Trip report Botswana and Zimbabwe
 

Hello everyone,
I’m back, semi intact and slowly getting off African time.
Although there were a few glitches, delays and lost luggage, the trip was fabulous. 2 out the 3 bags were recovered in J’burg before our start to Mana Pools. The third bag somehow ended up in Houston, Tx. – go figure. It arrived yesterday with only a few things missing.

Due to our departure from Boston being cancelled due to the inability for flights landing at JFK, we spent our first night at the Logan Hilton sans everything but the clothes on our backs.

We used Bert at Fish Eagle who immediately took over and rescheduled our SAA and Air Botswana flights. This, I feel is a good sign of a decent agent.

At any rate, the only change in the below itinerary was losing a night at the falls.

I’ll post my pictures soon.

22 July 2008: JOHANNESBURG – this ended up being July 23
Southern Sun 1
1 n.

23 July: VICTORIA FALLS – cancelled
Ilala Lodge
1 n.

24 July: MANA CANOE TRAIL
3-n./4 d.

27 July: SOMALISA CAMP, HWANGE
3 n.

30 July: SELINDA CAMP, SELINDA-LINYANTI
4 n.

03 Aug: LITTLE VUMBURA CAMP,
2 n.

05 Aug: CHITABE LEDIBA CAMP,
3 n.

08 Aug: Quad Bike activity and Overnight trip to Ntwetwe Pan with braai (barbecue) dinner.
1 n.

09 Aug: PLANET BAOBAB
2 n.

Disclaimer;
This is all from memory. Facts, dates and data are subject to change. If random thoughts are not your thing you may not enjoy this report as this will most likely be word heavy. I’ll try to conserve but no promises.

July 23
Southern Sun
Decent enough hotel with a ok buffet and good shuttle transportation from the OR Tambo. However, watch the internet charges – I just got a bill with an overcharge of 24. USD

July 24 -27
Mana Pools Canoe Trip
Hectic day as we had to try for our bags again – found 2 but still needed to buy supplies that were missing from the still lost bag #3.

J’burg >VFA > Ruchomechi Airstrip 2hrs. 30 min. on a 4 seater

Unbeknownst to our SA seatmates they would be referred to as the chemical Bros. – they work on the chemical water issues at various camps and have been named after the US band. We got to know these guys intimately as by coincidence we ended up running into them on just about every later transfer.

Here’s where the trip really starts;
We were picked up by 3 people who introduce themselves and off we go. I ask who exactly they are figuring that they are transport people from the camp. They tell us that they will be our guides and hosting staff at the Mana Pools Canoe trip and that we will be the only participants. Oh my dog, another private trip.

There will be us, them and another staff of 6 who will set up, cook, move the camp and our stuff daily up river. I’ve died and gone to heaven and have already forgotten about the last couple of crappy nights. Feel kinda guilty about being catered to by so many but I’ll get over it.

So off we go until 3 of us at the same time look off to the left and see, what, could it be, a PANGOLIN. Our first sight, I kid you not.
Only one of the 3 guides has ever seen one fleetingly. We are told that this in Shona means that we will live to be very old and will remain very lucky throughout the rest of our lives. I feel lucky already. We observed from about a 3’ distance and got to touch the pangolin as it wasn’t remotely agitated. Got same great pictures for proof.

The first drive is always the best. We marveled at all the antelope, zebras and other usual suspects on our way to camp. Camp was 3 stand up in dome tents facing the water with an amazing amount of hippos that would provide endless sounds and entertainment.

The lu (sp.) had a view and was basically a real toilet placed over a sand hole. We were given a thimble to pee in evenings as we weren’t allowed to wander about after dark.
We had a canvassed in area attached to the back of our tent for that and bucket showering. We also had a canvas washing container and mirror that always seemed to be filled with hot water.
The beds were mattresses on top of cots – very warm and comfy. Much appreciated, as I was coming down with a killer cold.
I will kiss the Fodorite who recommended silk long underwear if they reveal themselves.

The Canoeing;
Because Mike and I have lots of kayaking experience we were allowed to man (or woman, if you prefer) our own canoe. Matthew (head paddler and hippo expert) and Brian (head guide) manned the other.
We’d start the day with teas, (real) coffee and a continental breakfast. Mine became the same every day for the entire trip – toast made from home made bread with African honey.
We’d generally paddle for a few hours then stop for a walk, then resume until we’d lunch on an island.
Lunches as well as all other meals and snacks were always spectacular. This, when you sadly think that people in Zimbabwe aren’t exactly eating properly.

We’d siesta after filling up after lunch, paddle, stop again for another hike and get back to camp by dark.
I make this all sound so dry because I can’t convey the shear beauty of the Zambezi River.

