A couple of last minute questions for Hari
Jan 31st, 2007, 06:44 PM
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A couple of last minute questions for Hari
Hi Hari,
Six weeks to go until we leave for Botswana and my husband had a few questions...are there any hides or blinds at any of the Kwando camps? Do they supply rain ponchos? Have you ever seen meerkats there? Thanks again for your help...will post our sightings on our return.
Six weeks to go until we leave for Botswana and my husband had a few questions...are there any hides or blinds at any of the Kwando camps? Do they supply rain ponchos? Have you ever seen meerkats there? Thanks again for your help...will post our sightings on our return.
Jan 31st, 2007, 06:56 PM
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Hi Loru100,
Blinds in the tent? Yes, they do keep the flaps at night closed especially in the winter time when it is cold. Dont worry...nothing can come into your tent. The service is fantastic and they literally check on your tent every time you step out (for if your tent needs anything)
A game viewing hide where you can sit and watch the animals? Lebala has a hide which is good for bird watching or just a quiet spot where you can sit and read.
Yes, they do supply ponchos if it rains. Still take one fleece with you, although it is summer time just in case one or two evenings cool down.
No meerkats at any of the camps. you can only see them in either the Makgadigadi pans or in the Central Kalahari....
Enjoy your trip!!! look forward to hearing from you.......
Hari
Blinds in the tent? Yes, they do keep the flaps at night closed especially in the winter time when it is cold. Dont worry...nothing can come into your tent. The service is fantastic and they literally check on your tent every time you step out (for if your tent needs anything)
A game viewing hide where you can sit and watch the animals? Lebala has a hide which is good for bird watching or just a quiet spot where you can sit and read.
Yes, they do supply ponchos if it rains. Still take one fleece with you, although it is summer time just in case one or two evenings cool down.
No meerkats at any of the camps. you can only see them in either the Makgadigadi pans or in the Central Kalahari....
Enjoy your trip!!! look forward to hearing from you.......
Hari
Jan 31st, 2007, 07:03 PM
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Hari, I may be wrong but I think she was asking if there were blinds, like camoflaged(sp?)areas rather than window covers OR hides. Might be wrong that's just how I read it. Maybe they are duck hunters 
Eric
Eric
Jan 31st, 2007, 09:11 PM
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I think some of the confusion here is because some people are not aware that 'blind' and 'hide' have exactly the same photographic meaning in some countries (except when the specific meaning of blind is a window 'cover' or 'shade'). When I inhabited an American-based nature photography site for some years, the Americans commonly used the word 'blind' to describe a hiding place for a photographer. They rarely, if at all, used 'hide', which is commonly used in Australia and some other countries. Some people have never heard the term 'photographic blind' and some have never heard 'photographic hide'. To make sure my memory wasn't failing me, I've just checked the American John Shaw's 'Nature Photography Field Guide' and he uses 'blind' to describe any photographic hiding place...even vehicles.
John
John
Jan 31st, 2007, 10:18 PM
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You all have figured it out well -- in the USA we do have window blinds but it is a term that is the equivalent of hide.
John: you are correct it is often a term used by nature photographers (and hunters) and often in photography they will recommend using your vehicle as a blind since wildlife does not flee as quickly as when you are visible on foot.
Kwara Camp has a raised viewing platform similar to Lebala. They may call them hides but they are really covered, raised viewing platforms -- more like a covered deck than a true hide at a waterhole with a smaller opening to photograph from. I agree with Hari that the Lebala lounge is a better spot. We kicked feet up on the rail there with a cool drink and watched an elephant approach very close.
John: you are correct it is often a term used by nature photographers (and hunters) and often in photography they will recommend using your vehicle as a blind since wildlife does not flee as quickly as when you are visible on foot.
Kwara Camp has a raised viewing platform similar to Lebala. They may call them hides but they are really covered, raised viewing platforms -- more like a covered deck than a true hide at a waterhole with a smaller opening to photograph from. I agree with Hari that the Lebala lounge is a better spot. We kicked feet up on the rail there with a cool drink and watched an elephant approach very close.
Feb 1st, 2007, 02:53 AM
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Duma Tau has a raised platform 'hide', too, overlooking the start of the Savuti Channel...or it did, the last time I looked 
And of course, Zib has its neat little dugout hide alongside the camp waterhole, and Savuti its famous woodpile hide. I'm very keen to try out some of the various hides which Shenton Safaris have near their SL camps in Zambia.
