The Skimmer files - April 2007
 

Hello everyone,

Some pictures of me can be seen by clicking on the following links:

http://www.aardvarktravel.net/chat/v...ic.php?t=27818

http://www.aardvarktravel.net/chat/v...ic.php?t=27820

http://www.aardvarktravel.net/chat/v...ic.php?t=27821

Enjoy and hopefully you understand why I felt in love with the Okavango delta.

Best regards,

Johan

Skimmer,
What a treat for my tired eyes this morning! Spectacular as usual!
Thanks for sharing.
Lily

What a magnificent treat!!

You have such a marvelous eye, Johan. I hesitate to even start naming my favorites of the bunch, because I have about 50 favorites. The photos with mouths agape. The always noble leopard. The delicious birds (the yellow-billed stork is surely Nature's special gift to photographers). Maybe the most evocative is the male lion facing the zebra and wildebeest, the latter paying <i>very</i> close attention.

In the next-to-last photo in part 2, what's the animal who's sitting and watching the large herd of impala?

Johan-
Excellent photos, but then again, I don't expect anything less than excellent from you! Too many great ones to pick any favorites. As always, thank you for sharing.

rizzuto-
I believe that is a baboon in the pic you're talking about.

Great set of photos. Thanks for sharing.

Did you see any dogs on this trip?

Johan,

Brilliant pics!!! Thanks for sharing.....as Rizzuto says, it's hard to pick from the three galleries, they are all good. The hippo close up in part 3 is stunning!!!

Also, seems like the weather is perfect at the moment. I noticed clear blue skies in all the pictures and the grasses seemed nice and green.

Rgds,
Hari

Thank you all - I didn't see any dogs on this trip. I wasn't hoping for them but you know anything can happen.

The weather was fine although it was quite hot (especially the first leg of the trip). We had some cloudy days and rain while at Mombo.

Really enjoyed your photos-reminds me of how I became something of a &quot;birder.&quot;

Dear Johan,

Amazing photos; we're just in the process of planning our very first trip to Africa and your photos have been very inspiring!

Please could you let me know what type of camera and lenses have you used for the photos?

Many thanks.
Katerina

Katerina,

I am using the following cameras: D2X + D200 - Nikon and the following lenses:

18mm-70mm F3,5 - F4,5
80mm-200mm F2,8
200mm-400mm F4 + VR

Best regards,

Johan

Johan

Another excellent series of images, thanks for sharing your beautiful work.

Thanks for the fix, Johan.
I love the way you've formatted these pics. So many good shots but the baying zebra and baby are a favorite. The scarred faced lion and the one where the buffalo got snagged got my attention as well.

Was that one kill scattered randomly or a few?
Good work!

I so enjoy your photos. The birds are wonderful. The delta looked beautiful. The lion stalking the zebra and wildebeest, with just one foot a little off the ground conveys his steathly movement. It's like the end of an episode--the cliffhanger, making you long for the next installment.

Thanks.

CW

Thank you for sharing your stunning photos!

Fabulous pictures as usual, Johan. Thanks very much.

My my, do my eyes decieve me or was that first elephant glad to see you?!

Johan- Awesome photography. Whatever your cameras, it takes real skill to capture these images. Makes me want to go back NOW! :) Thankyou.

Jude

Thank you all again.

I saw 4 kills in total on this trip:

3 lion kills at Duba Plains (2 cows and a calf)
1 leopard kill at Little Vumbura (a mongoose)

We arrived twice just after the kill has been made (leopard killing impala at Mombo/leopard killing impala at Little Vumbura).

So I can't really complain I think.

I am not sure this ellie was glad to see me but I am sure others weren't.

Best regards,

Johan

Thanks for sharing these wonderful photos!

Stunning as usual. You have one of a resting lion face (1st group I think) and it appears you are at its level or even on the ground below it. What's the photographic story on that one?

Will you be writing about your trip as well? Or if not are you open to a multitude of questions?

That wart hog should love you. It is the first flattering picture of one that I have seen. I feel great empathy as I don't photograph well, either. But that one looked almost feminine and coquettish.

Lynn,

At the moment I have not much time because I am leaving within 5 weeks to Botswana again and there is lots of work to do in between.

The lions were resting at a termite mound so that made it possible to take a picture at the same level.