Although off limits to us, we had phenomenal views of the ranges in Zambia – close enough to touch. I couldn’t resist one day when we were on an island that was half owned by Zambia – I stepped on the Zambian side when the guide wasn’t looking. No alarms went off nor did any nets capture me. I can now rightly say that I’ve stepped on Zambian soil.
The wildlife, landscape and birdlife were spectacular. The fish eagles were nesting, the kingfishers were fishing, the hippos were active, the elles. were in the distance. I hope my pictures will help depict the magic of this place.

Our guides;
Matthew made us feel entirely safe. He seemed to be able to find hippos were one couldn’t imagine they’d be hiding. He could also stop an aggressive hippo with his calm tactics. Although he’s absolutely up on everything modern, he’s a traditional Shona (one of the original African tribes people.) His family chose his wife for a cattle dowry. Wives leave their families to live with and tend to the husbands entire family. Families now make offerings of cattle and other such things like cell phones. Wonder if I’d be worth the extended cell phone plan.

Bryan;
Our highly intelligent and ageless (he never reveals his age) gun toting guide. He could point out things that I never imagined. Our walks were fascinating.
He’s lived everywhere and experienced everything. I purchased his book about his great white hunter /conservationist step father that he wrote.
Kamchacha – Rhodesian Game Ranger by Bryan Orford email
[email protected] if interested.

Charmayne (sp.)
Our 21 yo smart as a whip and cheerful hostess guide trainee. She literally kept the fires going. My hope is that she makes her way in a man filled environment.

Random thoughts;
I will do this again. There are a few 10 day trips down the Zambezi that end in Mozambique that I’ll be looking into. Due to the fact that my feet literally never got wet and everything was done for us, I would do this again.
Camping, schlepping and setting things up generally are not my thing when vacationing. For anyone who enjoys being in a pristine untouched environment, this is a must do.
As for safety, from hippos a good guide is a must.
Also, another story – we had most of our valuables in the canoe one day and were hemming and hawing about leaving our bags in the canoe while we walked. Our guides assured us that no one would touch the canoes or our stuff – it’s never happened. There’s a true honor system that a skeptic such as myself must learn to accept. There is absolutely nothing bad happening to tourists in this lovely country.

My advice – GO. It’s truly far from living on the edge.

Off soon to Hwange and Somilisa – stay tuned

Excellent start cybor! Can't wait for the next chapter! An amazing trip right off the bat with a pangolin, how cool. Keep it coming!

Sherry, it sounds great! Pangolin, hippos, lost luggage (well, maybe not that part) and all. Can't wait for more.

Great to hear things are good in Zim. We have a trip booked for May to Hwange, Mana pools and Vic Falls which we have been called fools for booking. It all sounds good from your report. Thank you for posting.

wonderful report!
appreciate you encouraging people to visit zim and its wonderful people.
we are due to go to zim mid nov and as long as there are no news coming out that they quarter humans we will go - definately.

looking for more exciting reports!

divy don't

I await your report on Somalisa with baited breath. There are horror stories coming out regarding Elephant slaughter, which I expect are from the same scaremongers as usual.
Good to hear that Mana Pools remains great, who did you use there?

What a start--a pangolin. That's great Bert got you back on track. You booked your flights through him, then? That's where the agent really makes a difference--when things go wrong.

Thanks for your comments and good thoughts. Glad your reading.

kimac,
Go, enjoy and don't listen to those who will probably see more harm crossing their local street.
Where are you staying in Hwange?

snikt,
Due to great liquor consumption at both camps, we did have some pretty in depth conversations about everything from politics, black marketing, culling and punishment for poaching. Slaughtering, however, did not come up.
We used Wilderness, btw for Mana Pools. their pricing seemed to be inline with a few other companies.
There may be a few starter companies coming up that may add some competition.

Lynn,
Bert/Fish Eagle booked my in country scheduled and charter flights and I booked SAA.

27 July: SOMALISA CAMP, HWANGE
3 n.
The Mana Pools trail ended fairly close to Chickwenga camp which was where we met our 4 seater and the Chemical Bros. yet again. Older chem. bro. and I had nasty cases of bronchitis, while younger bro. and Mike had terrible colds. We made for good seat mates as no one was offended by all the blowing, hacking and wheezing.
Because these guys couldn’t help but be funny the whole plane literally shook every time we had coughing fits of laughter. Misery surely loves company.

The flight, as I recall, was about 2hrs. long and quite delayed according to Russ, our ride from Somilisa. Apparently, he was not informed of the delay and had waited 5hrs. at Hwange airport for us.

Despite this, Russ was a pleasure to meet and ride with for our 2 ½ hr. ride to camp. He’s an interesting guy who was previously a hunting guide who’s slowly turning around to photo safaris. Oh, how I love hearing that.

