From Dawn Till Dusk - A Botswana Green Season Mobile

[Alex Rogers]

What a wonderful TR and amazing set of photos. Thanks for the inspiration. I'm leaving on Saturday for SA & Botswana with my family for our own self drive adventure (partly inspired by Ritsgai's fab self drive report from a while back) and am super excited. I'll post up a report of my own in a month or two as my way of saying thanks to all the contributors to this forum who've unwittingly helped me in my planning. 

[colbol]

Chaps - take a bow - thanks for the great pic's of all - nice to get the Green Season feel and also awsome to see through your eyes some of the areas we are yet to visit . Thank you all.

Central Kalahari i find intriguing -keen to have look at that region and this has allied some of my doubts/concerns.

Loved your narritives -really apreciated 

Cheers Colbol

[Zim Girl]

Really nice shots from the helicopter at the end there @Alexander33 and I am pleased you finally got your waxbill, lovely pics too.

Top notch report as usual from all involved, showing just how good a green season safari can be.

[Towlersonsafari]

thanks very much for this report @Alexander33  and @michael-ibk  great fun to read!

[Atdahl]

Ah, great ending to a fantastic report you guys.  Well done.

 

I totally understand the added joy of traveling with others.  Our last 3 trips have been with another couple and our next one will be as well.  It really adds to the enjoyment to share the wonders of nature with others.  It's even better when it's with fellow Safaritalkers .

[michael-ibk]

Just a few more photos from the flight. A fun thing to do especially since the heli does not have doors - one´s feet and arms are really out in the air, and it does feel a bit like flying. This is the company we used in case somebody´s interested.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

A Green Season safari is always a bit of a gamble. If (A) lucky you will enjoy lush and beautiful scenery with far fewer people than at other times of the year. Birding will be fantastic and even though animals will be very much dispersed there´s still a chance for some really good sightings.

 

If (B)unlucky you will be rained on all the time, be cold and uncomfortable and see really nothing noteworthy at all.

 

Just as with our first trip to Botswana in Green Season we definitely were fortunate and had almost all of (A) and next to nothing of (B). I was especially surprised about how deserted Savuti and the Delta were - in a very good way! Really not different at all from being in a private concession.

 

I could say some more about how happy we were about this trip but Peter did that so well that I will just copy it ...

 

Quote

Someone asked me to describe my favorite thing on this safari, and my immediate reaction was: leopards.  We had some great leopard sightings. But then I gave it some thought.  No, actually, to me the best discovery on this safari was not necessarily the leopards themselves, but, rather, the other people with whom we shared those cherished moments: our genial safari companions, and our enthusiastic and good-natured guide,

@Doug Macdonald.

 

and say "Amen" to that. Just add Carmines flying around the car, birding on Chobe, and climbing that rock in Savuti to my favourite things. One of the best things about Safaritalk is that it gives us that wonderful opportunity to connect with wonderful people from all over the world and become travel mates and friends. We all have @Game Warden to thank for that - a lot!

 

Peter, J.B., we will definitely repeat this - you both know you just have to do Mana Pools at some point.

 

So, thanks a lot everybody for the kind comments, liking and just reading along - I absolutely had a blast reliving this trip.

 

Over and out from me as well now.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by michael-ibk

[Peter Connan]

And another wow!

 

Another stunning joint TR. Thanks to all the contributors.

Edited June 27, 2019 by Peter Connan

[Hads]

Thanks for an awesome trip report and photo's @michael-ibk and @Alexander33.

Great to see some WKF photo's as well  

[pedro maia]

Great trip and great trip report, it was a pleasure to read and to watch all those fantastic photos.

[Alexander33]

Oh, and how could I have neglected to mention that we had another Safaritalk GTG at Mugg & Bean in the Johannesburg Airport at the end of the trip, when @xelas and Zvezda met up with us at the conclusion of their adventure in South Africa? By chance, we were all flying out that night to our respective homes. 

 

It was great to meet yet another genial and enthusiastic Safaritalk member. Looks like Mugg & Bean may be developing into an official Safaritalk outpost!

 

Edited June 28, 2019 by Alexander33

[Kitsafari]

Finally caught up with this TR! I've enjoyed the dual-voice report and the TR reminding me of the memorable times we had on our trip too. 

 

such excellent sightings you guys had (very jealous) of the leopard and cub and gorgeous photos you both had, just reflecting what great photographers you all are.

 

that adder just blended in so well! so scary when you think of the many times we had to check the tyres, but forget to check the bushes thoroughly before you zip down and it's too late.....

 

@Alexander33 awesome photos of the mongoose! i'm amazed it was posing despite the presence of humans! and glad you finally got the violet eared waxbill. 

 

On 6/27/2019 at 12:08 PM, Alexander33 said:

 

 

I’m reminded of a passage in the nonfiction book Into the Wild, in which the young Christopher McCandless, who has decamped to live in the wilderness of Alaska by himself, learns a critical life lesson too late before his tragic end: “[He] had happily escaped humanity his whole life, only to find that happiness itself can only be amplified when shared.”

