A Doggy Dog Start to the New Year; A trip tracking Dogs, Spots, stripes and more ....... A green season visit to Botswana- January 2023......

[madaboutcheetah]

Back to this report - Sorry for the delay been busy with work etc etc.,

 

Whilst still waiting for the dogs to pop up - we continued searching in Bat ear fox and 4 Rivers area and also took a look around Tsum Tsum.  Bat ear fox lived upto it's billing for fantastic resident game

 

I'm very excited with the new Four Rivers camp to come up this winter - It will also allow closer access to areas in Tsum Tsum and I can guarantee phenomenal cheetah sightings again as in the glory days of Tsum Tsum when the mighty 3 boys ruled the area.

[madaboutcheetah]

The following day - Back to Bat ear fox and while we saw some plains game in fabulous morning light ........ they alerted us to the presence of the Lions in the area.  We stayed with them for a while until they retreated into the shade for a siesta.

[madaboutcheetah]

Shortly after - we finally found tracks and tracked them down into the Kalahari apple leaf ........  They looked extremely well fed and they were in the shade; a lovely pack of 29.

 

A hammerkop feeding on a terrapin to round out the morning!! 

Edited February 15, 2023 by madaboutcheetah

[madaboutcheetah]

Of course, we went straight to the dogs after lunch - we stopped by the airstrip en route (there was a sleeping female cheetah in the tall grass sleeping off a full belly - apparently one of the splash vehicles found her mid day when they were doing a airstrip run) ..... No photos of a sleepy cheetah (no Special (the lazy male cheetah) sighting for me over two recent trips to Kwara) 

 

Anyways, the dogs did keep us entertained late in the day with a greeting ritual.  It was hard to photograph in the tall grass - but, plenty of opportunity with a pack of 29!!! 

Edited February 15, 2023 by madaboutcheetah

[madaboutcheetah]

Interlude 

 

see at a sundowner stop .. I love the brand new vehicles in kwara camp. I certainly hope the new vehicles make their way to lebala and lagoon 

[madaboutcheetah]

iPhone photos of the smaller things on safari

[Kitsafari]

oh I liked that insect in the last photo of the little things on safari

[madaboutcheetah]

Thanks @Kitsafari

 

The magic of Bat Ear fox .......  We bumped into this lioness in the middle of a really hot afternoon.  We probably missed the kill by a few minutes ......  

[madaboutcheetah]

Back to the report - alas, the editing has been slow ........ but, here goes !! 

[wilddog]

Wow @madaboutcheetah Dogs galore. Interesting how the colouring is changing, as it always does.

 

Reminiscent of the 'Golden Pack' of some years ago.

[madaboutcheetah]

@wilddog- this pack of 29 is referred to by kwara camp as “golden pack” but looks like it’s a mish/ mash of different pack genetics here …. The orange coat dog in some of the pictures likely came from the greater Linyanti area ….

[madaboutcheetah]

Here we go into the final full day of the safari ....... Back to the dogs in the AM.  

 

This would be the last sighting of the dogs for the trip.  While we were tracking - we announced the direction of the tracks and then one of the splash vehicles bumped into the dogs.....  There was a large tour group at Splash (3 vehicles) so they deferred the sighting to the afternoon gracefully since we had put in the hard yards tracking for over an hour;  pulled out almost immediately.  We made the most of this opportunity ..... Here goes! 

 

Edited March 1, 2023 by madaboutcheetah

[madaboutcheetah]

Final afternoon at Kwara - We invited Amelia (the receptionist) to go on game drive with us .......  We just wanted a nice relaxing game drive with all the general game opportunities as we could get with a nice drive upto 4 rivers and a nice sundowner.  

 

That's the end of this Trip report.  Many Thanks to all the fabulous people on the ground at the Kwando camps,  as always for another fabulous safari.  

 

Many Thanks for following along with this report and keeping me motivated to get through the editing.   Cheers!!!! 

Edited March 2, 2023 by madaboutcheetah

[Kitsafari]

How astounding to see that number of dogs! You n the guides n trackers did so well finding them. 

Thanks for the great images n TR! 

[Zubbie15]

Really great photos @madaboutcheetah, thanks so much for sharing. I feel like every time you post a report from Botswana I look into these camps, someday I'll have to take the plunge! 

[AKR1]

Excellent report with great pictures, Hari. Agree the number of dogs you saw is astounding. But Kwara delivered all around, yet again. 

[madaboutcheetah]

Thanks a lot @Kitsafari@Zubbie15and @AKR1

 

@AKR1- I agree it was amazing to hang out with a pack of 29 - but, kwara wasn’t a patch on the glory days of the past when the Tsum tsum area was at its peak especially with those 3 cheetah brothers.  The roads inside the last mabala have all disappeared over time with cars not going up there at some point.  With the new 4 rivers camp I can bet this area will come back to its former pomp 

[John M.]

