Predator Biologists Botswana Report: the search for something different
Dec 11th, 2007, 09:42 AM
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Sorry its taken a while to get back to this.
First a tip for all of you honey badger fans. If you spot a congregation of pale-chanting goshawks they are probably following a honey badger. At DVL Adriaan said this as we spotted 3 goshawks together. 90 seconds later there was the HB running in front of them through the bushes. This will be especially helpful for those of you self driving in the KTP, Kalahari, etc.
First a tip for all of you honey badger fans. If you spot a congregation of pale-chanting goshawks they are probably following a honey badger. At DVL Adriaan said this as we spotted 3 goshawks together. 90 seconds later there was the HB running in front of them through the bushes. This will be especially helpful for those of you self driving in the KTP, Kalahari, etc.
Dec 11th, 2007, 09:57 AM
#42
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Back to Mapula...
Mapula offers walks with an armed guide, mokoro, and game drives. Our first activity was an afternoon walk. The walking guide, Eustice was knowledgeable and had a nice easy manner about him. The focus was discussion of how different plants were used by the River Bushmen as well as examining animal sign. We had one nice sighting of a bull elephant and the wide plains lined with islands of large trees made for a beautiful landscape. We decided to do no mokoro rides here since we would have the opportunity at Delta Camp so from here on out it would be game drives.
With Doctor out injured we had Dicks as our guide and Simon as our tracker. First drive out and of course we headed right for the wild dog den. I was tingling with anticipation. We arrived and all was quiet with the 6 adult and 3 5 month old puppies all sleeping in their various groups but within two minutes the beta female walked over to the den and 5 little black blobs erupted out with excited twittering sounds waking the other dogs. After a quick lap around with the older pups joining in they settled down to nurse. The older pups harassed the alpha female begging for food by nuzzling under her chin as wild dogs do throughout life to cement their bonds. Once nursed the younger puppies would play with one another, tug a war vs. small plants, and take rough play beatings from the older puppies. These young guys are going to be extremely tough and capable after going through this rough housing. Dicks would occasionally add some meaningful commentary to this very unique situation. It is almost unheard of to have puppy litters 4 months apart like this since typically only the alpha pair breeds and in the rare instances that the beta breeds she usually has puppies within a week of the alpha. I’ve explained the situation already on its own thread so won’t repeat it all here but this was the chance of a lifetime to see a pack with multiple litters and all of the interaction made for fascinating viewing. The pack has amazing discipline and all the puppies playing could turn into a tornado of activity until the beta mom would stand up and just give the little ones a look as she approached and they would all run straight into the den where they would remain out of site and completely quiet until either the mother or father would come and look in the den and they would rocket out and the whole thing would play out again. Especially interesting was a couple times the father went to fetch them out as if he just wanted to play for a minute and enjoy the excitement and then when he had enough he would break away and leave them to play with the older pups or harass their mother. Also, once sent to the den one of the older pups could look in but the little ones would not come out for him. Through it all the alpha female is tolerant of the little pups and allows the pack to care for them which is the key for their survival. Dicks was a great guide to have for this as I could tell he wanted to stay here and observe also, and hope for a hunt. A couple times he talked about patience being necessary to see great rewards but after a lengthy stay and no hunting I think he sensed he better move on for the other guests who I think were all first time safari goers and probably didn’t have any notion that this would be amongst the top sightings ever.
As I arrived for tea I was greeted by a familiar face. Doctor had returned from Maun. Unfortunately he was ordered to rest his back and would not be able to guide us but he wanted to come and say hello and give his apology. I assured him that was no worries and to take care of himself. In addition to doing some guiding Doctor is a manager at Mapula so we would get plenty of time to talk over the next few days just not experience drives together.
The afternoon drive was an absolute contrast to our morning experience. Dicks covered an enormous amount of territory spotting species left and right. From one open plain we would cross through a small wooded island and into another plain. It would be the drive of herds and plains game. Starting with a bull elephant just out of camp, mixed herds of zebra, wildebeest, and tssessebee. Impala, steenbok, yellow mongoose, black-backed jackal, African wild cat, 3 ground hornbills, etc. Knowing that a male lion was a priority for my clients he tracked down a buffalo herd of about 100 head (no lions). A bachelor group of kudu – 15 bulls mostly between 8 and 12 years old with large majestic horns, by far the largest group I have seen. Capped off with a nice breeding herd of elephants with about 30 members including a few young ones. The drive was fast paced, quickly moving from one sighting to another (with proper time to photograph) with very little down time. The spotlight produced an outstanding view of a genet. When we arrived back at camp Dicks said with a sly smile “tonight we have seen great quantity, tomorrow we focus on quality.” As he looked at me I could tell we were on the same page and I liked his plan. He had flooded the guests with variety and so many sightings that now we could balance it with time with the dogs.
I had another member of the team to connect with though, our tracker Simon. As is often the case with trackers Simon did not speak very much English. At 57 he had worked in the mines in South Africa for 20+ years and when asked about it via Dicks at sundowners he said ‘very strong man’ as he did a little flex. I could tell this was a man I wanted to know and I wanted to bond him with our group rather than have him drift like so many trackers do. Somehow tonic had not made the drive so we took Dicks up on a suggestion to use ginger ale with our gin, resulting in a new sundowner drink we dubbed the ‘Ginger Rodgers’ that was good enough to request on subsequent drives. As I enjoyed this new concoction I waxed on about the honey badger to a new arrival from Spain who was not familiar with this magnificent creature that we had seen so many of. As I told him of its legendary reputation for castration I covered by vulnerables with two hands and fake yelled honey badger in a drawn out voice. To this Simon was belly laughing along with the rest of the crowd. We had now broken the language barrier and the team was bonded.
Post dinner tonight there was singing and dancing as the entire staff participated and soon drew in the guests to the fun. By far the most engaging one of these musical affairs that I have witnessed at a camp. Into bed with the whoop of the hyena and awakened at 4 a.m. to the distant roar of lions – just the way I like it.
Mapula offers walks with an armed guide, mokoro, and game drives. Our first activity was an afternoon walk. The walking guide, Eustice was knowledgeable and had a nice easy manner about him. The focus was discussion of how different plants were used by the River Bushmen as well as examining animal sign. We had one nice sighting of a bull elephant and the wide plains lined with islands of large trees made for a beautiful landscape. We decided to do no mokoro rides here since we would have the opportunity at Delta Camp so from here on out it would be game drives.
