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Okavango ramblings - of Pula, Stumpy and a Boma


Kitsafari

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@@Kitsafari - come on, where's the pic with you and @@Graham? :)

 

sorry to report, that's one thing i regretted - talked so much with Graham and Selena and Nick, and promptly forgot to take photos with them. i'll have to go back to mombo again for that picture. :rolleyes:

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Thank you for sharing, love this report. Have just returned from Botswana today and reading this makes being back (and not there!) a little bit more bearable. :)

 

start writing already! i wanna go back to botswana through your report too....

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Kit, you write with so much empathy. Loved reading this report from start to finish. The wildlife is wonderful and the people are memorable, but most of all (for me), I think you capture the feelings of the moment - the wonder, the regret, that feeling of connecting... thanks so much for this, loved every word. Started with your report because my backlog is thick and thought I'd start with yours since it was a short one, but it's left me satiated for the day :)

 

PS - I personally think that the interior of Vumbura Plains looks remarkably ugly :D Don't mean to be rude, but really, what's with that modern look and that in-room shower?

 

 

thanks Sangeeta! it was not that bad actually, having a shower indoors and yet have a fabulous view.

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Kit, you write with so much empathy. Loved reading this report from start to finish. The wildlife is wonderful and the people are memorable, but most of all (for me), I think you capture the feelings of the moment - the wonder, the regret, that feeling of connecting... thanks so much for this, loved every word. Started with your report because my backlog is thick and thought I'd start with yours since it was a short one, but it's left me satiated for the day :)

 

PS - I personally think that the interior of Vumbura Plains looks remarkably ugly :D Don't mean to be rude, but really, what's with that modern look and that in-room shower?

 

 

thanks Sangeeta! it was not that bad actually, having a shower indoors and yet have a fabulous view.

 

@@Sangeeta, I thought the same when my TA mentioned it as a possibility on our Bots safari...I said No Way, we'd stay there. Don't even mention it again..... she encouraged me (Little V was totally booked) and I am so happy she did.

 

The views are stunning, the game was abundant and our guide was the best. More wild dogs than I'd ever see in a lifetime.

 

We loved the indoor (and outdoor shower); the room is a little "overdone" for just a sleep; but plenty of room to spread your stuff out!! So the architect/designer did get a bit carried away... :blink:

 

We hung out in the public area as we could share our glee with others at seeing so many elies in camp.

 

And, for the price (GS) a real deal. I'd go back.

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michael-ibk

(Deleted content)

Edited by michael-ibk
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*rub hands* oh goodie, now I'll have 2 reports, each from @@michael-ibk and @@wilddog on Botswana to help me with African homesickness.

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oh dear, first off, i have to apologise. my vehicle mates at Mombo were really nice friendly people. we had long and friendly chats during meals, and took time to find out about each other. the ladies took care to make sure that I didn't dine separately and invited me to join them for dinner, which I did. it was just that our interests didn't converge, and i can understand that they wanted to do a safari just to see what it was all about. all i wanted to rush out there as fast as I can but that is the impatient me. :( I had use the term the Americans to identify them, but now i realise it might have been a bad choice of a term. i'm so sorry, i didn't intend to offend anyone. i also met some lovely Americans at VUmbura who love the wildlife, especially one lady who's there with her husband every year and wouldn't miss a game drive. we have also met wonderful Americans on cruises who made our trips so much more enjoyable.

 

but thanks to all who've been so understanding. :)

 

i'm sorry about the drips and drabs being dished out in the report. all my pix are on the office pc, and i can only upload in between free time at work, and secretly too! shhh.....

The more you struggle, the deeper you sink! Hehehe .....

 

Seriously, don't stop. What was, was. You were very understanding. We UNDERSTAND. It's different!

Edited by pault
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Beautiful end to your report. Really nice shots of crocodile walking, baboon youngsters and kudu trio. Like the silhouettes too and the boomslang! Good fear conquering there - you were clearly really getting into the photography.... and some very nice shots as a result. You certainly captured the moment with the male baboon shot! Sounds like you got very lucky with your guide - I felt a bond while reading well before you gave him his own little post.

 

 

Shame it's over. Look forward to the next one.

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Beautiful end to your report. Really nice shots of crocodile walking, baboon youngsters and kudu trio. Like the silhouettes too and the boomslang! Good fear conquering there - you were clearly really getting into the photography.... and some very nice shots as a result. You certainly captured the moment with the male baboon shot! Sounds like you got very lucky with your guide - I felt a bond while reading well before you gave him his own little post.

 

 

Shame it's over. Look forward to the next one.

 

.

Thanks Paul for reading all of it! i feel sad it's over too. just got to keep counting the weeks to the next one. meanwhile, i'll have to get by while reading other great TRs.....

