Okavango ramblings - of Pula, Stumpy and a Boma

[Soukous]

I've never been a big fan of rainy season safaris @@Kitsafari, but you're winning me over

[Game Warden]

ST is leading the way with Piths: having seen mine, @@Graham brought in a supply for the Mombo staf...

[Soukous]

Then surely a group photo of Mombo staff in piths is essential.

[Big_Dog]

Botswana delivers!
Great stuff so far, very envious you got to see a lion / hyaena interaction...that's one for my bucket list!
Looking forward to more!

[Game Warden]

@@Soukous - It's coming...

[Sangeeta]

'Benign buffalos' is a very nice one! Love the cattle egrets in flight.

[Kitsafari]

I've never been a big fan of rainy season safaris @@Kitsafari, but you're winning me over

 

the heavy rains send a lot of the predators into the wooded areas to seek shelter, so it was tough to see them all the time. but when the rains stop, they do come out for the sun, and that's when we find them. but there are still plenty of browsers and grazers to admire. and the birds are amazing. but the rains didn't provide the best lighting so the photos didn't come out as well.

[Kitsafari]

Initially I’m not too happy about the daily downtime – I’d rather spend time on the roads. But a kudu resident at my lodge (no 3) makes up for it! A rustle at the side of the lodge brought me out to the deck, and a young male stag stares at me.He's not shy, he’s busily chumping at the leaves and just looking at me. Then a larger female turns up, but she’s more timid, watching me behind vegetation. For a better look, I retreat to the toilet and spend an hour sitting on the floor admiring and observing her, and it pays off as a calf appears. It is a challenge to capture pictures through the screen and through the thick vegetation.

 

 

young stag calmly studies me

 

 

it was hard trying to get a pix of Lady kudu and Baby kudu

 

 

but patience pays off! Baby kudu curious about a two-legged creature

 

The next day, I ask Cilas for sables and leopards, while Gary asks for cheetahs. Cheetahs are impossible - the last they were seen were two years ago. The large lion population have driven them out and though 2 were seen a couple of years ago, they were just passing through. Leopards are elusive and remained so during my stay at Vumbura, but sables starting to pop out that day.

 

 

We find a group of them. A female is covered with so much tumours, and the doctor in the car (Gary the eye surgeon) pronounces them with a technical term which translates in my layman language as benign tumours. Vumbura Plains had called a vet in to asses her, but the vet and the team couldn’t find her for three days and the vet left just the day before. Now here she is, looking none of the worse, although one tumour had turned sore and infected. Cilas says the idea is to put her to sleep, but she looks fine and coping with the tumours, so why the need to euthanize her? well, she’s escaped death this round. Hope she’ll continue to stay healthy.

 

 

female sable looks fine except for that infected huge sore on her right side

 

Baby sable

 

 

After that viewing more sables appear. Such beautiful antelopes and magnificent horns, with sleek smooth coats. And more Southern carmine beeeaters as well! these are migratory birds,flying into Southern Africa during summer, before moving to equatorial Africa from March to August and then flying up to Zambia and Zimbabwe thereafter to breed.

 

 

 

a lone sable hanging out with a lone wildebeest

 

magnificent horns, and oxpeckers enjoying snacks

 

wattled cranes - endangered species

 

saddle billed stork

 

southern carmine bee eater

 

Edited March 21, 2014 by Kitsafari

[Jochen]

Oh my word. That sable sure looks sick. Poor thing!

[Kitsafari]

We travel to the west region on my second full day. It is quiet, with beautiful mopane trees interspersed with large plains area which is ideal for cheetahs. Instead, we find tsesebeest, wildebeest and impalas. Something strikes me, I see plenty of impalas, tsesebeests, wildebeest, sables, kudus, smatterings of red lechwes and waterbucks, and a fleeting glimpse of a steenbok. Where are the grant’s and Thomson gazelles? They are not found in the Okavango delta as the grasses are not suited to their needs. They get different kind of grasses in the delta because of the kalahari sands, at least that is what I understand. I may have got that wrong.

 

 

Elephants, warns Cilas, are skittish and charge more often in this area as they may have come from the hunting concession next to the Vumbura concession.

 

 

 

 

hammerkop

 

 

 

 

great eagle owl

 

not sure which wood pigeon is this....