With Doctor out injured we had Dicks as our guide and Simon as our tracker. First drive out and of course we headed right for the wild dog den. I was tingling with anticipation. We arrived and all was quiet with the 6 adult and 3 5 month old puppies all sleeping in their various groups but within two minutes the beta female walked over to the den and 5 little black blobs erupted out with excited twittering sounds waking the other dogs. After a quick lap around with the older pups joining in they settled down to nurse. The older pups harassed the alpha female begging for food by nuzzling under her chin as wild dogs do throughout life to cement their bonds. Once nursed the younger puppies would play with one another, tug a war vs. small plants, and take rough play beatings from the older puppies. These young guys are going to be extremely tough and capable after going through this rough housing. Dicks would occasionally add some meaningful commentary to this very unique situation. It is almost unheard of to have puppy litters 4 months apart like this since typically only the alpha pair breeds and in the rare instances that the beta breeds she usually has puppies within a week of the alpha. I’ve explained the situation already on its own thread so won’t repeat it all here but this was the chance of a lifetime to see a pack with multiple litters and all of the interaction made for fascinating viewing. The pack has amazing discipline and all the puppies playing could turn into a tornado of activity until the beta mom would stand up and just give the little ones a look as she approached and they would all run straight into the den where they would remain out of site and completely quiet until either the mother or father would come and look in the den and they would rocket out and the whole thing would play out again. Especially interesting was a couple times the father went to fetch them out as if he just wanted to play for a minute and enjoy the excitement and then when he had enough he would break away and leave them to play with the older pups or harass their mother. Also, once sent to the den one of the older pups could look in but the little ones would not come out for him. Through it all the alpha female is tolerant of the little pups and allows the pack to care for them which is the key for their survival. Dicks was a great guide to have for this as I could tell he wanted to stay here and observe also, and hope for a hunt. A couple times he talked about patience being necessary to see great rewards but after a lengthy stay and no hunting I think he sensed he better move on for the other guests who I think were all first time safari goers and probably didn’t have any notion that this would be amongst the top sightings ever.
As I arrived for tea I was greeted by a familiar face. Doctor had returned from Maun. Unfortunately he was ordered to rest his back and would not be able to guide us but he wanted to come and say hello and give his apology. I assured him that was no worries and to take care of himself. In addition to doing some guiding Doctor is a manager at Mapula so we would get plenty of time to talk over the next few days just not experience drives together.
The afternoon drive was an absolute contrast to our morning experience. Dicks covered an enormous amount of territory spotting species left and right. From one open plain we would cross through a small wooded island and into another plain. It would be the drive of herds and plains game. Starting with a bull elephant just out of camp, mixed herds of zebra, wildebeest, and tssessebee. Impala, steenbok, yellow mongoose, black-backed jackal, African wild cat, 3 ground hornbills, etc. Knowing that a male lion was a priority for my clients he tracked down a buffalo herd of about 100 head (no lions). A bachelor group of kudu – 15 bulls mostly between 8 and 12 years old with large majestic horns, by far the largest group I have seen. Capped off with a nice breeding herd of elephants with about 30 members including a few young ones. The drive was fast paced, quickly moving from one sighting to another (with proper time to photograph) with very little down time. The spotlight produced an outstanding view of a genet. When we arrived back at camp Dicks said with a sly smile “tonight we have seen great quantity, tomorrow we focus on quality.” As he looked at me I could tell we were on the same page and I liked his plan. He had flooded the guests with variety and so many sightings that now we could balance it with time with the dogs.
I had another member of the team to connect with though, our tracker Simon. As is often the case with trackers Simon did not speak very much English. At 57 he had worked in the mines in South Africa for 20+ years and when asked about it via Dicks at sundowners he said ‘very strong man’ as he did a little flex. I could tell this was a man I wanted to know and I wanted to bond him with our group rather than have him drift like so many trackers do. Somehow tonic had not made the drive so we took Dicks up on a suggestion to use ginger ale with our gin, resulting in a new sundowner drink we dubbed the ‘Ginger Rodgers’ that was good enough to request on subsequent drives. As I enjoyed this new concoction I waxed on about the honey badger to a new arrival from Spain who was not familiar with this magnificent creature that we had seen so many of. As I told him of its legendary reputation for castration I covered by vulnerables with two hands and fake yelled honey badger in a drawn out voice. To this Simon was belly laughing along with the rest of the crowd. We had now broken the language barrier and the team was bonded.
Post dinner tonight there was singing and dancing as the entire staff participated and soon drew in the guests to the fun. By far the most engaging one of these musical affairs that I have witnessed at a camp. Into bed with the whoop of the hyena and awakened at 4 a.m. to the distant roar of lions – just the way I like it.
Dec 11th, 2007, 10:07 AM
#44
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Mapula looks fantastic, apart from the dogs your game drives sounds excellent with nice variety and quantity of species.
This is the reason why Adriaan tall you about the goshawks following honey badgers.
"A study in the southern Kalahari showed that two mammals and five birds were observed to follow foraging honey badgers with the most common associations between honey badgers and pale chanting goshawks.
In the Kalahari study, honey badgers caught more than 80% of their prey through digging, and small mammals and small reptiles were the most common prey items caught. When digging for these small prey items more than 40 % of the lizards and rodents escaped above ground and it is these escaped prey items that are available for capture by the associating species. These associations appear to be a form of commensalism where other opportunistic predators key into the opportunities provides by the hunting efforts of the honey badgers, and this appears to have few direct costs or benefits to the badgers."
It makes sense to me...but also you got to prove it in person.
If i ever visit the Kalahari i will remember your adviced.
Paco.
This is the reason why Adriaan tall you about the goshawks following honey badgers.
"A study in the southern Kalahari showed that two mammals and five birds were observed to follow foraging honey badgers with the most common associations between honey badgers and pale chanting goshawks.
In the Kalahari study, honey badgers caught more than 80% of their prey through digging, and small mammals and small reptiles were the most common prey items caught. When digging for these small prey items more than 40 % of the lizards and rodents escaped above ground and it is these escaped prey items that are available for capture by the associating species. These associations appear to be a form of commensalism where other opportunistic predators key into the opportunities provides by the hunting efforts of the honey badgers, and this appears to have few direct costs or benefits to the badgers."
