atravelynn

Carla,

You are right about the panda births. Unfortunately I just read where one newborn panda twin was killed in a Chinese facility when the mother rolled on it. The other is fine. I will check your photos when I use a faster ISP, probably Monday.

Mediatorr,
You have an all encompassing itinerary! With those locations and in October you should have some wonderful sightings and photographic opportunities. If you do any penguin visiting in Cape Town, I'd like to know the logistics for a future trip.

As for the camera, I did not bring a tripod or monpod. Many of the vehicles have bean bags to stablize your camera. I find the bean bags too limiting in most circumstances.

To steady the camera I just hold it still and try to rest it on the edge of the vehicle or against my forehead with my elbows in for support. I use the view finder and not the screen for focusing, which is why I use my forehead for support. I took one shot of running lechwe where I actually felt I was waving the camera around!

The image stabilization, which is present on the Canon S2 & S3, the Panasonic FZ30, and the Sony DSC H2 really helps.

For professionals or those who wish to shoot like a professional, a tripod or at least a monopod is important. Maybe 15% of people in the vehicles use tripods from what I see.

The lens automatically extends and retracts on these 3 camera brands so there are not separate lenses. I think you can buy some special lenses like wide angle, but they are not needed. If you choose an SLR camera, then you need a couple of lenses. When I used a film SLR I took a 35-200 and a 100-300, plus a doubler that I used rarely.

I've always taken two camera bodies. So I had 2 Sony DSC H2 cameras with me in case there was a problem with one. Only once about a decade ago did I have one camera quit working on a trip and I was glad to have another.

The Sony goes up to 12X optical zoom (and I think the others do too) which is about like a 400 lens. For birds the max "zoomage" is usually needed. There was just a new Sony that came out that zooms to 15x optical zoom. That one is the
Sony DSC H5 model.

I am novice in photography and will probably always remain one. There are many photo experts on the board who are very knowledgable and quite helpful. There have been some posts on cameras in the past that reached 200+ if you search under camera.

What kind of camera do you plan to take?

bigcountry

just back from botswana. just wanted to add a update on duba plains and wild dogs in duma tau (we didnt see them unfortunately but got the scoop on them).
my prediction is for the duba boys to be out within a yr and for the skimmer pride to be in control of the area that the tsaro currently reside. the skimmer males (5 of them) around the age of 4 yrs old are comin into their prime and a coalition of 5 wont be stopped. these guys are in great condition. the duba boys are so old that their canines are worn to the point taht they need one of the females to open the buffalo hide for them to feed. they look to be nearing their end. ans the skimmer pride has more and more moved across the channel to the tsaro's territory. we saw them well within the tsaro teritory and really close to 2 tsaro kills. the skimmer are currently 13 lions and getting bolder. i think only a matter of time. although as lynn said, the tsaro have had several new cubs (we saw some still in the den at about 2 weeks old) so hopefully if the cub killing stops, the pride will reagin strength. but i dont think anything will stop the skimmer males from owning both prides with a year or 2.
in terms of teh wild dog pack, i was told they were 17 dogs with 6 puppies and had come from kwando due to the huge rains this yr. they denned in duma tau teh beginning of aug but moved their den very quickly to an unknown location (they believe somewhere deep in the mopane) so unfortunetly sightings arent good this yr. lynn was very fortunate to see them. will post my report later but wanted to just pop in a quick update here.

santharamhari

Bigcountry,

Thanks for your update. The Selinda pack, i dont think has denned in the Kwando concession in a couple of years now. I think they hv denned at Duma Tau for two successive years, and hv denned at Selinda the year prior.....however,having read the Selinda website they do go into the Selinda concession off and on to hunt.....

