glowed in the sunlight. We heard the other two brothers, but they were hiding in the high grass. A majestic elephant bulls were out in the fields, his tusks was so shiny and beautiful, this is how elephants should be experienced, free, strong and healthy <3

 

 

We drove past a cliff where we previously looked for leopards and we got a look at a new acquaintance, can you see it?

 

Perfect Klipspringer kamouflage 

 

We reached the airstrip and we had some company of Elephants on the runway, not sure they are the best airport workers  but they quickly ran away when we approached them in the car. Before the trip i had made lots of research to find a suitable bag that would fit the luggage space, I even build a small model of the luggage measurements to be sure, haha. But when the plane landed it was much bigger than the one we were instructed to adjust after, that dosen´t matter its good to practice travel light  

 

 

Once up in the air everything went nice and smooth and we could enjoy the view below as we flew over the delta. I have never seen anything like it, it was like a chlorophyll bomb struck and colored the landscape green. In between, the river spread out like serpentines over the landscape. Imagine that we would soon be landing here, aaahh! 

 

Photos taken with my Iphone from the plane. In the last one I'm not sure what all the white is, water lilys? 

 

In the delta we stayed in a private concession located in the Nxabega / Kanana Reserve (NG27A), West of Chief's Island, and bordering Moremi Game Reserve. In this concession it´s just three camps; andBeyonds Nxabega safari camp, Pom Pom camp and Kanana camp, our "mobile camp" was not included i these three   They had divided the area into different parts and you where not allowed to go into someone else part, if it wasn't a big sighting ex. lions, wild dogs etc, then they worked together with the other camps and that was a good set up. As it´s a private concession it´s not classified as a National Park, so you can drive off-road, do walking and night drives which is a big plus. And of course their is much less people than in the national parks (not that it has been a problem on this trip) 

 

We arrived at our camp and the site they had chose was absolutely magical, our 3 tents were next to each other but with enough space between not to interfere and the view was absolutely magnificent, the pictures may speak for themselves  I'm not sure that it´s the right word to call this camp "mobile", as its permanently in this site all of the season, but it was designed to not leave any permanent structures when taken down. Anyhow we were in heaven! 

 

Pretty awesome view from our tent 

 

 

Nice view from the shower

 

Anyone who thinks that camping have to be rugged, has not camped like this  African-style-glamping oh yes!

 

And almost even better from the dinner table 

 

You can never be to ready to mix a GT

 

This termite mound was going to be very useful later on

 

After a short rest, we set out on an afternoon drive to discover the new landscape.

 

Lovely Kudu with some oxpeckers giving him a spa treatement 

 

 

Love this photo, it not the best technically one but i love the scenery and composition. 

 

 

We were looking for leopard but unfortunately so far no luck .. We stopped at a watering hole for a sundowner and this evening the delta rewardedus with a magical sunset. I can not imagine that a gin and tonic ever tasted better.

 

I feel like I'm in a add for andbeyond, haha! 

 

In the middle of the drink we heard an alarm call from a Redbuck, this could only mean one thing - Leo! We drove toward the sound and found neither Redbuck or Leopard, so we decided to turn back to pick down our outdoor bar .. and voila, in the road straight ahead passed a very beautiful leopard male. The sun had already gone down so we followed him for as long as we could but we did not want to interfere with his hunting so we left him to do the night's deed. It was a very happy bunch in the car back to the water hole, finally a leopard!

 

Good luck hunting to night, nice to see you!

 

Back at our little outdoor bar we had a new guest. I'm so bad at birds so I can not say what owl this was, anyone know? Whatever it was really beautiful and nice to watch as he was looking for dinner by the water. 

 

Who are you my friend? 

 

Back in camp, the dinner table was set in front of the fire. It was a lot of talk about leopards, I'm a such a sucker when it comes to cats, i could watch them all day, all night so i was very happy with how the day ended. We had a late night and I fell asleep to the monotonous song from the frogs the minute I put my head down

 

 

Edited May 13, 2018 by safarigirl.se

[LarsS]

The delta looks amazing from the sky! We didn't book a scenic flight yet, but now I've seen this, I might try to get one last minute.

 

The Moremi camp looks very cool; must have been hard to leave that place.

[Game Warden]

Calling all the @birders... Is it a Pel's? Wood Owl?

[Towlersonsafari]

Very much enjoying the report @safarigirl i always get these wrong but I think your owl is a Giant Eagle Owl

[safarigirl.se]

@LarsS you definitely should do that! It was almost surreal to watch the delta from the sky.. ?