Actually, one strict birder's definition I've read is that a blind is merely a screen resembling one wall of a true shed or tent-style hide. But we photographers who are aware of both words generously allow both to apply to the same thing
i.e. anything that hides, disguises or camouflages the human form, from a fixed structure to a vehicle to a portable tent-like cloak that a photographer or birder can walk around in. The latter look great, but they'd be like saunas in warm weather. Even my semi-portable tent hide which I designed with plenty of ventilation can get unbearably warm.
John
And of course, Zib has its neat little dugout hide alongside the camp waterhole, and Savuti its famous woodpile hide. I'm very keen to try out some of the various hides which Shenton Safaris have near their SL camps in Zambia.Actually, one strict birder's definition I've read is that a blind is merely a screen resembling one wall of a true shed or tent-style hide. But we photographers who are aware of both words generously allow both to apply to the same thing
i.e. anything that hides, disguises or camouflages the human form, from a fixed structure to a vehicle to a portable tent-like cloak that a photographer or birder can walk around in. The latter look great, but they'd be like saunas in warm weather. Even my semi-portable tent hide which I designed with plenty of ventilation can get unbearably warm.John
Feb 1st, 2007, 04:46 AM
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Lebala does indeed have a raised hide/blind, but please DO NOT EVEN THINK of using it if I am staying there. It is my favorite place (thus far) in all of Africa.
The Lebala blind is about 8 or 10 feet high, and looks out over the river and a vast, mostly flat plain. I saw several herds of elephants from the hide; it is an awesome sight.
One day I decided to forgo the morning game drive -- I slept in a bit and spent the morning in the hide. It was magnificent, having the camp virtually all to myself, hearing no sounds other than the wind.
The Lebala blind is about 8 or 10 feet high, and looks out over the river and a vast, mostly flat plain. I saw several herds of elephants from the hide; it is an awesome sight.
One day I decided to forgo the morning game drive -- I slept in a bit and spent the morning in the hide. It was magnificent, having the camp virtually all to myself, hearing no sounds other than the wind.
Feb 1st, 2007, 05:12 AM
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rizzuto,
Dont worry.......if we are at Lebala again, the hide is all yours. I love the views from the lounge and a nice chat with whoever is around....
Also, i remember one day a huge herd of elephants passed between the lounge and the rooms.....i also love that little camp fire area next to the lounge. Jeez....cant wait for my trip. Only a few more months!!!
Hari
Dont worry.......if we are at Lebala again, the hide is all yours. I love the views from the lounge and a nice chat with whoever is around....
Also, i remember one day a huge herd of elephants passed between the lounge and the rooms.....i also love that little camp fire area next to the lounge. Jeez....cant wait for my trip. Only a few more months!!!
Hari
Feb 1st, 2007, 06:09 AM
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John: the one wall blind is typically for viewing a nest or known roosting area, or sometimes even a habitat like a wetland where all the action is out in front so one wall will do it. I do have one of the portable tent blinds/hide that quickly unfolds and you can sit in it. Mine has velcro that allows you to open flaps in all directions. Particularly good for calling in predators because you are concealed in all directions. You are right though it will get hot in the sun but most of the good mammal action of course is early and late. Midday sitting is usually a waste anyway.
Feb 1st, 2007, 11:37 AM
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Pred,
As I said, a strictly birder's def of 'blind'.
My semi-portable has window flaps on three sides and a door flap at the back...not big enough to turn completely around inside with a heavy combo on a tripod, but you could do it easily with hand-held gear or a monopod. Mine doesn't have velcro...I thought it would be too noisy. Do you do anything to stop the velcro engaging on the closed flaps, in case you need to change direction and open a flap quickly without a loud tearing noise? Can you tell me where you got your hide? Mine is made of heavy duty canvas and is not featherweight, so I probably wouldn't mind replacing it sometime (although I'd still like one tough enough to be erected among thornbushes).
loru100: they do mean the same thing to many photographers. It probably depends what country you're in, so no need to apologise. One of the great things about Fodors is the interesting bits of international knowledge you can pick up.
John
As I said, a strictly birder's def of 'blind'.