Anyhow, he told us to button up as the ride would be a bit chilly. How cold you ask. It was so windy that my contact lense blew out. As most of Mike’s cold gear was in the lost bag, he froze his poor little tail off. Me, I was mostly too miserable and numb to notice.

As we rode thru Hwange the roads got smaller and smaller as we got closer to Somilisa. The amount of elephants astonishingly increased as well. Driving slower most definitely warmed us up a bit as we saw the most phenomenal amount of elephants we will probably ever see. Hundreds! At one point Russ guessed that there was about 400 in one area alone.

We literally played and postured ‘Simon says’ to be allowed to pass these eles. We waited endlessly for the whole herd to decide to let us pass. The eles truly own the road here and if we behaved, we would be their guests.
It was great fun.

Upon arriving at camp we were warmly greeted and given warm towels and drinks by Noreen (wife of the notorious guide Benson) the fill in hostess, Henry our guide and the rest of the team. All for us, as we would be the only guests at camp.

Although I read somewhere that the camp is 3 paw or similar don’t believe it, as it’s very comfortable and attractive. The tents are white with hard teak floors, nice furnishings and sweet touches. The rest rooms are attached to the back of the tent and open to the sky. The showers are bucket. There’s a nice deck with lounge chairs outside the tent. The tents are quite private and spaced far apart.

Little niceties such as teas, coffees and plenty of hot water are set up in the tent.
The best part however, is the plunge pool that the elles. come to drink out of when it suits them. This is especially cool during the evening when the elephants look and sound so much more imposing with the stars and moon reflecting on them and the water.
Somilisa was in the process of building a pumped in water hole close by. I’m not sure if this will diminish the elephants who are regulars at the pool.

One could also see an array of other wildlife from the deck close to the pool. On our first night we heard a nearby lion and Henry had the Cruiser brought around so that we could find him. We found find the beautiful guy about 500’ from camp. As said, these people aim to please at this intimate camp. The lion stuck around for 2 nights and could be heard regularly from our tent.
No night walking allowed here.

Due to my chest rattle, cracking and whistling, I decided to medicate with Amurula. This became my constant companion throughout the trip. Nothing better than watching elephants come within a few feet of you while nursing ones illness with tasty and unlimited free booze.

As I was starting to sound like I belonged in the TB clinic and was quite exhausted, I bowed out of the second day drive. It killed me but I literally couldn’t get out of bed. The staff came by on a regular basis and gave me food and hot drinks. They couldn’t have been nicer.

The food was excellent and plentiful. Zimbabwe has some of the best beef in the world and these guys know how to cook it. Those who’ve been there know about the soups which are to die for. Desserts weren’t anything to sneeze at either. I’m so fat.

As for wildlife, we saw all the usual sightings that one would expect……... AND we saw the DOGS and my other favorite, SABLE - 3 males. We simply saw the dogs as they walked out in front of us on the road close to Hwange proper. The 2 blood covered male dogs had just finished their take from a hunt. One dog in particular was quite curious and came about 4’ from the vehicle and just stood there posing for us. The Sable on the other hand was more timid. Got some decent shots though.

I could hardly contain myself as this was the first time I had ever seen either of these magnificent species. Both were on my ‘want to see list’ but I wasn’t banking on it.

As you can imagine, we were very sad leaving this beautiful camp and the warm staff. We were however, looking forward to seeing the school children and orphans at our stop at the Hwange School on the way out. Unfortunately, our mailed package of goodies hadn’t arrived yet so we went empty handed.
Zimbabwe mail is a tad bit slow, I’m told.

The children were beautiful and so well behaved. Despite being feed one meal only a day these children seemed to be quite healthy and in good spirits. The owners of Somilisa (Sophia and Beks) contribute greatly to these children and will be putting up a website soon for those interested in helping. As soon as it’s up, I’ll post it.

As I said earlier, I saw absolutely no reason for tourists to not come to this beautiful and welcoming country. They have dedicated a huge portion of their country to conservation of the wilderness and the health of their wildlife. These proud people need us.
Do some research and if you find anything about tourists being harmed bring it to us.
If you have any questions about Zimbabwe or Somilisa, please ask.

More random thoughts;
With so much gushing, I have one suggestion for Somilisa. A tarp and a windshield may help the cold factor on those long early and late rides to the airport and back. Ponchos may be wonderful addition as well.
I’m sure this is simply an oversight and I’m the first wimp to complain.

Fun read cybor, more please.

regards - tom

Really enjoying your report. What bad luck to have a cold/bronchitis on the trip. Sounds as though it didn't slow you down much. I like the Amarula remedy.

Cool trip report, Sherry, great reading! Just wanted to let you know you don't have to email me with the details, I'm following along here (see, I can't jump ahead & read East Africa trip reports out of order, but I can read Botswana and Zimbabwe reports out of order!)