It makes sense to me...but also you got to prove it in person.
If i ever visit the Kalahari i will remember your adviced.
Paco.
Dec 12th, 2007, 12:02 AM
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Matt: Johan is correct that Dicks did work at Gudigwa. I know he also worked at least one other in the Delta but I can't remember which one. I don't think he ever worked at Mashatu.
Not sure if I mentioned it earlier but Dicks is a cousin of Charles, one of the highly regarded Kwando guides.
Paco: thanks for posting that. I had read that before so it clicked immediately when Adriaan said that about the goshawks indicating the presence of a honey badger but I have to admit that I was just admiring the goshawks rather than piecing it together until he pointed it out and kick started my thought process. Coyotes and sometimes ferruginous hawks follow our North American badgers the same way for the same reason as they dig out prey, usually prairie dogs and rabbits and that often creates opportunities.
Not sure if I mentioned it earlier but Dicks is a cousin of Charles, one of the highly regarded Kwando guides.
Paco: thanks for posting that. I had read that before so it clicked immediately when Adriaan said that about the goshawks indicating the presence of a honey badger but I have to admit that I was just admiring the goshawks rather than piecing it together until he pointed it out and kick started my thought process. Coyotes and sometimes ferruginous hawks follow our North American badgers the same way for the same reason as they dig out prey, usually prairie dogs and rabbits and that often creates opportunities.
Dec 12th, 2007, 12:36 PM
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Dicks sounds like a very experienced guide who can cater to all tastes in his vehicle.
I never considered honey badger castration as an ice breaker topic. I'll remember that for the upcoming holiday office parties. And they think I'm odd now.
Your dog pictures illustrated much of the activity at the den. Your description of everything going on added further enlightenment. You are right, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You are also right that the magnitude of the sighting can be hard to comprehend for first time visitors. I also viewed a den of 5-week old pups at Mala Mala with first time visitors. The ranger (who had never seen pups at the den) and I were trying to impress upon them what a miracle was playing out in front of us.
Fascinating observations and comments on the chanting goshawk and honey badgers. Thanks, PacoAhedo and Predator for that info!
The Ginger Rodgers--brilliant. I'll order one at the office party.
Looking forward to the rest of your trip. Don't dawdle too long or you'll have overlap. Feb in the Serengeti is not that far away, especially with the holidays in the middle, which is busy time.
I never considered honey badger castration as an ice breaker topic. I'll remember that for the upcoming holiday office parties. And they think I'm odd now.
Your dog pictures illustrated much of the activity at the den. Your description of everything going on added further enlightenment. You are right, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You are also right that the magnitude of the sighting can be hard to comprehend for first time visitors. I also viewed a den of 5-week old pups at Mala Mala with first time visitors. The ranger (who had never seen pups at the den) and I were trying to impress upon them what a miracle was playing out in front of us.
Fascinating observations and comments on the chanting goshawk and honey badgers. Thanks, PacoAhedo and Predator for that info!
The Ginger Rodgers--brilliant. I'll order one at the office party.
Looking forward to the rest of your trip. Don't dawdle too long or you'll have overlap. Feb in the Serengeti is not that far away, especially with the holidays in the middle, which is busy time.
Dec 12th, 2007, 11:25 PM
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Amol: Last I saw from Nyama Gudigwa is operating but when I asked Dicks he wasn't even sure so I don't know but usually Nyama is spot on. The concession is 350,000 ha (875,000 ac) with villages a 2 hour drive north. Throughout the huge area that we covered on drives there was no sign of anything but wildlife area and Mapula Lodge.
Lynn: Thank goodness Dicks was an outstanding guide because it was very disappointing that Doctor could not guide us. Doctor is known as one of Botswana's absolute best and I had really been looking forward to being with him but Dicks was a perfect fit for me so it all worked out great. Dicks is fairly young but highly skilled for his experience level, definitley made a great impression on me.
No worries with finishing the report before my next trip but you are right it's best to ride the momentum. I'm about to post the conclusion to Mapula which will have 8 nights down and only 3 left although still covering two camps.
Lynn: Thank goodness Dicks was an outstanding guide because it was very disappointing that Doctor could not guide us. Doctor is known as one of Botswana's absolute best and I had really been looking forward to being with him but Dicks was a perfect fit for me so it all worked out great. Dicks is fairly young but highly skilled for his experience level, definitley made a great impression on me.
No worries with finishing the report before my next trip but you are right it's best to ride the momentum. I'm about to post the conclusion to Mapula which will have 8 nights down and only 3 left although still covering two camps.
Dec 12th, 2007, 11:30 PM
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Lynn: forgot to say that the HB castration legends works great for ice breaking with men because every man cringes the same at the thought, not sure how well it plays with women. Also forgot to say that the sundowner fun was amplified as I spun the tales and then one Spainard would translate them including some classic hand gestures to another Spainard who didn't speak much English.
Dec 12th, 2007, 11:52 PM
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Onto the quality plan.
Next morning straight out to the dog den but wouldn’t you know it, they were already out hunting and the pups were stashed down in the den so there was nothing to see. On to a standard game drive with a good sighting of a marsh owl (new one for me) flying right in front of us and into the high grass. Owls are a family that I have spent a lot of time studying so I am always excited to see them, and this particular species is closely related to the short-eared owl that I have observed many times in the USA. The marsh owl was behaving similarly with a daytime hunt coursing low over the grassland. This was followed shortly by one of the crown jewels of the trip, my first ever sable. One magnificent, jet black bull with full arching horns, and ten others of various ages and shades of light brown to dark chocolate. I was surprised that the herd was very easy to approach and allowed for excellent viewing. It seems that many people report spotting sable briefly as they flee but this herd was very relaxed and we would see them two more times on our drives. Add in some giraffes, ostriches, jacana, brown snake eagle and a very nice black-breasted snake eagle and it was another very nice drive.