 

 

 

We pass a fence with gates open. I am surprised – I’ve never seen fences before. Turns out that this is the infamous and controversial fencing that had prompted the Botswana government to toss out Mark and Delia Owens out of the country in 1985. The fences were built by the government in the mistaken notion that the wildlife would spread foot and mouth disease to the precious cattle. The Owenses had chanced upon a huge migration of wildebeest at the height of a drought, and the wildebeests were moving up north to seek the permanent source of water. But the fences blocked their way and they died. Masses of carcasses were lined along the fences. The Owenses could not convince the government to remove the fences, and went on a global campaign to force its hand. The government threw them out, but in the end, relented and adopted some of the recommendations the Owenses provided.

 

The fences still stand today, though, and even though the gates are opened, the gates are only tiny openings, insufficient for any migration if it happens again.

 

 

 

 

That afternoon finds me stalking the resident kudu again. She passes infront of the front deck then vanishes. I get distracted by a bird calling but the light is poor so I can’t take a clear shot of it. But there is a mighty splash behind the trees and I think, that honeymoon couple is having a great time in the pool but I suddenly recall there is no lodge between mine and the main camp area. The trees suddenly shake violently, and I think, there is either a hippo or an ele coming through and ready my camera. Sure enough an elephant comes crashing through, and coolly walks in front of tent and then out of sight behind the trees. Downtimes they may be, but safari gets just as exciting in camp! I complain no more in my mind.

 

 

My final morning drive in Vumbura is of elephants and more elephants.

 

Lady kudu passing by my VP room

 

 

the view across the march from my VP room

 

a skink on the room's front deck

 

a loud splash, trees tremble, and the giant emerges in front of my deck

 

[Kitsafari]

Oh my word. That sable sure looks sick. Poor thing!

 

it looks terrible but when we were there, she was standing very firmly on her feet, and she didn't seem too much troubled by her tumours. and she was quite contented chomping the grass. she was the oldest in the group and she seemed to be leading the group. hopefully the vet can catch her and have a good look at her to see her condition.

[Soukous]

I believe that is an African Green Pigeon - Treron calvus

and the un captioned photo is a Woodland Kingfisher - Halcyon senegalensis

 

Oops. almost forgot to say how much I'm enjoying the TR

Edited March 21, 2014 by Soukous

[graceland]

@@Kitsafari, really enjoying your report and photos. I loved VP in Green Season, though I was there at the very beginning (Nov) - never missed any part of a drive; and isn't it incredible for a relative sprawling camp - north and south - how many animals are always coming into camp!

 

VP is where the wild dogs were next to our deck, having killed an impala nearby...and so many ellies. Won't forget that experience for a quite a while. Loved the intense game and beauty of the surroundings.

 

And the first time I saw a sable..beautiful. Very sad to see one with al those (benign) tumors. However if they are indeed benign I suppose she is not too bothered,and definitely not very vain

If I ever returned to Bots, VP would be on the list. The guides are awesome and up to the task.

Thanks for the memories....

 

 

 I should think of tsetses as a game; take a racket with me next trip, and challenge Craig to a

round? Bet a case of wine on the outcome

[Safaridude]

@@Kitsafari

 

Great stuff. Great to see those sables at Vumbura. My avatar image is that of a sable bull nicknamed "Stompie" (for his missing tail) from Vumbura. I imagine some of those sables may be his decendents.

 

The kudu calf is adorable.

[SafariChick]

Love the latest additions - the kudu calf is super cute, but that sable baby - so adorable - looks like a baby horse! I saw the same sable with the tumors or whatever they are when I was there a year ago though I didn't see that infected sore. See post #44 here http://safaritalk.net/topic/10322-lions-and-dogs-and-baboons-oh-my-botswana-february-2013-trip-report/page-3 - my guide Ron didn't know what they were though he said he'd seen something like that before. @@Safaridude had thought it might be some kind of infection related to ticks. But tumors makes sense. Glad to see that the animal is doing ok!

 

How cool to have the elephant walk by so close!

Edited March 21, 2014 by SafariChick

[Kitsafari]

@@Kitsafari

 

Great stuff. Great to see those sables at Vumbura. My avatar image is that of a sable bull nicknamed "Stompie" (for his missing tail) from Vumbura. I imagine some of those sables may be his decendents.

