Safari Virginity --- Gone.

[Whyone?]

I'm on tender-hooks!

 

But if you were up to your eye's in lions I'll be mighty envious!

[Big Andy]

Day 7

 

We had been on safari now for seven days and had not even glimpsed a dog and it was time to put that right. To start with we would set out in a vehicle so as we could cover more ground and also to give our weary legs a rest. Shirley was particularly feeling the pace as she had managed to break both bones in her lower left leg last year needing reconstructive surgery and metal plates and we now noticed the swelling was starting to return. OK that's enough excuses maybe I was just knackered. We set out heading East along the flood plain to the area we heard the dogs had last been seen. As ever in Mana there were things to see all the way along the route, one of the better ones was this beautiful bull elephant coming along the road towards us, we just stopped and let him chose his route past.

 

 

And he just kept coming getting closer and closer ambling along without a care in the world.

 

 

He just didn't care, walking past so close that if he'd flapped his ear at the wrong moment he'd of knocked Shirley's head off.

 

 

None of the above are crops, they are all full size taken at 400mm, the last is a slight crop to show how close he got, but I couldn't focus any closer. It's a wonderful experience looking so closely into an obviously intelligent eye. As you may notice the eyelashes were to close to be in focus although the eyeball is, he got closer but I had to just watch after this. If we'd returned to camp now it would already have been a great day.

 

 

 

He wandered on past and left us sitting there breathless. Further down the road with the sun ahead of us we could see some baboons nicely back lit but they were very skittish and difficult to get close to except when the was a tree or something in the way, very frustrating but I took a few shots to see what came out and only one reasonable one among them.

 

 

As I said there is always something around.

 

 

 

 

Time was passing and we still had no joy with dogs when Andy pulled over and leapt out of the cab and there were the dog tracks along side us, how he can see these while driving i'll never know. The bad bit was they were heading into a restricted area which I can't remember the name of but what ever it was we didn't have a pass.

A slow drive back to camp for lunch and to doze through the heat of the day. After a tasty lunch and a couple of ice cold drinks we had a visitor come and join us in camp.

 

 

 

 

It wasn't the same bull we'd seen earlier on our game drive as this one had a very distinctive notch out of it's left ear which that one hadn't, but just like it it was totally chilled out with our presence and wandered around without disturbing a thing. They really are gentle giants, although I know this can change I didn't feel there would be any problems so long as we let him set the pace while we stood back and watched. Once he wandered off it was time to get the beds out of the tents and put them in the shade to try for a bit of shut eye.

 

TBC.

 

 

[xelas]

@@Big Andy

 

The backlit photo of a baboon mother and baby ... that is art !

[Big Andy]

To be honest I can't remember what the plan was for the afternoon, I know we went out on another game drive but what the target species was I've know idea. I know from the images I took that the first thing we saw just after leaving camp was Boswell, The others had seen him in the morning and now it was our turn.

 

 

He really is a fine specimen not just for his party trick but also has an impressive set of tusks. I'll only post the one image as he's appeared on ST so many times now there isn't much new I can show.

 

We also saw quite a few zebra for the first time, all heading in the same general direction.

 

 

We carried on going where ever that was when we had a call on the radio from Doug, He'd just seen a herd of zebra galloping off in alarm and clouds of dust and suspected lions maybe in the area if we wanted to join him. Needless to say off we went to meet up, as it wasn't to far from where we were. We parked up and walked to were Doug said he'd seen the action, and some action it was. He was right it was lion that had had a go at the zebra but what he didn't know when he called us was they had been successful and had brought down a full grown zebra and were just starting to feed when we got there. The others had got there while the kill was taking place and Mike was now up a tree to try and get a better view. From ground level it was difficult to get a good view as they were in a slight depression so partially obscured. This was a pride of four lionesses one cub of about eight months and two about five months. (Those estimates of age are mine so could be way out)

 

 

 

The light was already starting to fade when we got there so we had to leave them in peace after a short while and head back to the vehicle and camp for dinner.

 

It was now getting towards the full moon so thought a group shot at the camp was now in order with no artificial light which shows the mood of the evenings chat before the inevitable early night. It really is a special place but even more so by moon light.

 

 

From Left to right.

 

Andreas @@AndMic , Michael @@michael-ibk , Me Big Andy, Doug Macdonald, Andrew Smith, and Shirley.

[Atravelynn]

You were very close to those lions as evidenced by the photos. Hopefully the charge was over before you had a chance to be scared. Cute baby ele.

[Atravelynn]

 

Love the title of your report. Hilarious. But if this is only your first safari, I hope your realize how exceptional your experience was -- even for Africa.

 

Taking into account @@Alexander33's comment about how extraordinary your trip was and your clever title of the report, the equivalent would be if "virginity gone" took place on the world's biggest roller coaster! You have had quite the introduction!

[Alexander33]

That last elephant shot in post 102 really highlights their massive scale. It's a good thing he was being a "gentle giant," because he could have smashed that tent to pieces with just a stomp or two!

