Hwange with Julian Brookstein at Chitubu Camp

[Bush dog]

 

@Towlersonsafari

 

Thank you for your comments.

 

I don't think the shock caused was because it was a dead lion, whether or not I had seen it previously, but rather by the state it was in which I understand hard to imagine for those who haven't seen it.

[Bush dog]

We left the lions and immediately three hundred meters further what I consider to be the highlight of this trip :  buffaloes as far as the eye can see on both sides of the road.  It would have been necessary to have an aerial view to be able to make a reasonable estimate of their number.  We agreed, Julian and I, that there were certainly more than a thousand, but less than two thousand.  I had never seen or even hoped to see one day so many buffaloes gathered in one herd.  Mesmerizing!!!

 

 

 

Waterbucks among the buffaloes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ostrich

 

 

Reedbucks

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

so the cause of the lion's death remains a mystery - has the other lion been seen since @Bush dog?

 

[Galago]

Love the queleas in flight and also the guineafowl with the kudu and impala - lovely pics.

[Bush dog]

@Galago

 

Thanks a lot

 

@Kitsafari

 

Well, I guess the lion researchers took samples for analysis and that to this day, the reason for the death of this lion is known.  As for me, I don't know.

I also ignore if the seven other lions of this pride have been seen since.

[Bush dog]

On our way to Big Toms, always more new lions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bush dog]

Continuation of the previous post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bush dog]

We were arriving at Big Toms when we surprised a group of roans (between 20 & 25 individuals) drinking there.  Frightened, they abruptly moved away from the water to stop at a good distance to gauge us.  Apparently reassured about our intentions, they stayed there for a few minutes and then calmly left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

Really enjoying your report a lot Mike. That huge Buffalo herd must have been quite an extraordinary spectacle, very cool. I do love all your waterhole photos, magical to see so much stuff there in numbers. And just wow to the number of Lion sightings you had. A very successful trip!

[Bush dog]

@michael-ibk

 

Thanks a lot, Michael!

The buffaloes herd was an exceptional sighting.  I wonder if the two lions, seen a few hundred meters before, weren't following them.

A very successful trip, indeed, the eighth and the best so far in Hwange which I owe in large part to the skill, experience and professionalism of Julian.

[Bush dog]

 

 

Immediately after (there are only six minutes between the last photo of the previous post and the first of this one), we climbed to the observation post of Big Toms.  Without transition, a group (25 individuals) of sables approached to drink and then return to where they came from.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few big thirsty.

 

[Zim Girl]

Lovely pictures of the Sable.

[Bush dog]

@Zim Girl

 

Thank you very much!  The next day, I had an even better sighting of sables.

[Bush dog]

On the way back

 

The grey heron still in the nest at Salt pan

 

 

 

Along the main road at Deteema, lions 50 and 51, the last of the trip.

 

 

 

 

At the Deteema campsite.

 

 

 

Blue waxbills

 

 

[Atravelynn]

Sable and roan are so photogenic and numerous.  Great shots.  I like the expression on the grey heron.

[Kitsafari]

brilliant sightings of the stunning sables and roans - my two most favourite antelopes. 

[Bush dog]

@Atravelynn

@Kitsafari

 

Thanks a lot for your kind words!

[Bush dog]

At Deteema and around, there is a lot of petrified wood as can be seen in the last photo, of the previous post, behind the waxbills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bush dog]

We ended the day passing through Mandavu. 

 

 

 

 

A little further at Kapula, we noticed a few vultures in the trees.  An elephant had just given birth.  You could see blood and placenta on the floor.  A tawny eagle was waiting with the vultures to gain access.

 

 

The mother doing everything in its power to help the baby stand and find its way.

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

Wonderful to see such a new one.

[madaboutcheetah]

@Bush dog- Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays to you and your family ..... Thanks for writing this report and enjoying all the amazing photography esp the roan and sable!!!  I've not been in Hwange, but, looks strikingly similar in landscape to parts of Northern Botswana.

[Bush dog]

@madaboutcheetah

 

Thank you, Hari, for your kind words!  Merry Christmas to you also.  It's indeed looking like some parts of northern Botswana especially that side of the park (north and north-west) dominated by mopane woodlands.

[Bush dog]

Day 8

 

 A day without lions!

 

A little before arriving at Masuma, from the same place where we had seen the hyenas on Day 2.

 

 

 

 

We did not linger in Masuma, preferring to go directly to Shumba.  We didn't have to regret it, it was a good choice.  Upon arriving, immediately we saw a group (just over twenty) of sables arriving.  At Shumba there is an observation platform with a wooden palisade, two meters high, at its base which allows vehicles to approach it without being seen by the animals.  So we went up there.  This is on the opposite side to that where the sables had arrived.  Since our last visit, a few days before, the pipes had been repaired.  The water inlet and its reception basin is located almost at the foot of the platform.  That's why, knowing that animals prefer clean and clear water, we were sure that, sooner or later, they would come to drink there and we would be closer to them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas to all of you!

 

 

[John M.]

I love those sable!  I saw only one or two at a time on my safaris.

 

Merry Christmas to you, Mike, and all your viewers. My Christmas is a Covid-enforced quiet one. Maybe I'll spend some of it digging in photo archives, not an unattractive activity.

[Bush dog]

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sables bypass the pan and head towards the clear water reception basin.