Botswana Trip Report June 2007
Oct 30th, 2007, 07:10 PM
#41
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and oh! to drive me totally insane ....... my nephews (sister's kids) showed me all their photographs of the two cheetah boys that they spent the entire day with (with a picnic lunch) in between Lagoon and Lebala - half way!
Oct 31st, 2007, 05:54 AM
#42
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Thanks for all the comments.
Hari,
Yes it must be amazing to have spent as much time in Botswana as Geoff and Afrigalah, but you and Lynn are really working at it too! Of course, why not just cut out after dark drives and get everyone back to camp for a wine tasting, nothing like spending all that time and money to get to Botswana for a wine tasting that I could drive down the street for. Hari, are you saying that there was such a lack of communication between the managers and guides of Selinda and Zib, that they were not even aware that you specifically wanted to find the cheetahs and had paid for a private vehicle and guide for that purpose?
Lynn,
Sorry you wasted time looking at the pictures twice, I added the Little Vumbura and Selinda photos much later, and decided to list all the camps again as separate links, so that people could just look at one camp album if they wanted.
I don't think there was an extra charge for sleeping out in the hides. At least it is my understanding that both Chitabe (definitely) and Selinda (supposedly) will try to accommodate regular guests for a one night sleep out at a hide if the hides are not being used by trail guests. I think you have to be spending at least three nights at the camp before they will set this up.
Lions at Selinda - maybe Geoff or John can comment on this better, but I believe I read about a huge fire a few years back that really played havoc with the lions there, which led to a series of intruders, etc. and completely changed the dynamics and the number of lions.
Geoff,
Wow, amazing to see that many cheetah. It would be fantastic to me to see cheetahs hunting, and seems like something that Selinda/Zib could put some more effort into. Since cheetah hunt during the day, it would be an opportunity to offer guests a chance at something special and different, especially considering that the rates have increased so much at this concession compared to the other Wilderness 5 paw camps and Kwando camps.
Hari,
Yes it must be amazing to have spent as much time in Botswana as Geoff and Afrigalah, but you and Lynn are really working at it too! Of course, why not just cut out after dark drives and get everyone back to camp for a wine tasting, nothing like spending all that time and money to get to Botswana for a wine tasting that I could drive down the street for. Hari, are you saying that there was such a lack of communication between the managers and guides of Selinda and Zib, that they were not even aware that you specifically wanted to find the cheetahs and had paid for a private vehicle and guide for that purpose?
Lynn,
Sorry you wasted time looking at the pictures twice, I added the Little Vumbura and Selinda photos much later, and decided to list all the camps again as separate links, so that people could just look at one camp album if they wanted.
I don't think there was an extra charge for sleeping out in the hides. At least it is my understanding that both Chitabe (definitely) and Selinda (supposedly) will try to accommodate regular guests for a one night sleep out at a hide if the hides are not being used by trail guests. I think you have to be spending at least three nights at the camp before they will set this up.
Lions at Selinda - maybe Geoff or John can comment on this better, but I believe I read about a huge fire a few years back that really played havoc with the lions there, which led to a series of intruders, etc. and completely changed the dynamics and the number of lions.
Geoff,
Wow, amazing to see that many cheetah. It would be fantastic to me to see cheetahs hunting, and seems like something that Selinda/Zib could put some more effort into. Since cheetah hunt during the day, it would be an opportunity to offer guests a chance at something special and different, especially considering that the rates have increased so much at this concession compared to the other Wilderness 5 paw camps and Kwando camps.
Oct 31st, 2007, 07:19 AM
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Brandywine,
Don't know what the problem is/was ....... maybe they just don't care to drive during the siesta hour? who knows!!! It wasn't my guide who discovered the cheetahs at the airstrip, but still..... the airstrip was a three minute drive from Zib camp and the other guide could have either got my guide to come and take me to the cheetahs or could have quite easily taken me himself? Maybe they were too confident the cheetah would remain there until the PM drive? I wouldn't blame the managers here ........ the guide/s knew all along i was looking for cheetah (we ate all meals together and even spent the whole morning tracking specifically for the two boys). Like i said, they seem pretty rigid and inflexible. Oh! also, the weired strictness to the two car at sighting rule at all times ..... the private vehicle gets the last right to the sighting (my assumption as i was the only one in the entire concession to not see the pangolin). Came back to camp and saw a photo of the resident zib guide touching the pangolin (on his cell phone).
Hari
Don't know what the problem is/was ....... maybe they just don't care to drive during the siesta hour? who knows!!! It wasn't my guide who discovered the cheetahs at the airstrip, but still..... the airstrip was a three minute drive from Zib camp and the other guide could have either got my guide to come and take me to the cheetahs or could have quite easily taken me himself? Maybe they were too confident the cheetah would remain there until the PM drive? I wouldn't blame the managers here ........ the guide/s knew all along i was looking for cheetah (we ate all meals together and even spent the whole morning tracking specifically for the two boys). Like i said, they seem pretty rigid and inflexible. Oh! also, the weired strictness to the two car at sighting rule at all times ..... the private vehicle gets the last right to the sighting (my assumption as i was the only one in the entire concession to not see the pangolin). Came back to camp and saw a photo of the resident zib guide touching the pangolin (on his cell phone).
Hari
Oct 31st, 2007, 02:00 PM
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"I believe I read about a huge fire a few years back that really played havoc with the lions there, which led to a series of intruders, etc. and completely changed the dynamics and the number of lions."
brandywine, the fire was in spring, 2000. This is the story: http://www.naturephotographers.net.jm0601-1.html
I'm not sure this event directly caused the disintegration of the pride, because two years later it was about as big with almost as many new cubs. But its pride males then appear to have left the territory for good and the two oldest lionesses died of natural causes within a short period. That's when the rot appears to have set in. I'm no expert, and Geoff has had even closer contact with Selinda management's studies of the area's wildlife than I have and may be able to add some insight.
John
brandywine, the fire was in spring, 2000. This is the story: http://www.naturephotographers.net.jm0601-1.html
I'm not sure this event directly caused the disintegration of the pride, because two years later it was about as big with almost as many new cubs. But its pride males then appear to have left the territory for good and the two oldest lionesses died of natural causes within a short period. That's when the rot appears to have set in. I'm no expert, and Geoff has had even closer contact with Selinda management's studies of the area's wildlife than I have and may be able to add some insight.
John
Oct 31st, 2007, 02:03 PM
#48
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Sorry, typo in the link. It should be: http://www.naturephotographers.net/jm0601-1.html
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