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    • Dave Williams
      @AtravelynnDid you show him the tree trunk they were climbing ? Enough to make me weak at the knees thinking about it!
    • pscrimshaw
      Wow this is absolutely crazy to find. I was in Ndutu during the exact same time at the exact same sightings! So wild to see photos from the opposite angles that I was at! I saw the coalition of males that morning as each came to drink and then jumped across the river. And I was also there when the lion cub was in the tree. Unfortunately I was on the opposite side hoping that the cub would turn and look my way but, when it finally did I got photo bombed by some inconsiderate tourist vehicles. I'm hoping that wasn't you! Anyways such a small world it seems!    
    • ice
      It depends on what you are looking for: calving may start as early as late December and usually peaks in January and February. But as@Atravelynnhas pointed out: wanting to see calving and the biggest herds comes with a price: camps and lodges that are completely out and conditions that may remind you of Masai Mara, especially at cheetah sightings: 20 cars circling and pushing around. More times than not aggressive drivers will make it impossible for cats to hunt. That's why I have chosen March as my preferred month: less cars and more lost calves, both increasing the chances to see a lot predator action. 
    • Treepol
      Sorry that you had such a mixed-up start to your safari, however the early sightings certainly paid off. Love the introductory photo of the brown hyena.
    • Atravelynn
      44-45 in the afternoon is hot.  Thanks for those specifics and general comments on when to go.
    • Atravelynn
      It is a cinematic experience!  Starting with the balloon was very effective. It seems you had some excellent sightings from the balloon. The video and music are so professional.  You have a gem of memories here.
    • TonyQ
      What wonderful sightings so early in your trip. A shame about your companions but good to see you finally met up!
    • Atravelynn
      Feb (March is good too with fewer people, more wilde calves already born).  As for camps, choose a camp with vacancy.  This is a popular time to go. Ndutu Lodge seems to be economical but I have never managed that.  I've stayed at Njozi run by the Wild Source 2x and that was good.  The other places I've stayed are not operating now I believe.  At least as important as the camp (IMO) is the ability to stay out all day with packed breakfasts and lunches.  A nice long day in the bush is always good, but I think it is essential in Ndutu in the green season to see hunts, maybe births, and cover ground to go where the interesting activity is.
    • Atravelynn
      The title of your trip report is giving me geographic whiplash.  What a productive time for Namibia!  The brown hyena were out in force, escorted by a hippo.  Nice mole snake among everything else.
    • Atravelynn
      My husband just breezed by my computer as I was looking at that "big male" howler monkey and it caught his attention. He asked me, "Are you sure you didn't do some AI on that?"   The photo hide on the river is a good idea.
    • Dave Williams
      As you can see from the map on the last entry, the ranch we were staying on covers a fairly huge area and there is a network of trails you can follow which are quite well marked with numbered posts. Having been tucked up in bed and fast asleep by 10pm I was up early the next morning woken by the roar of the Howler Monkeys which started at around 3.30am  and the content call of the Ferruginous Owl which went on all night and well in to the morning. I searched but couldn't find the Owl. By now Phil and Christian were up and around so we went to the spot we'd seen the Lineated Woodpecker the night before but no luck there. There were lots of Parrots flying over but most carried on going but this White-fronted one stopped briefly in a distant tree. White-fronted Parrot by Dave Williams, on Flickr A Social Flycatcher was more accommodating Social Flycatcher by Dave Williams, on Flickr As was a Stripe-headed Sparrow, one of the more common birds we'd seen in Costa Rica to date. Stripe-headed Sparrow-topaz-sharpen by Dave Williams, on Flickr Overall it was disappointing but we were undaunted and hoped better was to come. Breakfast is served , again a served buffet for all the guests , at 7.30. The offering is nice enough but it's strictly portion controlled!  After breakfast we set off to explore the trails leading through fields taking us to the to the Salt Pans. There wasn't a lot to see, on arrival at the Pans what few waders were there took off and we were still 100m away. Obviously not keen on human presence it seemed. By 9.30am it was hot and by 10.00am unbearably so and we made the decision to retreat back to our cabins. We managed a couple of birds on the way back though including White-necked Puffbird White-necked Puffbird by Dave Williams, on Flickr and Cinnamon Becard Cinnamon Becard by Dave Williams, on Flickr but that was about all. Later that morning I went over to the restaurant area where lunch was being served and the British couple showed me were to find the Owl. I assumed it would be the Ferruginous one but no, it was a different one altogether sat in it's nest hole. Pacific Screech-Owl by Dave Williams, on Flickr Pacific Screech Owl I think and it certainly brighten up the day anyway! We ducked out on lunch , it was too hot to eat and meals were not that good anyway se we had a beer instead! When the sun had cooled down later in the afternoon we set off in the car to see if we could find a better spot somewhere. Along the way we stopped for a  Ctenosaur, also known as Black Iguana, which was crossing the road Ctenosaur by Dave Williams, on Flickr A tree full of blossom was providing a meal for a small flock of Orange-fronted Parakeets which allowed us very close views for a change. Orange-fronted Parakeet by Dave Williams, on Flickr Then a bit further down the road we spotted a large