Surviving Paradise - Cold front moving through winter wonderland .......... Mobile Camping on the Gomoti ; Wild dog dens ; New experiences and lots lots more!!! - July 2023

[jeremie]

WOW WOW WOW!!!! Outstanding journey, sightings and pictures!!!!! This TR gives me great reasons to visit the Okavango!

 

[Hads]

Thanks @madaboutcheetahfor posting yet another fantastic trip report.

I love your photo in your 5th post on the Gomotis plains and the sun setting with Zebra in the foreground.

MMa Dinare delivered in spades for you for a 1 night stay.

 

I can't wait to read about your 4Rivers section of the report, very interested to see what the predator sightings are like in this area.

[madaboutcheetah]

Thanks a ton@jeremieand @Hads .... very kind of you! 

 

@Hadsit's going to be a few more days before I get to editing all the wild dog pictures from 4 rivers (spoiler alert) ...... In brief a great camp and you will have a great time there and IMHO the best access to the best game drive areas are from 4 R at the moment with the easy access to Tsum Tsum and Paradise plains !! The Tsum Tsum area has had a fire go through a month or so ago - so, the viewing is good and promise to be spectacular again with a wide road network / game drives going that way again as in the glory days of the past.

 

 

Edited August 7, 2023 by madaboutcheetah

[jeremie]

Do you think it is worth to rent a car by myself and try to visit the Linyanti and Savuti areas by myself?

I guess that I won't be able to visit the Okavango as it is priced the doble than the Serengeti (but the same order than Odzala I visited last year). I would love one day to travel in Namibia and Botswana, but I am unsure if it is really worth without hiring a knowledgable guide for Northern Botswana (they know the wild dogs dens, the lions prides habits and spots...). I suppose visiting in 1 month Northern Botswana, the CKGR along with Etosha and Damaraland would be something very nice

[janzin]

1 hour ago, madaboutcheetah said:

Thanks a ton@jeremieand @Hads .... very kind of you! 

 

@Hadsit's going to be a few more days before I get to editing all the wild dog pictures from 4 rivers (spoiler alert) ...... In brief a great camp and you will have a great time there and IMHO the best access to the best game drive areas are from 4 R at the moment with the easy access to Tsum Tsum and Paradise plains !! The Tsum Tsum area has had a fire go through a month or so ago - so, the viewing is good and promise to be spectacular again with a wide road network / game drives going that way again as in the glory days of the past.

 

 

ohh I think you are going to make me regret not booking 4Rivers for my December trip...I didn't want to add another flight (expense) and wasn't sure if the animals would be accustomed to vehicles so decided against it. 

[madaboutcheetah]

33 minutes ago, jeremie said:

Do you think it is worth to rent a car by myself and try to visit the Linyanti and Savuti areas by myself?

I guess that I won't be able to visit the Okavango as it is priced the doble than the Serengeti (but the same order than Odzala I visited last year). I would love one day to travel in Namibia and Botswana, but I am unsure if it is really worth without hiring a knowledgable guide for Northern Botswana (they know the wild dogs dens, the lions prides habits and spots...). I suppose visiting in 1 month Northern Botswana, the CKGR along with Etosha and Damaraland would be something very nice

You certainly can hire a guide in Maun and drive into Moremi …. however, dog dens etc etc., will be in inaccessible mopane …. Go for it !!! Nothing compares to Botswana  

[madaboutcheetah]

1 minute ago, janzin said:

ohh I think you are going to make me regret not booking 4Rivers for my December trip...I didn't want to add another flight (expense) and wasn't sure if the animals would be accustomed to vehicles so decided against it. 

Accustomed to vehicles ???? Hmmmm even the roan are super relaxed !!!!

[Hads]

Thanks @madaboutcheetahfor your response, hopefully January will still be okay for 4Rivers .

[madaboutcheetah]

@Hads- report awaited when you return from 4 R  

[madaboutcheetah]

Few more from the Gomoti plains that I edited last night ...... 

[jeremie]

Pfffffff gorgeous scenes and pictures. 

I really appreciate it!

