<font color="red">Photographic highlights from Day 5 including lots of wild dog photos<font color="red">

http://www.kodakgallery.co.uk/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=31ailg45.5z3zzq45&amp;Uy=-mrbquk&amp;Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfro mshare&amp;Ux=0&amp;localeid=en_GB&amp;mode=fromsh are&amp;conn_speed=1</font></font>

So, you left the best for last, I see :) How lucky you were to see the dogs on your last day. Newman sounds like an absolute treasure and pure genius. And poor Andrea seems like he will never live the elephant saga down.

As Chitabe Trails is my last stop, I may need to reconsider switching 4n. to 5.
I'm thoroughly enjoying this wonderful report and your awesome pictures on this cloudy day. Thought all I had on my agenda today was some bad Patriots (football) viewing later.
Thanks for sharing!
Sherry

I'm really enjoying your trip report. Brings back memories of our trip to Duba Plains, Duma Tau and Kwetsani this past June.

Thanks Sherry. When will you be at Chitabe Trails? I did four nights but I could happily do a longer stay if I returned.

Thanks Raelond. I did study your report carefully before leaving for my trip :)

Woweeee, what a riiiiide! :D

Hi Gaurang,

I just read the newer installments yesterday and enjoyed it very much.

Glad to note the good relationship between WS and Sandibe. What does Newman call that cross-breed cat? It is a wild cat mixed with?

Enjoyed the pics, too. My complements to Jayna.

Hari

More great excitement! I had virtually the same experience with a dog hunt and the guide following into the mopane woodlands and finding the kill site very quickly but it was at Duma Tau. That brought back great memories - it is a truly exhilirating experience to speed along in search of dogs, especially when it ends in finding a kill.

Hi Bill......still snowing in Denver?

Hari

Hi Hari

There's no radio contact between Chitabe and Sandibe vehicles, but they do seem to have a good relationship. The private owners of the Chitabe Camps are likely to encourage a good relationship as it would also assist with the wild dog research project, which benefits the concession and both camps. Actually, out of the WS camps I stayed at - Chitabe had more character, originality and uniqueness about it. The element of Chitabe's hands-on private ownership shines through and gives it that extra bit of character. The cat may be a cross breed between a wild cat and a domestic cat or it could just be a rare genetic variation (e.g. white lions, yellow crocodiles etc).

Hi Gaurang,
I'm provisionally for July/Aug 08 and can hardly stand the wait - it's ridiculously too far in the future.

Jburg -S. Sun - 1n
Vic. falls - Ilaca - 1n
Mana pools Canoe trip - 4n
Matetsi Water lodge - 1n
Zibalianja - 5n
L.Vumbura - 3n
Chitabe Trails - 5n.

Gee, do I feel foolish, I forgot that I already did make the change to go to Chitabe for 5n. from 4. I may add an extension at the end to the desert ? Sans or Deception.

Was your dog sighting on the border of Sandibe? Can Chitabe also transverse into Sandibe?
Cheers;
Sherry

Hi Sherry

What a fantastic itinerary, you can't go wrong with your choice of Botswana camps - I'm sure it will be worth the wait!!

Both camps share the same airstrip but don't usually traverse each others areas. I think the camps have radio contact with other, but not the guides. This sighting was in the Chitabe area, which is why the Chitabe vehicles had priority. Newman thinks that Sandibe picked up news of the sighting via communication from one of the Chitabe camps, or via direct contact with one of the Chitabe guides on his way to the sighting.

Fantastic Report and Photos!

Hari: this is our craziest winter every. We did get just a couple of inches yesterday but through the weekend we had single digit highs and negative lows -- brrr.

I'd rather be in Duba Plains baking in the January sun but I guess I'll just have to relive that are in Gaurang's next installment.

Hi PB,
We're snow free on the e.coast til fri. - we'll pay soon and catch up.

What's your take on Gaurang's camp cat?
Can a wild cat mate with a domestic?
Sherry

Thanks, Gaurang.

Sherry.....snow in the east coast, finally? this winter there is just whack!!!

Hari

Sherry: unfortunately African wild cats can breed with domestic cats and it is a real threat to the species as a true genetic separation is disappearing where people move in, eventually some areas will have only hybrids.

My opinion would be Gaurang's mystery cat could be any of three things:

1) the hybrid with domestic cat mixed in and affecting the coloration

2) could just be an odd coloration in an African wild cat. There is a certain amount of variation within any species and there is certainly differences in the few that I have seen with the darkness of their markings.

3) could be a feral cat -- a domestic cat that lives on its own in the wild. I've come across feral cats in many wild places and unfortunately it would not shock me if some exist in the Delta.

Congratulations, Gaurang and Jayna! What simply fabulous photos and the trip report brought your whole experience to life for the rest of us. Your descriptions of the migrating elephants in such large numbers brought back to mind our experiences at Chobe in October - when we saw at least 800-1000 elephants in one day. And I am still in awe and yet frightened of them !!!

Looking forward to more tales to come...thank you so much.

Apologies for the VERY long delay but here are some photographic highlights from Day 5. They include our 15 minute transfer from Chitabe to Duba Plains where we saw some elephants from the air. On landing we were met by our requested guide, the wonderful James 007 :) There are lots of Duba Plains camp photos, including shots of the honeymoon tent (room 6). Whilst waiting for the afternoon gamedrive, I managed to find a green spotted bush snake (about 2 foot long) near the pool. After following it for an hour, it eventually got tired and let me take some good close-up shots. On our gamedrive we met some members of the Tsaro pride (young and old), including one of the Duba Boys. We did see the buffalo during a stand-off with the Skimmer pride but they were too far away (and inaccessible) to take photos. I hope you enjoy them.......

http://www.kodakgallery.co.uk/Slides...p;conn_speed=1

The beautiful aerial shots had me hearing the hum of the plane engine. I think I even heard a bird slam into the windshield, which is what really happened as my plane approached to Duba.

Your photos really did transport me right back to Duba Plains. That green snake was highly photogenic, if you are partial to snakes.

I loved the baby topis and of course the lion cubs. I hope they survive to become part of the Duba legacy. The Duba boy you photographed looked old to me. I guess because he is.

Nice ele herds.

What was the last photo of the animal in the brush?

Gaurang,

Some lovely pictures of a very special place. I especially like the ones of the snake.

Greetings,

Johan