Okavango Flooding
Sep 3rd, 2010, 11:37 AM
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Hi Ljb,
I got back from the delta two weeks ago, after two 2-week 4X4 trips up there. The water levels were the highest I'd seen ever, and some of the Khwai river crossings were daunting, but not impassable.
The Savute was still flowing well. Game viewing in the marsh was excellent, but the zeb's seem to have moved back to the Chobe again.
The game in the Khwai area was excellent, but we didn't spend enough time in Moremi itself (three days on first trip, and two on second)to really compare. Generally good!
I got back from the delta two weeks ago, after two 2-week 4X4 trips up there. The water levels were the highest I'd seen ever, and some of the Khwai river crossings were daunting, but not impassable.
The Savute was still flowing well. Game viewing in the marsh was excellent, but the zeb's seem to have moved back to the Chobe again.
The game in the Khwai area was excellent, but we didn't spend enough time in Moremi itself (three days on first trip, and two on second)to really compare. Generally good!
Sep 3rd, 2010, 10:30 PM
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Hi Hari,
We spent two nights at the Savute campsite (which I wasn't overly impressed with iro management), but probably had one one of the best leopard sightings of my life there, near Leopard Rock (we spent over two hours with her, and, after all the "tickers" had got their shots and left, witnessed a "kill" - a hapless partridge - 15ft from our vehicles). But leopard sightings of that standard are so rare as to be "lifetime" experiences, and not the usual run-of-the-mill leopard (LOL!).
The Savute river was flowing well (about 400mm over the crossing at the camp), and the marsh was still pretty well inundated. The unique situation has resulted in a very different animal landscape at the moment. Driving on the peripheral roads was OK, but several of the roads crossing the marsh were flooded. Seeing the Savute flowing was truly remarkable. The standard waterholes were poor pickings in comparison, so the wildlife was well spread out.
There appeared to be few lions about (a couple of small groups were reported, but we couldn't find any). Maybe the abundance of water had allowed them to spread their ranges a bit. Breeding herds of ellies were abundant, and there were many beaut bulls in the area (quite a number in musth). I think they thought paradise they had arrived. A few buffalo were present, although I'm not sure if there were any big herds. Plenty of giraffe and zebras were about, but I heard later that the main herds of zebra had gone back to Chobe (near Ngoma). I couldn't confirm that though. The general game in Savute was excellent, and birdlife was very good and still improving.
I didn't get to explore as much as I would have liked - my guests were on a "lion" chase, after talking to a remote control guide.
I felt that there was more predator activity further south in the Khwai river area (between North Gate and Mababe), but I could be wrong, and there was good lion activity both at Khwai campsite and Magotho.
We didn't see much betweeen Mababe and the main marsh at Savute, probably because the wildlife was taking advantage of the flooding.
The Boteti river was still in flood (at Khumaga the river crossing was still closed and the deepest I'd ever seen), and I suspect that many animals are still in that area.
Hope that helps ...
We spent two nights at the Savute campsite (which I wasn't overly impressed with iro management), but probably had one one of the best leopard sightings of my life there, near Leopard Rock (we spent over two hours with her, and, after all the "tickers" had got their shots and left, witnessed a "kill" - a hapless partridge - 15ft from our vehicles). But leopard sightings of that standard are so rare as to be "lifetime" experiences, and not the usual run-of-the-mill leopard (LOL!).
The Savute river was flowing well (about 400mm over the crossing at the camp), and the marsh was still pretty well inundated. The unique situation has resulted in a very different animal landscape at the moment. Driving on the peripheral roads was OK, but several of the roads crossing the marsh were flooded. Seeing the Savute flowing was truly remarkable. The standard waterholes were poor pickings in comparison, so the wildlife was well spread out.
There appeared to be few lions about (a couple of small groups were reported, but we couldn't find any). Maybe the abundance of water had allowed them to spread their ranges a bit. Breeding herds of ellies were abundant, and there were many beaut bulls in the area (quite a number in musth). I think they thought paradise they had arrived. A few buffalo were present, although I'm not sure if there were any big herds. Plenty of giraffe and zebras were about, but I heard later that the main herds of zebra had gone back to Chobe (near Ngoma). I couldn't confirm that though. The general game in Savute was excellent, and birdlife was very good and still improving.
I didn't get to explore as much as I would have liked - my guests were on a "lion" chase, after talking to a remote control guide.
I felt that there was more predator activity further south in the Khwai river area (between North Gate and Mababe), but I could be wrong, and there was good lion activity both at Khwai campsite and Magotho.
We didn't see much betweeen Mababe and the main marsh at Savute, probably because the wildlife was taking advantage of the flooding.
The Boteti river was still in flood (at Khumaga the river crossing was still closed and the deepest I'd ever seen), and I suspect that many animals are still in that area.
Hope that helps ...
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