 

 

[jeremie]

11 hours ago, madaboutcheetah said:

You certainly can hire a guide in Maun and drive into Moremi …. however, dog dens etc etc., will be in inaccessible mopane …. Go for it !!! Nothing compares to Botswana  

 

Alright!

I discovered yesterday night that there are campsites also in Moremi and Kwai areas, which I thought were only reserved for concessions. Could be very nice to go there. However I am a bit unsure about my driving skills in the sandy, muddy tracks in there if we go with only 1 vehicle (that was quite tough in the clay tracks of Ndutu, many trucks got stuck). I am also wondering if going by ourselves or with a "random" guide from Maun it would be the same. In Uganda we got better sightings self driving than the other guests, but I guess our luck might turn down.

[Alex The Lion]

48 minutes ago, jeremie said:

 

Alright!

I discovered yesterday night that there are campsites also in Moremi and Kwai areas, which I thought were only reserved for concessions. Could be very nice to go there. However I am a bit unsure about my driving skills in the sandy, muddy tracks in there if we go with only 1 vehicle (that was quite tough in the clay tracks of Ndutu, many trucks got stuck). I am also wondering if going by ourselves or with a "random" guide from Maun it would be the same. In Uganda we got better sightings self driving than the other guests, but I guess our luck might turn down.

 

I would suggest a mobile, if you started a planning thread I would be more than happy to help.

 

Whilst lodges like Tawana are diminishing the remoteness of Blackpools, some of the BOGA and Hatab sites are well away from the self drive routes and limited to only 1/2 operators in the area at a time.

[Africalover]

2 hours ago, jeremie said:

 

Alright!

I discovered yesterday night that there are campsites also in Moremi and Kwai areas, which I thought were only reserved for concessions. Could be very nice to go there. However I am a bit unsure about my driving skills in the sandy, muddy tracks in there if we go with only 1 vehicle (that was quite tough in the clay tracks of Ndutu, many trucks got stuck). I am also wondering if going by ourselves or with a "random" guide from Maun it would be the same. In Uganda we got better sightings self driving than the other guests, but I guess our luck might turn down.

Go for the adventure in sep/oct on a selfdrive, dry season. Easy to come around. But you can’t camp on you own in Black pools. The closest public campsite is South Gate on the entry to Moremi about an hour of game drive to Black Pools and Xine area. You can easily rent a 4X4 in Maun. We stayed in South Gate and had lions and elephants in the camp before we headed to 3. Bridge via Xini. If you want help, please feel free to contact me. I also know the best Mobile Operators in Maun, which are allowed to set up camp in Blackpools.

[John M.]

   Hari, I found wild dogs in close groupings, especially an adult with pups, among the hardest subjects to photograph. Their coat patterns and colours made the individuals so amorphous, it seemed they were merging into each other. 

   Do you have that experience?   Not that I complained... like dust and smoke, it's all part of the "atmosphere" that's so enjoyable. The dogs were among my favourites, anyway.

Edited August 8, 2023 by John M.

[jeremie]

8 hours ago, Africalover said:

Go for the adventure in sep/oct on a selfdrive, dry season. Easy to come around. But you can’t camp on you own in Black pools. The closest public campsite is South Gate on the entry to Moremi about an hour of game drive to Black Pools and Xine area. You can easily rent a 4X4 in Maun. We stayed in South Gate and had lions and elephants in the camp before we headed to 3. Bridge via Xini. If you want help, please feel free to contact me. I also know the best Mobile Operators in Maun, which are allowed to set up camp in Blackpools.

 

I saw this operator for rent a car, which shows all public camp in the region.  They also say that Xakanaxa and Third bridge are public camping options (but must be booked well ahead)

https://en.tawanaselfdrive.com/campsites-map-parks-botswana/

[madaboutcheetah]

@John M.- Hi John...... Indeed, they are tough subjects.  Especially to compose and to get a sharp picture ....... When they are at a den - invariably there's a lot of tall grass or in mopane thickets!!  They are also so fast and quick - modern technology of course makes it a bit easier - but, still not easy subjects.  The eye tracking function etc etc., isn't fool proof.  One needs to really be on top of the various AF focus modes, I suppose now a days with mirrorless.