Good input on the Duba prides also.....thanks

Hari

afrigalah

Hari,

The Selinda pack denned in Selinda territory last year and in 2002...at least. I saw and photographed their dens on both occasions. Because their range covers both Selinda and Duma Tau territory, they do tend to alternate a bit, and sometimes they den very close to or right on the boundary between concessions...as is probably the case this year. They seem to have denned inside Duma Tau this year but the adults have been seen near Selinda's Zibalianja camp as often as if they were camped on the doorstep. They have killed prey inside the nearby Central Management Unit camp (chasing impala into either CMU or Zib seems to be a favourite trick of theirs). For some strange reason that I can't comprehend, the accessibility of this pack (and its size when you count the new pups each year-- between 20 and 30 dogs) is frequently overlooked on this forum. I would be surprised if it's not the most viewed big pack in the Linyanti region, yet the concessions which host it are rarely given the acknowledgment they deserve. I can say with a lot of confidence that anybody who wants to see a flourishing, large pack of wild dogs couldn't go far wrong with a stay at Selinda, Zibalianja or Duma Tau.

John

santharamhari

John,

Sounds good about the dogs. Hopefully, next year they den on the Selinda/Lebala border, so that both concessions get good viewing. Wouldnt that be a better trade-off? Anyways, currently, i would estimate the pack to be 17+6pups? that's quite a good size pack......

Hari

atravelynn

Welcome back Bigcountry,

Interesting developments at Duba. I never saw the Skimmer pride but it seems to be a force to be reckoned with. While viewing the Duba Boys I was thinking that I was observing the end of an era since they are 14. Your comments make me contemplate a return to Duba already!

Looking forward to your other experiences at Duba and elsewhere.

PredatorBiologist

Big Country: thanks for the update! Same was being said of the Duba Boys back in Jan. 2003 as I reported somewhere above things were volatile with 4 Skimmer Males and 5 Tsaro males all coming of age and the Duba's looking worn at 10 and 1/2. Here we are approaching 4 years later and against all odds they are still doing it but I'm sure you are right the last hurrah has to be approaching. I too would like to see them once again before the end.

Great to hear the Selinda pack is having another successful year! Sounds like there were 3 dogs on pup sitting duty when Lynn saw them.

John: I totally agree this is a remarkable pack that is seen often and a stay in one of those concessions is a must for anyone with a real dog focus. As mentioned before I saw this pack at 21 dogs in 2003 while at Duma Tau.

Africa

Am I right to assume that Duma Tau, Savuti and KP all traverse the same area during game-drives?

Mediatorr

Lynn,
Thanks for your encouragement about our itinerary. I really can't believe that we'll be leaving in, oh WOW, just over three weeks. No, I'm not at all ready.
I've been a long-time novice photographer and always will be. As for my camera equipment, I actually have a Canon 20d and a Canon S60 (a P&S) but I'd love to have another 20d so that I wouldn't have to worry about changing lenses so much and getting dust in my camera. Your pictures and your reply here have actually gotten me thinking about using the S60 for the more wide- angle shots and the 20d for the longer shots because I have a 70-300IS lens and your point about Image Stabilization is well-taken. When you stabilize using the vehicle, can I safely assume that they turn off the motor and that others in the car can be depended upon to avoid moving around and shaking the car?
When you say you use continuous shoot a lot, do you mean that for action situation you take as many shots in a row that the camera will let you do automatically and then pick out the best one(s) from the sequence? Do you select the f-stop or do you let the camera do it? If you do it, it looks like you generally pick the narrower stop in order to maintain more depth of field sharpness; is that correct? (After looking at you pictures several times in contrast to others which were often also good,) I think that might have contributed greatly to the quality of your pictures because it often worked better than blurring the background might have done.
I will certainly let you know about the penguins. We definitely plan on spending on day on the Cape Point drive. If you have a special interest in penguins in general, I have pictures of several types from our trip to Antarctica a few years ago -- although I'd have to see if scanning them would work sufficiently because they are on film.
I very much appreciate your assistance as well as the assistance of all on this board. It's the best. I'm sure none of the other forums have such faithful and knowledgeable participants.

jasher

Hi Gaurang,

Savuti, Duma Tau, and King's Pool share one concession, but each camp has its own 'core' area -- Duma Tau on the western end of the concession along the lagoon, Savuti in the channel, and King's Pool on the eastern end -- which gives the experience a different feel at each camp. The concession is so large that for the most part they don't cross paths too often, though if there is something particularly exciting in a particular area of the reserve vehicles from the other camps will drive over to see it.

