Mashatu: trip report + pictures
Jul 2nd, 2008, 03:36 AM
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Mashatu: trip report + pictures
Hello everyone,
If you hear people talking about Botswana, they mainly mention "the Okavango delta".
Well I spent some time in the Tuli Block (Mashatu) and was delighted that I booked a long stay.
Trip report + pictures can be seen by clicking on the following link:
http://www.aardvarktravel.net/chat/v...ic.php?t=36105
Enjoy, Johan
PS: downloading can be slow if you don't have a fast connection.
If you hear people talking about Botswana, they mainly mention "the Okavango delta".
Well I spent some time in the Tuli Block (Mashatu) and was delighted that I booked a long stay.
Trip report + pictures can be seen by clicking on the following link:
http://www.aardvarktravel.net/chat/v...ic.php?t=36105
Enjoy, Johan
PS: downloading can be slow if you don't have a fast connection.
Jul 2nd, 2008, 04:48 AM
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Johan - this report and the associated photos made my day as I just booked an 8 day stay in the Mashatu tented camp for October of this year. I no doubt will read this several times before I depart.
Thrilled to read this in your report as hyenas are one of my favorite animals to observe and listen to:
"Hyenas were seen on many occasions and were great to watch."
It always tough to view your photos and pick out favorites as they are all such high quality images, but I must say you made those warthogs look like super models and that white fronted bea eater with its tail fanned clinging to the rock was outstanding.
Can you decribe the hide? How many people can fit into it comfortably? How far away from water hole?
I see you did a several night walking overnight trip. Did you do any day walks from camp or the predator research drive? Did you pre-arrange your overnight or just arrange it on the spur of moment while there?
Thrilled to read this in your report as hyenas are one of my favorite animals to observe and listen to:
"Hyenas were seen on many occasions and were great to watch."
It always tough to view your photos and pick out favorites as they are all such high quality images, but I must say you made those warthogs look like super models and that white fronted bea eater with its tail fanned clinging to the rock was outstanding.
Can you decribe the hide? How many people can fit into it comfortably? How far away from water hole?
I see you did a several night walking overnight trip. Did you do any day walks from camp or the predator research drive? Did you pre-arrange your overnight or just arrange it on the spur of moment while there?
Jul 2nd, 2008, 06:26 AM
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Hi Johan,
Your pictures are SUPERB as always ..... like I mentioned the other day, quite a source of inspiration for many of us who view them. So, thanks for posting.......
Although, it will be silly of me to pick favourites - You will know that I enjoyed the cheetah ones which were in fantastic light. The other picture that really screamed out to me was the sunset one with the vibrant colors - the violet and orange ....... I don't think I have seen anything like that. You think the sunset scenery a little more dramatic compared to delta/Linyanti? or just one of those days? The Eland pics were stunning too. I saw some Eland in Kenya recently, but, they were all very skittish........
I also enjoyed your trip report - and yes, lots of places are losing the wilderness appeal. The walking safari sounds good too and the pictures of the tents and set up were appealing too.
I found the funny moments very interesting to read, also.
Regards,
Hari
Your pictures are SUPERB as always ..... like I mentioned the other day, quite a source of inspiration for many of us who view them. So, thanks for posting.......
Although, it will be silly of me to pick favourites - You will know that I enjoyed the cheetah ones which were in fantastic light. The other picture that really screamed out to me was the sunset one with the vibrant colors - the violet and orange ....... I don't think I have seen anything like that. You think the sunset scenery a little more dramatic compared to delta/Linyanti? or just one of those days? The Eland pics were stunning too. I saw some Eland in Kenya recently, but, they were all very skittish........
I also enjoyed your trip report - and yes, lots of places are losing the wilderness appeal. The walking safari sounds good too and the pictures of the tents and set up were appealing too.
I found the funny moments very interesting to read, also.
Regards,
Hari
Jul 2nd, 2008, 07:41 AM
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Lovely pictures, and thanks for the report of your experience at Mashatu -- it's on the itinerary I'm planning for 2009 (unfortunately, I can only do one a year...). Fabulous that you had such great luck with the predators, I'm hoping a long stay will produce similar good results!
Jul 2nd, 2008, 08:34 AM
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How nice to see such a lovely reminder of our trip to Mashatu, we loved it there too. Your photos are indeed fabulous. One of my favourites must be the "talk to the paw ..." lion. We're hoping to do the walk with Paul on our next trip so was good to hear the details, thanks.
Jul 2nd, 2008, 03:24 PM
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Johan - Many thanks for a great trip report and photos on Mashatu. Mashatu interests a lot of us and your report really helps. Two very active Fodorites, Carla and Cindy should be there just about now. They flew into JNB Monday and rented/hired a car to drive to Mashatu. Then after (?x) days drive back down to MalaMala.