 

Here goes ..... next bunch from the Gomoti / Mogogelo ........

 

 

[africaaddict]

On 8/6/2023 at 5:41 PM, madaboutcheetah said:

More from the Gomoti flood plains ..... Whilst we had the area mostly to ourselves during the trip, I have some concerns about the future for the area with a very high end luxury lodge being built as we speak ....... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sadly it's not just here whereby one needs concerns about future lodges either expanding/upgrading to luxury status OR building new ones.

Love the WD pup images.

[madaboutcheetah]

@africaaddict- indeed!!!  Thanks, Marc

[madaboutcheetah]

During our day out at Blackpools hangin' out with the cheetah ..... Out of the blue, the big bad wolf pops up and was deadly serious!!! As mentioned in one of the earlier posts, it was a full on chase.  I didn't have my 70-200 handy to get the shot of both cheetah and lion in the same frame during the chase. I made no attempt to get it out of my camera case, either....  I was just sitting there in utter shock and watched the whole sequence unfold ........ I have no qualms with missing the shot - just relieved that they were unharmed and reunited to fight another day!!! 

[madaboutcheetah]

Eventually after chilling out after a tense morning - the trio picked out an impala for dinner ........  Sorry! this is the best I could do - they were too quick!  In hind sight- I should have tried video!!!! 

[Alex The Lion]

@madaboutcheetah You did a great job capturing the cheetah, my camera didn't pick up focus.

 

To set the scene, the Cheetah where hunting a herd of Impala when this lion popped out from under a small bush. @madaboutcheetahwas more concerned about the Cheetah's welfare than any photography, you could see it on his face. The lion didn't give up and there was a second chase in much longer grass.

 

The hunt was hard photograph as the cheetah cut through a wooded island as cover. It was not until the chase started that we saw main protagonist breaking from a row of Blue Bushes. Looking back my images, I was positioned that the cheetah ran through a small gully first obscuring most my view. Its not as easy as East Africa where you can see the whole thing play out.

[madaboutcheetah]

@Alex The Lion- relief!!! If the Lion weren't so scary looking - I would have been tempted to jump out of the car to take his attention away from the trio

 

A few more edited last night .....  The pic of the lion with zebra head is one of my favourites from this safari.  

 

[Hads]

@madaboutcheetahand @Alex The Lionthis mobile Safari has been epic - unbelievable photo's and action.

@madaboutcheetahI agree with your favorite photo of the lion and Zebra head.

[madaboutcheetah]

Thanks a lot @Hads

 

Let's take a break from the Gomoti and head to Kwando's brand new camp in the Kwara Concession ....... Four Rivers.

 

We've all been going to the Four Rivers area for decades now - but, the game drives would always stop along the boundary with the K&D Footsteps camp up there. Game drives always went there because it was just north of the super productive area in Kwara called, "Bat ear fox"  .......  Now, Kwando have opened up the area with an increased road network and easy and quick access to the super productive Tsum Tsum area (including roads to and around last mabala) like in years gone by ..... To the North of last mabala is an area  called "paradise" and I was pretty speechless with the volume of game.

 

First off Kudos to Kwando safaris for finally opening up a camp in this superb game area (Tsum Tsum has always been amongst my absolute favourites) .......  Phenomenal Kwando hospitality.  All familiar faces - AT, Keddie are in charge of camp.  The staff include familiar faces like Queen, Miss T and Kim the chef (it was almost like I was home at Lagoon) ..... Ofcourse to round it all off - I had Spencer guide me for an all too short a stay of 3 nights.  See was my tracker ....... If you have seen the Kwando promo video of camp / or / the images on their social media ...... there is a Water channel in front of camp.  This year the large pack of 21 opted to den right across the channel from camp.  Consequently, in the evening - sitting by the fire you could hear the puppies and the adults interact with each other...........  Here's a teaser of what's to come.  With great access to the den - I was in Wild Dog Country.

 

 (Surprise - we were to bump into a second pack ....... Stay tuned) 

Edited August 10, 2023 by madaboutcheetah