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Botswanadreams
Posted

African Parks from Februar 26th: 3 female, 1 unknown sex because it was discovered after Byron do Preez captured the others in February 2019.  

https://www.facebook.com/AfricanParks/posts/2110085695794091

 

Unfortunately we also didn't see the crocodiles in 2019. We were at 6 am on the entry of the Guelta - no camels but a few women fetching water from the spring at this time. The crocs are at the end of the Guelta were the nature spring is. 

 

Afterwards I contacted African Parks. The following was part of the answer:

 

"The crocodiles of the Guelta d’Archei are indeed quite difficult to see, especially during the dry season as camel and herders use it daily and the crocodiles consequently hide under rock boulders. The best is to approach from a high point to reduce the chances of having the crocodiles see you, and to come either early morning before the first camel arrives or late afternoon when the Guelta becomes quiet again."

 

@jeremieIt is possible the get up to the place above the Guelta but it is a 5 kilometers walk both ways. With the high temperature we decided again this.  

 

 

Posted
13 minutes ago, Botswanadreams said:

African Parks from Februar 26th: 3 female, 1 unknown sex because it was discovered after Byron do Preez captured the others in February 2019.  

https://www.facebook.com/AfricanParks/posts/2110085695794091

 

Unfortunately we also didn't see the crocodiles in 2019. We were at 6 am on the entry of the Guelta - no camels but a few women fetching water from the spring at this time. The crocs are at the end of the Guelta were the nature spring is. 

 

Afterwards I contacted African Parks. The following was part of the answer:

 

"The crocodiles of the Guelta d’Archei are indeed quite difficult to see, especially during the dry season as camel and herders use it daily and the crocodiles consequently hide under rock boulders. The best is to approach from a high point to reduce the chances of having the crocodiles see you, and to come either early morning before the first camel arrives or late afternoon when the Guelta becomes quiet again."

 

@jeremieIt is possible the get up to the place above the Guelta but it is a 5 kilometers walk both ways. With the high temperature we decided again this.  

 

 

 

Thanks! I will definitely try the walk under the 40º when I will go there! And then drink 3 liters of water!!!! :)

Botswanadreams
Posted

@jeremie I would suggest plan the time and try both and camp very close to the Guelta. 

 

This is the spring of Guelta were the crocs are.

 

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Sorry for entering this report.

Posted
2 hours ago, jeremie said:

Super site, Gueita d'Archei, Bachikele and Aloba arch are definitely outstanding!

 

I am wondering why you did not climb up to have the eagle viewpoint on the Gueita d'Archei, and only stayed at the ground level. Is it now forbidden to go up?

 

 

 

@jeremie Yes, you are allowed to climb up the rock/cliffs for a high perspective of the guela. I did not do this due to time constraints. I was advised by the crew the climb up/down could take 2-3 hours, and we were crunched for time due to the flight cancellations, and had to move on. Also my priority was to walk the guelta. Next time I will climb the rock/cliffs for the view. 

 

Posted
1 hour ago, gatoratlarge said:

I continue to be mesmerized @RC88COR!!!  Such surreal beauty!  I am curious about the crocodiles...I know there are only four left and all female so African Parks is looking into perhaps adding a male western nile croc?  Are they in a certain spot usually?  Go into caves?  Just wonder if they gave any explanations about them...

 

I have two spots I'm trying to fill for this trip so PM me if anyone is interested...I'm more excited  than ever with this trip report!  Just amazing!!!

 

@gatoratlargethanks, glad you are enjoying the TR, I totally recommend this trip; it is epic! 

 

Posted
22 minutes ago, Botswanadreams said:

@jeremie I would suggest plan the time and try both and camp very close to the Guelta. 

 

This is the spring of Guelta were the crocs are.

 

_1580169-2.jpg.52aaa3fcdfd369659b6ac7aa09530cbf.jpg

 

_1580189.jpg.fc58a23d1a9756c0d1a5d7beaff1ce45.jpg

 

Sorry for entering this report.

 

@Botswanadreamsno problem, your input is welcome. 

 

Posted (edited)

ENNEDI - DAY 4 - continued

 

We continued on through the massive Ennedi plateau towards our lunch spot (more on that in the next post). Enroute to lunch we passed through an area of fantastic rock formations and mushroom rocks - truly phenomenal! I love how the sand at times envelopes the rocks.

