cybor

After doing some research and getting good advice on the board I am re thinking my trip timelines to Botswana. I was thinking of going during our winter (Dec. - March) BUT:
1. I do want to see dogs 2. I get the feeling that I may feel hemmed in and not see as much at times due to the foliage.

Questions:
Where and when did you see dogs last year?

Do you think May or end of June would be worth while times to go? Would Sept. or Oct. be better or too hot?

Should I just bite the bullet and go in July or August?

Do most of you share vehicles with others during safari? If you have, did you mind it?
Thanks for any help;
Sherry

atravelynn

It was this very question that brought me to this forum. I was searching for wild dog information and ended up here!

when/where see dogs: Aug 14-21 of 2005 in Chitabe

May/end of June: worthwhile and perhaps a price break before high season. The dogs should be denning by late May/June. Pups out of the den are unlikely in May.

Sept/Oct too hot?: I've never gone then, but mid 90s is pretty hot. From a dog perspective, the pups are likely big enough so as not to be denning. Then finding them is harder.

Bite bullet? If dogs are very important then you may want to. The cost is the same in July as Oct, I think, at most camps.

Sharing vehicles: I've never ordered a private vehicle in the past, though I've lucked out and ended up in one numerous times. I will get a private vehicle for the first and probably only time at Duba Plains this Aug.

Cost is what prevents me from a private vehicle. Sharing has not been a problem and it has never been packed. Sharing a vehicle at the more expensive Botswana camps is less of a problem than at East African lodges because your vehicle-mates are likely to be more into wildlife viewing. The monetary commitment to wildlife viewing in Botswana is a type of screening device.

If I were a professional photographer or
hoping to capture images like a pro, then I'd get a private vehicle if I had the money.

In Aug 2005 I booked Chitabe and Duma Tau, each for 4 nights with the hopes of seeing wild dogs. I think a better strategy, if the goal is dogs, is 2 nights at the dog-potential camps. If you are there 2 nights and the dog den whereabouts are known, you'll be taken to the den. With 2 nights per camp, you can cover more camps where dogs may be.

I prefer 3- or 4-night stays, but if dogs are the goal, I'd do at least 2 nights per camp at as many of these as I could starting about July 23.

Chitabe
Kwando Lagoon or Labela
Linyanti camps--Duma Tau or King's Pool
Selinda Camp or Zibalianja in Selinda

The good thing about these camps is that even if the dogs remain elusive, there is other excellent game. So it is not dogs or nothing by any means.

Or I'd add Madikwe in South Africa to my Botswana itnerary, where wild dogs are probably most likely to be spotted. I've never been there.

Those darn dogs are so unpredictable. In 2005, they were in Linyanti in July, but not by August. There was a report of seeing pups in Botswana in March, very early. If the dogs lose a litter, they may breed again with pups appearing in Oct.

I even read that there was evidence a pack had spent time at the top of Kilimanjaro!

Here are some past wild dog links.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34659586

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34496501

napamatt

First thing to remember is that camps will claim that dogs are seen there in the literature when the reality may be different. I went to Chiefs in October 2003 hoping to see dogs, which were a big part of their advertising, on arrival I mentioned an interest in dogs and the guide said they hadn't seen any in eighteen months.
Research this board and you will find where dogs have traditionally been seen.

When searching for dogs you have to maximize your opportunites.
Go where they traditionally den at the denning time.
I would definitely recommend July, we saw the pups outside the den at Kings Pool last year.
The best areas seem to be Kwando, Linyanti, Selinda and the Chitabe area.

Madikwe offers a very different experience than Botswana but does give an excellent chance of seeing dogs. I was there for four days in February 2005 and we saw them on our last morning. Again had we visited in July we likely could have seen them every day once their den was located.

johan_belgium

Sherry,

Last year I saw wild dogs at the following places:

- Duma Tau (second part of June 2005);
- Chitabe (second part of June 2005);
- Kwara (second part of December 2005).

