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Pula Safari: Central Kalahari, Okavango Delta, Savuti - March 2011


Safaridude

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Great read again ;)

 

I always found the elephants around Vumbura quite aggressive ... did you experience any charges while there?

Did you hear anything about rebuilding part of Vumbura plains? Rumour goes that one of the camps was burned down to the ground ...

 

I am sure I won't recognise the Vumbura area either given the amount of water around. Having visited three different camps in the concession, Kaparota was definitely my favorite.

 

If you only have a limited number of roads around the Marsh, I won't think it's really worth a visit. And if predator sightings are thin on the ground, you can expect a bit of a circus in high season.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Johan

Edited by johan db
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Safaridude

Hari, I don't think it's the same Disho.

 

Johan, when I was there in August 2008, elephants were fairly aggressive (several mock charges). Not this time though. No, I didn't hear about Vumbura Plains burning down. Kaparota is now where Wilderness Safaris' guide and staff training occurs... so no guests.

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madaboutcheetah

 

 

The Orient Express vehicles were a circus around the 5 male coalition back when Alwyn and I saw them in Feb. Their drivers lack basic sighting etiquette and very poor for what is supposedly a top tier operation. In contrast, the self drives were much better and not a problem at all .......

Edited by madaboutcheetah
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Safaridude,

 

Thanks for sharing such a wonderful safari and trip report with us. And of course the stunning photos. I love the image of the buffalo bull in long grass with the sunlight reflecting off him.

 

Edited by wilddog
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Safaridude

Bontebok National Park and De Hoop Nature Reserve

 

I should mention that before the trip started in earnest, I spent a couple of excellent, relaxing days in South Africa with Benson Siyawareva (who has been profiled and interviewed on Safaritalk). I visited (for the second time) Bontebok National Park and De Hoop Nature Reserve, both just east of Cape Town. What little gems they are!

 

Bontebok National Park is framed by the Langeburg Mountains to the north, and it was proclaimed in 1931 to protect the bontebok, which was on the verge of extinction (from overhunting for its pelt). These most attractive antelopes do so well now at Bontebok National that surplus animals have been shipped to private ranches and farms. Bonteboks exhibit peculiar behavior when the sun is beating down on them. Unlike springboks which tend to face away from the sun, bonteboks face the sun with their heads bowed low – as if to sun worship. By doing so, it is surmised, bonteboks reduce surface area exposed to the sun and thereby prevent overheating. The park is also an excellent place to see the vaal rhebok (or grey rhebok), normally an impossibly shy animal. “Vaal” means “dull” in Afrikaans, and indeed their dull coats blend right in with the grass. A few weeks after my last trip to Bontebok National in April 2008, I was studying a photo of a bontebok on the computer screen when I noticed a vaal rhebok perfectly focused in the corner of the photo (its presence unbeknownst to me at the time the photo was taken).

 

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Bontebok

 

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Vaal Rhebok

 

It’s about a 90 minute drive from Bontebok National Park to De Hoop Nature Reserve through beautiful, vast sheep-farming country. Curiously, the endangered blue cranes are everywhere. Apparently, the majority of blue cranes now reside outside protected areas – in such farm country. In addition to another significant bontebok population, De Hoop features fynbos vegetation (as does Bontebok) and great white sand dunes leading to the Ocean. The management of De Hoop has recently been picked up by a private institution; the service couldn’t be better or friendlier. There are several basic but nice cottages for staying over (which we did), and the restaurant is stellar. De Hoop is also a good place to see the rare Cape mountain zebra (there are a few also at Bontebok), the diminutive Cape grysbok and the Cape eland (very dull in color, no body stripes and long-limbed).

 

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Bontebok

 

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Fynbos and Sand Dunes

 

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Benson on the Sand Dunes

 

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Cape Eland

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Wow, Safaridude! I feel like I've just attended a Nat Geo lecture... Informative, entertaining and seriously educational!

 

Thanks Safaridude  for sharing your trip, your photos and memories. Loved every bit of it, epecially the Stompie story, though I wish he had had a happier ending.

Edited by wilddog
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Atravelynn

I'm up to the honey badger. The shot of the lion drinking makes getting up at 5:00 am worthwhile. Fascinating structure of the gemsbok herds. Looking forward to the rest of the report.

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Safaridude

Even a rather "mundane" herbivore can be quite interesting. As I said, the Cape eland (a race of common eland found south of the Zambezi) are stripe-less, dull in color, and they appear to be longer-limbed. The ones in De Hoop Nature Reserve are really dull-colored (perhaps further separated from others by the mountain ranges just north of the Cape).

 

Here are two females... the first one from Chaminuka, Zambia ("Livingstone's eland" - the race found north of the Zambezi); and the second one from De Hoop. The contrast is striking.

 

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"Livingstone's Eland"

 

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"Cape Eland"

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Very informative report and beautifully illustrated, as usual - I really enjoyed the read. And of course a nice "small world" story to go with it.

 

I am surprised about your raptor disappointment in Deception Valley. I guess "prolific" is subjective and I can't compare to Kgalagadi Traansfrontier Park, but it was rare when there wasn't a bird of prey in view somewhere while we were in Deception Valley in late December. A predominance of Black Kites for sure ("blocking out the sun" wouldn't be too much of an exaggeration if a vehicle had backfired at Owens' Island around sunset) but the variety was there too. Migration?

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Safaridude

Pault, I think all the migrants would still have been in CKGR. Perhaps you were very lucky in CKGR, and I was very lucky in Kgalagadi (maybe I got spoiled by my experience there).

 

It is widely known (and written about) that Kgalagadi is possibly the best spot in Africa for raptors... especially the Nossob side (the east side). The explanation given to me was that there are lots of rodents on the Nossob riverbed (due to looseness/disturbance of the soil there?). The drive from Twee Rivieren to Nossob Camp was truly amazing... almost surreal in terms of raptor sightings.

 

My birding experience in CKGR wasn't bad; it just didn't measure up to Kgalagadi. (and not just regarding raptors)

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Atravelynn

I have a feeling you will personally answer some of those lingering questions about the zebra migration in Savuti.

The mental image you painted of that aging lion will stay with me a while.

The small world story is priceless and was worth immediately phoning home about.

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Alex The Lion

Great adventure and images.

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Atravelynn

Your bontebok photos are beautiful. Good to see your Vaal consciousness was raised and you found one hiding in the photos. Thanks for another informative report on antelopes and more. Your trips and the tales that result are certainly never "vaal"!

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  • 3 weeks later...
Harshad Barve

Liked images of Male lion and Wild dogs , excellent

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  • 1 month later...

I am bit late getting to read this report but have I been away a lot. What a great experience and beautiful images, thanks Safaridude.

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