 

The kudu calf is adorable.

thanks @@Safaridude. we didn't see any tail-less sable. when did you last see him? the male sables we saw were really healthy.

[Kitsafari]

Love the latest additions - the kudu calf is super cute, but that sable baby - so adorable - looks like a baby horse! I saw the same sable with the tumors or whatever they are when I was there a year ago though I didn't see that infected sore. See post #44 here http://safaritalk.net/topic/10322-lions-and-dogs-and-baboons-oh-my-botswana-february-2013-trip-report/page-3 - my guide Ron didn't know what they were though he said he'd seen something like that before. @@Safaridude had thought it might be some kind of infection related to ticks. But tumors makes sense. Glad to see that the animal is doing ok!

 

How cool to have the elephant walk by so close!

 

oh i forgot - you did see the same gal then. and she's still going on well, except for that huge sore.

 

re - elephant, there was ano that came even closer at mombo. ;-)

[Kitsafari]

Cilas probably got confused. the fence we saw in Vumbura is part of the Northern Buffalo veterinary fence. i did a bit of research after your comment, and was stunned to see how many such vet fences exist all over Botswana! i came across a study by the MBAIWA brothers about the disastrous effects of such fences on the number of wildlife. it's quite sad. the study can be found in this link ; http://www.wilderness.net/library/documents/ijwdec06_mbaiwa.pdf

[Kitsafari]

@@Soukous , thanks for naming the birds! the pigeon is really beautiful, i'm so used to grey pigeons around the world, but this is is a pretty colourful one.

Edited December 17, 2018 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

there were no tse tse flies the entire time i was at vumbura or mombo. i wonder how Botswana managed to get rid of them. but i got mighty big bites from mosquitoes or gnats or sand flies at mombo, and the scars remain to this day.....

[Kitsafari]

just a few other pix of vumbura concession.

 

 

 

resting the trunk on the tusk

 

unusual markings on the burchell zebra

 

 

 

 

 

baboon fast asleep in the nook of the treee

 

a handsome greater kudu

 

the light was very bad when we saw this - i think it is a giant kingfisher. apparently cilas said they are present in vumbura but the other guides didn't think there were .

any.

 

remains of a buffalo or is wildebeest skull/horns

 

 

 

 

pretty landscape in vumbura

 

juvenile carmine bee eater which refused to budge from the middle of the road. worried it was injured, cilas got off the car to take a closer look, it was then it flew off. but it followed our vehicle for a long distance, apparently cherry picking the insects thrown up by our vehicle.

 

trying to reach that itch

 

burchell starling

 

hmm not sure which bee eater this is... help!

 

a baboon family

 

more kudus on the drive

 

warthogs looking very contented covered in mud

 

i love watching the warthogs when they run off - those straight stiff tails!

 

u sure that's a road???

 

the same 3 lionesses that brought down the wildebeest having a good snooze the next day.

 

 

loving sisters

 

 

waterbuck

 

another glorious sunset and sundowner

 

 

 

 

 

one of the 2 male lions we saw on the first night. he was quite distressed hiding in the thicket as a few vehicles were circling around looking for him. we finally left him to rest. cilas says this was the injured male and i had heard him calling for the brother in the night.

 

 

 

VP vehicle

 

can you see what I see?

 

looks like there are 2

 

hornbill, that's mum waiting to feed them

 

another mum protecting her baby, who's exhausted and fast asleep

 

tail-less ele. i have to say i saw more animals in oka without tails than i did in tanzania

 

 

 

they made such a pretty picture of the dung!

 

wattled crane - endangered species

[Treepol]

Really enjoying this TR @@Kitsafari. The baby kudu and sable are too cute for words - the kudu has such large ears for the size of its head. Nice photo of the sleeping baboon which looks as though it could tumble out of the tree any time soon.

 

Great Carmine bee-eater photos, beautiful jewel-like colours.

[Geoff]

Nice report. I like the sunset tree in post #48. Also I think the bird in the last image in post #48 is a Grey Heron not a Wattled Crane.

[Tdgraves]

The mystery bee eater is a European one

[Kitsafari]

@@Geoff you are definitely right! I had earlier pix of wattles cranes and got confused. I can't correct it now, can I?