Like Matt said if dogs are your number one priority I would strongly recommend to go in July/early August at the following places:

- Selinda/Lebala (easiest terrain to follow them while hunting). Although I had excellent sightings at Duma Tau and Chitabe I found the terrain much more difficult to follow them while they were hunting.

I don't know what the situation is right now but Linyanti and Selinda weren't the best neighbours. So it wasn't possible to drive in the Selinda area while staying in the Linyanti or vice versa. Now that both areas are marketed for almost a year by Wilderness things will probably change for the better.

I would only consider booking a private vehicle if you are very serious about your photography like Lynn said or you have a very particular intrest that most others travellers don't share (f.e. if you are very serious about your birding). But with dogs you won't face that kind of problem.

One last note, if I go in November/December to Botswana, predators are certainly not my number one priority. I'll enjoy everything: the newborn calves - birds - whatever crosses my path - beautiful sunsets and I find it a great pleasure to visit the delta during different seasons.

Greetings,

Johan

thit_cho

I didn't visit Botswana last year, but I visited Chitabe in August 2001, and I saw dogs on each drive. I also saw dogs at Savuti and Chobe, along the riverfront, but I understand I was lucky to see dogs in Savuti and very, very lucky to see them in Chobe.

What do you mean about biting the bullet -- August is a great month on all accounts (the weather was glorious) and the sightings were excellent (in addition to dogs, I also saw aardwolf, caracal and serval, in addition to lots of lions).

Michael

santharamhari

Hi! Everybody already has said everything there is to say on the dogs............only thing i can add is.........book ASAP........if you are planning to travel between June and October.........time is running out.

cybor

Thank you all so much for your answers.
The general consensus here states conclusively that I should go late July/August. So I guess if I'm going to do this right and spend to the excess, I may as well go then.

Thit cho:
My main reason for the biting the bullet comment, was that I was trying previously to go during my winter to escape the N.E. cold and because it works better with my schedule. Also, I thought that I may save a few pennies by going then. This would mean however, that if I wanted dogs, I would then have to spend $ to go to Madikwe - sounds counter-productive, value wise.

Hari:
I just returned from Tanzania so this trip is for 2007 - as I was thinking of going next Feb./March, I was hoping to have it together and booked by this July - I guess if I do go next July/August, I have plenty of time to do more research. Generally, how far in advance are the camps in Botswana booked?

Napa:
I also found that so many sites that I went to were making seemingly unverified claims of dog sightings. The only reason I knew differently was b/c I have been following related threads here.

Johan:
Your photos are part of my intrigue with Botswana. I know that after my first trip I will go back and try other seasons.

Lynn:
As always, good info. - glad you went first and made my homework easier.

Re: The vehicles
It sounds like none of you seem to mind sharing a vehicle - Do you find that others are as like minded (obsessive) about finding dogs?
Sherry

atravelynn

Hari,

Mombo takes reservations 2 years in advance that I know of and prime dates book up a year ahead. In about Oct 2005 I was contemplating some switches in my mid-August 2006 Botswana itinerary. When looking at alternatives, many Wilderness camps were booked for the dates in question and that was 10 months out. I decided against changes, but may not have gotten them even if I wanted them.

Sherry,

Usually people are highly enthused about wild dogs and very interested in visiting them. So interested that vehicles have to "schedule" trips to the dog den so as not to have too many vehicles there at once.

santharamhari

Lynn,

Thanks...if i remember right, you are doing duba plains and Chitabe, duma tau right? for next year, i am strongly considering going to Duma Tau, Chitabe for sure and maybe Selinda.......i saw a show on National geographic last week on the Selinda lion pride killing elephants during the dry season.....i know i may not see that, but the place seems intriguing (it maybe similar to lebala)......i think it was the Kraat brothers show, if i am right. I'm undeceided still.........let's see how things pan out.......

Hari

cybor

Thanks Lynn,
Although I do understand why scheduling dog viewing at the den is done, I can't help but wonder if this would cut the viewing of the dogs in action. How long is one allowed to stay at the site?