Cheers,
Julian

atravelynn

The driver definitely stops the vehicle so you don't have that engine motion. They willingly turn it off, even if just moving a few feet, then turning it off, move another foot, off.

I choose where to point and how much to zoom then I let the camera sensors or whatever they are go to work.

You are right about the continuous zoom. I use it for even very little action like when an animal is just slowing moving its head. Then I delete the majority of the shots.

I like penguins and believe Cape Town would be a good opportunity to see them. Antarctica would be awesome. That is on my long list. If you have info and whenever you get pictures of penguins or anything else down there together--no hurry--send it my way, please. Scanning does work for film photos. Thanks for the offer.

Mediatorr

Lynn, In case I forget, feel free to remind me about the penguin pictures. You can write me at mediatorr at yahoo dot com

brandywine

Lynn,

Thanks for your excellent report, your trip reports are always a pleasure to read and also very informative. Your trip report from last year about your sleep-out at Chitabe led me to request a sleep-out next June while we are at Chitabe Trails. We will also be at Selinda next year, so I really enjoyed your Zib review.

Our experience at Little Vumbura last year did include night drives after sundowners before returning to camp on the boat. It's a short ride through the channel back to camp after dark, and does not seem to pose any problems (except for gnats in your face). It's actually quite fun arriving at camp by boat instead of driving in, and that's part of the charm of LV.

atravelynn

Thank you Brandywine. Your information on Little Vumbura night drives is helpful as well. That makes LV even more attractive if you don't have to skimp on the night drive. Gnats are a small price to pay.

I am also wondering if the lack of mekoros while I was at Vumbura was a temporary thing due to the high water levels.

Now if Mala Mala and Phinda are in your future travel plans, I'll start thinking you are following me!

hguy47

When we were at LV in March 2004, the flood was coming in and the water level was rising rapidly every day. The first afternoon the boat trip from the vehicle park to the camp was only about 5-10 minutes, but the next day the water was rising so much they were concerned that the earthen dam might break and flood the vehicle park even more than it already was, so they had to move the vehicle park further away to a location above the dam. This made the boat ride between the vehicle park and the camp about 30 minutes, even a little longer in the dark, and even a little longer if the boat got caught up in the reeds. The longer boat ride was through a maze of papyrus, I don't know how they found the correct route. Some of the "channels" they had to navigate weren't really made for a boat the size of the one we were in, so they had a hard time maneuvering some of the tight corners. Actually, the first time or two the boat ride was fun, but then it got a little tiresome, you don't really see any game and the view is primarily 8-foot tall papyrus on all sides.

There were several mokoros there when we visited, and the morning mokora ride was well worthwhile.

santharamhari

Hi Lynn,

What's your plan for 2007? MM and Phinda that you mentioned, are they add-on destinations to your other part of the safari?

Hari

atravelynn

Mala Mala and Phinda (I know I've been warned and a year from now I'll let you know if you can say, "told you so.&quot could be considered add-ons to my overnight in Southern Sun at Johannesburg.

I have 4 nights at Mala Mala in the no-single-supplement room. Then I'll go to Phinda for a week. I want to do three rhino trackings and a leopard tracking like you mentioned. I'd also like to visit the Zulu community and hopefully they'll let me in. I know you had your visit canceled. Maybe I'll do a boat trip or something else there.

santharamhari

Hi Lynn,

Thanks for the info.....

Hari

sundowner

Hi Lynn. I read the second half of your trip report and loved it. Then I opened your pictures and the first couple of pictures made me want to read the beginning of your report again. What a wonderful trip report you have written and the photos are beautiful. You were able to see so much! I guess I should stop reading trip reports here because I want to go everywhere. I love all the lion pictures. And the aardwolf - the best shot I have ever seen of one. And the bat eared fox, and that handsome sable, and the cheetah with the glowing eyes. And the giraffes and the dogs. What a trip!!

atravelynn

Thanks for the nice comments, Sundowner.

I know what you mean about reading the other trip reports. That's what got me to consider South Africa. Before Fodor's I had never even heard of Phinda. I also didn't know the h was silent until I booked it over the phone with the agent.