August 2004
We had barely taken off from Maun airport when the glistening horizon of the Delta shone brightly from east to west and as far as the eye could see. You could see the myriad of palm fringed islands dotted across the sheets of gleaming water, animal paths in shapes that resembled that of bicycle spokes around the islands. As we flew to the northern part of the delta it we began to grasp its enormity with our own eyes. A short drive by Land Rover followed by a speed boat drive through a narrow water course through fields of tall grass and papyrus made it an exhilarating experience but more so, a stylish way to arrive to the door step of our tented camp, Vumbura. We were met at the camp with a cocktail in hand, by faces filled with genuine, friendly smiles which broke into melodious Setswana song.
The freshness of the air, the loud twittering and singing of water birds were all apparent as we sat on our boat watching a herd of feeding elephants, moving against the back drop of a blood red African sunset. We could only sit in silence in appreciation of the moment, as the sun gave its final lick to the puffy clouds on the eastern horizon.
Our first game drive, we drove through very diverse country side with sightings of countless herds of Tsessebe, Zebra and giraffe. We were alerted by one of our camp guides of a leopard that had killed an Impala on an Island, so we decided to go and search for it, as we arrived in the area; we luckily got a quick glimpse of the elusive cat before it disappeared into the tall grass. Later that morning, we followed a lone lioness who gave us magnificent posses out in the open as though she were showing off. She stopped every few yards smelling, and calling as if it were trying to locate the rest of the pride. We did hear other lions respond in the distance, and we imagined that she would catch up with them that night. We found the pride an hour later resting under an umbrella thorn acacia less than fifty yards from a herd of about five hundred buffalo. The pride consisted of five lionesses and 3 sub-adult males. By this time, the sun was too over-powering for the cats to be hunting, so they stayed down wind of the buffalo herd which was also resting, spread out along the water ways, totally unaware of the danger that loomed. “Tonight,” I thought to myself, “one of these beasts will not live to see another day.”
Our last full day at Vumbura our drives were action packed and never had a dull moment. We went back to the Island where we had briefly seen the leopard and this time, after careful and slow approaches, we managed to get close to her and watch her as she finished off the remains of her Impala she had stashed up in a tree for the last few days. Soon the sun lost its energy and we drove away to a place to celebrate the end of another day. Whilst having drinks at yet another awesome sunset, we had two hyenas run past us, yipping into the night at others we could hear in the distance.
The camp fires at night were excellent as one could sit around under the stars and hear the stories told from all walks of life, about anything and everything. Sometimes merely sitting and glaring into the red hot ambers of the fire, reflecting on the experiences of the day was something to relish. I clearly recall going to bed that night wondering how in the world the experiences could be bettered on this safari, having seen what we had seen already at our first stop; that was the beginning but nature had a lot in store for us.
Our next safari camp was Jao, which is in the heart of the Okavango Delta, bordering Moremi Game reserve. Jao camp has got the most scenic and probably the most romantic setting in Africa. Its permanent water ways and lagoons are such a contrast to its other extreme; dry Kalahari grasslands on an island which is only a boat drive away through the meandering rivers shaped and maintained by the movement of hippo. On our first outing that afternoon, we constantly drove through masses of water that harbored an extensive population of various species of bird life from flocks of the endangered wattle cranes to pigmy geese, African snipes, orange throated long claws and many more. Not to mention the huge herds of Lechwe antelope. A beautiful sun setting over the vast wet lands was an epic way to finish off the afternoons, to which we celebrated with the famous wine, and gin & tonics for our “sundowner.”
Our first morning, we explored the waters of the Delta using the traditional canoes called Mokoro. This allowed us to explore further a-field into the flooded grasslands and have access to the forests of papyrus and channels of crystal clear waters, painted with beautiful wild flowers and lilies. If one searches for unsurpassed quietness, peace and tranquility, a trip out to the waters of the Okavango Delta in a Mokoro is a highly recommended activity. We saw a number of different pods of hippo. After a tea and cookie break on a viewing platform we set out back to the relaxing confines of the camp where at any one time, you could look out and there were elephant bulls splashing in the mud across the river or rampaging through the palm forests.
Our last afternoon in the Jao game reserve we took a boat out into the channels to marvel at the beautiful scenery, but also took our fishing rods for a bit of sport. We had hardly anchored our boat when after the first cast we reeled in a four pound tilapia. That afternoon, we seem to have hit the right spot and we caught and released a number of fish, whilst surrounded by foraging elephants, screaming fish eagles and grunting hippos. Every night we were spoilt by the camps finest bush cuisine which added to the finest company. The nights were always filled with laughter around our camp fire where the most amazing stories where told by various camp staff.
