Hi, We just returned from our trip to Botswana this Monday. What an amazing experience! It was definitely the best vacation of our lives. I got so much advice from the people on this board that I wanted to share the pictures with you. At some point I will also write up some thoughts on safari planning while it's still fresh in my mind.


Click on the following link if you want to see some of my favorite pictures:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-2owqy7


If you have more time on your hands, here are additional pictures that show more of the camp, transportation, etc. They are organized more or less chronologically so you should get a good sense of what we saw on each game drive during our stay at the camps.

For Duma Tau:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...0&y=gamzqu

For Kwetsani:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-2cms86

For Mombo:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-iuvouy


Hope you enjoy! Please leave me a comment if you'd like, and don't hesitate to email me if you're in the planning process and have questions.

Judy

Just looked at your favourites - amazing amazing photos. Thanks for sharing them. I'm almost having second thoughts on our next trip - we've chosed to forego the safari this time and now, having seen these, I'm beginning to get withdrawal symptoms!

GORGEOUS photos! Wow!

My total favorite is the leopard at Kwetsani hidden in the grass. I can see this one blown up to a large size.

Great photos! I'll have to look again at home. I think the 2nd bird you don't know is a Hornbill (Zazu of Lion King fame).

Welcome Back Judy! Glad your BD Trip was so amazing. I am dripping with envy..Leopards, Wild Dogs and Rhinos...all the elusive animals that we never saw.
We have Vundi as a guide at Kwetsani as well, he was great!
Can't wait to read your trip report.
Brenda

Judy,

Welcome back. I definitely envy the fact that you go to see Leopards and Wild dogs. Wow that must have been amazing. We looked for Leopards but could not find any in Serengeti. You pictures are very nice.

Great photos -- really enjoyed them. Can't wait to take our own!

Great pictures - thanks!

Incredible pics! Thanks for sharing! 4 more months for me.

linjudy,

Thanks for the incredible photo albums. I absolutely loved Duma Tau and Mombo.

(you may want to delete photo #105 from your Mombo album)

fantastic photos. glad to see you found a large pack of wild dogs. tahts incredible. and i was excited to see some of the predators that we had the priviledge of seeing at mombo back in jan. if im not mistaken, the leopard with the cut on her leg is the one being filmed by the jouberts and managed to lie down under our tent one afternoon. and see the matatha pride and the large coalition males brought back great memories. the water level is great to see also. in january the water doesnt come up near as close to camp. there is just short green grass all over the floodplains. so seeing the contrast is pretty neat.

Wonderful photos, and great news on the dogs in the Linyanti, I will be there in four weeks or so and hope to see some little pups. The Duma Tau birds you missed are Ground Hornbill not Guineafowl and the one in the tree is an Ibis (I think Hadeda, but I dont have access to my books).
The Mombo pics are spectacular, I go there right after Kings Pool. Did you see Lightning the young Leopard who spends a lot of time near camp?

Fantastic photos, especially the wild dogs. I'm still working on mine from Kenya & Tanzania... hope to have them up soon. Thanks for sharing these.

Dear linjudy,
Thanks for your wonderful photos. I am going to Botswana in June of next year, and I am in the midst of planning. I'd love to take you up on your offer and email you for some more details. What is your email address? Also looking forward to your advice on Safari planning.
Thanks!

Thanks, everyone, glad you enjoyed the pictures . I love looking at them -- make me feel a little I was still there.

Brenda, you've got nothing to be envious about! I read your trip report and your experience sounded incredible. Wish I had time to go fishing with Vundi. Next time I would definitely stay 3 days at Kwetsani or another water camp.

Napamatt: Thanks for the bird identification. The young male leopard we saw at Mombo with the impala/hyenas is supposed to hang around camp quite a bit, but I don't know if his name is Lightening. He is about 2 years old. I thought he was very brave to not concede the impala to 3-4 big hyenas. We were definitely all rooting for him.

Poppys, I will email you. Would love to share our experience. The folks on this board helped enormously in our planning process, and it would be great to do the same for others!

Judy

Oops. Can't figure out how to email poppys. My email address is [email protected].

Couldn't get access earlier - just got messages the site was down for maintenance but tried again and, voila!

WONDERFUL!

You have some INCREDIBLE images there! Thanks for sharing!

linjudy,

Loved the pictures. Such leopard action and great photos to document it. The leopard through the grass was a great effect and you caught many of them in such lovely surroundings. Other favorites were the impala in the water and the 3 buffalo. How wonderful that you captured a rainbow. The lion cubs were adorable and the daddy and cub shot was a nice pairing.

Was the rhino sighting some extremely good luck or are rhinos frequenting the area? I had thought that the ones released on Chief's Island were the only rhinos around. Please enlighten me.

What was the wild dog situation when you left? Are they denning, roaming through, etc?

A glass bottomed helicopter, wow!

Was especially interested in Duma Tau, as I'll be visiting later this summer. Your Kwetsani photos gave a good idea of what the camp and game is for those of us considering it. And the action packed Mombo photos brought back some great leopard and other wildlife memories.

Thanks for sharing the photos which help explain why it was the best vacation of your lives.

I think the rhinos pictured were seen at Mombo which is where they were released, yes...

We saw them too when we were at Mombo in June 2004 and I think the guide said that sightings of them are pretty good.

Wow, Linjudy, these are awesome pics. You're a great photographer - IMHO you could make a calendar out of 12 of these and it would beat most of the "professional" calendars. You even made me interested in birds, which I've never been before. I think a safari trip to Botswana or southern Africa has just been bumped up many notches on my wish list. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.