I had been working on trying to learn animal names in Setswana and that was a great way for Simon and I to connect as both he and Dicks would tell them to me. The entire staff I think enjoyed hearing me struggle with them over meals but also seemed to appreciate that I wanted to learn them. Of course one of the first I learned was honey badger so as I boarded the vehicle for the p.m. drive I stretched my fist out toward Simon and as he returned the gesture I called out Mantswane bringing a nod and a huge grin. Back to the dogs, this time arriving just as the pups burst back onto the scene. Lots more great viewing and this time it was clear that true to Dicks plan we would wait and see what would happen. After another great long period of observation up the adults rose and the alpha female started to head for the nearby water to get a drink. Along the way she marked two spots and each dog stopped and visited these. We headed through the woodland to meet them at the waterhole and I spotted an impala ram just as the dogs entered the area. The impala was frozen and we stopped the vehicle. The dogs continued to the water and as soon as we started the vehicle the impala was off and running through the trees. The alpha must have sensed opportunity because instead of stopping to drink she took two licks of the water and trotted into the mopane woodlands to hunt. Amazingly each of the 8 dogs to follow (including the 3 5 month olds) stopped just long enough at the water to collect their two sips of water and continue on the hunt. The discipline is amazing, to see it lends immediate understanding of why they are the most successful hunting species. Our plan in full effect we try to follow the hunt but the mopane here is extremely thick and they lose us in just minutes. None the less another amazing session watching the dogs.
The next morning the mokoro are being readied for the rest of the guests so we will have the vehicle to ourselves. While we are eating breakfast Simon passes through and says something lengthy in Setswana but keeps on walking. Lesh (Asst. Manager who we learn is married to Dicks) translates that Simon has said “He wishes he would have had the opportunity to go to the University and learn English because he wishes he could communicate more with you”. I’m not sure a report can possibly convey this kind of thing but it was a highlight for me that even with the language barrier we had formed a great connection. Dicks focus now was to try and track down lions. A pride of 10 including two large males were seen the day before we arrived but they had since been elusive. Twice in the early morning hours I heard distant roaring but the area is huge. We headed to an enormous plains area that is near the border with Vumbura. Far across the plain Simon points and shouts to me letotse, indeed there is a cheetah in the classic laying down on a mound with the head up pose under a large tree. As Simon gets off his tracker seat he bypasses the passenger seat next to the guide and joins me in my row, a great pleasure to enjoy this sighting together. The cheetah is very relaxed as we approach and once we get there we can see that he (believed to be known as ‘Patrick’ in Vumbura) has eaten about as much as a cheetah possibly can and all he wants to do is nap. Hari will be glad to know that Dicks makes the call and everyone in the mekoro’s come racing back in with a long drive ahead of them. We have the pleasure of being cheetah sitters. After we have had some close time with great photos we move away 50 yards or more to not pressure him while we wait for the other guests to arrive. Dicks proclaims with great pleasure “you chose to skip the mokoro so we could search for lions but instead we have been blessed with a cheetah.” Whilst cheetah sitting our peace was disturbed for about ten minutes as we had to listen to the helicopter flying Vumbura Plains clients around a mile or so to our south. A true shame that even while staying at the farthest end of the bush plane route, and thus in the rare situation of avoiding plane noise we still had our wilderness disturbed by this relatively new joy ride activity :-< When the other vehicle arrives we move in again for some more photos and then back to our lion search. This area was like a big cat grocery store teeming with wildies, zebra, tsessebe, and warthogs. Then a good distance out on the plains a little tank is walking through, with binoculars we confirm a honey badger! Kick into high gear across the open plains for a decent view of a trotting honey badger. We are forced to go around a bush but the badger opts for a hole and our view ends. This would be our 5th sighting for a total of 6 individual honey badgers, exceptional luck considering this was the species that I most wanted to see as I had never found one before. We found tracks of lions but they were a couple days old. Another very good sighting of sable, a one tusked elephant ripping down tree branches, and then the flying baboons put on a circus act leaping from one tree to another across our track. Another amazing drive! The other vehicle actually saw a huge male leopard once they left the cheetah but we were too far a field with our lion tracking to get back to see it as he did not stick around for long. With the area being so huge it is often like that, just not possible to go to every call and thus we often saw different things. It became a ritual for me to ask Josiah what they saw. The first night he said in his slow drawl “oh not much, just some serval… and a python.” Following our cheetah drive he of course claimed his nkwe (leopard) but then I surprised him with our mantswane.
We had one p.m. drive to go and I had requested that in addition to the regular drive we have a proper night drive to begin after dinner. Dicks recommended that we have the canopy removed so we could enjoy the stars and have unobstructed viewing. I was excited by that plan as I love being in the completely open vehicle, it really makes a difference to me. We would cover all new ground in the never ending quest to locate the lions. First stop a big bull elephant who mock charged into water kicking it up everywhere. Then onto a beautiful water area packed with pelicans, herons, spur-winged geese, marabou and yellow-billed storks and a pair of fish eagles. More plains games until our very long drive ended at Hippo Pool (seems like every camp has one by that name). We watched the hippos with their threats, splashes and almost out of water dances as they displayed for one another and to us. We had our sundowner and then a long drive back in the dark with more genets. As we had traveled so far we actually had close to an extra hour in the dark on our drive back. Having driven such a distance and with everything running a little late I told Dicks for our night drive it was fine if we just went out for an hour and a half or so as I didn’t want to overwork him and Simon, basically I said its up to you to determine how long you want to go for. About four hours later at quarter past 1 a.m. we arrived back from our drive. A couple porcupines, genets, lots of springhares and a giant eagle owl was our tally along with an incredible night sky. I was impressed with Dicks and Simon, they were showing great stamina and desire to deliver everything they could for us.
Sadly just one Mapula drive to go. I would have loved to return to the wild dogs but when you lead other people sometimes your own interest is not the way to go so we went on another enormous distance exploration to the edge of Duba Plains in hopes of finding the elusive lions. Unfortunately the lions appeared to have temporarily moved over to Duba but it was still an awesome drive as we just kept getting to see new areas and ended in a real paradise. We came to a very wet area with a channel of water and enormous old trees ringing a small island. Here we saw our first waterbuck as well as a few red lechwe. This spot was breathtaking and on the other side of the water was the Duba Plains concession. As we pulled in for a stop we were greeted by a leopard tortoise. This had been the site of Old Vumbura hunting camp some years back but the camp was long gone and paradise is left behind. Over tea (really cokes for most of us) Dicks said the Mapula owners have some interest in putting a small camp of maybe 3 to 5 tents here in the future but no plans are currently in place. As we were talking Dicks looked deep into a thicket of large trees and then with surprise said Pel’s fishing owls. I turned and there was a pair of Pel’s, the holy grail for birders in Botswana just roosting next to the water waiting to be found. As this area is so far away from Mapula Lodge, probably about 2 hours by game drive speed, I don’t think it is visited very often and the Pel’s pair was a significant find and certainly great news for birders coming to Mapula.