Zimbabwe sounds like a place we would like.

Great report, cybor. I have six hours to kill in the Moscow airport, so am now catching up on trip reports. Pangolin, wild dogs and sable -- some very nice sightings.

Michael

Hi Sherry - Honestly, after your post the other day- I thought you were lucky with the dogs in the Selinda. What good luck to see them at Hwange and Somalisa sounds like a great place to be ....... can't wait to read what was in store for you in the Selinda.

Sherry~so glad you loved Somalisa! It is a special, magical place and happy they didn't let you down. Sorry you were sick and the package for the kids didn't arrive. Did you stop at the Painted Dog Conservancy on the way out? And we too froze our butts off when leaving and we were in the Willys.

Hi ,
I am so enjoying your report. We have 4 nights at Ruckomechi at Mana Pools, 4 at little Makalolo in Hwange , 4 at Matetsi nr Vic Falls then 3 at Duba Plains, 3 at Duma Tau then 7 nights in the Kruger region which I will book later ( will use MT beds). Only 8 more months till we go back. Our trip to South Africa this year was to be the big trip for 3 or 4 years before our long service holiday in 2010. ( in Aust if you work for the same company for 10 years you get an extra 3 months paid leave which is great for long trips). However Africa calls!
Looking forward to your next installment.

Wow! Somalisa sounds wonderful. I will have to add it to my "to do" list.
I usually get bronchitis at least once a year. I can't imagine a better place to be sick than Africa!

Hi cybor

Great trip report. Very envious of your pangolin.

I'm sure you'll get to it soon enough but can I ask a couple of questions about:

08 Aug: Quad Bike activity and Overnight trip to Ntwetwe Pan with braai (barbecue) dinner.

We're off to Botswana on Tues and that's something on our itinerary.

Was it good fun and what was the temperature like for sleeping out? (do I need my thermals???)

Thanks

I remember you were hoping to see some dogs and included Chitabe to increase those odds. How wonderful you get them (and blood covered ones!) right off the bat.

Medicating with Amarula. That's what I'm going to refer to it from now on, whether suffering from a cough or not.

You certainly are not a wimp to mention you are cold because your carefully packed warm clothes were lost. Had you known you could have stolen the blanket off the SAA flight after the FA gave you such a hassle about even using it. (I'm referring to a lounge post, here.)

Somalisa continues to be a winner. Thanks for the comments.

Even more kudos, or is that kudus, for Bert of Fish Eagle for helping you with flights that you did not book with him.

Looking forward to more.

Again, thanks for reading my scattered thoughts. I'm thoroughly enjoying writing and reliving this.

tom,
Now all I have to do is cull my 2477 photos - any advise?

tockoloshe,
It may be warmer by then but yes bring many layers - I didn't regret bringing my silk long johns.
The night we did this it was quite windy/cold. Once in the bed roll you'll be warm as toast, though.

As for fun, it was a blast and something I'll remember fondly for the rest of my life. As they generally double you up on the Quad bikes, we asked ahead for our own - much more fun for all.
Study up on your stars!

kimac,
Your trip sounds fabulous. Take the canoe trip if possible from Ruch. You may bump into our guides, as they go back and forth. Byran's book will be there - check it out.

thit,
What a time to be in Moscow. Bet there's a lot of buzz going around. Report in and fill us in when you get back

Dennis,
No time unfortunately for Painted Dog Conservancy on the way out?
Next time, perhaps.

Warning very long;


Somilisa > road trip to Hwange airstrip 2 1/2hrs > VFA 2hrs. > Road trip to Kasane airstrip 1 1/2hr. > Selinda airstrip 20 min.

30 July: SELINDA CAMP, SELINDA-LINYANTI
4 n.
We once again met by our favorite Chem. Bros. as we were
transported to VFA. We asked if by chance we could buzz over Vic. Falls seeing that we may never see it again but no luck there.
Our Seofane rep. met us and carted us off to Botswana in an a/c van. We were never asked to pay a Zimbabwe departure tax, btw.
Prior to crossing the Botswana border we stopped at a ‘hoof in mouth’
check point where we had to get out of the vehicle and walk thru an area filled with a salt solution. The van had to drive thru the solution, as well.
Apparently, there was an outbreak of hoof and mouth years ago and thousands of cattle had to be destroyed. The Zimbabweans blame the Botswanans, visa versa. Regardless, it seems to be a good plan as both are cattle country.
We then quickly stopped at another check point to have our passports stamped. No line, no wait.

I love these roads trips as it’s a great way to take a small peek at the real world. To my eye it appears that this part of Botswana is active and thriving. Not so much in Gweta further south. More on that later.
The building business seemed to be thriving and building supply companies are rampant. It also appears that certain people have different ways of spending their cash. We saw many mud huts with Mercedes parked beside them. Perhaps someone was visiting.