lake which looked interesting. Before we got to the turn off that led there, a farm track it seemed, we crossed a river bridge and a Wood Stork sat in a tree. Wood Stork by Dave Williams, on Flickr The Stork wasn't that co-operative and flew off but looking down at the river and lower branches of the trees there were dozens of Black Vultures, some were roosting on the branches others simply enjoying the sun. Black Vulture by Dave Williams, on Flickr Why so many? What was the attraction? When you looked carefully the river was full of fish skeletons and we could only assume that the farm track to the lagoons  was to some kind of farmed fishing arrangement and they processed the fish and discarded the remains in the river. Unfortunately as the track was gated access was denied but in the distance we could see dozens of Wood stork, Great Egrets and even a couple of Roseate Spoonbills. They could set up a photo hide on the side and do quite well out of it I imagine and who knows, maybe they will in the future.  The one thing we were beginning to notice was how commercial everything has become in Costa Rica. Every one is out to extract as many tourist dollars as possible and that included La Ensalada Lodge in my opinion. What they offered was well organised but quite expensive for what it was and that included the meals. TBC
    • Dave Williams
      After our final boat trip our continuing journey north to La Ensenada Lodge was uneventful, our intrepid navigator only missed one turn which was easily remedied with a U turn and an extra 10km on the clock but not a disaster by any means. Arrival was in time for lunch so we decided that was a good idea as we'd had no breakfast and been up since the early hours. The Lodge itself is a great example of a ranch farm diversifying and they have created quite a business it seems. I have. feeling there are 35 cabins in all and they a nicely equipped. Nothing too fancy but perfectly functional with two single beds in each it seems.   The dining area suggests they can cater for large numbers and the long table was set up for a bird tour group of 16 which were from the USA.   I really don't understand why people pay large amounts of money to be in a party of 16 to bird watch but there again it appeared that someone them were too old or weary to go out on the guided walk both that evening and the next morning too before they left. Other than the big group there were probably no more than 10 others staying at the lodge including an British couple who were on a tour but without a guide, just transport that dropped them off at the various places they stayed then left them. In the cast of this place they had three days to wander the vast acreage that the farm has to offer. I'm not sure I'd like that idea much either! Anyway, after lunch and a couple of beers we had time to settle in to our cabin before heading out to see what we could find. It was pretty obvious there were Howler Monkeys about, the roar they make carries considerable distance but in this case they were very close to the row of cabins, no more than 50m at most. One by one they came down from the tree they were in and followed the ranch fence to the next tree they decided to investigate. They were led by a big male, big in many senses. I felt sorry for him, particularly when I saw the trees they were climbing. Howler Monkey by Dave Williams, on Flickr The big fellow spotted a fallen fruit and dropped down to retrieve and it it. They might be vegetarian but look at those teeth! Howler Monkey by Dave Williams, on Flickr The rest of the troop followed, there were at least a dozen in total Howler Monkey by Dave Williams, on Flickr Just look at the bark on the tree and you can see why I feel sorry for the male! Howler Monkey by Dave Williams, on Flickr Anyway , they gave us some nice photo opportunities before we moved on in search for something else.  A few Parrots were flying over and when a pair landed in a tree we had a chance for a better look. Although not obvious because of the branch these were Yellow-naped Parrots. Yellow-naped Parrot by Dave Williams, on Flickr Other than those two the only other photo opportunity was a distant Lineated Woodpecker that flew before we could get any closer. I was disappointed and hoped we'd get another chance tomorrow. Lineated Woodpecker. by Dave Williams, on Flickr With little else around we went to watch the sun go down but we were facing the wrong direction, still the view was stunning and by the looks of it the Lodge run boat trips from their jetty but having just been on two we didn't bother enquiring about them either. It had been a long day so after an acceptable but largely unexciting dinner which is served buffet style to everyone at a set time, 7.30pm, we were off to bed wondering what tomorrow might bring. TBC   TBC
    • PeterHG
      Next on our itinerary was Don Inthanon National Park, with Thailand’s highest peak at 2565 metres  above sea level. We had booked a simple homestay there: the Pea Moo Homestay situated a few kilometres off the main through road, already in the National Park. The dirt road to the hamlet was under repair, which meant that every time we used it, a heavy excavator had to make way for us. They happily obliged, but this involved moving away some big boulders and levelling the surface enough for us to drive through. A bit of a nuisance, but we only used the road twice a day. The homestay itself was very basic. Nothing wrong with that, but for an older guy like me the beanbags on the terrace are not ideal. Lowering myself into one of them was ok, but getting up was a different matter. The host, a woman in her thirties, was the nicest person you could imagine. The stay included breakfast and when we told her we would be picked up early the next morning by our guide, she immediately assured us this was no problem at all. And there she was, at 6:30, with a delicious take-away Thai breakfast, wrapped in leaves of a banana tree.         