I agree, that the afternoon game drives tend to start too late. By the time we find the lions/leopards the sun is setting and the best light has gone. Never fails. I encourage the guide to leave as soon as possible in the afternoon. What I always hear is "well, that is the winter/summer drive schedule". But the sun light doesn't know winter from summer. So I encourage the guide to start as early in the afternoon as possible. (Morning game drives do not generally have this problem).
I'm also not a "twitcher" (not heard that before, funny) but also very much like birds. I also like to stay at a camp several days. Every game drive is different, I love every one, and I relax knowing that something fantastic is bound to happen.
Thanks again - Tom
I agree, that the afternoon game drives tend to start too late. By the time we find the lions/leopards the sun is setting and the best light has gone. Never fails. I encourage the guide to leave as soon as possible in the afternoon. What I always hear is "well, that is the winter/summer drive schedule". But the sun light doesn't know winter from summer. So I encourage the guide to start as early in the afternoon as possible. (Morning game drives do not generally have this problem).
I'm also not a "twitcher" (not heard that before, funny) but also very much like birds. I also like to stay at a camp several days. Every game drive is different, I love every one, and I relax knowing that something fantastic is bound to happen.
Thanks again - Tom
Jul 2nd, 2008, 03:59 PM
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aowens
You're probably asking skimmer but I repeat what I wrote in a previous post about the predator and ivory drives in case it's of interest to you ...
We did a couple of predator drives in Mashatu in 2006 with the resident leopard researcher. He has moved on but someone else has taken over, I think concentrating more on lion research, skimmer might be able to fill you in. We had the most brilliant sitings with him, and contrary to his experiences we found the leopards were so used to the researcher's vehicle we got very close, 2 youngsters in particular just lolled around a few feet from us like big pussy cats, paws in the air (waiting to have a go at Mum's wathog carcass). We also went on the elephant researcher's drive, and she too was very informative about the elephants and we got very close to the herds because they are used to her.
The Mashatu newsletters are very interesting if you want to get an idea of what goes on there, though I haven't seen one on the website since last August.
You're probably asking skimmer but I repeat what I wrote in a previous post about the predator and ivory drives in case it's of interest to you ...
We did a couple of predator drives in Mashatu in 2006 with the resident leopard researcher. He has moved on but someone else has taken over, I think concentrating more on lion research, skimmer might be able to fill you in. We had the most brilliant sitings with him, and contrary to his experiences we found the leopards were so used to the researcher's vehicle we got very close, 2 youngsters in particular just lolled around a few feet from us like big pussy cats, paws in the air (waiting to have a go at Mum's wathog carcass). We also went on the elephant researcher's drive, and she too was very informative about the elephants and we got very close to the herds because they are used to her.
The Mashatu newsletters are very interesting if you want to get an idea of what goes on there, though I haven't seen one on the website since last August.
Jul 2nd, 2008, 08:31 PM
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Hello everyone,
Thank you all for your nice comments.
Some answers:
The hide is a stone building and can accomodate 6 people if they are all serious photographers.
The lowest level (2 people) and the upper level (4 people). For photographings elephants I prefer the lowest level and for the rest I was mainly sitting on the upper deck.
They have around 10 plastic chairs in the hide.
I would say that the hide is roughly 7-8 meters away from the waterhole.
Given the time I was there I didn't prebook my walking safari. I would say in low season you don't have to prebook this. With high occupancy it would be safer to arrange this before your arrival.
I didn't do any ivory or predator drives. On one of the days the elephant researcher was having brunch with us after being on a drive with other people. She's a very nice woman and surely knows something about elephants after such a long time being there. People that did those drives where very happy with it.
With regard to the predator drives, I didn't go cause I wasn't really interested in photographing collared predators. There is a new guy doing the predator research and he told people he's planning to collar some more leopards. Didn't hear anything about the lions actually.
I asked if the former researcher produced a paper after his time being there and they told me he didn't.
When I was there, some people did those drives just to be able to see a leopard up close. Because I have seen many leopards on previous trips at close quarters, I didn't feel the need to do it.
If the collaring has an effect on those cats or not is a controversial issue. Some will say yes and others will say not at all.
I like to take low angle shots and Mashatu is quite good for that because of the following reasons:
- no doors at the front;
- lots of dry riverbeds.
The lion shots were taken when the lions were resting on one of the banks and I asked my guide to place vehicle so that I was almost at eye level with those cats.
The sunset picture was taken after the sun sat down already and colours were changing constantly. I used a tripod for this one.
Greetz,
Johan
Thank you all for your nice comments.
Some answers:
The hide is a stone building and can accomodate 6 people if they are all serious photographers.
The lowest level (2 people) and the upper level (4 people). For photographings elephants I prefer the lowest level and for the rest I was mainly sitting on the upper deck.
They have around 10 plastic chairs in the hide.
I would say that the hide is roughly 7-8 meters away from the waterhole.
Given the time I was there I didn't prebook my walking safari. I would say in low season you don't have to prebook this. With high occupancy it would be safer to arrange this before your arrival.
