Niyam's African Adventure (August 2013)

[pault]

Paradise does look very beautiful. Defintiely have to visit there if I make it to Katavi. How green it is too compared to some of the other locations.

 

I love the shot of the Lapwing! Fantastic. (Lots of good stuff of course but that one really appeals to me).

[africapurohit]

Thanks @@twaffle and @@pault

 

I continued my focus on the birds throughout the trip - lots more birds to come.

Edited October 9, 2013 by africapurohit

[Zim Girl]

Great stuff - I have just devoted my lunch hour to reading this from start to finish. Wonderful info on Katavi - definitely on my list for the future.

Niyam is an absolute darling!

[africapurohit]

Thanks @@Zim Girl

 

on this first drive to Paradise, we didn't cross the Kapapa river as the water levels were still high and we didn't want to risk getting stuck. Nick was driving the land cruiser, so made it to the other side and saw a herd of Lichtenstein's Hartebeest that same afternoon. We returned a couple of days later and crossed over but we didn't see any (but did see lots of zebra, buffalo, waterbuck, hippo, birds etc). No eland sightings were reported during our stay but many of the waterholes in the woodlands held plenty of water, so they weren't reliant on the rivers or springs for their water (similarly the roan and sable were also hiding during this time of plenty).

 

Nick knew where to find the sable and roan but said you had to be prepared to donate blood or strap a bucket of burning elephant dung to your chest because the tsetses were so bad in those areas - I thought about it but, in the end, I couldn't put Niyam through that experience.

[africapurohit]

 Nick was very knowledgable about the locations and habits of the roan and sable in Katavi - but after spending 20 years in Hwange I would expect him to be an expert in these wonderful antelopes . He told me that once the dry season really sets in, there is a herd of roan that visit at around 12pm every lunch time to drink from the Katuma river right in front of the Foxes camp. He did say that sable was much more difficult, and although some animals do venture out as it becomes dry, you have to pay the admission fee in blood if you really want to see the sable herds.

[Kitsafari]

Love Niyam in that Hat!

 

Beautiful bird pix. that's something i find so amazing - so many ST-ers are experts on the birds. how do you remember and recognise all the birds? i couldnt keep up with the names on my one and only safari. but then i'm ageing, so i've got that excuse.

[africapurohit]

@@Kitsafari I only got into birding during this safari, so I was no expert but my guides were great with birds (and I had the Helm guide to Birds of East Africa on my iPad and iPhone). This was my eleventh safari, so it has taken me a long time to really appreciate them but all the great photos on Safaritalk played a major role in converting me into a twitcher.

[africapurohit]

To reach the area of Paradise Springs, you have to cross the Kapapa River but we thought the water levels were too high for the Maruti Gypsy. So rather than risk getting stuck (and having to push the vehicle out of the river which is home to crocodiles), we decided to enjoy the tranquility of the area before heading back towards camp. The plan was to return in a couple of days with the Land Cruiser. Paradise was the only area where we came across vehicles from Palahala Camp, which was not too far from there. One of the highlights around the Kapapa River was the Kingfisher viewing (strangely, we never saw a single Kingfisher around the Katuma River). One Pied Kingfisher put on an amazing spectacle of killing and eating a catfish, using a log to beat the fish against. I must have taken close to a hundred photos of this event before the Kingfisher finally swallowed the fish. Here are some of the images:

 

We then decided to head to one of known hidden waterholes in the woodlands near Ikuu Bridge - Nick was there the day before and saw a Roan antelope bull having a drink. We passed the Chada Plains on the way back and saw a 1000 strong herd of buffalo but they were too far away for any decent photographs.

 

Female Bohor Reedbuck

Saddle-billed Stork

Female Bushbuck with Vervet Monkey

Female Northern Wheatear

Not happy to see us!

Goofy?

Southern Ground Hornbill

One of Katavi's famous buffalo herds on Chada Plain

Back to the familiar Katuma River

Edited October 10, 2013 by africapurohit

[africapurohit]

On reaching the waterhole, we interrupted three young elephant bulls having a drinking session. They were not pleased by our presence and made their feelings known. At first they backed off but as they started to become bolder, we decided to leave and view some of the giant crocodiles from Ikuu Bridge before heading back to camp. Despite a 10 hour gamedrive, Niyam maintained his record and waited until we reached the camp to use the toilet!

 

Spur-winged Goose at the waterhole

Speckled Pigeon in a palm tree

Saddle-billed Stork at Ikuu Bridge

The big croc in this photo was 4 metres plus.......

.....but this guy was the boss under Ikuu Bridge. He was huge (around 5 metres) and that tail looked like a prehistoric lethal weapon.

Edited October 10, 2013 by africapurohit

[ZaminOz]

@@africapurohit Yet more stunning images and memories for you and Niyam.

[Treepol]

Katavi has just moved up several places on my safari wishlist, the Paradise area does indeed look like Paradise.

 

I'm really enjoying your report and especially the photos. The pied kingfisher sequence really shows how hard he worked to swallow the meal, catching it was probably the easy part. The hippo photo with all the ox-peckers is also eye-catching.