 

 

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Edited by RC88COR
Posted (edited)

ENNEDI - DAY 4 - continued

 

I could not believe our lunch spot; It blew me away! It is called Woumina. While the crew proceeded to prepare lunch I grabbed my camera and started scouting out the area. It was like being in a sci-fi movie - really beyond my imagination. Also loved the black rock shards in the sand, probably volcanic in origin. This was one of my favourite locations of the Ennedi portion of the trip. 

 

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Edited by RC88COR
Botswanadreams
Posted

Your Lunch spot called "Woumina".

Posted

ENNEDI - DAY 4 - continued

 

After lunch we headed into an area where the Sahara sand dominated. You could feel the subtle difference in the way the vehicle moved. Our driver would slow down and then reve up the motor and navigate large sand dunes. 

 

It was so exciting!

 

We ventured into another of my favourite areaa. Surreal is the word for this area, no doubt about it. 

 

 

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Posted
14 minutes ago, Botswanadreams said:

Your Lunch spot called "Woumina".

 

Thank you @BotswanadreamsI wrote the names of the areas down, but have misplaced the paper. I will edit my post.

Posted (edited)

ENNEDI - DAY 4 - continued

 

And we ended the day in the area called Akaey, at the most incredible camping site I could ever imagine. In a trip full of favourites, this was my favourite camping site, until the next night ...

 

It was a dream. 

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Edited by RC88COR
gatoratlarge
Posted

@RC88CORI've run out of superlatives!  I scoured instagram looking for pics of Ennedi I wanted to make sure to see when we go next year but it looks like you guys covered them all!  The cathedral is a proper word for it as it looks like the cathedral in Barcelona by Gaudi!

 

Thanks for the great info on the crocodiles @Botswanadreams!  We will definitely try this approach though I'm no mountain goat!  I know one of our trip members is keen on this as well...sounds like early is better due to the high temps...

 

@RC88CORdid they say Barbary sheep were a possibility?  I have read they are present in Ennedi...

 

 

Posted

Yes, there is wildlife in the Ennedi Plateau, including Barbary sheep, dorcas gazelles, striped hyena, baboons, fox, and ostrich. We saw the dorcas gazelles a couple of times from a distance, but they are skiddish and can run lightening fast! I might have been fast enough to catch them in a photo - I'll check. I saw a fox or jackal in the rocks for a split second near where we were camping the first night. We saw dama gazelles, scimitar-horned oryx, adax and a fenex fox in the Ouadi Rime reserve, and I have lots of photos to share when I get to the end of this part of the trip.  We also saw baby ostriches that African Parks was preparing to introduce into the Ennedi to help sustain the existing ostrich population. 

Posted
47 minutes ago, gatoratlarge said:

@RC88CORI've run out of superlatives!  I scoured instagram looking for pics of Ennedi I wanted to make sure to see when we go next year but it looks like you guys covered them all!  The cathedral is a proper word for it as it looks like the cathedral in Barcelona by Gaudi!

 

Thanks for the great info on the crocodiles @Botswanadreams!  We will definitely try this approach though I'm no mountain goat!  I know one of our trip members is keen on this as well...sounds like early is better due to the high temps...

 

@RC88CORdid they say Barbary sheep were a possibility?  I have read they are present in Ennedi...

 

 

 

@gatoratlargeI am sure you will see everything we saw and more. And you will have more time, concentrating on the Ennedi Plateau and Oude Rime. The overnight at Oude Rime will be awesome! We camped right on the edge of the Guelta d'Archei so you should have no problem with an early start there. Yes, there are Barbary sheep in Ennedi, but we did not see them. 

Posted (edited)

ENNEDI - DAY 5

 

 

Fada
Dorcas Gazelles
Mourdi Depression

 

Today was a very big day. We were to head into the Mourdi Depression enroute to the Ounianga Lakes, and the crew was a bit stressed. The Mourdi Depression is a vast landscape of sand and very difficult to navigate through. It takes about 2 days to travel from Ennedi to the Ounianga Lakes via the Mourdi Depression, so the crew was anxious to get as far as we could today. We had a stop at the desert town of Fada where we refueled, picked up supplies, and toilet paper which was sold out and we ended up with kleenex-like tissues instead. 