My semi-portable has window flaps on three sides and a door flap at the back...not big enough to turn completely around inside with a heavy combo on a tripod, but you could do it easily with hand-held gear or a monopod. Mine doesn't have velcro...I thought it would be too noisy. Do you do anything to stop the velcro engaging on the closed flaps, in case you need to change direction and open a flap quickly without a loud tearing noise? Can you tell me where you got your hide? Mine is made of heavy duty canvas and is not featherweight, so I probably wouldn't mind replacing it sometime (although I'd still like one tough enough to be erected among thornbushes).
loru100: they do mean the same thing to many photographers. It probably depends what country you're in, so no need to apologise. One of the great things about Fodors is the interesting bits of international knowledge you can pick up.
John
Feb 1st, 2007, 11:45 AM
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Hari,
I often spend siesta time with the camera, and a hide is usually not necessary with the birds and other little critters that hang around camp. I once spent all of siesta time photographing birds at a camp water feature (fairly remote from the tents), only to realise later that I'd had my back to the wide, wide world the whole time and could easily have been snuck up on. What a way to go!
John
I often spend siesta time with the camera, and a hide is usually not necessary with the birds and other little critters that hang around camp. I once spent all of siesta time photographing birds at a camp water feature (fairly remote from the tents), only to realise later that I'd had my back to the wide, wide world the whole time and could easily have been snuck up on. What a way to go!
John
Feb 1st, 2007, 12:55 PM
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John: mine has lots of flap options allowing a range from leaving good sized panels open to small gaps just big enough for your camera. When I set up I usually make a few small gaps so that I have options and don't need to make any noise with new openings. It is easy to carry and set up. I got it a few years ago by just walking into some hunting store -- hunters are light years ahead with good equipment and techniques for calling wildlife so I studied and copied some of their methods. I don't remember the brand and it is packed away with lots of field gear. I'll try and get it out to check for a brand name in the next couple of days.
Feb 1st, 2007, 02:39 PM
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"...hunters are light years ahead with good equipment and techniques for calling wildlife..."
That figures, Pred (deep sarcasm here). I might check out a hunting store myself, though hunting is not as big a deal in Australia; meantime, I'll await any brand name you can find. My thanks in advance.
The two portable models illustrated in John Shaw's book are Rod Planck's N-Visabag Blind (a big bag made of camo canvas with a tubed lens opening which the photographer drapes over himself/herself while sitting or standing; and L.L. Rue's Ultimate Blind, a multi-sided tent-like thing which looks smaller and lighter than the one I designed.
John
That figures, Pred (deep sarcasm here). I might check out a hunting store myself, though hunting is not as big a deal in Australia; meantime, I'll await any brand name you can find. My thanks in advance.
The two portable models illustrated in John Shaw's book are Rod Planck's N-Visabag Blind (a big bag made of camo canvas with a tubed lens opening which the photographer drapes over himself/herself while sitting or standing; and L.L. Rue's Ultimate Blind, a multi-sided tent-like thing which looks smaller and lighter than the one I designed.
John
Feb 1st, 2007, 05:36 PM
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Hari,
I would hope so. But as I walked away from my photographic session, I glanced across at Selinda's plunge pool where a couple of my friends were cooling off. And I remembered a Selinda manager telling how, two years before, he was enjoying the plunge pool when he looked up and saw some of the Selinda pride drinking from the same water feature. They would have entered the camp precincts from behind me, had I been there at the time. I had just spent a good two hours sitting on a rock, engrossed in the comings and goings of little birds and not giving a thought to what might have been behind me. Despite that, I hate the thought of a safari camp being fenced, don't you? I'd rather take my chances if I was being a little careless.
John
I would hope so. But as I walked away from my photographic session, I glanced across at Selinda's plunge pool where a couple of my friends were cooling off. And I remembered a Selinda manager telling how, two years before, he was enjoying the plunge pool when he looked up and saw some of the Selinda pride drinking from the same water feature. They would have entered the camp precincts from behind me, had I been there at the time. I had just spent a good two hours sitting on a rock, engrossed in the comings and goings of little birds and not giving a thought to what might have been behind me. Despite that, I hate the thought of a safari camp being fenced, don't you? I'd rather take my chances if I was being a little careless.
John
