thit_cho

http://tinyurl.com/hffwa

I have posted a few photos from recent trip to South Africa (Hluhluwe, Greater St. Lucia Wetland Reserve and Kgalagadi) and Lesotho.

santharamhari

Michael,

Thanks. Very nice pics. This puts kgalagadi very high on my "list". Loved the african wild cat, the crimson shrike (stunning), and the oryx too.

Were the cheetah relaxed or very edgy? i assume they don't hv too much human contact in the kgalagai.

Hari

thit_cho

Thanks, Hari.

The cheetahs were very relaxed, and I spent around five hours with them (something much more difficult to do on a chauffered safari, when most afternoons are spent at the lodge), watching them very slowly stalk, and ultimately catch, two springbok.

Kgalagadi is a very harsh environment, primarily dunes with minimal vegetation, so you cannot drive off-road, hence the animals can control their approaches and stay within their comfort zone.

I have been to many of the major African national parks, and there are only a few to which I would really like to return (Etosha and Masai Mara/Serengeti, and now Kgalagadi).

Michael

santharamhari

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the info........two springbok eh, i guess one for each of the boys. Awesome!!!

Hari

Celia

Great pix, Michael! I too now have Kgalgadi high on my list.

Celia

thit_cho

Please bear in mind, though, that Kgalagadi is a "self-drive" destination, and we cooked meals ourselves (on the barbeques provided with each room). After arrival at Upington's airport, I drove to a supermarket in the city center to purchase some staples, which I supplemented with meat available at three camps in the park (the same three that have petrol, so they are nicely spread out through the park). There are three larger camps, that are not that nice, and six smaller camps, that are very nice. Due to logistics, I stayed at two of the larger camps (one at the entrance that is a popular first stop since the park is a three-hour drive from Upington, the nearest city). But, I also stayed at Kalahari Tent Camp, which is as nice as the facilities provided by a Wilderness Safaris "five paw" camp -- in fact, I couldn't believe the high quality of my main sleeping/bathroom tent, nor the kitchen tent. When I return, hopefully for a longer trip, I likely would spend multiple nights at several of the smaller camps.

Celia

Wow, Michael! Sounds like heaven to me!

africnow

Loved your photos. Thanks for posting.

How long did it take that Rhino in the middle of the road to decide to let you pass

The Hippo interaction was fascinationg! They do like a cuddle, don't they?

Very nice touch adding the flags and signs.

Looking forward to my SA trip in '07 even more now.

PredatorBiologist

Michael: great diversity of pictues, I love seeing some small mammals fit in there -- I don't think anyone has ever posted close to that many before.

I hope you will give great detail on how to conduct the do-it-yourself Kgalagadi safari. I certainly hope to try it as well. Looking forward to the full report.

matnikstym

Excellent pictures Michael! Liked the rhino in the road and the hippose, all of them actually! Thanks!

jweis

Great shots.

I'm planning a trip to Central Kalahari and also the Kgalagadi for next year sometime and will incorporate your comments into my plans.

The Drakensberg Rock-jumper would be a lifer for me - nice image; I assume that was taken somewhere in Lesotho?

James

thit_cho

Predator Biologist, I will (eventually) post a detailed, day-by-day trip report, which will also give info on how I made arrangements (it was very simple, and for the most part, I dealt directly with South Africa National Parks, via www.sanparks.org, for accomodation in Kgalagadi). I have been on lots of safaris, and have seen most of the megafauna, so I didn't spend that much time photographing the Big 5 (saw them all save leopard), but tried to get some new small mammals and birds).

James, the Central Kalahari is on my list too, and I have contacted Deception Valley Lodge, but their drives are on their own property north of the park and not within the park itself, so I am looking into an overland through the park. The rock-jumper was photographed on the grounds of the Sani Top Chalet, a lodge at the top of the Sani Pass, in Lesotho -- there were several. I was told by my guide that he brings twitchers up the pass solely to see the rock-jumpers, which are endemic to the area.

PredatorBiologist

Michael: you can go on a full day drive from Deception Valley Lodge into the CKGR -- it does take a couple of hours to get around and through the entrance gate so you bring a picnic and go all day.

They are trying to score a gate on their property that would provide direct access and are in talks with the Government but not sure how that will go. It is worth monitoring as the lodge is wonderful and you could be in the reserve very quickly. The managers are also interested in doing a multi-day into the park with camping along with the bushmen. Adriaan, is a camp manager and guide is the best guide I have ever had and would be great to do such a trip with.

CCA (I think) was running multi-day overland trips that end with a night at DVL too.

Leely

They're all excellent, but holy!, those are great bird shots! Thanks for sharing.

thit_cho

PB, direct access to CKGR would be great. I went back and read your trip report and I had forgotten you had made those same points. When I visit, I would really like to get to Deception Valley (I was unsuccessful in seeing brown hyena at Kgalagadi, and I would really like to maximize my chances at CKGR). If I do get to Africa in 2007, the CKGR would be near the top of my list (but Gabon is still at the top).

But, it seems less likely that I'll get to Africa next year -- I just booked tickets to the 'Stans (the five Central Asian former Soviet Republics) for next May (amazingly, United counts Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan as Europe, requiring only 50,000 miles for a ticket from the US) and am considering a trip to Denali and Kodiak next August.

stamiya

Michael - Very nice pictures, especially liked the birds, and the White Rhino. When we were in Hluhluwe recently, the only White Rhino we saw was taking a nap! Nice to see them on their feet. I'm looking forward to your trip report. Sharon T.

PredatorBiologist

Michael: No doubt Gabon at the top is seems to be a great choice.

As for your other trip to the Stans -- wow, I wish I had your travel life.

Kavey

Thanks for sharing - lots of wonderful pics of small critters and birds and of course those wonderful rhinos and hippos too!

We loved our self-catering, self-drive safaris in SA a couple of years back so I'm sure we'd enjoy this experience. Don't know when we'll be getting back to Southern Africa though.

That sign about the rape of small children not curing AIDS was very poignant. I don't know if anyone remembers KimWhit, a poster here who moved from the US to SA. She was a paediatrician and worked in a community hospital rather than one of the large, shiny private hospitals that catered only for wealthy citizens. She often encountered tiny, tiny babies who had been raped because of this myth about a cure to AIDS. And a lot more besides. She had such a will to do all she could but in the end she had to give up - she encountered a lot of racism and animosity unfortunately. Sigh.

thit_cho

Kavey, needless to say, while I was aware of those stories from the press, I was stunned when I saw that sign on a school (at least I think it was a school) in Upington.

I should be able to prepare a trip report today (I like to do them as day-by-day recounts, and I have my photos to help). I took a lot more than were posted on Kodak Gallery, which limited me to 60 photos.