It was sad to have goodbyes with Doctor, Josiah, Lesh, and the rest of the staff. It was particularly difficult to leave Dicks and Simon who had worked so hard and made our days and nights so enjoyable. For my farewell I asked Doctor for an appropriate Setswana term to express my connection and respect to Simon, and thus on this last morning I called him mogolole (quite possibly the wrong spelling but this one I said well), meaning my brother. I think we were all pleased with my growing language abilities and I promised to try and know more on my next visit.
To sum it up Mapula Lodge was the best of everything that I want on safari. Outstanding wildlife in both diversity and quality of sightings, immense wilderness area to traverse, areas of scenic beauty including the camp location, knowledgeable/passionate/personable/hard working guides & trackers, community feel with an engaging staff that appears to enjoy their jobs, and an economic set up that delivers great benefit to the local people. The fact that the lodging is stunning, cost is well below comparable camps, and the food excellent were a huge bonus on top of my true priorities. Overall I’d have to say that my Mapula experience moves straight to the top with Duba Plains as my absolute best camps to date.
Next morning straight out to the dog den but wouldn’t you know it, they were already out hunting and the pups were stashed down in the den so there was nothing to see. On to a standard game drive with a good sighting of a marsh owl (new one for me) flying right in front of us and into the high grass. Owls are a family that I have spent a lot of time studying so I am always excited to see them, and this particular species is closely related to the short-eared owl that I have observed many times in the USA. The marsh owl was behaving similarly with a daytime hunt coursing low over the grassland. This was followed shortly by one of the crown jewels of the trip, my first ever sable. One magnificent, jet black bull with full arching horns, and ten others of various ages and shades of light brown to dark chocolate. I was surprised that the herd was very easy to approach and allowed for excellent viewing. It seems that many people report spotting sable briefly as they flee but this herd was very relaxed and we would see them two more times on our drives. Add in some giraffes, ostriches, jacana, brown snake eagle and a very nice black-breasted snake eagle and it was another very nice drive.
I had been working on trying to learn animal names in Setswana and that was a great way for Simon and I to connect as both he and Dicks would tell them to me. The entire staff I think enjoyed hearing me struggle with them over meals but also seemed to appreciate that I wanted to learn them. Of course one of the first I learned was honey badger so as I boarded the vehicle for the p.m. drive I stretched my fist out toward Simon and as he returned the gesture I called out Mantswane bringing a nod and a huge grin. Back to the dogs, this time arriving just as the pups burst back onto the scene. Lots more great viewing and this time it was clear that true to Dicks plan we would wait and see what would happen. After another great long period of observation up the adults rose and the alpha female started to head for the nearby water to get a drink. Along the way she marked two spots and each dog stopped and visited these. We headed through the woodland to meet them at the waterhole and I spotted an impala ram just as the dogs entered the area. The impala was frozen and we stopped the vehicle. The dogs continued to the water and as soon as we started the vehicle the impala was off and running through the trees. The alpha must have sensed opportunity because instead of stopping to drink she took two licks of the water and trotted into the mopane woodlands to hunt. Amazingly each of the 8 dogs to follow (including the 3 5 month olds) stopped just long enough at the water to collect their two sips of water and continue on the hunt. The discipline is amazing, to see it lends immediate understanding of why they are the most successful hunting species. Our plan in full effect we try to follow the hunt but the mopane here is extremely thick and they lose us in just minutes. None the less another amazing session watching the dogs.
The next morning the mokoro are being readied for the rest of the guests so we will have the vehicle to ourselves. While we are eating breakfast Simon passes through and says something lengthy in Setswana but keeps on walking. Lesh (Asst. Manager who we learn is married to Dicks) translates that Simon has said “He wishes he would have had the opportunity to go to the University and learn English because he wishes he could communicate more with you”. I’m not sure a report can possibly convey this kind of thing but it was a highlight for me that even with the language barrier we had formed a great connection. Dicks focus now was to try and track down lions. A pride of 10 including two large males were seen the day before we arrived but they had since been elusive. Twice in the early morning hours I heard distant roaring but the area is huge. We headed to an enormous plains area that is near the border with Vumbura. Far across the plain Simon points and shouts to me letotse, indeed there is a cheetah in the classic laying down on a mound with the head up pose under a large tree. As Simon gets off his tracker seat he bypasses the passenger seat next to the guide and joins me in my row, a great pleasure to enjoy this sighting together. The cheetah is very relaxed as we approach and once we get there we can see that he (believed to be known as ‘Patrick’ in Vumbura) has eaten about as much as a cheetah possibly can and all he wants to do is nap. Hari will be glad to know that Dicks makes the call and everyone in the mekoro’s come racing back in with a long drive ahead of them. We have the pleasure of being cheetah sitters. After we have had some close time with great photos we move away 50 yards or more to not pressure him while we wait for the other guests to arrive. Dicks proclaims with great pleasure “you chose to skip the mokoro so we could search for lions but instead we have been blessed with a cheetah.” Whilst cheetah sitting our peace was disturbed for about ten minutes as we had to listen to the helicopter flying Vumbura Plains clients around a mile or so to our south. A true shame that even while staying at the farthest end of the bush plane route, and thus in the rare situation of avoiding plane noise we still had our wilderness disturbed by this relatively new joy ride activity :-< When the other vehicle arrives we move in again for some more photos and then back to our lion search. This area was like a big cat grocery store teeming with wildies, zebra, tsessebe, and warthogs. Then a good distance out on the plains a little tank is walking through, with binoculars we confirm a honey badger! Kick into high gear across the open plains for a decent view of a trotting honey badger. We are forced to go around a bush but the badger opts for a hole and our view ends. This would be our 5th sighting for a total of 6 individual honey badgers, exceptional luck considering this was the species that I most wanted to see as I had never found one before. We found tracks of lions but they were a couple days old. Another very good sighting of sable, a one tusked elephant ripping down tree branches, and then the flying baboons put on a circus act leaping from one tree to another across our track. Another amazing drive! The other vehicle actually saw a huge male leopard once they left the cheetah but we were too far a field with our lion tracking to get back to see it as he did not stick around for long. With the area being so huge it is often like that, just not possible to go to every call and thus we often saw different things. It became a ritual for me to ask Josiah what they saw. The first night he said in his slow drawl “oh not much, just some serval… and a python.” Following our cheetah drive he of course claimed his nkwe (leopard) but then I surprised him with our mantswane.