Also, I've seen conflicting advice on various threads about the amount of time one should spend at each camp to up the anti of seeing dogs. Can anyone else elaborate on this?

Appreciate any advice;
Sherry

atravelynn

Based on my experience of what happened at two camps only, the scheduling determined which vehicles went to the dogs in the morning and the afternoon. This limited the number of vehicles at the den at one time. Once at the den, you could stay as long as you wanted. The schedule did not have an arrival and departure time, just who was permitted to go.

Here is a twist on your question of how long at each camp. As I mentioned, I booked 4 nights at two good spots for dogs. If I were to go on a dog quest again, to increase the odds, I would stay at more places. To do so, that would probably require fewer days at each. But here’s the twist: Once you find the dogs, if there is available space, Wilderness will let you change your schedule and remain at the camp with the dogs.

That is what I did in 2005. Instead of going on to Duma Tau, where recent visitors had told me the dogs had left, I stayed on at Chitabe.

Wilderness does not charge for the changes. You would only pay for additional transportation if needed and for a difference in pricing between properties. My change removed a flight and both properties were the same cost, so no charge at all. Of course that only works if space is available.

napamatt

Mombo and Little Mombo are already filling up if not already full. I recently had to confirm my booking of Little Mombo for Oct 2007.

johan_belgium

I booked my 2 trips to Mombo in 2007 already in 2005.

So my advice will also be book as early as possible.

What Lynn mentioned about staying in one camp instead of going to the one you originally booked, is possible for most companies in Botswana.

Greetings,

Johan

jasher

Hello,

For wild dogs, Mombo is probably not the place you want to be right now -- the rise in the lion population at Mombo means that dog sightings are less common. There is a nascent pack of three attempting to establish itself, but no one knows how that will work out.

For non-Mombo camps, 18 months in advance should be plenty of time for even the popular camps like Savuti. 12 months in advance would be fine for the majority of camps. I booked one of my Botswana trips less than six months in advance, and got the camps I wanted with the exception of Savuti.

Cheers,
Julian

jweis

Sadly, the Mombo "pack" is even worse off...

Mombo news:
January also presented us with a sad mystery: our wild dog pack, which had managed to get a paw in the door as it were, has again been diminished. Tragically this time it is the adult female who has disappeared. She was the alpha female and the best hope for this pack.

We can't know for certain that she is dead, but with still more nomadic lions moving into Mombo - an area which exerts a compelling, magnetic pull on these big cats - the odds against the dogs are long indeed.

cybor

Thanks for replies.

Well, at 1200. pppn. I don't think I was going to Mombo anyhow. Sounds impressive though. Julian, can you discount that by, say, 60% or so?
Sherry

cybor

sorry, posted too soon - p.s. how big is the Mombo concession? When speaking about dogs not being in the area, are you also speaking about the close by public reserves as well?

napamatt

Cybor

At Kings Pool last year they limited the viewing at the den to one vehicle per drive. We stayed with the adults and pups for about 40 minutes, before the light started to fade and the pups had lost their energy and were settling down for a snooze.

Hari

We saw Lions kill a young elephant at Kings Pool last year. I have video that I have not watched since, and we saw the action only after the elephant was down and resigned to its fate. I'm very glad I didn't see more.
Read the Jouberts books, Hunting in the Night and the African Diaries to understand who intense an experience watching Lions kill an Elephant is.

atravelynn

Johan,

How nice the flexibility to alter your stay exists with other camps too. I just have not yet had the pleasure of staying in Kwando, CCA, Sanctuary, etc. camps, so I wasn't aware of their policies.

Sorry to hear about the Mombo pack. I know lions are becoming more dominant in that region.

johan_belgium

Lynn,

I don't know what's going on in Mombo at the moment. The last update I read on the wilderness website was from January 2006.

I know it's possible to change your original stay with Kwando and Sanctuary. (and so I did)

Greetings,

Johan