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@Athenethank you @Galanathank you, I am sure you would enjoy it! @michael-ibkthank you. The light was good for most of the trip. We really enjoyed the Kingfisher with snake encounter (I am not sure the snake did!) @Atravelynnthank you @xelasthe boat trip was very enjoyable. I am sure you would enjoy a return!   Continued So we came to the end of the first part of the trip staying at the Birders Inn for 4 nights. We thought that it was a really good choice. Very close to Keoladeo and easy to get to Chambal. We had organised this through Rural Traveller but it would be easy to all of it through the Birders Den. (As we did on our previous visit).They can arrange guides and trips to Chambal.   The food was good, the room was good. We recommend it.   The next morning, after a good breakfast, our driver picked us up for the long drive towards Corbett National Park. Much of the journey is along very good roads. We stopped for lunch with our driver at a “Shiva Dhaba” – a roadside restaurant and had very good vegetarian food. Many restaurants are “100% Vegetarian”; we even passed at least one that was “140% Vegetarian”!   As we got further north we had to take a diversion because of heavy traffic held up by the Farmers’ Protests (“Chalo Delhi”). Our driver took us on some minor roads through small villages so we were not held up for long.   On the way we stopped as we passed some Sarus Cranes in a field at the side of the road   Including a juvenile.   As we were looking a young woman came up to us and asked if she could have a picture with us, taken on our phone. We agreed, so I asked if we could also take a picture of them with my phone. This happened a few times on the trip, but this was the first time I asked for a photo in return! As so many people have phones, using the camera is not intimidating (unlike a big white lens)

White fronted Bee-eater (Merops bullockoides)               Natal Spurfowl (Pternistis natalensis)           Smith's Bush Squirrel (Paraxerus cepapi)     Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides)           African Jacana (Actophilornis africanus)         To be continued...

Ciao @Nik63, great start and looking forward to seeing more from this trip. 

Beautiful photos, and camp looks great! Great shot of the Grysbok, a tough animal in Mana.

End of July 2023, my wife and I.   We spent 3 nights in the Mana Pools NP and 3 nights in the Hwange NP followed by 2 nights at Victoria Falls.   We flew from Milano (Italy) to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and from Addis Ababa to Harare (Zimbabwe) with Ethiopian Airlines. About a month before our departure Ethiopian Airlines re-scheduled the flight and our arrival in Harare was delayed by a couple of hours (not a big issue...we just lost two hours of game drive!).   When arrived in Harare we collected our bags and very quickly we passed trough immigration and custom checks and then we jumped onboard the private flight operated by Grand Air Charter Service (the airplane was a Piper PA41) and in less than one hour we landed in the Mana Pools airstrip.   Our accommodation in Mana Pools was Ingwe Pan a great camp run by Machaba Safaris. The camp is located in a private area inside the National Park alongside a large pan (about 30 minutes drive from the Mana Pools flood plain and Zambesi River). In the camp there are 8 tents with ensuite bathrooms built on elevated platforms that provide a great view of the pan and wildlife around the camp. The food was excellent as well as the game drive activities and guiding. For two nights we were the only guests in the camp and we never had to share our car and guide with other guests.   Harare International Airport - Before boarding the plane that took us to Mana Pools     Before starting the engines up at Harare international Airport     Few seconds before entering the runway for departure     Approaching Mana Pools airstrip     Mana Pools Airstrip       I kept about 600 pictures of the Mana Pools safari. I will post some of them not in chronological order:   Common Waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus ssp. ellipsiprymnus)     Close encounter!     White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus)     Looking towards us!     African Hoopoe (Upupa africana)     Brown-hooded Kingfisher (Alcyon albiventris)     Our accommodation                 Walking!     On the run!     Bathing!     Flying!      Climbing the tree! --- Chacma Baboon (Papio ursinus)     Grazing!     Ibis Hadada (Bostrychia hagedash)                 Fiery-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus pectoralis)       Crowned Hornbill (Tockus alboterminatus)     The baby!     African Harrier-Hawk (Polyboroides typus)         Lilian's Lovebird     A busy Meve's Starlin (Lamprotornis mevesii)     Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)     The shy Sharpe's Grysbok (Raphicerus sharpei)     Swainson's Spurfowl (Pternistis swainsonii)         To be continued...                

Thanks for sharing this trip report. You really had some special leopard sightings.   How was the traffic of vehicles in the area shared with the Shenton camps? 

@michael-ibk I bet the birding is really good. I loved it. I think wildlife spotting is better in Samburu/Buffalo Springs due to it being a bit more open but I loved our time there at Sarara 😁👍🏻

Thanks for sharing. My recent visit was my first in the Amboseli/Tsavo/Chyulu Hills area and you are right — it is stunningly beautiful!  Love to spend more time there!

Wow, that place looks gorgeous - I need to go there. 😁

Most likely September/October 2025. I really want to give myself the best possible chance then

Lol yeah a bit on some of the longer drives. But mostly just pushed through and I did pace myself and didn't go all out on the night drives (unlike Borneo) given that we had a lot of diurnal animals to see.   You'll see from Jason's report that he did even more nocturnal stuff than the rest of us and I missed out on his in camp honey badger at etosha which he followed for about an hour. I was a bit gutted about that to be honest.   I should add that although Jens was also willing to share the driving,  Jason chose to do all of the self driving elements throughout the tour. He also went out with the car on his own from time to time, such as after our full day drive in palmwag, that guy is a machine!!    But having said that we did a lot more longer night spotlighting in Sri Lanka and that was far less rewarding or enjoyable to be honest, stay tuned for that report.     

A note to any future driver: stop at EVERY gas station to top-up the tank and to buy the ice cream !   Myself not a fan of night drives I could change my attitude after your sightings! Overall they were awesome, kudos to your stamina. With long drives and having a driver, was it possible to catch up some lost sleep during the day?

Hi Hads, Thank youfor your kind words! I'm thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the film and photos, as well as the piano music in the background. It means a lot to me that you took the time to watch and appreciate them. Regarding the footage of the lions and buffalo, it was indeed an exhilarating experience. We were on foot during that particular encounter, and you're right, the tension in the air was palpable. It's amazing how nature's raw intensity can be both nerve-wracking and awe-inspiring at the same time. As for Mana and Chitake Springs, we spent 4 nights at chitake 1, and 14 in Mana. Each night brought its own set of adventures and memorable moments, making the entire experience truly unforgettable. Once again, thank you for your kind words and for reaching out. If you have any more questions or if there's anything else you'd like to know about the journey, feel free to ask!   Warm regards,   Johan & Natalie

Your pictures are amazingly beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

I’m glad you seem to have had a fantastic trip with UTS. Joster is a fantastic guide and person. It doesn’t get much better. I am so much looking forward to the next installment….