[africapurohit]

Thanks @@ZaminOz and @@Treepol

 

Regarding the Pied Kingfisher, it can take a long time between catching and actually eating the fish. It's fascinating watching them beat the fish against a hard object and this can go on for ages. Some say it's the soften up the fish and others say its to make sure the fish is dead!

 

We revisited Paradise a couple of days later and saw the same spectacle again but after waiting 20 minutes and not seeing the fish eaten, we decided to drive on.

[stokeygirl]

We watched the same thing in Selous, on the boat cruise. We watched for quite a while, but there's only so long you can keep a boat stationary against the current. Our guide said they are softening it- making sure all the bones are broken, before they swallow it.

 

If they're doing it to make sure it's dead, then they are making very sure!!

[africapurohit]

The plan for Day 4 in Katavi was another full day drive - spending the morning around Katisunga and the Katuma River, lunch at the waterhole and then the afternoon around Lake Chada. As it was a Thursday (when most of the Monday arrivals leave Katavi), the gamedrive circuits were quieter than usual. It also meant that Niyam's cornflakes and milk were expected to arrive today .

 

Hadada Ibis

Buffalo in Katisunga

Bohor Reedbuck

Male and female Yellow-throated Sandgrouse

Water Thick-knee guarding its roadside nest

Yellow-billed Stork

My continued obsession with baby Vervet monkeys

We crossed Ikuu Bridge and headed towards the airstrip where we met vehicles from all of the surrounding camps, transferring guests for their morning flights. But road was occupied by the Chada Pride, which meant the vehicles had to off-road to get past. There were ten lions present and, interestingly, four were subadult males. The pride male did look quite old and tired and was probably "holding on" to his four sons. We noticed one of the young males had a wounded hind leg.

 

Controlling the road

The Chada Pride male looking old

Leg wound

 

 

[africapurohit]

in the main game-viewing areas, you probably had around 8 vehicles out from the 4 camps (Foxes, Chada, Katuma and Flycatchers) with about 3 self drivers. So you would occasionally pass other vehicles but the further you travelled from the main circuits, the less likely you were to encounter other vehicles. There was never any traffic and you had the majority of sightings to yourself - because of the absence of radio communication. On this particular morning, it seemed everyone was on there way to the airstrip or skipping the morning drive because of the early transfer - so it seemed quieter than usual.

 

Katavi is still a pristine wilderness area which is hard to match.

[africapurohit]

In Katavi, we came across regular tours and even a large bus - but these were people from the surrounding villages being given a chance to explore and learn about a beautiful wilderness area on their doorstep. I fully support such educational initiatives that raise awareness for the local population. Katavi is doing really well here, compared to the other areas we visited.

 

In Mkomazi we saw one other vehicle in 3 days, but Mkomazi needs more vehicles and more tourists for the benefit of the wildlife - so a catch 22 situation.

[africapurohit]

The solitude is still easy to find in Katavi and combined with the numbers and diversity of game - it is difficult to rival as a perfect destination. The numbers of visitors is still extremely low compared to the other wildlife refuges in Tanzania (except Mkomazi), and the main reason is the prohibitive costs to get there, for the vast majority.

[africapurohit]

Considering the guests in the other vehicles had flights to catch we soon had the Chada Pride to ourselves and spent some quality time observing and photographing them.

 

[Game Warden]

Niyam really had some great sightings.

[africapurohit]

We then headed a further kilometre down the road, past the airstrip, and to our surprise we met the Katuma Pride. The pride male got up to survey a bachelor group of buffalo crossing the Katisunga Plains, but the buffalo knew the lions were there and didn't seem concerned. In the end, the pride settled down in the shade as the day was heating up and we headed on to the waterhole for lunch.

 

 

The Katuma and Chada Pride have very interesting dynamics. Not only do they share territories but there is a third adult male lion that spends time with both prides. This third male spends a lot of time wandering around on his own but is accepted into both prides like a pride member. One theory is that the pride males of the Katuma and Chada prides are brothers and the other male is the third brother! It's the first time I've come across such interesting lion pride dynamics.

[pedro maia]

I´m still enjoying this TR a lot, great lion (and other game) photos.

[pault]

Interesting theory about the two prides. Very nice pictures to go with it too.

[africapurohit]

Considering the prides haven't been followed by researchers or film-makers, that's the general theory among the guides. If the 3 males are not brothers, it makes it even more interesting and throws a few male lion facts out of the window!

[africapurohit]

Apologies for the stalled report. Should make some progress by tomorrow - still processing images for Day 4 in Katavi and there's a lot more than I originally thought!

[michael-ibk]

I know I´m a little bit old for that sort of thing, and you already have three of your own, but ... please please please adopt me! Want to go with you on safari, too! I promise I won´t need bathroom stops, either!

 

Wow, Katavi is a stunning place. (Unfortunately a bit out of my league, probably, but one can dream.) The camp looks just perfect and "Paradise" is one of the most beautiful places I´ve seen pictures of here. Your pics are wonderful, I especially love the night herons, that "unexpected" fisheagle thing, the lion cubs (with pic 6 as the absolute winner), the white-headed dagga boy, the impalas´sparring, the kingfisher meal and the saddle-billed stork.

 

Fantastic stuff, you´re creating one of the all-time-greats of trip reports on ST here.

 

 

Thank you!