 

@Towlersonsafari now that you mention it, i’m almost sure you are right! Giant eagle owl rings a bell! thank you! ??? 

 

@Game Warden thanks for the shoutout ?

[Peter Connan]

Yip, your mystery owl is a Giant, now known as Verraux's Eagle Owl.

 

Really enjoying your report so far!

[deano]

Great stuff again @safarigirl.se; I have similar aerial shots of the Delta...tough to resist aren't they! It is an amazing place from the ground but it does look even more amazing from the air with the sun shining off the water in amongst that vivid green.

 

Really good to see pictures of the camps and set up and also sundowners etc. so more of that sort of stuff for me please.

 

I had to laugh about your luggage comment; we measured ours religiously before we first travelled on the smaller aircraft but building a model takes it one step further.

 

How does your fiancé get on in those small aircraft? He looks to be on the tall size with long legs. I sometimes struggle and I'm barely 5ft 10in on a good day (that's 1.78M to you).

 

Kind regards

 

deano.

[AfricIan]

It's not fun in these "shoeboxes with wings" when you're tall - I'm 6ft 3in (1.91m) and even in the comparative luxury of the co-pilot seat I struggle, especially with walking boots on!

[offshorebirder]

I am catching up with this very enjoyable trip report - thank you @safarigirl.se.   Besides the good photos and narrative, you are giving great info on the concessions, camps, and other trip planning details.

 

Looks like you had good success with elephants, Kudu, Lions, Wild Dogs and Leopard!    

 

 

[safarigirl.se]

@deano haha, glad to hear I´m not the only one worried about the luggage size, but I see now I'm the only crazy one.. 

 

 

 

... @deano @Africlan. My fiancé is 1.94m ( 6 feet 4⅜ inches) so he needs to squeeze into a shape of a tweezer  not very enjoyable but what to do  ... but great idea so sit with the pilot, we didn't think of that! 

 

@offshorebirder thank you so much! I´m glad to be of help, pay back time

 

 

 

[safarigirl.se]

DAY SIX - Mokoro trip and lions in love

 

Rise and shine, time for a full day in the delta! We started the morning tracking a lion we heard at night. As usual, our first sighting - Impala, you can always rely on them

 

We also saw a Steenbok, first for me as really funny. They are so cute with their small and pointy horns. I did not get a good picture from the front though.. Hanging around the waterhole we found a few zebras, they weren't very impressed of our visit and looked quite lazily at us, haha.

 

Good morning Impala! 

 

So tiny pointy horns

 

"soo not impressed, please move along.." 

 

 

We the joined the other andBeyong vehicle from the permeant camp, they had found the lion! But we arrived 10 minutues late so we missed when he stole breakfast from the lioness, she of course had done all the work. He had chased her away and then finished the whole warthog with good appetite. When he was done he then trotted down to the water to drink, and then finished with eating some grass. Lovely to see the whole procedure, apparently, both the water and the grass improve the digestion. He the fell asleep in a bush in the shade. He was  a really nice male with a next to golden coat. 

 

 

 

Later in the distance we saw then a bunch of vultures circulate, it´s a given signs of a cadaver. Katembo was suggestion we would stay and wait if the lioness would appear. And it was not long before we saw her in a distance. Well, she must be hungry after her breakfast being stolen. Sadly, the Impala was pretty route and not completely in her taste. 

 

She then turned and began circulating the area and and roared. She called on her cub who most likely had hid before she went hunting. It was heartbreaking to see how she called her cub but never received a reply .. Katembo, however, had a reassuring answer, the cubs follow the rest of the females who guards them when the mothers goes out hunting, and the will likely reunited later in the day <3 Let´s hope so!

 

Not fresh enough! 

 

Where are you baby?!

 

She had a nasty cut in her chest, it looked clean so hopefully she would be alright. 

 

We then took a fikapaus and watched the tracks in the sand and discovered that there were both large and smaller paw prints of lions. It must mean that the male heard the lioness called earlier and sought her up. Perhaps we now had a chance to see them together.

 

Look how nice they look together, a little difference in the waist size though;) The next time you can be a gentleman and share mister?

 

On our way back to camp we passed a tree that has been given a lot of love from the elephants! 

 

 

And we also visit - a little bit of heaven, at least to the Tsessebe, Impalas, Red Lechwe and Baboons. It was just crawling with them around this specific waterhole who had a small sand island in the middle. Mind-blowing to see them all at the same place in such numbers! 

 

 

Back in camp, I could not help but shoot more of our spectacular tents and especially our view! I have never had a better view from the dinner table before.

 

Hi guys!