Our driver stopped at Kasane village for us to buy a few things to keep Mike warm. The village is a bustling hub for locals and Chobe tourists. Charge cards are mostly not taken and only Pula is accepted. The line for the ATM was wrapped around the building. Our driver went somewhere around the corner and exchanged our USD at a good rate. Don’t ask, don’t tell, nor care.
Mike got a decent fleece for about 16. USD and a wool beanie for 3. USD.

We then flew from Kasane to Selinda where we were picked up by BB (Barbarton) our requested guide. The ride to camp was about 50 minutes, whereas it used to be about 10 minutes prior to the rains. We arrived at camp with just enough time to go to our tent and freshen up and meet up with our English game drive mates for a drive.
Unfortunately, we were made to go to the deck area where they were having tea. This, I’m afraid took long enough that we finally told BB to go ahead and take the drive without us, as we felt guilty about making our party wait.
We signed endless forms, were made to introduce ourselves and listen to everyone else’s resumes. I don’t care, don’t you people understand, there’s dogs out there waiting for me.

Things then took a turn for the worse as the assist. Manager started telling us the camp rules. Here’s the cast of characters;
An American family (why is it always the Americans) Dad – straight as an arrow and looking like he sat on something that perpetually kept him upright and uptight. Dad and son shared one tent while Carefulmom and daughter shared another. Mom and daughter had matching red pigtails and camo. clothing – very cute.

Anyhow, I knew this would be fun after the manager explained how to use the safe and
CM asked “Is the safe safe?”
As Lynn does, this became our African catch phrase throughout the rest of the trip. The manager didn’t quite know what to say about that so she proceeded to tell us to stay in our tents in the event of a medical emerg., to use the horn, etc. As if the safe thing wasn’t enough, CM then asked what she should do if her daughter or son wakes up in the middle of the night and wants
something. I prayed silently that these people wouldn’t end up in our cruiser.

The only time we heard a peep out of Dad was at around 10 pm that evening when he was
frantically screaming over and over for someone
to come take him back to his room. Apparently, the guide forgot to bring him back to his 20’ away room. Admit it, you know the rest of us would have just snuck over. Poor guy was rather sheepish the next day.

It all actually ended up being fine as the only conversation we had with CM was when she shouted “What do you 2 do for a living” across the table. The bad person in me wanted to say ‘ He’s a Pimp and me, let’s just say I follow rock bands around.’
It actually makes for a good living or at least gets me some good stuff.

And then there was another American family (I’m embarrassed) from a state that starts with the letter ‘K’. Cigar smoking big daddy had been previously hunting with the fellows and joined Mama who was the spitting image of the woman who played the farmer’s wife in Babe. The difference being, this woman was loud and in your face.
Daddy didn’t care to do game drives “what’s the point if you can’t shoot um” – oy! They had 2 daughters whom I was shocked to find out that they were in their early 20’s. All
T hey seemed to do was push and shove each other or resort to playing Ninja sword fights with beer bottles.
These girls regularly ran out of hot water. I think they used more than hippos. Mama of course, featured blown dried hair daily. We actually met some Canadians further down the road at another camp who spoke about this family. Imagine being that notorious.

I think it’s the luck of the draw when one meets folks like this. The odds however are higher when one goes to a larger camp. Although Selinda is a fabulous camp they have to watch not turning into a cruise ship camp.

Brunch, tea and snacks were wonderful; dinner on the other hand seemed to often feature over cooked meats, chicken and fish. Too much food perhaps being cooked at the same time. We would all be asked publicly whether we wanted the featured chicken, meat or whatever at teatime in a public setting. “Well my DH the carnivore will be having the pork” I frankly don’t want to use my game or siesta time hearing about who’s eating what. Sorry.

The Tent;
We had tent #1 which was the closest to the public areas but still private. The views were extraordinary, overlooking pools that hippo and the occasional elephant cut thru. Beyond the expanse were Palm covered islands – stunning.
The deck was teak with plenty of lounge beds with lots of pillows. The inside was also done up very nicely and had
a wonderful soaking tub and plenty of hot filtered hippo water
. Normally I wouldn’t care but a good hot soaking was what the Dr. ordered. It actually did the trick and I was on my way to feeling better.

