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New Botswana Trip Report--Tau Pan, Moremi, Khwai, and Chobe, Green Season Safari


mtanenbaum

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anthracosaur

I already make her stay on one bird longer than she'd prefer, so that is standard trip procedure for us.

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Wild Dogger
21 hours ago, anthracosaur said:

@mtanenbaumand @NancySand anyone else with experience at Pangolin Lodge...Would someone not interested in photography enjoy the lodge? My wife doesn't have much interest in photography and I'd be concerned that she wouldn't enjoy all of the specialized photography instruction.

I was there with my wife in 2018 and she did not really like it.
Sitting in front of a kingfisher for a longer time just to wait if the bird does something special was not her piece of meat.
Sundowners and those things she liked on a Safari did not take place.
The focus is completely on photography.
She even did not come on one or two boat trips when I remember right.
And she did not like the guide (he´s no more with Pangolin).
For me I liked it very much.

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I would say that Pangolin is good for non-photographers only if they are very interested in animal behavior, and would enjoy sitting for a long time at each sighting to watch the animals. That is not for everyone. Funny enough, I didn't even notice that there are no sundowners, because I'm not a drinker and that's not an especially favorite part of the safari experience for me. But certainly many people love having drinks out in nature. Also, I can't speak for all their guides, only the couple I met, but I would say that they might be a bit more "serious" and less humorous than some of the guides I have had, although our photo guide did try to convince us that he had 3 wives and wanted to have 15! (I didn't fall for that one!)

 

 

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shouldbewriting

Wonderful report!

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@@mtanenbaumThanks for this terrific trip report.   Brought back lots of memories of when I did a trip with Lekata a few years ago.   I also had Skaka as a guide.  We had some amazing wild dog sightings in both Moremi and Khwai.   Pangolin sounds like a good option in Chobe for photographers.   I am glad you were able to see the Chobe waterfront with less people.  That was my very first safari almost 20 years ago and have been back a few times since then at different times of the year.  The last time we did a full day drive further up the river for an overnight camp which was the single most prolific game drive I can remember with hundreds of elephant, giraffe, and 30+ lions in 5 or 6 separate sightings.  I really enjoyed your report and jealous of the caracal!!!  Still missing caracal, ardwolf and pangolin on my wish list....  Next time:)

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anthracosaur

@mtanenbaumNice trip report. It is interesting hearing about someone else visiting the same places we did with only a few weeks separation. When we were in Moremi and Khwai the grasses were crazy high, particularly in Moremi. At times the grass was eye level with us sitting in the first and second rows of seats. It made spotting quite challenging. Was the situation similar when you were there?

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The grass was high but it didn't seem to interfere too much with finding the animals, surprisingly enough. It was more of a problem in the campgrounds, where I felt like we needed a scythe to hack through the grass on the way to the tents! It went up to my knees! I think they must have heard us complaining because at the second campground they hacked some paths to the tents through the grass after the first afternoon there! 

 

Our guide was amazing at finding the animals in the grass, though--he even spotted a serval at night, although we couldn't get very close for fear of frightening it off so I called it the ghost serval, since with the spotlight it looked ghostlike, but you could definitely see the head and the ears. 

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What a stressful start, but you probably left that all behind when the caracal appeared.  You have some outstanding and unusual photos, like the croc with its mouth full and the coucal with the chameleon perhaps in its beak.  The lions peaking over the log are adorable. Thanks for sharing how Pangolin safaris work.  It is a unique approach that they have.  Was the mobile part done by Pangolin too?

Edited by Atravelynn
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@mtanenbaumHi Margo you clearly had a great time despite some difficult safari mates! Great photography. I remember seeing the Pangolin boat when John and I were on the river. Hope to hear more about your trip in September. Pen 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for sharing your stunning pictures!!

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