We had one p.m. drive to go and I had requested that in addition to the regular drive we have a proper night drive to begin after dinner. Dicks recommended that we have the canopy removed so we could enjoy the stars and have unobstructed viewing. I was excited by that plan as I love being in the completely open vehicle, it really makes a difference to me. We would cover all new ground in the never ending quest to locate the lions. First stop a big bull elephant who mock charged into water kicking it up everywhere. Then onto a beautiful water area packed with pelicans, herons, spur-winged geese, marabou and yellow-billed storks and a pair of fish eagles. More plains games until our very long drive ended at Hippo Pool (seems like every camp has one by that name). We watched the hippos with their threats, splashes and almost out of water dances as they displayed for one another and to us. We had our sundowner and then a long drive back in the dark with more genets. As we had traveled so far we actually had close to an extra hour in the dark on our drive back. Having driven such a distance and with everything running a little late I told Dicks for our night drive it was fine if we just went out for an hour and a half or so as I didn’t want to overwork him and Simon, basically I said its up to you to determine how long you want to go for. About four hours later at quarter past 1 a.m. we arrived back from our drive. A couple porcupines, genets, lots of springhares and a giant eagle owl was our tally along with an incredible night sky. I was impressed with Dicks and Simon, they were showing great stamina and desire to deliver everything they could for us.
Sadly just one Mapula drive to go. I would have loved to return to the wild dogs but when you lead other people sometimes your own interest is not the way to go so we went on another enormous distance exploration to the edge of Duba Plains in hopes of finding the elusive lions. Unfortunately the lions appeared to have temporarily moved over to Duba but it was still an awesome drive as we just kept getting to see new areas and ended in a real paradise. We came to a very wet area with a channel of water and enormous old trees ringing a small island. Here we saw our first waterbuck as well as a few red lechwe. This spot was breathtaking and on the other side of the water was the Duba Plains concession. As we pulled in for a stop we were greeted by a leopard tortoise. This had been the site of Old Vumbura hunting camp some years back but the camp was long gone and paradise is left behind. Over tea (really cokes for most of us) Dicks said the Mapula owners have some interest in putting a small camp of maybe 3 to 5 tents here in the future but no plans are currently in place. As we were talking Dicks looked deep into a thicket of large trees and then with surprise said Pel’s fishing owls. I turned and there was a pair of Pel’s, the holy grail for birders in Botswana just roosting next to the water waiting to be found. As this area is so far away from Mapula Lodge, probably about 2 hours by game drive speed, I don’t think it is visited very often and the Pel’s pair was a significant find and certainly great news for birders coming to Mapula.
It was sad to have goodbyes with Doctor, Josiah, Lesh, and the rest of the staff. It was particularly difficult to leave Dicks and Simon who had worked so hard and made our days and nights so enjoyable. For my farewell I asked Doctor for an appropriate Setswana term to express my connection and respect to Simon, and thus on this last morning I called him mogolole (quite possibly the wrong spelling but this one I said well), meaning my brother. I think we were all pleased with my growing language abilities and I promised to try and know more on my next visit.
To sum it up Mapula Lodge was the best of everything that I want on safari. Outstanding wildlife in both diversity and quality of sightings, immense wilderness area to traverse, areas of scenic beauty including the camp location, knowledgeable/passionate/personable/hard working guides & trackers, community feel with an engaging staff that appears to enjoy their jobs, and an economic set up that delivers great benefit to the local people. The fact that the lodging is stunning, cost is well below comparable camps, and the food excellent were a huge bonus on top of my true priorities. Overall I’d have to say that my Mapula experience moves straight to the top with Duba Plains as my absolute best camps to date.
Dec 28th, 2007, 08:12 PM
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Sorry for the delay but on we go to Delta Camp.
I chose to visit Delta Camp for the traditional Okavango experience. Along with its sister camp Oddballs, this is one of the oldest tourist camp areas in the Delta. Here each chalet has its own guide and you travel by mokoro to nearby Chief’s island where you do walks in the Moremi Game Reserve. If desired and your stay is long enough (3 nights I think?) it is also possible to do long mokoro trips and camp with your guide on other islands. There are no game drives.
This was definitely a unique camp, very different than any I have previously been to including the focus completely on walking. The walking guides do not carry rifles so this is a raw connection to the environment where you have to carefully interact in the living system. Accommodation had a similar rawness. My chalet was raised about 3 feet off the ground with three walls and a roof but my fourth side was wide open to the flood plain with just a single open rail on the decking separating my quarters from the wilds, basically allowing access to most manner of creatures and leaving my mosquito net as my only true barrier. For those looking for the close connection to the environment this would be ideal lodging, for others it could be a little nerve racking since you feel very exposed. Surprisingly I slept better here than anywhere on the trip going sound out for 8 hours a night other than waking up once to the sound of a hippo around the stairs to my chalet. There is also one, very well done tree house that my clients stayed in. They would have been nervous in my chalet but they loved the tree house. It also has open sided half walls but the bedroom is probably about 40 feet up in the tree. There is a nice deck with a hammock a few feet lower on one side and a bathroom about 10 feet further down the tree. The main lodge is beautiful, excellent setting with a view across a channel to Chief’s island. Food and service was first class. As we were the only guests I cannot comment much on atmosphere.
Since we were together and happened to be the only 3 guests at this camp we had one senior guide, Matsaudi who had been guiding at Delta Camp for 15 years, and one guide in training Kaizer who was a young guy who poled the mokoro I was in. Matsaudi was outstanding and clearly was very cautious and alert at all times. He also had the strong knowledge of vegetation, animal sign, etc. to make a walking experience thoroughly enjoyable. Anyone planning a trip here needs to be acutely aware of the seasonal differences in water levels and thus your activities. In November water levels are very low which means hippos congregate in some of the remaining areas forming gauntlets that are too dangerous to try and pass. Thus our mokoro time was very short, usually just about 10 minutes to get to where we would walk and then the majority of our activity time would be walking. This worked well for me as I enjoy the interesting perspective and traditional experience of the mokoro but would rather be walking than confined to a mokoro.