Finding a guide for Don Inthanon had not been very easy. Most of them start from Chiang Mai and were fully booked or just too expensive. In the end I found a guide through the https://www.gowithjoetravel.com website. He picked us up at 7 am and took us to several birding spots along the road leading up to the top of Don Inthanon. The trip lasted till early afternoon, which was long enough for us. He charged 6000 bht  for the two of us. He was a cheerful guide and good company. He only had a few years of birding experience and was definitely not as knowledgable as our previous guides, but we had a good time with him.       Perhaps the best birding area is the boardwalk right at the top. This leads through dense mossy forest and has some interesting species that seem to be quite at ease with the passing humans, so they are more approachable than elsewhere. Of course photography is not easy under the trees, but you can’t have it all.. When we got there with our guide it was already late in the morning, when the place gets quite crowded with all the tour vans, arriving from Chiang Mai, packed with tourists having booked a day trip. We were approached by a bewildered Frenchman, who asked us if we knew where the viewpoint was. He had just arrived with his family, all armed with walking sticks and ready to hike down the treeless slopes of the mountain, enjoying endless views and perhaps even some snow-covered mountain-tops. When we told them those vistas were not to be had here he left us thoroughly disappointed and muttered something about the Pyrenees.           We went there again early in the morning, the day after. It was only 7 degrees then, so quite chilly As it turned out, most of the birds thought so, too and it wasn’t until 9 or 9:30 that more of them started to show. Among them some beautiful sunbirds that we did not see anywhere else.     The Dutch couple we met at Don Lang had told us there was another homestay (Rang Bon Doi: 18.5389, 98.5505) that had some bird hides in the forest, which might be worth checking out. It  As in Baan Maka this turned out to be a good choice and we spent a few pleasant hours in the hide that afternoon.          
    • kittykat23uk
      We were out again for our afternoon safari, and we didn’t get far before we spotted the Wild Dogs again. This time I was able to spend as much time as I wanted with them, which was most of the afternoon and we were able to follow them as they travelled around the reserve. We didn’t see them hunting, but it was still lovely to see the pack interacting. We were also hoping the guys would make it in time for part of the drive, as we were pretty close to camp. Unfortunately it became clear they were still some miles away and hadn’t yet entered the park by the time the dogs  eventually moved into an area where we couldn’t follow.   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African WIld Dogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   At this point Carel suggested we move on to go and find a family of cheetah, and who could argue with that plan! We got to them in the late afternoon so the golden light was playing on their beautiful spotty coats. The cubs got up and started to play around a termite mound, one of them was noticeably smaller than the others. Mum kept a wary eye out while they frollicked around. As before, we had the best of the sighting and the family moved into thicker scrub as other vehicles arrived. I think at that point we got word that they guys were on their way to the lodge so with it getting towards dinner time we decided to head back to meet them, get an early tea and then get out early for the night drive.    Mole Snake by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Cheetah by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Cheetah by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Cheetah by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Cheetah by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Cheetah by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Cheetah by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Cheetah by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Cheetah by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Cheetah by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Cheetah by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Cheetah by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Cheetah by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Cheetah by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Cheetah by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Sure enough there they were, when we got back and I think we all breathed a collective sigh of relief that we were together in time to move on to our next lodge. The guys were naturally itching to get out on a drive, after being a bit gripped off by the success I’d had already, so we ate quickly and were soon out the door again. Before we even left the lodge we stopped for a Pearl-spotted Owlet and then on the drive a small mouse-like thing caught our eye, but it was not a mouse, it was a Bushveld Sengi. We got our first Brown Hyena, too far for photos but I did get some interesting thermal imagery of it. An  African Wildcat was hunkered down under a bush and we had a few Springhares bounding around.    Arriving back at the waterhole by our rooms we were surprised to find another Brown Hyena, but I think the hyena was more surprised to find us as he quickly moved away behind a hippo. Of course it was at this moment that I needed to change my camera battery so I missed getting more than a record shot, though I needn’t have worried! A Cape Hare provided interest with a silhouette shout against the waterhole lights. We stayed up for a while in the hope the hyena would return but it was not to be. Black-backed Jackals were also present though none came close enough to photograph and we would not be short of views of those on this trip.    Pearl-spotted Owlet by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Bushveld Sengi - Elephantulus intufi by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Wildcat by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Wildcat by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Hippo & Brown Hyena by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Cape Hare by Jo Dale, on Flickr  
