My first time in Africa, June 2010 or How I've got that Virus

[janzin]

Wow how incredible to see a pangolin on your first safari! (or at any time!!) Beginner's luck

[ElenaH]

Kwando One Eye Pride

 

 

I don't know if some of you had met a one eye pride. There was an old lady with daughters - huntresses. We met the around Four Rivers. Handsome lionesses. 

 

 

 

It was already very late and we had a long way back and there was a lot of water. I was really scared, I thought we would stuck and stay during the night far away from camp in the wilderness. Not far away from lions ...

Do you remember, they had Toyota Yuri that time.

 

 

 

I think, the cars were not bad and could come through any bush and water. And it was a private concession so, we could return late...  

And we also had some nocturnal sightings.

 

 

Bali was very knowledgable and had a sense for humour. Once we met a young very cooperative hyena who didn't have a note about us.

 

 

Bali wanted to communicate with the animals a bit. For me it was just incredible, I dind't understand why hyena didn't bite him 

 

 

Here is Bali. and Here is a hyena thinking: "What a stupid animal!"

 

 

 

Here are a few pictures of very cooperative jackals:

 

 

 

Or maybe it is the same jackal ;-)  It liked to stay as a model.

 

 

Some other models were big fat Pumbas:

 

 

or some ellies:

 

 

 

Some birds:

 

 

The Suddle-billed stork was definitely one of my favourite.  I like red colour! 

 

 

And elusive Wattled Crane.

 

 

And a Ground Hornbill which is not on the ground but on the tree:

 

 

One day we came across two young male lions who were trying their luck with injured hippo. A hippo was obviously fighting with the rival and got very serious wounds. He was lying in the middle of a very small pool, wounds exposed to the sun. He didn’t move much, but he was still alive. Two lions felt that a hippo was not good and were waiting near the pool. In the evening we decided to check the hippo. This time he got out o the water and two lions were trying to kill him.

 

 

But they were unexperienced, were scared of hippo’s teeth and were hanging on the rear end. The second lion tried to jump on the back of the hippo, to bite a hole and break a spin. But the hippo shook them off like mosquitoes. The battle continued. My heart was in my mouth.

 

 

 

 

 

Somehow I was sorry for hippo and wanted him survive. On the other hand I understood that there were a very little chance for him.

 

 

There was another game drive vehicle which left because the guests couldn’t bare it anymore. Eventually, we also left letting hippo fight for his life. The next morning he was still alive. It was our last morning, and I was worried not to know the hippos fate. That moment I knew I need to come back.

 

Here are the two lions:

 

 

 

 

 

You cannot believe it but I met those lions again in 2017 in Kwara. They were very mature, one had a big black mane .. They had also names but I don't remember them and need to check my notes for 2017.

And what do you think where I met them?

Yes, on a hippo kill.

 

So was my first trip which had a lot of nice sighting and a story with an open end. I didn't see a leopard, a cheetah or a wild dog. 

In the camp we met two guys who came to South Africa for rugby championship and decided for a quick safari trip. Before coming to Kwara, they visited Mombo Camp and told us how good it was and what for excellent sightings of cheetahs and leopards they had.  I put a note into my brain about it. I was jealous about them seeing a leopard and a cheetah. So, for the next year I planned a safari trip myself.  :-)

But this is another story. 

 

 

The End 

[ElenaH]

48 minutes ago, janzin said:

Beginner's luck

That's true! 

[KaliCA]

No wonder you were hooked with all those amazing sightings!

Hard to see a kill….

[ElenaH]

3 hours ago, KaliCA said:

No wonder you were hooked with all those amazing sightings!

Hard to see a kill….

Absolutely!

[Julian]

Wonderful photos - great memories for you on your first safari.

One day I will get round to producing trip reports for my earlier safaris including  the first one to Kenya in 1990, but first I still need to do the current two outstanding ones - Zimbabwe 2022 and Uganda 2023.

[KaliCA]

we are waiting... not so patiently...

[michael-ibk]

Wow, that's a raw sighting with the Hippo! And Pangolin - incredible! Thanks for sharing your first safari, wonderful photos.

[ElenaH]

On 2/17/2024 at 11:52 AM, Julian said:

One day I will get round to producing trip reports for my earlier safaris including  the first one to Kenya in 1990, but first I still need to do the current two outstanding ones - Zimbabwe 2022 and Uganda 2023.

Great! And when Zim 2022 will be coming? I have been to Zim in 2022 as well ;-)

Yand yes, 1990 - must be very interesting!

[ElenaH]

4 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

Wow, that's a raw sighting with the Hippo! And Pangolin - incredible! Thanks for sharing your first safari, wonderful photos.

Thank you, Michael!

[Julian]

22 hours ago, ElenaH said:

Great! And when Zim 2022 will be coming? I have been to Zim in 2022 as well ;-)

Yand yes, 1990 - must be very interesting!

@ElenaHI have just finished sorting, editing photos and videos from our 2023 Uganda - mountain gorillas trip and will be starting the trip report very shortly . It was only a short trip so it won’t take long to do the trip report. 
I will then be doing the Sept 22 Hwange and Mana Pools trip - but still have lots of photos to sort and edit for that.
Hope to have both of those trip reports completed before we go back to Mana Pools this September, but so many other things in life get in the way of me editing photos and completing trip reports.

The five historic reports I still intend to eventually produce are :

Kenya - November 1990- Tsavo and Maasai Mara

Northern Tanzania  and Kenya - Jan/Feb 2001 - Manyara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti (central and north west) and Maasai Mara 

Kenya - August 2004 -  Amboseli and Maasai Mara

India - May 2006 - Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Sasan Gir Forest

Botswana - June 2009 - Moremi, Linyanti and the Delta

 

Edited February 19 by Julian

[ElenaH]

2 hours ago, Julian said:

I will then be doing the Sept 22 Hwange and Mana Pools trip

Great! I was also in Mana in Sep 2022 :-)

[Atravelynn]

Pangolin is safari jackpot indeed.  Your photos, spanning from cute to brutal are gorgeous.  Perfect shot for "The End."