 

You will see some paved road in a photo. This is the only road we saw in the Ennedi region. The road winds for about a mile through a very rocky area before the Mourdi Depression begins. It is here that we had our first sighting of the very skiddish and beautiful dorcas gazelles. They are lightening fast, so I am surprised I managed to get a few photos of them. 

 

 

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Edited by RC88COR
Posted (edited)

ENNEDI - DAY 5 - continued

 

Mourdi Depression

 

The Mourdi Depression left me speechless. I was in awe of our driver's skill at navigating through the sand dunes. It takes years of experience in this landscape to be able to navigate the Sahara. And we did get stuck a couple of times for about 20 minutes, and everyone from both vehicles helped to get the vehicle out of the sand trap. This is another reason you must have at least 2 vehicles travelling together through this region. 

 

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Edited by RC88COR
Posted

ENNEDI - DAY 5 - continued

 

Mourdi Depression 

Dune Camp Site

 

We ended up camping on the edge of a crescent shaped sand dune. It was a dream. 

 

Enjoy the photos.

 

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Posted

What stunning and mesmerising scenery! THANK YOU for taking us there @RC88COR

 

PS Reverting to an earlier post @RC88CORI'm hooked on that phrase "elephant euphoria" - here's hoping I can make use of it sometime next year somewhere in Africa.

Posted
11 hours ago, Caracal said:

What stunning and mesmerising scenery! THANK YOU for taking us there @RC88COR

 

PS Reverting to an earlier post @RC88CORI'm hooked on that phrase "elephant euphoria" - here's hoping I can make use of it sometime next year somewhere in Africa.

 

@Caracalthank you, glad you are enjoying the photos.

Yes, the phrase elephant euphoria just came to me when I was writing thinking how to describe the buzz.

Posted
7 hours ago, Antee said:


Ok, nice! 
An even greater reason to visit.

 

Thanx. 

@AnteeI found a few photos of the dorcas gazelles and posted in one of the more recent posts.

Posted (edited)

ENNEDI - DAY 6

 

Mourdi Depression 

 

 

An early start as we continued through the Mourdi Depression in order to reach the Ounianga Lakes (next post) by late morning. You will see we passed another group of dorcas gazelles. 

 

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Edited by RC88COR
Posted

ENNEDI - DAY 6

 

Ounianga Lakes - Ounianga Serir 

 

We finally arrived at the mesmerizing Ounianga Lakes. After 2 days of travelling throught the Mourdi Depression coming upon the lakes (2 large groupings of lakes) and the surrounding salt crusted hills and rocks was incredible! The lakes are supplied by groundwater - the remanants of subterrestrial water reserves from glacial times in the region. The lakes are saline, hyper saline and freshwater; they cover an area of over 60,000 ha. It really was astounding, especially the first group of lakes we encountered - Ounianga Serir (the eastern lakes). 

 

We climbed up a huge rock for a breathtaking view of Ounianga Serir, then headed down to a lake surrounded by palms and floating reeds. It really was serenely beautiful. We then had lunch under a desert tree! Remarkable.

 

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Posted

ENNEDI - DAY 6 - continued

 

Ounianga Lakes - Ounianga Kebir 

 

After lunch we continued westward to the Ounianga Kebir group of lakes, in particular the large Lake Youd that has in certain areas a red tinge due to the algae in the water. We then refueled and picked up supplies at Ounianga Kebir town which was a big town. And ended spending the night on the western edge of the Mourdi Depression as the next morning we had an early start heading down through the west side of the Mourdi Depression enroute to Ouadi Rime. ( For orientation, the Ounianga Lakes are 2 days north of the Ennedi Plateau via the vast Mourdi Depression and Ouadi Rime is south west of the Ennedi Plateau.)

 

 

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Posted (edited)

ENNEDI - DAY 7 

 

Mourdi Depression - western edge

 

Heading back south towards the Ennedi Plateau we travelled through the western edge of the Mourdi Depression. This was a day of vast dunes and careful navigation; we got stuck in sand traps a couple of times. Our 2 drivers were incredible! I have included a photo of them taking a well deserved rest on the sand. The crew set up a sun canopy for our lunch spot near a large dune. It was there that we watched incredulously as about 15 men appeared walking over that dune. I think my mouth fell open. We had seen no one other than our group in this vast region and then all of a sudden these men appeared out of nowhere and just kept walking ... 

 

 

 

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Edited by RC88COR

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