The Drives;
We had BB (tracker extraordinaire) to ourselves for the next 3 days while the others seemed to be crammed in together in the other vehicles. I’m guessing that some were parties or perhaps they wanted to keep us away from other paying guests. Either way, it was wonderful to have BB to ourselves. He seemed to understand that we were into serious game viewing and never hurried us back for brunch or dinner.
He also knew that we didn’t mind tracking for hours on end and didn’t have to see an animal a minute and enjoyed seeing smaller wildlife and the landscape. BB seemed to always be the one who found the prize.
He found the cheetahs for us on day one – 3yo bros. gorgeous boys.
Oh, and on day 2 we found the dogs. This, after everyone thought that they had gone up north. The pack we saw were the Selinda pack - 7 dogs, 3 female (one pregnant) and 4 male. This was a total surprise as said, because they hadn’t been seen for weeks. Personally, I think it was Pangolin luck.
We were told that 2 male bros. from a different pack were fairly close to camp recently and the third pack that comes thru once and a while were thought to have gone east.

I never realized before how great off roading is. We tooled endlessly
back and forth looking for wildlife that could never be seen if one had to stay on proper roads.
Due to this, we were able to get incredibly close to most of the wildlife that we saw.
Another highlight sighting was 3 Oryx which I never expected to see at Selinda.

Random thoughts;
Over all, the game viewing was quite good and I’d highly recommend BB and Selinda but warn people to let the staff know that they are serious gamers.
The staff are incredibly helpful and do aim to please. The property is glorious. The gaming can be very good if one is willing to hunt. Due to the huge amounts of rain the game was said to be a bit more scattered than usual. 4 nights was a good amount of time to spend as the concession is huge and quite diverse. Staying the extra time not only allowed us to relax but to see all the corners of the reserve.
We did a few all day drives which were needed and were able to picnic at the Savute channel in a Hide one day which was a highlight.

Sherry,

Nice to read your report and I am glad you enjoyed BB.


Best regards,

Johan

Wow, Sherry great luck with a pangolin, wild dogs twice, sable and oryx in the Selinda. The canoe trip sounds extraordinary, definitely something I'd like to do. Brilliant that you were able to paddle your own canoe too.

Did I interpret that correctly that you missed a game drive due to paperwork and camp rules talk taking too long? If so that's outrageous, no reason they couldn't get your drive in and tell you the rules later.

Looking forward to the rest!

I'm glad Selinda also produced some excellent game viewing and that you got BB, and a private BB at that!

Your dog wishes were more than fulfilled.

The other visitors are good for a laugh, probably more so second hand than being on site for the ninja battle between 20 year old women. Maybe they were performing to attract the attention of the pimp.

Is the safe safe? No, just decoration.

I also am shocked that the paperwork usurped your game drive. Or were you just delayed? Did you really miss the whole thing or did they circle back for you when the i's were dotted and t's were crossed?

Looking forward to more exciting installments.

Cheetah and dogs - that's what i'm talking about!!!! Thanks and glad BB is doing well ........

PS: Sorry, you bumped into those very abnoxious fellow guests. I had some very good luck last year at both main camp and the old zib (including Georgie and Peter who write on this forum).

Oryx in the Selinda........?

I think you may mean Roan.

Oryx in Hwangwe though, is a possibility.

Ibj,
My notes say both Gemsbok and Eland, I'll look again at my pictures to double check, though.
Go online and check it out as there are most definitely both in Botswana.
Look at the proximity of Selinda to Namibia and the desert to see how these nomads can easily wonder to the diverse terrain in Selinda.
Also consider the rains that hit the desert this year and you'll understand how/why many creatures have wandered.
One more thought, as Oryx is highly prized and hunted in Botswana, you'd guess that that as well, could affect the population.

Sorry - I wasn't too clear on that.
The Gemsbok and Eland were entirely different sightings. I wasn't confusing one with the other.

Hi Sherry,

Hate to bother you with one more question. Any mention of the Selinda pride of Lions by BB? I am really eager to know how many cubs survived from the 2007 litter ........ there were 8 in all, but, we already know one didn't survive a few months back.

These cheetahs that you refer to is the new dominant coalition in the area - the two boys?

Thanks
Hari

I don't want to belabour the point, but the Oryx in Namibia occur hundreds of miles from the Selinda, not in the Caprivi Strip opposite. An oryx would have to jump buffalo fences and the cross the Okavango.

They do occur in Botswana, but in the Central Kalahari and Nxai pan area.

Still, sounds like you had a wonderful trip!

Johan,
I asked for BB in part b/c of you and a few other seasoned African traveler's recos. I can't say enough good things about him.
Thank you

PB,
I thought of you when I saw a cobra in Selinda.
As for Mana Pools, I know you'd love it and all it's fascinating little corners that you'd appreciate.
Even the elephants are sized differently b/c of the diversity of the soils, etc. - very fascinating stuff.

Having 2 different guides with entirely different backgrounds was a plus.
Byran would tell us about the scientifics of the wildlife/wilderness and how they interacted.
Matthew, on the other hand, told us about folklore and the medicinal purposes of the things we saw.

We found and photographed a plant and a frog that Bryan found and couldn't ID - perhaps you can help when I post my photos.

