Trip report Botswana (Moremi/Khwai/Saviti/Chobe/VicFalls)
 

Hi all,

Back from a great safari!

Johan (aka Skimmer) says hi, and says he does not really miss you. Well, at least he's honest. I mean, to be honest I miss no one while I'm out there either. :-)

Anyway, trip report with pictures can be found here:

http://www.aardvarktravel.net/chat/v...ic.php?t=37455

I'm still writing it, one day at a time. So plenty more to come.

A little info to get started; this was a (non-participating) mobile safari using private camp sites. Our guide was Ewan Masson, 20+ years of knowledge, so I kinda knew this couldn't go wrong. But still, the trip surpassed a lot of expectations.
I must admit I'm totally convinced now that no lodge can ever offer (*) what we experienced. But I'll let you draw your own conclusions (please only do so after the trip report is complete; as they say "the best is yet to come").

Happy reading,

J.

(* I mean quality of sightings vs price, of course. I'm not going there for a plunge pool or whatever)

Raah. I should learn to reread before pressing the "post" button.

Spelling mistakes such as "Saviti" in the header really looks kinda dumb. :-s

Sorry!

J.

Welcome back. I know from experience about the incorrectability of those typos. Especially in the title.

Looking forward to more!

Hi pixel,
Enjoyed your report and pictures - look forward to hearing more.

Thanks guys,

I just added two more days in one go, including a link to my blog, where I've posted a full-size pano (a scalable Quicktime movie file with a native resolution bigger than any display "out there")

Ciao,

J.

OK, time to add that birdlist I promised. I know I said 171, but now I really typed them down I see it's 173!


Little grebe
Reed cormorant
African darter
Great white pelican
Goliath heron
Purple heron
Grey heron
Yellow-billed egret
Great egret
Little egret
Cattle egret
Squacco heron
Slaty egret
Rufous-bellied heron
Black-crowned night-heron
Green-backed heron
Yellow-billed stork
Marabou stork
Saddle-billed stork
Openbilled stork
African spoonbill
Hamerkop
Hadeda ibis
Glossy ibis
African sacred ibis
Spur-winged goose
Egyptian goose
Knob-billed duck
White-faced duck
African pygmy-goose
Southern pochard
Yellow-billed duck
Red-billed teal
Hottentot teal
Lappet-faced vulture
White-headed vulture
White-backed vulture
Hooded vulture
African fish-eagle
Bateleur
Brown snake-eagle
Black-chested snake eagle
Lesser spotted eagle
Tawny eagle
Martial eagle
African hawk-eagle
African march-harrier
Southern pale chanting goshawh
Dark chanting goshawk
Yellow-billed kite
Black-shouldered kite
Gabar goshawk
Greater kestrel
Red-billed francolin
Swainson's francolin
Crested francolin
Helmeted guineafowl
Common ostrich
Harlequin quail
Small buttonquail
Common moorhen
Purple gallinule
Black Crake
African Jacana
Wattled crane
Secretarybird
Kori bustard
Black-bellied korhaan
Red-crested korhaan
Northern black korhaan
Black-winged stilt
Three-banded plover
Kittlitz's plover
Crowned plover
Long-toed plover
African wattled plover
Blacksmith plover
Ruff
Common sandpiper
Wood sandpiper
Common greenshank
Marsh sandpiper
Collared pratincole
Water dikkop
Temminck's courser
Grey-headed gull
Double-banded sandgrouse
Burchell's sandgrouse
African mourning dove
Red-eyed dove
Cape turtle-dove
Laughing dove
African green-pigeon
Emerald-spotted wood-dove
Namaqua dove
Meyer's parrot
Gret lourie
Coppery-tailed coucal
Burchell's coucal
Verreaux's eagle-owl
African barred owlet
Pearl-spotted owlet
Rufous-cheeked nightjar
Red-faced mousebird
Giant kingfisher
Pied kingfisher
Malachite kingfisher
Striped kingfisher
White-fronted bee-eater
Southern carmine bee-eater
Swallow-tailed bee-eater
Little bee-eater
Lilac-breasted roller
Racket-tailed roller
Purple roller
Southern ground-hornbill
Trumpeter hornbill
Bradfield's hornbill
African grey hornbill
Southern yellow-billed hornbill
Red-billed hornbill
Redbilled wood-hoopoe
Common scimitarbill
African hoopoe
Greater honeyguide
Crested barbet
Bennett's woodpecker
Bearded woodpecker
Sabota lark
Chestnut-backed sparrowlark
Grey-backed sparrowlark
Red-breasted swallow
Wire-tailed swallow
Common house-martin
Fork-tailed drongo
Arrow-marked babbler
Southern pied babbler
African red-eyed bulbul
Dark-capped bulbul
Kurrichane thrush
Arnott's chat
African stonechat
White-browed robin-chat
Grey-backed camaroptera
Long-billed crombec
Zitting cisticola
Marico flycatcher
African paradise-flycatcher
African longtailed shrike
Tropical boubou
Swamp boubou
Brown-crowned tchagra
White-crested helmet-shrike
Southern white-crowned shrike
Greater blue-eared starling
Cape glossy starling
Burchell's starling
Meves's starling
Red-billed oxpecker
Yellow-billed oxpecker
Southern grey-headed sparrow
Red-billed buffalo-weaver
White-browed sparrow-weaver
Spectacled weaver
Red-billed quelea
Red-headed quelea
Long-tailed paradise-whydah
African firefinch
Jameson's firefinch
Brown firefinch
Blue waxbill
Rock bunting
Golden-breasted bunting

Note: this list is in the same order as in the Sasol "birds of Southern Africa" guide.