More wonderful dog sightings, Hari. My favourites, the pack reflected in the waterway.  I'd be tempted to get a panoramic print done on stretched canvas, of the image you liked most. That's what I often do with images that are special for one reason or another.

Edited March 4, 2023 by John M.

[madaboutcheetah]

Thanks John 

[Alex The Lion]

9 hours ago, madaboutcheetah said:

Thanks a lot @Kitsafari@Zubbie15and @AKR1

 

@AKR1- I agree it was amazing to hang out with a pack of 29 - but, kwara wasn’t a patch on the glory days of the past when the Tsum tsum area was at its peak especially with those 3 cheetah brothers.  The roads inside the last mabala have all disappeared over time with cars not going up there at some point.  With the new 4 rivers camp I can bet this area will come back to its former pomp 

 

@madaboutcheetah Has last Mabala experienced a lot more water over the last 10 years and become more permanent Delta? A lot of water is flowing through that Kwara/Khwai side at the moment.

 

It is very similar to Bodumatau, inside Moremi, which has transformed from open flood plains with short grasses, to full time swamp. Most of the roads are now underwater, and even the tracks in the Mopane are now full of water.

 

Dare I also mention that Kwando has moved away from "hardcore" game viewing, and it's quite a trek to get out there if guides can show lions, dogs etc not far from camp.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Alex The Lion

[AKR1]

12 hours ago, madaboutcheetah said:

Thanks a lot @Kitsafari@Zubbie15and @AKR1

 

@AKR1- I agree it was amazing to hang out with a pack of 29 - but, kwara wasn’t a patch on the glory days of the past when the Tsum tsum area was at its peak especially with those 3 cheetah brothers.  The roads inside the last mabala have all disappeared over time with cars not going up there at some point.  With the new 4 rivers camp I can bet this area will come back to its former pomp 

I was lucky enough to have experienced Kwara at or close to its peak and spending an unforgettable day in Tsum tsum with the 3 cheetah brothers driven by the the late great Hobbes. 

[AKR1]

Also is the new 4 Rivers camp open? If so did you consider staying there or as you said with the roads to Tsum Tsum non - existent now it may not be the best location at the moment. ATR does have a description of the camp. Also what does Mabala mean, some time of land area? - not familiar with the term and could not find when I tried to look up. 
https://africatravelresource.com/safari-lodges/botswana/okavango-delta/four-rivers-camp

[Alex The Lion]

20 minutes ago, AKR1 said:

Also is the new 4 Rivers camp open? If so did you consider staying there or as you said with the roads to Tsum Tsum non - existent now it may not be the best location at the moment. ATR does have a description of the camp. Also what does Mabala mean, some time of land area? - not familiar with the term and could not find when I tried to look up. 
https://africatravelresource.com/safari-lodges/botswana/okavango-delta/four-rivers-camp

 

@AKR1Mabala translates as flood plain. The guides at Kwara would often refer to 1st, 2nd and last Mabala.

 

The new camp is located near the boundary of NG21, and will also give you scope to drive further west to the Vumbura boundary.

 

https://www.kwando.co.bw/4-rivers - If you click the map it will drop a pin in Google Maps.

[madaboutcheetah]

16 hours ago, Alex The Lion said:

 

@madaboutcheetah Has last Mabala experienced a lot more water over the last 10 years and become more permanent Delta? A lot of water is flowing through that Kwara/Khwai side at the moment.

 

It is very similar to Bodumatau, inside Moremi, which has transformed from open flood plains with short grasses, to full time swamp. Most of the roads are now underwater, and even the tracks in the Mopane are now full of water.

 

Dare I also mention that Kwando has moved away from "hardcore" game viewing, and it's quite a trek to get out there if guides can show lions, dogs etc not far from camp.

I think flood some years and bone dry many years too .... problem more to do with the access road from bat ear fox area to TT which was damaged by the high influx of elephants in the area and not maintained properly especially more so during the pandemic. Eventually game drives stopped going there (especially from splash it's a heck of a long way off) and so too the roads disappeared.

Edited March 5, 2023 by madaboutcheetah

[madaboutcheetah]

12 hours ago, AKR1 said:

Also is the new 4 Rivers camp open? If so did you consider staying there or as you said with the roads to Tsum Tsum non - existent now it may not be the best location at the moment. ATR does have a description of the camp. Also what does Mabala mean, some time of land area? - not familiar with the term and could not find when I tried to look up. 
https://africatravelresource.com/safari-lodges/botswana/okavango-delta/four-rivers-camp

You can cut across to TT from 4 rivers and I’d sure hope they work on a proper road network there.  Camp opens June I think. I think this area will be phenomenal eventually.  Over the years, we've always gone to the periphery of 4 rivers (across from the Footsteps walking trails area) and it's a super stunning area for sure.  We did a trip to the new camp area as Charles, mentioned that the construction crew were often bumping into wild dogs ......  The area will be stunning for certain.  Camp will have it's own airstrip.

Edited March 5, 2023 by madaboutcheetah