On our first walk we almost immediately found a few giraffe and we were able to approach very closely, possibly to about ten meters. The animals in this area tend to be acclimated to walkers so excellent viewing is possible. On 3 walks we saw 14 mammal species including our only side-striped jackals of the trip, elephants, buffalo, zebra, warthogs, vervet monkeys, baboons, and many more. Of course being on the ground opens up an entire different world so we could witness things like termites cutting grasses and carrying them down their burrows. One fascinating experience resulted when the greater honeyguide (bird) came calling to us. This was a rare chance to actually interact with an animal on its terms as the greater honeyguide has a symbiotic relationship with humans (reportedly with honey badgers as well). The bird finds bee hives that it wants to eat from but is not able to open the hive itself so it finds a partner and leads the way. I of course asked Matsaudi if we could follow it and he was excited to do so. The bird would chatter at us and fly around conspicuously and then fly off ahead. We would follow and if we lost it Matsaudi would whistle to stay in contact and the bird would eventually come back into sight calling before heading off again. After about 15 minutes we came to a large tree and spotted a bee hive in a cavity high off the ground, maybe 25 feet up in the tree. Unfortunately we could not finish the experiment by rewarding the bird with an opened hive and consequently the next day we did not follow the honeyguide who came to us as legend says if you do not share the honey with the bird it will lead you to lions next time. Another interesting pursuit was following the flight of a number of vultures in hopes of finding lions (perhaps should have tested honeyguide legend) or other predators on a kill. It would seem that the vultures may have intentionally been deceiving us and/or a side-striped jackal as Matsaudi said they will sometimes be misleading to avoid the competition. It was exciting to follow them anticipating a kill but we came up empty.
One afternoon we took the standard camp employee commuting route, a 15 minute mokoro ride over to their local village. It was extremely interesting to walk around and see how the homes are constructed with termite mud and empty aluminum cans. Many local women brought their crafts over to a market area for us to peruse. We said hello and talked briefly with a few folks sitting around but it is a quiet village and basically you just walk around as a visitor, there is no tourist show or canned experience which is nice. Eventually we worked our way to the far edge of the village where Matsaudi has built a bar consisting of a large deck area and a secured building with a generator to keep a refrigerator running as well as power a dvd and projector. He shows The Gods Must Be Crazy and a couple other movies nightly on a screen, really quite a nice enterprise he has going. I’m trying to edit him some of our video such as him poling the mokoro to show as well.
On our last morning walk I have to admit I was feeling a bit complacent. We had some very interesting experiences but no dangerous game had been sighted so it was feeling quite tame, that was about to change. Just as you are feeling at ease you quickly learn that you must always be vigilant. We spotted two bull eles far in the distance and decided to approach closer. As we were about to cross through a narrow ribbon of trees all of a sudden Matsaudi heard bird warning calls and came to a quick stop just as we were about to pass under a tree with an enormous black mamba! The snake was curled up and around a large branch and its crook against the trunk. After taking a couple steps back we watched as the mamba began to lengthen and climb up higher, then stretching across to another tree revealing its full length that had to approach 14 feet. It was unnerving and spectacular. To be that big as well as extremely fast and unbelievably venomous just doesn’t seem fair. Seeing such a sight on foot really takes your breath away. We then continued on a new route to see the elephants but kept a big distance as one of the bulls was a teenager and thus highly unpredictable. All of us still wowed by the mamba were winding down as we approached our mokoros when all of a sudden the large head of a dagga boy buffalo revealed itself next to a bush. Hopefully we were not too close! We slowly backed off and slid partially behind a termite mound surveying for climbable trees as the buffalo took a couple steps toward us exposing his full massive body as he tried to scent us. He looked right, then back at us, and then darted off to the right. Fortunately we had moved far enough that he felt safe retreating rather than forced to charge. The day before we had seen a group of 4 dagga boys from Delta Camp on this part of the island so there were almost certainly a couple more back there and it was clear from the guides and the camp manager that they would rather walk into any other mammal than the dagga boy buffaloes. We altered our course to go the long way around to the mekoros and headed back to camp fully exhilirated from having our feet on the Botswana soil. That would be going out with a bang for my client who were flying out and home while I continued onto Makgadikgadi.
Delta Camp provides a very adventurous, back to the wild experience for those looking for something that is traditional and old school. I can highly recommend it for those who have a high adventure quotient and desire to explore on nature’s terms.
Next up – Makgadikgadi Camp
I chose to visit Delta Camp for the traditional Okavango experience. Along with its sister camp Oddballs, this is one of the oldest tourist camp areas in the Delta. Here each chalet has its own guide and you travel by mokoro to nearby Chief’s island where you do walks in the Moremi Game Reserve. If desired and your stay is long enough (3 nights I think?) it is also possible to do long mokoro trips and camp with your guide on other islands. There are no game drives.
This was definitely a unique camp, very different than any I have previously been to including the focus completely on walking. The walking guides do not carry rifles so this is a raw connection to the environment where you have to carefully interact in the living system. Accommodation had a similar rawness. My chalet was raised about 3 feet off the ground with three walls and a roof but my fourth side was wide open to the flood plain with just a single open rail on the decking separating my quarters from the wilds, basically allowing access to most manner of creatures and leaving my mosquito net as my only true barrier. For those looking for the close connection to the environment this would be ideal lodging, for others it could be a little nerve racking since you feel very exposed. Surprisingly I slept better here than anywhere on the trip going sound out for 8 hours a night other than waking up once to the sound of a hippo around the stairs to my chalet. There is also one, very well done tree house that my clients stayed in. They would have been nervous in my chalet but they loved the tree house. It also has open sided half walls but the bedroom is probably about 40 feet up in the tree. There is a nice deck with a hammock a few feet lower on one side and a bathroom about 10 feet further down the tree. The main lodge is beautiful, excellent setting with a view across a channel to Chief’s island. Food and service was first class. As we were the only guests I cannot comment much on atmosphere.