As for the first missed drive;
Please don't think for a minute that the staff at Selinda are ogres. Tea was running late because of all the new arrivals including us.
Meanwhile, BB and our English drive mates were waiting, as it was past the 4pm afternoon drive time.
As we still had more details to cover and we needed to still go to our room to change and freshen up, it was us who bowed out of the drive.
I would assume that if we clearly stated that we did not want to be part of the tea inquisition that they (the staff) may have gone along with it. It was more a matter of bad timing.
Legally, though, it was probably more beneficial to have us signed and sealed before going out into the wilds.

Hari,
These people were actually more comical than annoying. They also gave us good material to spoof on.

Lynn,
BB was indeed ours for 3 days. We did however, have our drive with a lovely Italian couple for the last day.

Cybor,

Glad to hear that Somalisa was up to par, I am surprised that anybody has missed the rave notices previously!

Your experience at Selinda. illustrates why I choose not to go there again, you have my deepest sympathy!!!

Hari,
No, unfortunately we didn't see the lions. I don't think their status came up in conversation - sorry.

Selinda > (45min) Little Vumbura
03 Aug: LITTLE VUMBURA CAMP,
2 n.

Sadly, our Chemical Bros. weren’t on the 12 seater that came for us – shame as it would have been nice to shake up one more plane.

Mike and I always seem to experience horrible ear pain on those planes. Don’t know if it’s because they fly higher than the 4 seaters, the cabin is more pressurized or what. No amount of scuba nose pinching tricks or gum chewing seems to help.
Onward;

L.Vumbura.
Although I requested Kay or the most senior guide, we lucked out, as Kay and a trainee came to gather us from the airstrip. He immediately went into his Kay antics by teasing us that the camp was 4 hrs. away.
More on him later.

Once close to camp, we jumped into an motorized aluminum skiff for the less than 5 minute ride to the camp.
We were met at the dock with refreshments, warm cloths and sweet songs from the staff.

We were immediately brought to our tent #1 to freshen up. I liked this already.
No paper signing nonsense – the paper signing minus the nonsense came later.

Although the tent was the closest to the main public areas it was very private with great 180 degree views from the sides and back. This and tent #2, IMHO, seemed to have the best views as they overlooked more area than the rest.

To out delight, we had a visiting elephant chomping away 20’ away from our deck and shower area. We really hoped he’d come back when we were showering in the screened in shower room. What an exhilarating shower that would be.
The designers of this tent should be awarded for great design, usage of raw materials and the amounts of light and views that are let into this space. Unlike the other tents we stayed in, this one had a toilet behind an operable door.

Mike and are very close but it was nice to keep one’s details to themselves for a change.
So what if I told Mike that this was our 25 yr. anniversary celebration each time he wept about the price of this safari. So what if I told him that the togetherness will be the building blocks for the next 25 yrs.
I still enjoyed having a private stall.

As we only booked 2 nights, we never had the time to enjoy the staggered back deck, the pool and some of the other private areas. We did, however, enjoy their extensive library area. It has a hanging hammock chair, comfy sofa and a couple Bahama chairs with the pull out leg rests. There are quite a few areas besides one’s room where you can hang out on this property.

After we got ourselves together, we went down for tea. Bruscetta just the way I like it was being served. Thin, toasted with lots of rubbed on garlic and OO, topped with tomato and melted feta. I like this place.

First Drive;
We were then off with our Californian drive mates. One dad and his 2 young women daughters.
Kay (have I told you yet how funny this guy is) stopped the vehicle and looked through his binoculars and said that he found the yellow baboons. He handed me the binocs to take a look.
Now my eyes aren’t nearly as good as his but it looked like I was looking at lions rather than baboons. What a great start to a wonderful adventure with Kay.

Apparently, Kay had found the lions stalking a Buffalo on the earlier drive that morning. The Ca.’s were rewarded with an entire Buffalo kill. The lions that he brought us to were still feasting on the Buffalo. Unbeknownst to me, I didn’t realize that the lions around here were regular Buffalo hunters. Two rather big boned and beefy females brought a very lg. full grown buffalo male down. The whole pride (8) seemed to be much bigger than other lions I’ve seen.
They are part of the Cujo pride. There are 2 more prides who somewhat over lap territories in the area.

Nice start to our first drive as we hadn’t seen cats other than cheetah previously.

We lost the Californians the following morning and gained an English husband and wife team who were avid birders. What’s with the English and their bird fetish?

Anyhow, we had our breakfast and were to leave at 7 am sharp, as told by Kay. The Brits still had to go to their rooms and get their equipment which made us leave 30 mins. late - the good natured Kay very furious. He privately let them know that this wouldn’t happen again. It didn’t.
As this was the Brits. first day of their first safari, we stopped for every bird that we saw. After about the 400th lilac breasted roller photo session, Kay started referring various birds by their initial LBR to the left – KF to the right – kingfisher etc.
To our amazement, we actually enjoyed seeing some of the rarer and quite beautiful birds.
Sometimes it’s good to get away from the usual predator sightings.