I'm up to day 9 on my trip report. Day 10 and the mammals list will be added today.

Once again the link;

http://www.aardvarktravel.net/chat/v...5&start=15

Wonderful report you have on aardvarktravel. I enjoy it and your photos. Please continue. I do believe you saying "no lodge can ever offer what we experienced" and especially at the cost.

What is the problem with putting up your best photos with your report? Does aardvarktravel have further rights to them? Do the contests you enter require unpublished photos? Or?

regards - tom

Hey Tom,

Thank U 4 the kind words.

Well, the best shots are always fun to keep to oneself for a while.

I have no intention (at least not at this point) to publish a book like Johan, but you never know. Some might be used for an article in a (local) magazine. Would be fun, but a bit unlikely perhaps. Other uses certainly include local photo contests (it's this Belgian "competition among photo clubs" thing) and expositions (it is certainly not done at such an expo to put shots on the wall that were already on the net). Hope you understand.

I <will> put more and better shots on the net eventually (later, on my website) and will only leave out maybe my 10 best shots or so. But I haven't decided yet what those 10 are. Not easy, with a photo count over 6100! :-)

Ciao,

J.

Sure, ok, thanks.
When I finally put up my trip report this week I'll have only 30 photos to show (at my smugmug site). And at least 6 of those are just camp record shots!!!! Not holding any good ones back, wouldn't be any left :-). I was plagued by bad light and bad views and just the luck you have sometimes with wildlife. Too much 2/5 lighting and 2/5 views (score 2 out of possible 5 best). Anyway looking forward to more of your report and photos.

regards - tom

You had me at 4500€ per person and that's with international flights!

My only concern with taking this trip is that I would end up with a distorted face like you all got. Or were those photos pre-safari?

I see you are blaming Johan for your lists.

What was the story behind the family leopard outing? That's not very common. I saw something like that in Botswana where the mother leopard dropped off the cub with the dad for days on end and he would provide food.

Your comments about stalking the bird bath indicate your level of enthusiasm for wildlife and wildlife photography. All those kingfisher photos, whether from the bird bath or not, are outstanding.

You discovered a new elephant watering hole? Actually the 1000 eles found it first, but to locate it before the rangers found it is an accomplishment.

With your account of the Maun theft, you could be setting the stage for a future mystery novel--The Case of the Missing Luggage.

Regarding the fires, I believe that is somewhat common once you hit Sept. Hope it was not too distracting, but your take on it turned the haze into a positive. It certainly didn't hurt the photos you've posted.

Thank you for the Dutch lesson. I'll have to try it out.

Congrats on your first wild dog sighting. While I believe you that you can count to 4 and distinguish between 3 and 4, seeing wild dogs for the first time might make you forget your 1,2,3 4s.

Cool croc and dog interaction.

Hey lynn!

That price may have gone up a bit (as we booked this trip way back in the beginning of 2007), but you can be assured it will be nowhere near 1000 or even 500$ a night, like some people spend in the delta.

The point I am trying to make is that a lodge may have it's advantages (certainly if it is located in an area not open to anyone else PLUS if there is a good chance of getting some unusual sightings). But it also has it's disadvantages (sharing your vehicle with others unless you booked a private vehicle, the elevated price, the usually shorter gamedrives, and yes even the level of experience of the guides).

For me, when we are talking about areas open to everyone, the balance certainly tips in the favor of private campsites. In Moremi, Savuti and Chobe we saw lots of lodge vehicles. We had more room in the vehicle, were out earlier and later, could drive further in the parks than them (better areas according to Mr. Masson, plus we then had sightings all to ourselves), and had a guide that is as experienced as they come.

And yes, I'd never have thought it but Johan is a "keeper of lists"!! :-)

The triple leopard sighting is explained in my trip report; the female was coming into season, which is why the male was around. But her current cub was still with her.

Note that we took no kingfisher shot whatsoever at that bird bath. In fact, in retrospect, the sightings we had there were rather silly (all very common birds). But indeed it is always good to work on your technique.

About the elephants waterhole; I will post that episode probably tonight! Including a full size pano of the scene.

And about the theft plague (exageration) at Maun; I had hoped my remarks would have triggered a small discussion here, as I suppose some people certainly know the guy I mentioned. But alas...

The fires; Johan warned us beforehand that we might get smoky days. While there, he often said it looked bad, but in retrospect it was actually still good (compared to what he experienced when we had left!)

Ciao,

J.

Thanks for the leopard explanation. I missed that in the report. I think more of us will be Masson bound after your report.

Hi Pixel,

Just saw this report - guess it was buried under the other threads and was missed. Great reading and some fantastic photos and certainly you guys had a great safari.

Regards,
Hari

Hi Hari,

Jochen did a great job (so I didn't have to write a more technical report).

Our mobile safari gave us a great variety and if the light could have been better, it would have been superb. If you look at the sightings we had, I would think this safari in the delta is in terms of price/quality hard to beat.

For keen photographers, I would actually recommend to combine the best of two worlds (a mobile safari + a stay in a camp which has a good variety of general game/predators).

I can higly recommend the gameviewing by small boat on the Chobe, most boating in the delta (which some people claim is very good) is not really great compared to that.

Greetings,

Johan

Hi Johan,

You are right! Jochen made a great report - and yes, you guys had awesome sightings including predators and it looks ideal to combine mobile with a good area private concession, as you rightly say!!!

Regards,
Hari