[Marks]

Agree 100% that Sapi seems to have more character than many a younger lion.

Love the ele feeding with that great light.

[TonyQ]

Great lion photos - I can imagine the adrenaline flowing. The elephant in the camp is amazing - and what a fine companionable moonlit shot

[Big Andy]

Day 8

 

I got up even earlier than normal this morning as it would be my last chance of taking photos of the stars after the moon had gone down. I wasn't able to do this at Chitake due to the thicker cover around camp making it dangerous to be out on your own after dark. Here on the flood plain however things were much more open and a good look around with a powerful torch was all that was needed then just stay alert. I will admit to feeling a little nervous being stood outside in the dark alone, not helped by the fact that I was creeping around myself so as not to disturb anyone else. The hearing seems to switch to a super sensitive mode and every little rustle of the leaves had me spinning around but there was never anything in view.

 

The result of my night time creeping.

 

The others eventually crawled out to join me at around 4:30 and plans were made for the mornings activity, Doug would be going with Mike and Andreas to look for the dogs and we decided to go back to where the lions had made their kill to see what was happening in that area. A short drive of about two miles followed by short walk put us there before the sun was over the horizon. As we approached there were a lot of hyena moving away, maybe because of our arrival or maybe because of the coming day. Whatever the reason they are certainly shy and don't present themselves for the photo opportunity this one being a heavy crop and certainly nothing of printable quality.

 

 

We counted about ten in total so didn't expect there to be a lot of the zebra left. It was quite a surprise to find not only the zebra remains but the lion pride still in possession after what must have been quite a night with all the hyena trying to muscle in on the feast. As I said, a minimum of ten hyena and probably more against four lionesses who had to look after three cubs as well. All was peace and quiet now so we watched them for a while as they slowly moved back from the sunlit area into the shade as things warmed up. The cubs looked like bowling balls with paws, how they could move at all was surprising never mind still returning to the zebra for the odd mouth full.

 

 

 

As they moved back towards us they would give us that lion look then just flop down and ignore us but each time I got the look the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. Andy said they shouldn't be a problem as it was them doing the moving but if we had moved towards them instead thing would probably be different, I didn't put it to the test.

 

 

They eventually had to move the zebra with them or leave it to the scavengers although nothing else had shown up since the hyena had gone.

 

 

 

I like this last shot as it shows the cub who seemed to think the zebra was escaping when the lionesses moved it so killed it again.

 

After an hour or so we left them to it and decided to go and find where the hyena were laying up for the day to see if I could get a decent image of one. This meant tracking them but at least we knew were to start as we'd watched them leave a short while ago. Off we went heading south away from the river into a dry dusty rather bleak looking area. In the wet season it's obviously totally different with acres of soft mud which was churned up by the elephant and had then been baked hard in the sun, difficult to track over and even more difficult to walk on particularly for Shirley with her dodgy leg. To cut what seemed like a long story short after about an hour we did find where they were for the day but once again at our approach they bolted away through the undergrowth before I could even put the camera to my eye much less get a quality image. So the tracking was a success but the photography was not, and now we still had a few miles to get back to the vehicle and it was getting very warm with little shelter from the sun in this area. I took Shirley's back pack and Andy who had had the sense to bring extra water poured a bottle full over her soaking her clothes which helped her a lot to cope with the return trek.

 

TBC.

Edited November 15, 2015 by Big Andy

[Peter Connan]

Great stuff Andy!

 

I think the glare of that lioness in the third-last picture explains exactly what adrenaline is for, I can feel the tingle even here on my couch!

 

If there is anything more exciting than meeting dangerous game on foot, I have yet to find it. Although, taking star photos at night in big-5 country comes close, but your efforts here were definitely worth it!

[Big Andy]

@@Peter Connan I'll admit doing the star photography was they only time I felt fear while in the bush, what I could see like the lions etc made the nerves tingle and the adrenaline flow but what you couldn't see but could imagine was far more worrying. If anyone had stepped out and said boo I'd have died on the spot.

[Big Andy]

At lunch Doug,Mike and Andreas told us they'd found the dogs, they were in the same area as the previous day but the difference was today we had a pass to go in there so that was the afternoon plan sorted very quickly.

 

We left camp around 3PM and headed out, one of our first sightings was this young foal. Nature working in it's usual wonderful way, one down to the lions but another one coming along to replace it.

 

 

 

 

 

Something else I'd wanted to get images of were hippo doing something other than showing their eyes and ears, or just grazing so we took a detour passed long pool to see if there was any action. Unfortunately they weren't in a boisterous mood being content to stay submerged most of the time and await the darkness to start feeding. I did get a few portrait shots which would have to do as we wanted to get on after the dogs.

 

 

 

We turned into the restricted area and drove for a few miles until we came to another vehicle which the BBC were using for their filming of the dogs. There was nobody there so we just drove on following the directions Doug had given Andy. Apparently they had been lying up in the dry river bed in the shade of a tree that morning, so bright light everywhere except on the dogs, not ideal for photography. They had however moved when we got there and when we found them a short while later they were now in dark shade and thick scrub. They also seemed to be very on edge moving away from us even while we were quite a long way from them. So with all the excuses given here is my only image of the dogs for the whole trip.