However……we were quickly on to a female leopard with a new antelope kill. After enjoying our leopard visit we went back to the lions. In all we had 4 leopard sightings.

This, to the utter displeasure of the English husband, as he was deathly afraid of big cats. Mike and I tried our best to behave as EH tried his best to get as far away from the lions as he could. He would shove himself so far into his wife’s side of the seat that he was practically under her and shoving her out the vehicle. She would then ever so properly tell him to move just a wee bit over darling.

I swear every time EH would end up wedged up to one side of the seat, Kay would turn the vehicle around to start the process over again ‘for better shots’ he’d say.
‘Kay’ you’ve got to love him. He not only tracked, he knew the habits of most of the concession animals all while being highly entertaining. To his utter frustration, though, he couldn’t find the Sable for me. I consider myself fortunate to have seen them in Hwange. I think Kay thought he let me down.

On our last drive we said good bye to EH and his wife as they departed by helicopter. Who knew that one could even land here. We then went for our last drive with Kay to ourselves.
We went back to camp to check out, gather our belongings and say good bye to this wonderful camp.
The beauty of this place can’t be described.

Oh, and we saw the sable (6) on the way to the airstrip.
The determined Kay had gone out while we were having lunch specifically to find them. He loves to surprise people. I’m happy.

The camp;
The staff went out of their way to make things pleasant, the food was superb and plentiful. They set up a surprise boma feast for us one night and served outstanding traditional food. The staff sang and danced and seemed to enjoy – they were quite good.

The tents and walkways are set up high on platforms to keep the rains out – the look is tree house like. The plunge pool and decking is quite big with many lounge beds and pillows and private areas. This is a great place to honeymoon or have a 25 year anniversary, if one doesn’t spend all their time on game drives. LOL
Details are well thought of in this relaxing camp.

Random thoughts;
I always feel a bit uncomfortable when bringing out the negative of these mostly perfect places but there was just one minor thing that was sometimes strange. Sometimes while one was eating, napping or reading in the public areas, some of the managerial staff would feel the need to come by to seemingly mingle.

They usually didn’t have much to say and would just stand there. This made Mike and I a bit uncomfortable especially when we were eating or just wanted to relax.
I think they sometimes feel like we tourists need to fill every minute of our lives.
Not true.

wonderful report and information!

i am wonderin why on earth they out birders and mammal enthusiasts together in a vehicle???
that might call for trouble at one stage.....
and putting birders who are afraid of cats in a car with cat enthusiasts is the maximum credible accident.
does the TA not brief the camps on guest's particulars? or does the camp simply ignore?

that amazes me and also that you took it easy...

div

I am deathly afraid of big cats, so where should I go on vacation? I know, Africa and let's go to Botswana in an open vehicle and choose Vumbura which has active lion prides that even hunt in the daytime.

What a hoot. I would have loved to see him on his wife's lap to avoid the lions.

A little bit of intense bird watching in a bird-rich place like Vumbura can expand your horizons. It seems like you approached it that way. But serious birders and casual birders don't mix well long term.

I wonder if the mingling has something to do with a program that I experienced at Vumbura where a local person joins you on game drives. It was called something like Local Hosts. That was fine since I was alone (through chance and good luck). The young lady with me was naturally very shy and reserved so we only interacted when I initiated conversation.

I wonder how those local hosts feel about mingling. I thought they volunteered so presumably they had an interest.

Kay was sable hunting on his lunch hour. What a guy. Glad you saw them.

snikt,
Did you report your thoughts on Selinda here?

As for the birders,
It's the luck of the draw when not going private.
Also, it wasn't for too long of a period of time and as Lynn caught, it actually was an unexpected enlightenment for us.

As a good guide, Kay did indeed try to keep a good balance.
Also, most of the birds happen to be dispersed en route to other sights so we only got off the path a few times. Give and take and be glad it wasn't that horrid family from 'K' or 'Is the safe safe' Mommy is my theory.

Perhaps I was somewhat more forgiving b/c we had already seen so many predators and had booked a fairly long safari.

As for the lion fear, one may not know that they have a fear of flying squirrels until one falls on their head.LOL
I'm hoping that this was the case here. Otherwise this person surely should have requested a private bird only safari.

Next up Chitabe Lebida.

Cybor,

Yes indeed last year, after our final visit. I was as some may say a heavily debated thread. We visited Selinda (Zib) on many ocassions, and it has become apparent that since the change in ownership things have changed dramatically, in particular the levels of luxury have increased, and the game viewing has decreased.