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super report @@Kitsafari. i really don't like baboons but your babies were cute and that moving lion photo really took me by surprise. nice one.

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Thank you soukous. I'm curious - What is it about baboons that you don't like?

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  • 2 weeks later...
Graham Simmonds

Hi Kit,

 

Remember these faces?

 

The Pith surfaces again!

post-47144-0-10435700-1398154632_thumb.jpg

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Game Warden

Super stuff :) Glad to see pith helmets on the "Mombo menu..."

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What a sight for sore eyes!!! Thanks @@Game Warden for arranging this pix of the two of the most fabulous chefs in Botswana! And thanks Graham but where is the pix of you with the pith?

 

This makes me so homesick for Mombo.....

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madaboutcheetah

@@Kitsafari - Thanks for the report. Just caught up with it ........... A very enjoyable read!!!

How sad about the sable - hopefully is okay. How was the sable viewing overall during your time in Vumbura. The grasses surely look tall having had all that amount of rain in the delta this summer ........ Glad your sightings were all fabulous!!!

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The hornbills in the tree just peeking out are a wonderfully unique angle! Really captures the imagination. Beautiful bird shots including the mystery European bee-eater.

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@@Atravelynn - thanks for liking that pix. i love how the baby bird was peeking out of that tiny hole and waiting for the mum hornbill to feed it. i just wonder when they are fully grown, how on earth are they going to fly out of that narrow hole?

 

@@madaboutcheetah thanks for the kind words. i think we had at least 3 different sightings of the sables. the first was the group with the sable with the tumours. there were about 7-8 sables n the group, at least 2 adults, one baby and the rest were sub-adults. they were very relaxed as we drove into the middle of the group, and a couple of them remained seated. another occasion was a sable on its own, and the third was the lone sable accompanied by the lone wildebeest. i thought there was a fourth occasion when we stopped at a wide plains area, but i can't recall if it was a sable or a kudu in the distance trotting towards us, but stopping when it saw us, and then changed directions.

 

they are beautiful.

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the Americans have seen it the night before and are in no hurry to dash off. The Americans take their time, and I fret that the owl will fly off.

That second look at a PEL'S! FISHING! OWL! is just too boring. Once is ok, twice is a drag. So why rush?

 

What the hell are they thinking? Spend thousands on a safari, get not one but two chances at a highlight of the continent, and they are uninterested. Even if these people don't care, there are others that do care. Could they think for a moment about them, meaning you. Tell me, were these folks just so dense as to think a Pel's Fishing Owl was just like a big house sparrow (a bird's a bird) or were they a-holes?

 

One or two L's, it's a PEL'S! You saw it, you photographed it. And despite those slow moving Americans and a tricky flash, YOU WIN!

 

 

my feeling is that they are on their first safari just to see what it was like. i doubt if they will return to safaris anytime soon. they were really nice folks, two couples who were old friends. they were in their early 70s and retired and i think exhausted after being on holidays for a month and waking up early (i doubt if i will be ever too tired to get up for a game drive if i get into my 70s, assuming i still can walk...). but they didn't seem interested in the wildlife, and were always asking for action (where's the kill, the hunt, the predators) and showed scant interest in lion tracks. they preferred to sleep in for the morning drives, and finally skipped the last morning game drive . which was all fine by me as long as it didn't affect my hours on the roads! which it didn't, i'm pleased to say.

 

 

Oh yes, the world weary. I know the kind. Can be very pleasant, but creature comfort is high on their list and not to be messed with.

 

Excellent slice of life in the baboon world. That close up of the approaching creature that shall not be named is a menacing shot! Nice info on Tsile and the photo of you to is lovely. You are far more attractive than your avatar. I hope I did not just insult your beloved pet.

 

Thanks for the wonderful report.

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Kitsafari

putting up some of my dire videotapings of the hyenas. sorry about the jerkiness, it was the amateur in me shaking that camera, not the fear of the hyenas. the hyenas were trying to call the other clan members. quite fascinating to watch.

 

hope this works:

 

Edited by Kitsafari
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Kitsafari

another short piece. you can see the lionesses bristling and pushing the grass with their feet to show territorial behaviour.

 

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@@Kitsafari Hi, unfortunately when I try to play the videos I get a message saying they are private.

Ian

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Kitsafari

oh i have to make them public then. oops. sorry. will rectify.

Edited by Kitsafari
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anthracosaur

@Kitsafari Late to the table here, but this was a wonderful trip report. Every time I read one of these my next Africa destination seems to change, but you make a fantastic case for Bots.

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SafariChick

@@Kitsafari very interesting videos - I am not sure I've heard hyenas make that sound and haven't seen lions and hyenas interract

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  • 2 years later...

Great report @ kitsafari.

I love the photo of the woodland kingfisher on page 2!

Can't wait to get to the mombo section.

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