Feel free to ask any questions you got.

Best regards,

Johan

Lovely photos, thanks for sharing...

What was your itinerary for this trip? What were the highlights and lowlights for you?

Thanks!

After your NEXT trip you can do a combo mega-report. In the meantime maybe I'll just pose a few questions at a time.

1. Did they tell you at Duba if not being able to get to Paradise for an entire season has happened before?

2. Didn't you go about this time last year. If so, how did the two trips compare for wildlife viewing?

3. Were the substantial floods evident yet in any of the places you went?

4. What kind of aardowlf or bat ear fox activity did you have at Duba?

5. Did either of the Duba boys exhibit real evident signs of aging and if so was one more elderly than the other?

That's all the questions for now. If we keep this up, you can just answer now and copy and paste those answers later and voila, a full report.

WOW! Love the Lilac-Breasted Roller in flight! Amazing pictures.

Lynn,

1) It was actually the second year in row they weren't able to cross to Paradise.

2) Last year, I visited Botswana in May. Last year, I didn't spend as much time in Botswana as I did now and I spend most time at Lebala (Kwando).

In May 2006 I saw hardly any elephant and this year there were plenty of them around. (maybe because of the lesser rain they received this year in Botswana ???).

I still regard last year's stay at Lebala as my best stay ever in terms of photographic opportunities (remember the lion cubs in the tree while two big males where feasting on a buffalo carcass and the two male cheetahs tearing up a warthog - a long-crested eagle in golden light).

I wasn't lucky with leopard sightings last year in Botswana and now I had excellent sightings especially at Little Vumbura.

There isn't that much to see while boating in Little Vumbura and I am pretty sure that Kwara has more to offer in this regard. On the other hand, Little Vumbura has good general gameviewing and seldom disappoints when it comes to predators and where can you see sable antelope as relaxed as they are there.

Mombo has still the best numbers of general game but lions are too big in numbers at the moment, which makes seeing other predators a bit more challenging.

And you know what I think about the mighty Plains of Duba. Was I just lucky when I was there or is Duba Plains one of these places that gave you a taste what safari is all about.

To be honest it's actually quite difficult to compare all this because I visited different camps but what I can say is the following:

I was rewarded with excellent sightings in all of the camps I visited in May 2006/April 2007. As long as you take your time and don't try to rush from one sighting to another, you'll see some interesting animal behaviour.

3) I couldn't go to the Boro floodplains (Boro West - one of my all time favorites) because of the huge floods and driving around Simbira was also quite challenging. In the past, I was always able to go there that time of year.

At Duba Plains, we still could reach most of the places we covered in October 2006 but some of the crossings were quite deep and one expected that the coming months could be challenging.
Luckily they extended the bridge.

Curious to see what next month will bring.

4) I had only one aardwolf sighting at Duba at dusk and one sighting of a bat-eared fox but I have to say we didn't really focus on the night drives.

5) They still looked the same as last year (one of them got a wound at the nose). But in October 2006 everyone predicted they would be finished in 6 months. Now everyone was convinced they would still be around when I'll be there in 2008. Difficult to tell actually when their reign will be over.


For my trip report, you'll have to wait till October (it will be a mega one covering my three visits this year). Some stories will be hard to believe but really happened to me.


Greetz,

Johan

Johan,

If there is a report coming, I'll hold up on my questions and just wait patiently.

Those are some of the absolute best safari pictues I have ever seen! Spectacular!

But thanks to the answers so far.

Africa06, These pictures are only as spectacular as Johan's previous submissions. The guy is a pro!

Alright, so much for patience. Here is one more question.

So what is going on with your namesake Pride? Did you see them?

Lynn,

I saw one of the Skimmer males in the Tsaro territory. He was very nervous and finally crossed to Paradise island. I missed a beautiful shot there when he was crossing because we couldn't.


3 females of the Skimmer pride killed a buffalo at the crossing and were seen feeding together with one of the Duba boys. We saw them making attempts to make a kill at a previous stage but they weren't successfull.

The sub-adult males, my favorite lions of the pride haven't been seen for a while in the Tsaro territory.

I am planning to go next year again for a long stay (or maybe 2) because Duba Plains is all I like about safari and it's my favorite camp in the delta and hopefully I'll see them again then.

Best regards,

Johan