Since we were together and happened to be the only 3 guests at this camp we had one senior guide, Matsaudi who had been guiding at Delta Camp for 15 years, and one guide in training Kaizer who was a young guy who poled the mokoro I was in. Matsaudi was outstanding and clearly was very cautious and alert at all times. He also had the strong knowledge of vegetation, animal sign, etc. to make a walking experience thoroughly enjoyable. Anyone planning a trip here needs to be acutely aware of the seasonal differences in water levels and thus your activities. In November water levels are very low which means hippos congregate in some of the remaining areas forming gauntlets that are too dangerous to try and pass. Thus our mokoro time was very short, usually just about 10 minutes to get to where we would walk and then the majority of our activity time would be walking. This worked well for me as I enjoy the interesting perspective and traditional experience of the mokoro but would rather be walking than confined to a mokoro.
On our first walk we almost immediately found a few giraffe and we were able to approach very closely, possibly to about ten meters. The animals in this area tend to be acclimated to walkers so excellent viewing is possible. On 3 walks we saw 14 mammal species including our only side-striped jackals of the trip, elephants, buffalo, zebra, warthogs, vervet monkeys, baboons, and many more. Of course being on the ground opens up an entire different world so we could witness things like termites cutting grasses and carrying them down their burrows. One fascinating experience resulted when the greater honeyguide (bird) came calling to us. This was a rare chance to actually interact with an animal on its terms as the greater honeyguide has a symbiotic relationship with humans (reportedly with honey badgers as well). The bird finds bee hives that it wants to eat from but is not able to open the hive itself so it finds a partner and leads the way. I of course asked Matsaudi if we could follow it and he was excited to do so. The bird would chatter at us and fly around conspicuously and then fly off ahead. We would follow and if we lost it Matsaudi would whistle to stay in contact and the bird would eventually come back into sight calling before heading off again. After about 15 minutes we came to a large tree and spotted a bee hive in a cavity high off the ground, maybe 25 feet up in the tree. Unfortunately we could not finish the experiment by rewarding the bird with an opened hive and consequently the next day we did not follow the honeyguide who came to us as legend says if you do not share the honey with the bird it will lead you to lions next time. Another interesting pursuit was following the flight of a number of vultures in hopes of finding lions (perhaps should have tested honeyguide legend) or other predators on a kill. It would seem that the vultures may have intentionally been deceiving us and/or a side-striped jackal as Matsaudi said they will sometimes be misleading to avoid the competition. It was exciting to follow them anticipating a kill but we came up empty.
One afternoon we took the standard camp employee commuting route, a 15 minute mokoro ride over to their local village. It was extremely interesting to walk around and see how the homes are constructed with termite mud and empty aluminum cans. Many local women brought their crafts over to a market area for us to peruse. We said hello and talked briefly with a few folks sitting around but it is a quiet village and basically you just walk around as a visitor, there is no tourist show or canned experience which is nice. Eventually we worked our way to the far edge of the village where Matsaudi has built a bar consisting of a large deck area and a secured building with a generator to keep a refrigerator running as well as power a dvd and projector. He shows The Gods Must Be Crazy and a couple other movies nightly on a screen, really quite a nice enterprise he has going. I’m trying to edit him some of our video such as him poling the mokoro to show as well.
On our last morning walk I have to admit I was feeling a bit complacent. We had some very interesting experiences but no dangerous game had been sighted so it was feeling quite tame, that was about to change. Just as you are feeling at ease you quickly learn that you must always be vigilant. We spotted two bull eles far in the distance and decided to approach closer. As we were about to cross through a narrow ribbon of trees all of a sudden Matsaudi heard bird warning calls and came to a quick stop just as we were about to pass under a tree with an enormous black mamba! The snake was curled up and around a large branch and its crook against the trunk. After taking a couple steps back we watched as the mamba began to lengthen and climb up higher, then stretching across to another tree revealing its full length that had to approach 14 feet. It was unnerving and spectacular. To be that big as well as extremely fast and unbelievably venomous just doesn’t seem fair. Seeing such a sight on foot really takes your breath away. We then continued on a new route to see the elephants but kept a big distance as one of the bulls was a teenager and thus highly unpredictable. All of us still wowed by the mamba were winding down as we approached our mokoros when all of a sudden the large head of a dagga boy buffalo revealed itself next to a bush. Hopefully we were not too close! We slowly backed off and slid partially behind a termite mound surveying for climbable trees as the buffalo took a couple steps toward us exposing his full massive body as he tried to scent us. He looked right, then back at us, and then darted off to the right. Fortunately we had moved far enough that he felt safe retreating rather than forced to charge. The day before we had seen a group of 4 dagga boys from Delta Camp on this part of the island so there were almost certainly a couple more back there and it was clear from the guides and the camp manager that they would rather walk into any other mammal than the dagga boy buffaloes. We altered our course to go the long way around to the mekoros and headed back to camp fully exhilirated from having our feet on the Botswana soil. That would be going out with a bang for my client who were flying out and home while I continued onto Makgadikgadi.
Delta Camp provides a very adventurous, back to the wild experience for those looking for something that is traditional and old school. I can highly recommend it for those who have a high adventure quotient and desire to explore on nature’s terms.
Next up – Makgadikgadi Camp
Dec 29th, 2007, 10:29 AM
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Amol: there are legends of mambas hanging down to give a bite but typically anything they can eat is going to be too small to catch that way and they are thought to take an escape route when available so I doubt they would drop out of the tree on anything. They can hunt birds and squirrels in the trees. I imagine we could have passed right under and never known it was there, of course if it felt threatened it would have been bad news.
Sniktawk: it seems that Delta Camp is committed to the experience that they provide so I doubt it will change anytime soon. It's great that they realize that their uniqueness is their strength as it really is quite different from other camps and thus I doubt they will join the trends of change sweeping through Botswana.
Kavey/John: I was really lucky that all my stops delivered great and interesting experiences. I had done the research but going off the beaten path there was some risk, fortunately every stop delivered something special and exceeded expectations.
Sniktawk: it seems that Delta Camp is committed to the experience that they provide so I doubt it will change anytime soon. It's great that they realize that their uniqueness is their strength as it really is quite different from other camps and thus I doubt they will join the trends of change sweeping through Botswana.
Kavey/John: I was really lucky that all my stops delivered great and interesting experiences. I had done the research but going off the beaten path there was some risk, fortunately every stop delivered something special and exceeded expectations.
