Photos from Thanda, Rocktail Bay, Baines Camp, Duba Plains, Vic Falls, and Cape Town!
 

Just back from another marvelous journey, and would like to share some photos with those of you who have been so valuable in providing information on this board.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-54bycf

Our itinerary was as follows:

Thanda Reserve - 2 nights
Rocktail Bay Lodge - 4 nights
Baines Camp (including optional elephant activity) - 3 nights
Duba Plains - 4 nights
Victoria Falls Hotel - 1 night
Cape Town - 2 nights

Those are great! Are they generally in the order of your itinerary?

I don't recall ever seeing an Africa gallery that showed an octopus on land, or a leatherback (?) turtle.

Michael

Yes, they are in the order of the itinerary. The octopus had been snatched from a tide pool by some local fishermen who were tormenting the poor creature. I'm not sure if it survived. The turtle is a loggerhead, after it came ashore, dug a nest, and layed 150 eggs!

Very nice pictures, liked to see Thanda tented camp again, not many fodorites have stayed there. Seems like you had a wonderful trip. Thank you for sharing

Enjoyed your photos. Thanda and Rocktail Bay are not seen enough here. Liked the giraffes and the rainbow.

Will you be doing a report? Would love to read your impressions of the different camps and activities.

CW

If the pics are in order that means wild dogs at Thanda. Tell us about Thanda.

Poor octopus. Killing it outright to eat it is one thing. Tormenting it is a whole 'nother thing.

Was the turtle egg laying fortuitous or did you plan your stay to coincide with that? I just got done writing on the Latin America board that seeing a Leatherback turtle lay eggs was the only wildlife event that ever made me cry. Then 60 seconds later I see your turtle! I'd be interested in knowing more about the turtle watching.

Hyena between the seatbacks was a new one!

Rainbows and giraffe. That has to be a lucky omen.

I really liked the lion looking through the yellow flowers, such a different perspective.

The ele walk pictures showed their size in comparison to you all. Good ele body parts shots.

I am interested in the latest news on the ground from Duba Plains.

Great collect from your marvelous journey.

Great photos and what a variety. Wild dogs, loggerhead (after laying eggs), rainbows, octopus, plus all the usual suspects. Loved the baby ellie with it's trunk on the ground. I don't always remember to get pics of the camps/rooms. Enjoyed those too.

MisterAviator,

Nice pics. Any impressions from your guide about the pride dynamics at Duba after the loss of the duba boy? Also....what are the lions they are seeing at the moment? I understand from their reports that Skimmer Pride has not been seen in quite a while?

Thks
Hari

Atravelynn,
Yes, there's a nice little pack of five wild dogs at Thanda. We had a great time watching them hunt a wildebeest. They toyed with him for over an hour, but didn't have the muscle to launch a serious attack, since two of the dogs are juveniles without very good hunting skills yet.
At Rocktail Bay, we specifically went there in the middle of the turtle egg-laying season. We went on nightly turtle drives on the beach. It was a totally different type of game drive that I will never forget.

Hari,
I know you are curious about the lions at Duba Plains. We rean into Derek and Beverly Joubert while we were there (they are shooting a sequel to "Relentless Enemies") and they were at a loss to explain the unusual dynamic shift underway. After days of no lion sightings at all, we finally saw four members of the main pride kill a baby buffalo. But the rest of the pride was nowhere to be seen, and the wherabouts of the Skimmer pride was a total mystery.

Noted, Thank You!

Great photos. Thanks. Looks like a fantastic trip.

The photos of Duba Plains recall wonderful memories for me. Glad you were able to spend four nights, hence some some lion sightings. I think now even more so than before, it's important to spend enough time there.

Do you know the focus the Joubert film? Will it be specifically based on the changing dynamics at Duba?

Loved the up close and personal photos of the eles, particularly the eyelashes.

Just as I was starting to regret planning a trip to Costa Rica this summer instead of returning to Africa, I saw the photo of the loggerhead laying eggs. Now I'm excited for Costa Rica. Hopefully we'll be as lucky as you were.

Thanks.

Hi Dana,

I think the Jouberts are back at Mombo filming the legendary leopard - Legadema at the moment. You can find the article on the WS site.

Thanks Hari. I'll take a look at the WS site.

Thanks for sharing your pictures, really enjoyed my African "fix".

I did have a question about Vic Falls. The hotel looks lovely but very empty. Is this just an illusion becasue of the time of day or are they really hurting that badly with the political unrest the country continues to experience? I don't mean to sound naive because I know business has been hurt by the trouble and inflation and the upcoming elections isn't going to help in the short term but seeing that beautiful hotel virtually empty makes you (at least me) realize how horrible things must be for the everyday people. I really don't want this to get political, this is your trip report not a referendum on Zim but just wondering if it was as deserted as it looked.

Bob

Beautiful photos, thanks for posting! You've just helped me add a few things to my wish list for southern Africa...

Bob,
Yes, the Victoria Falls Hotel was fairly empty, but it certainly was not deserted. Two weeks prior to our visit, the hotel was filled to capacity for the holidays. Despite the bad economy, the attitude and energy-level of all the people we encountered in Zimbabwe was very positive. For their sake, I hope things improve soon!

Fabulous.
Thanks for sharing.

Wonderful photos! Thanks so much for sharing. Please tell me, what camera do you use?

Julia,
I use a Canon S3. The newer S5 has an even bigger LCD screen! It's great because the screen flips out and adjusts to any angle, thus facilitating shots from many perspectives other than just eye-level. I often employ a small bean bag to steady the camera and use the side railing of the Land Rover for additional support (especially when using the 10x zoom).

Thanks for the reply. Nice to hear that the people are keeping their spirits up and the hotel is still getting visitors. It's always the "regular" people who get caught in the middle during these times.

Again, thanks for posting your pictures, I always enjoy seeing other people's trip pictures and getting ideas for my next trip.

Bob