 

 

The afternoon was scheduled for a different kind of activity, we were off on a Mokoro trip on the Delta. The departure was just before sunset, something that this giraffe also dressed very beautifully in. Traditionally, Mokoros, canoes are made of Ebony or Kigelia trees. Today, they are made of fiber glass to preserve the large and endangered trees. With mockor people traditionally traveled between villages in the delta. The water in the delta is very shallow, so you use a long pole and stakes out over the water.  It is not entirely risk free as these canoes can easily tip over if you hit a hippo (help ?!) 

 

The Okavango delta or the Miami beach?  

 

Two and two with a captain we set out on the delta. I got to sit at the front because I am much shorter than Christian so I could get a good view, very cute, but ... in the Y shaped stick in the front is use to catch spiderweb. I'm not scared of spiders but I want to issue a warning for those who are - don't go in the front! Although the stick gathered up the webs, the spiders fell down into the mokoro, and it was not the smallest spiders. I had to struggle with not bothering because the smallest little movement rocked the canoe and I did not want to take a swim  

 

It was an absolutely magical evening: We silently glided across the water in the sunset and the sound of the frogs finally shut out all thoughts of spiders crawling on my legs! We saw two small frogs - a bright green and one black/white spotted, so sweet and I got to know that they ate the spiders, thought it was the other way around because of the tiny size of the frogs! If you go to the delta you should definitely do a Mokoro ride but the most liberals to spider- should sit in the front  

 

Hi Pirimin and Theresa, looking good!

 

 

 

Goodnight Botswana, we will sleep good to the frogs singing even this night <3

 

Edited May 16, 2018 by safarigirl.se

[safarigirl.se]

.. and a video to finish day six. In this video we traveled to the Okavango delta! In the end of the video turn up the volume and listen to the roars of a lioness!

https://youtu.be/5rmbPt4rwR0

Edited August 2, 2019 by safarigirl.se

[deano]

Building a model out of cardboard @safarigirl.se  = crazy... but better crazy than no luggage on vacation. Not many department stores in the bush eh?

 

Another great installment. in your trip report.  The light in the mokoro photos is amazing and if I hadn't seen it for myself you would think it wasn't real. Loving the photos around camp - very nice set up there.

 

Video is brilliant. Baby elephant at the start made me smile but that lioness calling was awesome and I turned up the volume and my dog cocked his head to one side! Great timing and well done for capturing that incredible sound.

 

kind regards

 

deano.

[LarsS]

Again amazing photos and video! This is such a good preview that my Bots trip this saturday seems to be ages away, that's how excited I get going there

 

 

[xelas]

So much wildlife you have seen in Botswana, I must to go back once again! Excellent photos and great videos!

[safarigirl.se]

Before continuing on writing about day seven in the delta, here's a video from our Mokoro ride! 

 

 

https://youtu.be/J9bLZ_vujbY

 

 

Edited August 2, 2019 by safarigirl.se

[deano]

The light in the video is gorgeous @safarigirl.se - I assume from the fact that you dipped the camera under the water that most of the footage is GoPro?

 

Looking forward to more of your report - pics, videos and your writing are all great.

 

Kind regards

 

deano.

[amybatt]

Lovely report so far, @safarigirl.se!  I’ve enjoyed your photos and your videos along with many of your sentiments.  You really stopped to absorb and appreciate this safari.  You and @deano ought to be reimbursed by the Botswana Tourist Board for such convincing trip reports!  You both make Botswana look so good!

[safarigirl.se]

@LarsS i believe that you are now in Botswana! You lucky human Looking forward to read and hear about it here and on your vlog! 

 

Thank, thank you @deano its always very encouraging to read your comments   I was so lucky to capture the roar of the lioness, and it got even better when she decided to walk straight at us. Such a powerful and iconic sound! 

The videos are a mix of go pro, iPhone and Canon 550D but the mokoro is only go pro, we didn't dare to take anything else with us.. but it turned out to be a really nice video, much easier to hold the camera steady on a smooth mokoro than the bumpy car. 

 

Thank you so much @xelas it was just lovely! I'm longing to go back some day! It really are a little bit of heaven on earth.. 

 

@amybatt haha, yep it seems like we are in a add for Botswana! @deano But it´s hard to be any different with the amazing experience I had! Thank you for reading and comenting  I tried to really let the experience sunk in, but it´s hard - time just flies, and on safari I often think too fast.. It´s so nice to have the photos and videos to get back to when you are at home again. 

[Marks]

The mokoro sunset looks spectacular. Also really like the elephant wading through the tall grass.

Camp looks both comfortable and incredibly scenic!