 

 

Not really what I'd hoped for but it's not a zoo and you've got to take the rough with the smooth, I had after all had some exceptional sightings so have to be philosophical about these things and just put them on the list for next time.

So back to camp for dinner where the entertainment for that evening came in the shape of a hippo strolling through and deciding to fall asleep right in front of the tents. To solve this we were driven to bed in the vehicle which drove to the tent where we got out quietly and slipped inside zipping up behind us. For Mike and Andreas it was even more difficult as it had decided to sleep right on their door step, so they had to dismantle their ensuite loo at the back of the tent and creep in that way. An odd way to go to bed but had quite a chuckle about it at the time. Of course as soon as we had all settled it stirred, rose to it's feet and disappeared about it's night business.

 

 

 

Lying right outside Mike and Andreas's tent.

[michael-ibk]

Well, as bedfellows go, this one was a bit unusual.

[xelas]

Hopefully it did not snort ... or worse ... !

[Alexander33]

@ Big Andy

 

Just great stuff all around. That night starscape is spectacular.

[CaroleE]

@ Big Andy

 

It just gets better and better. This is turning out to be an epic safari!

 

Star photography turned out really well. The nervous time making those shots definitely paid off.

 

That 'lion look' also gave me shivers from here. Not too sure I could have coped standing so close. The lions did really well to keep hold of that zebra with all those hyenas around.

 

I think you have all won the 'Going to bed with a twist' award. Driving to your tent and then having to dismantle half of it is going to take some beating

[Big Andy]

Hopefully it did not snort ... or worse ... !

Not my problem, he was outside Michael's tent not mine, and I can snore and worse, better than he could, ask Shirley she can testify.

 

 

@ Big Andy

 

Just great stuff all around. That night starscape is spectacular.

Thank you Alexander, I must admit it was with the help of @@xelas to get the white balance right.

 

@@CaroleE Thank you for the kind comments I'm glad you're enjoying it, I'm looking forward to getting at least one of the lion images printed in a large format to stare down from the office wall.

Going to bed with a twist award, now that would look good printed on a tee shirt.

[Marks]

Beautiful nighttime work and quite a nighttime visitor, too.

Quite a cute little dog, too, even if circumstances weren't ideal at the time.

[Atravelynn]

Hippo as a doorstop, now that's a problem.

 

Those lionesses staring at you and the one walking toward you, have piercing glares. Maybe they thought you had a taste for zebra and might try to get some for yourself.

 

Your night time creeping paid off beautifully.

[Big Andy]

Day 9

 

For some reason I have no images taken on day 9 in the morning and can't for the life of me think why. I know we went out every morning and had sightings every time but for some strange reason I didn't use the camera. So for this mornings post you will just have to believe me when I say we left camp, we saw various animals and then came back.

 

I will use this opportunity to put some images of the camp up for those interested. First up is the tents provided by Natureways. they did look a bit old and a bit military but were perfectly adequate with comfortable camp beds and a small chemical toilet on the back for use at night. I particularly enjoyed having the mesh side screens which meant you could look out at night and see shapes moving in the dark and also feel any draught that may be about.

 

 

 

Next up are Andy and Doug's tents which you may note don't have the en suite facilities. I'm not sure if this is because they are expendable or they are taught bladder control during guide training.

 

 

 

On the edge of camp are the bucket shower and lastly the long drop.

 

 

 

Under the trees on the side of camp over looking the river was the dining area and also where we slept in the afternoons through the hottest part of the day. Other than when we had animal interruptions that is.

 

 

 

I took this last image to show the kitchen area which looked totally basic but some how from this Isiau produced some wonderful meals and always had one of those infectious smiles on his face while he did it. Unfortunately I've only got an image of the kitchen and he's not there, typical of my dis-organisation.

 

 

In the afternoon we will be back with the animals.

Edited November 22, 2015 by Big Andy

[madaboutcheetah]

@@Big Andy - just catching up with this wonderful report ....... That's what happens when a lot of old threads get topped up in a heap, current trip reports get lost when you hit the "new content" function.

Anyways, thanks for this report - I felt like I was part of the expedition with you guys......... Loved that Bush buck male with the buff in the BG and also the one with the lion feeding on kudu with the buffalo around -

[TonyQ]

Good to see the young Zebra

I hope you didn't disturb the sleep of the hippo too much

[michael-ibk]

Weird that you have no photos of that morning, Andy ... I seem to remember you were at Long Pool and tried to get that open mouth Hippo shot, didn´t you?

[Big Andy]

Weird that you have no photos of that morning, Andy ... I seem to remember you were at Long Pool and tried to get that open mouth Hippo shot, didn´t you?

 

 

That was the plan Michael but we didn't go until after lunch and as there aren't any images to jog my old brain into action I don't suppose I'll find out. Maybe I was abducted by aliens for the morning.