    • kittykat23uk
      24/9/2023 - Day 2 Erindi   Bat-eared Fox by Jo Dale, on Flickr   With the weather much improved we were out early for our extended morning private game drive from 6.30am to 11.30am. We first spotted a lovely Bat-eared Fox, a few Dassies in a rocky area and then a male White-quilled Bustard AKA Northern Black Korhaan strutting around. Carel knew where a pair of lions had been seen the day before so we made a beeline for them, and sure enough after quite a bit of searching in thick scrub we finally managed to track them down and what a pair they were! One was snoozing away but the other one was posing more nicely for a photo, with the early morning sun setting the edge of his mane ablaze.    Rock Hyrax by Jo Dale, on Flickr   White-quilled Bustard AKA Northern Black Korhaan by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Lion by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Kori Bustard by Jo Dale, on Flickr   After spending some time with the lions we made way for another group and went to try and track down a leopard. En route we found a gorgeous tiny little giraffe calf with its mum. Carel’s skill with the radio-telemetry meant that after some tracking we did manage to locate the female leopard, although she wasn’t easy to locate in the thick bush of this part of Erindi. We were rewarded with a nice sighting of her. She was on the move, patrolling her territory, making use of the local termite mounds to get a bird’s eye view of her surroundings.    Angolan Giraffe by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Angolan Giraffe by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Leopard by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Leopard by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Leopard by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Leopard by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Leopard by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Leopard by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Leopard by Jo Dale, on Flickr   She was moving with a purpose and the bush was getting thicker and thornier and another couple of cars soon joined us. Given that we felt we’d had the best of the sighting by this point we let her go and moved on to see what else we could find. We came to a more open area where we found Springbok, Waterbuck, Kudu and more giraffes. A pair of Yellow Mongoose were also located foraging by a termite mound.  I also had a brief sighting of a slender mongoose.   Springbok by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Springbok by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Angolan Giraffe by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Angolan Giraffe by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Waterbuck by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Waterbuck by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Greater Kudu by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Impala by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Yellow Mongoose by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Yellow Mongoose by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Yellow Mongoose by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Yellow Mongoose by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Angolan Giraffe by Jo Dale, on Flickr   I should also note that they offer Pangolin tracking here and Carel and other guides did try to locate one for us during our stay. However it was not to be here and, given our next stop was Okonjima, Carel advised not to worry too much about finding one here. After that it was time to get back to the lodge for lunch and some down-time. But it’s hard to have down-time when there’s always something going on at the waterhole at the restaurant and I watched a steady stream of visitors whilst enjoying a couple of ice cold Savannahs. Of note were a herd of Red Lechwe (introduced here beyond their normal range), a beautiful male Sable, Elephants and a whole bunch of hippos which left the water and climbed to the ridge overlooking the waterhole. The scenic backdrop here makes for some lovely photos.    Hippo by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Hippo by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Hippo by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Hippo by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Warthogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Warthogs by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Red Lechewe by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Red Lechewe by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Red-winged Starling by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Nile Crocodile by Jo Dale, on Flickr   lizard sp by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Bush Elephant by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Bush Elephant by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Bush Elephant by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Sable Antelope by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Sable Antelope by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Bush Elephant by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Bush Elephant by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Bush Elephant by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Sable Antelope by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Angolan Giraffe by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Bush Elephant by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Angolan Giraffe by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Angolan Giraffe by Jo Dale, on Flickr   African Bush Elephant by Jo Dale, on Flickr
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