Having had our fill of water, for our last morning we decided to head off to the famous Hander Island, which has dry savannah plains lending to its diverse wildlife populations. As we left camp, we drove through a thick blanket of mist, where soon the sun rose and greeted the morning with a bright orange glow which painted the waters blood red. We saw big herds of buffalo, elephant, giraffe, wildebeest and lion. It was as though we were in a completely different world to where we had been because of the contrasting landscape and scenery.
We took off for Mombo camp in Moremi Game reserve at about midday. We had talked so much about this camp and finally we arrived and were greeted at the airstrip by a herd of zebra and giraffe near the run way. Five minutes out of camp that afternoon on a game drive, we saw two white rhino. They avoided us by staying behind the acacias, and occasionally peeping out to see where we were. It was exciting looking out for them as we crashed through the acacia scrub to get the best view of these pre-historic creatures. Later we found four lionesses and some young lions resting near an open area. As we watched them, a troop of baboons walked by not too far away, unaware of the big cats. In a half attempt one of the young lions tried to creep up to the troop, but as soon as the baboons saw him, the air was filled with screaming and barking as they shouted their alarm calls. Soon every animal in site was alerted of the danger that lurked. I guessed that the rest of the cats would not have been impressed that their cover had been blown by the inexperienced youngster’s half attempt at an animal that would hardly be of benefit to the pride. As we were watching the lions we discovered that our land rover would not start. Thankfully, another guide pulled up with his land rover and gave us a push start on our front bull bar to get us away from the pride, which by this time wondered what the commotion was all about.
We called our next day the “Cat day.” We started off seeing a big male lion that we spent at least an hour following. He stopped to rest as he roared for the other cats in the distance. He was a mature lion in his prime, he had a huge mane around his neck, as he called out, his whole body seemed to move in outbursts and showers of saliva came shooting out of his scarred mouth. We sat in absolute awe, not more than ten yards from this handsome predator, roaring his lungs out. The entire land rover vibrated, sending vibrations through my rib cage. In that moment, I was sure that there was nothing as powerful and overwhelming as being this close to a fully-grown, roaring male lion. Soon we left him to find the other lions that were responding in the distance, and we found another three big male lions and five lionesses. After a while, a lion that we had been following arrived at the scene and cautiously came in to join the others. He had walked a long way and he now had to work his way into acceptance. The ten cats lay soaking up the morning sun, totally oblivious to our vehicle. On our way back after a quick tea and cookie break, we came across a young female leopard who was at the time stalking Impala. After ten minutes of following her we left decided to leave her hunting so as not to disturb her. When others saw her later that day, she had killed and dragged her impala up and into a rain tree. As we sat around the camp fire at night, two big male lions came walking through camp, only a few yards away from our wooden deck. Later that night, the lions caused such commotion and havoc chasing the resident buffalo bulls that had settled in for safety within the camp confines. The loud thud of hard buffalo horns could be heard and felt as they bumped onto the wooden posts under our tents. That night the buffalo stood their ground.
Our last day at Mombo was the highlight. We sat for over an hour watching a big male leopard resting alongside a palm grove. For the second time and again in front of a cat, we found ourselves calling for help, as our land rover failed to start. From then on we joked that we were on a mission to have a “break down in front of all the big five.” However we managed to get out of that one again. These are the sort of things that separate the bush life from the city life; these are the unplanned encounters that add to the experience. Not too far from that leopard was a male lion resting under the acacia; unaware of the spotted cat only about fifty yards from him.
We knew of a Hyena den that had been used for years, so we set out to check it out hoping to find the den in use and with a chance of seeing hyena puppies. On our way, we came across a couple of adults, and we could smell a very strong dog-like smell as we approached the site. As we came round the corner, a number of small little pups took for cover into the den. Only the adults sat at the entrance. We patiently waited at a safe distance and after a few minutes, the first head popped out of the hole, then a second, and a third and soon there were about ten puppies about. There were distinctly three different age groups, the youngest was still black in colour, and you would have never guessed it was a hyena. For about half an hour we had these adorable puppies coming up to our vehicle to check us out, a couple even came and tried to chew on our tyres. It was like being at a nursery school; there were puppies all around us, some sleeping near the hole, some suckling from their mother, some play-fighting and a couple very curiously checking us out. It was the most amazing site and atmosphere. As it got dark, they retreated to the den for safety, and we cautiously pulled out and drove back to camp.
To finish off our day, we were just about to go to bed when a porcupine came strolling through camp. We walked along side of it and watched it from the deck until it disappeared into the darkness.
On safari one can only but reflect at the end of each day, the experiences and the wildlife encounters one has. If it was not a special sunset, it was being a few yards from a roaring lion that radiated great strength and commanded respect, or it was the entertaining troop of baboons with it’s teenagers ever so curious, or it was simple the stillness of the night sky surrounded by the night sounds of the African wilderness. This safari was what dreams of Africa should be; experiences that never leave you, encounters that change your life forever.
Managing Director,
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