 

 

 

No truer words.

Edited June 30, 2019 by Kitsafari

[screentraveller]

Your wonderful photos and vivid narration made me feel as if I was a member of your Kalahari team. I happily SHARE a fragment of your full sight, sound, smell,  sundowning experience. Your TR was a pleasure. 

[mopsy]

Thank you for this wonderful trip report gentleman, it was a pleasure to follow along.

[SafariChick]

I finally got caught up on this beautiful report! Wonderful job, gents - thanks for sharing your lovely photos and prose @michael-ibk @AndMic and @Alexander33 - the leopard and cub were just gorgeous, as were the scenery, the waxbills, and so many other things! 

Agree that traveling with friends can make the trip that much more fun - and good thing you finished up this report as @michael-ibk and @AndMic you're about to embark on another little trip with friends ....

 

Edited July 4, 2019 by SafariChick

[pault]

@Alexander33 and @michael-ibk (Andreas too of course!) I knew I would miss something in my absence (This forum is bad for my mental health if there is not a trip somewhere on at least the distant horizon) but I didn’t think it would be this big and this goiod. I can hardly believe I didn’t see it while finishing up my homely Thailand trip. 

 

Anyway, I am just out of the dentist after a pretty excruciating two hours and this has been much more effective than the anesthetic, which did not help much at all. Love the falls and what a leopard pic to start

[Alexander33]

@pault

 

Home is where the heart is, and I thoroughly enjoyed your home-based Thailand report, even if I wasn’t my normally overly-verbose self while reading it. A destination on my “someday” list. 

 

So better late than never, though as I reflect on your current state, I’d still opt for codeine and a glass of wine over this. 

 

Edited July 10, 2019 by Alexander33

[madaboutcheetah]

@Alexander33  and @michael-ibk - Just catching up with your report and stunning images!!!!  Amazing ...... loved it all - Desert, Delta, Aerial shots, Birds!!!!  SUPERB!!!!

 

 

[offshorebirder]

Wow @michael-ibk - your photos just keep getting better and better!

 

Thanks too @Alexander33 for all your great photos and text.

[shazdwn]

What a great report - evocative writing and amazing photos, thanks.

 

@michael-ibk what lens were you using please?  @Alexander33 I think you mentioned a 150-600mm or something similar?  Thanks

[Soukous]

I've managed to hold off reading this TR until it was complete. I do that sometimes, but it does then make it a bit odd to be commenting on early posts that were several pages ago.

I've reached the end of page 1 so far. 

 

This report is a real delight. So fantastic to have the collaboration of keen photographers ( note the vagueness, as I am not yet sure how many will be posting)

 

@Alexander33 your images from Vic Falls are wonderful. It is so refreshing to see that someone has taken the trouble to do more than take a snapshot.

@michael-ibk, like you I adore the Chobe river and the opportunities it presents. The mornings are invigorating and the light is to die for - as your photographs so excellently illustrate. If birds are your target then it is the best time, but evenings can be pretty special too and it is the time to see wildlife (especially elephants) coming down to the water to drink and bathe.

 

Anyone who has enjoyed the magnificent clean air and crystal lighting conditions (and cheaper prices) of green season will appreciate just how much more pleasant it is to travel at this time than in dusty, crowded, expensive peak season.

 

Now for page 2.

[Soukous]

Page 2 finished, even better than Page 1. 

 

You're too hard on yourself @Alexander33, that photo fo a Crimson-breasted Shrike is very fine indeed.

 

The remoteness of the HATAB cam sites is wonderful, my favourite place to stay in Botswana, but you do need good company.

 

@Atravelynn asked "Can you explain about the 9 person requirement for Chobe game drives?  Is it just that camp's rule?"

I have enquired in the past with Chobe Bush Lodge/Chobe Safari Lodge about private vehicles. At that time they were not even willing to offer them. With so many guests in the lodges I think that if they let vehicles go out with only 1 or 2 passengers they will have some left stranded at the lodge without a vehicle.

Theirs is definitely a volume operation. Although, to be fair, they are the only people with all female guides (Chobe Explorations) and they were the first to introduce electric game drive vehicles. 

Edited July 18, 2019 by Soukous

[Soukous]

A question, if I may.

You chose to use Letaka for your mobile safari. A great choice, in all my dealings with them they have been superb and their guides are very good indeed.

 

So I'm curious, why did you feel the need to also book Doug McDonald as a guide? 

 

[Soukous]

 

 On to page 3 now

 

Very fine shots of the Carmine Bee-eaters indeed. Though as has been said @Alexander33, you're selling yourself a bit short. Your shots are up there with Michael's.

 

 

Edited July 18, 2019 by Soukous

[Amylovescritters]

So jealous of your puff adder! Fantastic TR. planning a Bots Green Season trip for early 2021 (or Dec 2020). Decisions wonderful photos! Thanks for sharing...