Reflections of my time in the Kwando Concession (NG 14) over the years ....... Memories and a time for reflection!!!

[madaboutcheetah]

Thanks a lot @Zim Girl @gatoratlarge @Peter Connan and @janzin

 

Next set ........  

 

 Bonga Pride

 Where art thou?? Bonga had 7 young males

 Kwena Lagoon

Wannabe Lechwe???

Adrenaline!!

 No wonder they are on the logo

Edited May 8, 2020 by madaboutcheetah

[madaboutcheetah]

Final set !!!! 

 Back in the day, they used to either Run or charge!!!! No middle ground.

 The mighty Boys of Lagoon-RIP

There is no trace of the once iconic Lebala baobab tree......

This photo took a lot of work!!!

 

 Hippo fight at Steve's Pan

Edited May 8, 2020 by madaboutcheetah

[Kitsafari]

what memories, and what spectacular shots to bring back those memories. the caracal...... wow. 

WIshing you even more special memories to come = SOON!

[madaboutcheetah]

Thanks so much @Kitsafari

[BieneMaja]

Stunning photos, Hari! You definitely had some very special moments there. Thank you very much for sharing them!

[michael-ibk]

What a collection Hari! I remember many of these photos, but to see your "Best of" in one thread is just incredible. Love this.

 

What about the Cheetah-Reedbuck kill, was that not in Lagoon/Lebala?

[madaboutcheetah]

Thanks @BieneMaja

 

Thanks a lot @michael-ibk - i think you mean the male Lechwe, yes another Lebala moment ; that's in another hard drive that I've been lazy to dig up  ...... Will do so later - I'm finally back at work! after all the lockdowns...... 

[BRACQUENE]

@madaboutcheetah

 

I missed your great Kwando report until now due to family issues but I did some catching up since then and this stunning photos make my day , I can tell you ! 

[madaboutcheetah]

@BRACQUENE - hope everything is okay!!! Please stay well ... Thank you

[BRACQUENE]

Thanks @madaboutcheetah for your response and concern ! Sadly my brother-in-law past away last week only 58 ; I am fine and working from home until the 2th of June at least  

[madaboutcheetah]

So Sorry to hear ..... Please take care!!

[Hads]

@madaboutcheetah I love all the photo's.The 3 male kudu's in front of the anthill is fantastic.

@BRACQUENE sorry to hear of your families loss.

[madaboutcheetah]

Thanks @Hads

[Atravelynn]

You are a living, breathing Kwando "brochure!"

[madaboutcheetah]

@Atravelynn - Thanks, Lynn .... 

[ElenaH]

Excellent post, Hari @madaboutcheetah ! Thank you very much for sharing!

When was your first sighting of pangolin?

[madaboutcheetah]

59 minutes ago, ElenaH said:

Excellent post, Hari @madaboutcheetah ! Thank you very much for sharing!

When was your first sighting of pangolin?

 

Thank you so much @ElenaH - My first Pangolin was Lebala October 2008; Second one Lagoon - June/July 2014 

 

I've never seen an Aardvark yet - if only!!! 

[JPS]

On 5/6/2020 at 2:14 PM, madaboutcheetah said:

Set Two!!! 

 The iconic Dead Leadwood tree  Skimmer pan

 

pPan

 My second Pangolin 2014

 Cheetah on demand!!!

 Crimson Breasted Shrike

Ah! The Boys!!!

 Winter Magic

 Let's go hunting!!!

 They are cute too!!

 Mr.Johnny Walker

 The incredible Jane and her cubs!

A pangolin.....that's not easy, great job!

The pictures are amazing, great job!

[madaboutcheetah]

@JPSThank you!!!

[ElenaH]

@madaboutcheetah, my first pangolin was in Lebala, too, in 2010. It was my first safari and I couldn't understand at all why the guides are going to get crazy, jumping and lauphing like if they saw a pink-panther! I got the point later ;-)

The second pangolin was in Zimbabwe. Rangers transported it to Mana Pools. It was taken away (or even boght back!) from poachers. The rangers-vehicle broke down and we stopped to help. 

Nice pictures, @madaboutcheetah !

[madaboutcheetah]

@Caracal- This thread contains some of those "rare sightings" that we spoke about in the night drives thread .............  Even though Lagoon and Lebala offer night drives, I have no desire to do them as I always start very early the next morning and would like the entire tracking team to stay fresh for the duration of the trip (guide, tracker in the old fashioned way and us as guests) ....... the pangolin photo looks like a photo with spotlight - but, i will have to dig photos(older external hard drives)  of earlier in the sighting when it was regular day light.  Sighting was from about 4:30 Pm and i didn't leave the pangolin for a couple of hours. 

 

The Brown Hyena den in 2018 baffled everyone and researchers learnt that Brown Hyenas do exist that far north ........ Guess what - they found another den late 2021 this time Lebala. 

Edited June 20, 2022 by madaboutcheetah

[Ginny]

What amazing photos!  Thank you@madaboutcheetah I have a trip planned for Botswana/Kwando camps March 2023, after cancelling March 2022.

Working with Roger at Safari Lifestyles, but much of my information for where to go came from Safarinet reports.

Thank you all!

[madaboutcheetah]

@Ginny- try to see if you can do January or February instead of March when the grasses are a bit shorter than March / April (ideally I avoid March or April ) although I’ve had good sightings those months too …. Thank you for your kind words 

[Rg09]

Amazing photos - thank you for sharing!

Hari, if you had to choose only one - Lagoon or Lebala - which one you would go with? We have a trip planned for late Nov/early Dec 2023 that includes Kwara, Lebala (but can be changed to Lagoon at this point) and Duba Plains (that one is for sentimental reasons)...in your experience over years did Lagoon or Lebala deliver more in terms of sighings?

Edited September 4, 2022 by Rg09

[madaboutcheetah]

@Rg09- thanks a lot. It’s hard for me to pick…. Right now lebala is all about lions. All over the place!!! 
 

I’ve had phenomenal sightings at both places over the years.  The dynamics have shifted off and on too …. It’s hard to pick one over the other personally. 
 

dogs and cheetah better chance at lagoon than lebala at least atm.