I didn't do any ivory or predator drives. On one of the days the elephant researcher was having brunch with us after being on a drive with other people. She's a very nice woman and surely knows something about elephants after such a long time being there. People that did those drives where very happy with it.
With regard to the predator drives, I didn't go cause I wasn't really interested in photographing collared predators. There is a new guy doing the predator research and he told people he's planning to collar some more leopards. Didn't hear anything about the lions actually.
I asked if the former researcher produced a paper after his time being there and they told me he didn't.
When I was there, some people did those drives just to be able to see a leopard up close. Because I have seen many leopards on previous trips at close quarters, I didn't feel the need to do it.
If the collaring has an effect on those cats or not is a controversial issue. Some will say yes and others will say not at all.
I like to take low angle shots and Mashatu is quite good for that because of the following reasons:
- no doors at the front;
- lots of dry riverbeds.
The lion shots were taken when the lions were resting on one of the banks and I asked my guide to place vehicle so that I was almost at eye level with those cats.
The sunset picture was taken after the sun sat down already and colours were changing constantly. I used a tripod for this one.
Greetz,
Johan
Jul 3rd, 2008, 03:21 AM
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" I asked if the former researcher produced a paper after his time being there and they told me he didn't"
We've taken an interest in his work since we visited and received an email from him early 2008 saying:
'As you may be aware, the Northern Tuli Leopard Project has come to an end in the field and I am back in South Africa writing up my dissertation titled: The socio-spatial ecology of leopards (Panthera pardus) in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana.'
Don't know how far he's got with it!
If you are interested in leopard data in that area his newsletters and surveys are still available at:
http://www.tulileopard.co.za/
We've taken an interest in his work since we visited and received an email from him early 2008 saying:
'As you may be aware, the Northern Tuli Leopard Project has come to an end in the field and I am back in South Africa writing up my dissertation titled: The socio-spatial ecology of leopards (Panthera pardus) in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana.'
Don't know how far he's got with it!
If you are interested in leopard data in that area his newsletters and surveys are still available at:
http://www.tulileopard.co.za/
Jul 3rd, 2008, 05:17 AM
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Tockoloshe and Johan - thanks for the info on the predator and ivory drives. We will be there December 1 and I am trying to decide if we want to do this. Johan - one other question - I originally had the tents booked, but then read somewhere (I think on this forum) that the ensuite bathrooms were actually about 10 feet behind the tents. My impression was that you had to go outside of your tent to get to the bathroom. We changed to the lodge because of this - my 76 year old mom isn't willing to deal with potties that aren't actually in the tent! Can you clarify. Thanks, Ann
Jul 3rd, 2008, 06:08 AM
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Thank you very much for your info on the leopard research.
What I wrote down here was based on what I heard on the field. So will be interesting to see what he has to tell in his paper.
Ann,
You are right about the ensuite bathrooms.
Best regards,
Johan
What I wrote down here was based on what I heard on the field. So will be interesting to see what he has to tell in his paper.
Ann,
You are right about the ensuite bathrooms.
Best regards,
Johan
Jul 3rd, 2008, 02:11 PM
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aowens,
Not sure the experience you are looking for, but both of my parents (in their mid 70's) and I stayed in the tents at Mashatu last year. The loo is not in the tent, but as you said behind the tent, but it is all private and enclosed. We all made plenty of late night trips with a flash light.
The lodge is lovely, but a completely different experience. Not sure if that helps, but wanted to add my experience. Either way, Mashatu is wonderful and I am sure both of you will enjoy!
Not sure the experience you are looking for, but both of my parents (in their mid 70's) and I stayed in the tents at Mashatu last year. The loo is not in the tent, but as you said behind the tent, but it is all private and enclosed. We all made plenty of late night trips with a flash light.
The lodge is lovely, but a completely different experience. Not sure if that helps, but wanted to add my experience. Either way, Mashatu is wonderful and I am sure both of you will enjoy!
Jul 3rd, 2008, 06:52 PM
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betsyatl - thanks for the info. BTW are you in Atlanta? I am in St. Simons. Just curious. Sorry to get off topic! Anyway, the bathrooms are definintely an issue for mom. The lodge I am sure will be fine. I assure you there is no point in trying to convince Mom that the trip with the flashlight to the potty is a good idea. We will have a great time either way. Thanks! Ann
Jul 4th, 2008, 12:45 PM
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Ann,
You are correct, there is no way to convince a "Mom" of anything. I am sure you will love the Lodge, it looked lovely. If you get the opportunity to go and view the tented area, then go and have a "looksie". A very different experience. Enjoy!
PS: I previously lived in Duluth, GA, but have since moved to Wine Country, CA.
Betsy
You are correct, there is no way to convince a "Mom" of anything. I am sure you will love the Lodge, it looked lovely. If you get the opportunity to go and view the tented area, then go and have a "looksie". A very different experience. Enjoy!
PS: I previously lived in Duluth, GA, but have since moved to Wine Country, CA.
Betsy
