gatoratlarge

this site has been helpful as i've planned our sixth trip to Africa. Have been lurking and reading for some time now. Will post upon our return. Will be staying at Jack's Camp in the Kalahari, Mombo in the Okavango and King's Pool in Linyanti. Will fly over to Kaya Mawa on Likoma Island in Lake Malawi and then finish up with a few nights in Cape Town. Bon Voyage.

Kavey

Have a wonderful trip!

cooncat

You are sooo lucky! Bon Voyage! Let us know about your trip when you return!

mzcuriouz

What a fab trip....can't wait to read about your adventure!

tashak

sounds super--have a great time!

MZCuriouz: I emailed you a while back-- did you get the message?

gatoratlarge

I never did post a followup---sorry guys as I know you were waiting with baited breath! LOL

In short, it was INCREDIBLE. Everything, and I do mean everything we had hoped. There was one minor (well, ok, major) issue which was a South African Airlines strike which stranded us in Jo'Burg unable to connect to Lilongwe and therefore we missed Kaya Mawa. We just rented a car and headed toward the Garden Route instead. Not a bad Plan B but we were so looking forward to Malawi.

At anyrate, Jack's Camp was phenomenal. I will keep the surprise of the camp, but to say we were shocked is an understatement. Hard to do in this day and age. I had no idea is all I'll say. Very interesting scenery on the Pan and well worth it. Great opportunity to view meerkats.

Mombo was the wildlife explosion I had heard and we saw just about everything but cheetah...we were told too many lions have driven off the cheetah...great leopard, rhino, no wild dogs either (also a product of too many lions perhaps) but it is a wonderful spot. We had a great moment watching a leopard walking the perimeter of its territory. It sat down to rest and we took our eyes off it for a moment...a blur later it had a guinea fowl in its mouth 20 yards from where it had been! We watched it pluch the poor bird alive...a bit gruesome, but nature's way nonetheless.

I'm not sure that King's Pool was not our favorite though. We saw wild dogs and their pups at the den, leopard sparred over a baboon kill...great elephant and hippo. Lions and even Roan antelope which we had not seen in six prior trips to Africa. A special treat was a couple honey badgers trotting about with purpose...these days I get as big a thrill seeing something small and unusual as something big.

We ended the trip in Cape Town and went shark "diving" which requres no diving at all. The cage floats atop the water and holding your breath works just as well. Great to see the Great Whites up close and personal. the dolphin pics are not as impressive as in person, my camera was business focussing as the school/pod? of dolphins leaped through the backside of the waves, only to snap the picture on just after they dove back under....I believe this was in Plettenburg Bay.

I'll attach some pictures to view...Enjoy! The photos are slightly out of order...the first ones are of Jack's Camp in the Kalahari, then Kinfs Pool in Moremi and then Mombo Camp in the Okavanga. Lastly, the shark photos from between Dyer Island and then Plet Bay and the Cape area...


http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesho...oc82y&Ux=0

gatoratlarge

One more thing...the hide at kings Pool is very unique. Built like a bunker, it is right next to the water hole. You are foot level with elephants or anything else that frequents the hole. One wrong sling of mud and you literally could get soaked. Great for taking pics of elephant body parts up close and personal. I never got the feeling the elephants could see us but they definitely smelled us. At times you could have reached out and touched their big ole feet, but I wouldn't advise it : )

QueenofDaNile

Great Photos!!! Worth the near 2 year wait. The white rhino were at Mombo?

samcat

Great sounding trip. We also liked Kings Pool very much in 1999. I think the wild dogs are back in Mombo -- friends saw them there last September. At least you saw them at Kings Pool.
Samcat8

sundowner

You have some wonderful images and your trip sounds like a dream trip (other than the airline strike!). Thanks for posting!

Since you are here again after so long, are you planning another trip?

atravelynn

What an itinerary you had! Two years later I bet you're getting the urge to return.

Kavey

Sorry you missed Malawi but sounds like you had some wonderful experiences at the camps you visited! Will check photos when back home!

gatoratlarge

Yes the White Rhino were at Mombo. I think these were the first re-introduced into Botswana after having been poached out years ago. They have introduced Black Rhino as well but they have scattered far from Mombo I think. The White Rhino have reproduced and doen very well staying in the area of Chief's Island.

Like most of you I'm hooked on Africa--went to Gabon last year and will leave inlate JUL and AUG for Malawi (going to make up for missing Kaya Mawa) and over to Madagascar.

We will focus mostly on Malawi this time with a four night stay at Mvuu. Couple nights on Mumbo Island in Lake Malawi, a one night stay on the freighter, the Ilala (which I here is basic but memorable)and then three nights on Kaya Mawa. This one will prob be less for the wildlife and more scenery and culture and the lake.

The Madagascar portion will be for a few nights in Maroansetra and over for the day to see Baobab Alley. A lot of trouble for less than a week stay but I'm not opposed to leaving a place wanting to see more.

Yes, I get the itch to return all the time but will probably go to Uganda/Rwanda next. I have several trips planned in my head and they are stacking up---not enough vacation time!

thit_cho

The Avenue du Baobob is short, but very photogenic. Its only an hour or so from Kirindy, a park where I saw a wide variety of lemurs. I arranged a trip to see the Baobobs and Kirindy with Gary Lemmer from Chez Maggie, in Morondova, and he and his team (another guide and a cook) picked me up at Morondova airport, drove to see the baobobs and then to Kirindy (where the cook made a great lunch while we hiked), and in the evening back to Chez Maggie (very nice place to stay on a very wide beach). If you haven't made arrangements, I'd recommend contacting Gary.

Michael

gatoratlarge

Thanks Michael---I hope we can stay the night. That portion of the trip is being re arranged do to the flights changing. At present we may be only be able to fly in the a.m. and leave in the evening...I hope for longer however...see anything interesting in Kirindy?

napamatt

Gator

I must haev been at KP and Mombo around the same time as you. The pups were difficult to get good pictures of in the mopane. We also suffered through the SAA strike, except we were grounded an extra day in Joburg and had to make our own arrangements (thank goodness for TA's) to get back to the US.

Mvuu is on my list, so please report on it.

thit_cho

I saw six or seven different types of lemurs in Kirindy (I listed them in my trip report), as we did day and night walks (at night we saw the dwarf mouse lemur, the world's smallest primate), and also saw fosa, Madagascar's largest carnivore. I really liked Kirindy -- no other tourists, just some Swiss researchers.

gatoratlarge

Thks Thit----I found your report after I responded and forwarded it to my TA so she cuold try to book the folks from Baobab Cafe.

Will be glad to report on Mvuu upon our return.