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