Botswana Botswana Daniel’s route 2024: Is dry season a better time?

[KaliCA]

So true about the worry to be far away from medical help. Last year we signed up for Okavango Rescue and they would have helicoptered us out of the delta. Also, there is now Wi-Fi at the various entrance gates, so one could get help there if needed. We also have evacuation insurance just in case…

So glad Alex needed none of this but was home safely before the problem arose. So lucky and a reminder to all of us as to what could happen out there in the wild. 

[xelas]

@KaliCA, I am a spoilt brat, am I not 😊😇?! When there was plenty of rain I disliked the mud holes (well also our vehicles disliked them 😀), when there was no rain …

Africa is beautiful in all seasons … I just prefer the greener ones 😄.

Thank you for adding those extra bits of informations that makes the sightings more special, even if in retrospective! What happened to the Sekoti’s tuft?

 

[xelas]

@janzinand @KaliCA, if only I would have any idea about the heart situation. Thus, even when going to the hospital, I thought it will be just a regular coronarography, with all bp result. After all, am I not young and healthy?! 
But now I am half new, and only thing to recover is my poor sternum that was cut in half 🥹.

Thanks to all for their best wishes for a speedy recovery!

 

[Zim Girl]

Enjoying the trip report a lot, Alex.  You have lots of lovely wildlife pictures here despite your complaining .

I hope your recovery goes well and you are out and about as soon as possible.

[DanielBme]

12 hours ago, KaliCA said:

@DanielBmeThank you for the link to your very beautiful pictures! I truly enjoyed looking at them, and of course I especially love to see lion cubs. Thanks!
 

Hello Alex! 
indeed, you are complaining on a very high level and I don’t know why you are not happy with your Savuti sightings. You have seen quite a few mammals, not least of all the Bat-Ear Foxes, Jackal, Giraffe, Wildebeest, bathing Ellie’s, and both Northern and Southern Lion prides and one of them on an elephant kill. The Northern Pride male is Sekoti and he is famous because he has no tuft on its tail. Then the Southern Pride or Marsh Pride are all Movie stars, because they are featured in the Savage Kingdom Documentary. So you were lucky to see them at Marabou. 
Anyway, you have seen more than we did last year plus you have seen many birds. I agree that Savuti in the dry season is a little depressing and bleak, so thank goodness, there are the pumped waterholes. 
The campsite has been covered in deep and dirty sand for ages, and that’s how it is, not very pleasant. 
So in conclusion, I submit to you that you had better than average sightings in Savuti. That is of course my opinion judging from the pictures you have shown here. I, for one, would be very happy to have seen both prides. 
Wishing you a good and speedy recovery and hoping that the 60 days of no travel will inspire you to plan another great trip. 
All the best from Katrin

 

I think part of the issue with the Savuti sightings is just how dry it was.  I do think the dryness of the season definitely made it feel more bleak and probaby reflects how we feel about our photos.  I was just speaking to someone the other day who was surprised we spent 3 nights there. He said one was more than enough for him. But honestly if we had only spent one night, then I would probably also have the idea that there's nothing to see, which is why I booked 3 nights.  I agree with your sentiment about the campsites. 

 

I'm still happy with what we saw. 

[xelas]

07/Sep - 08/Sep - Ihaha Campsite, Chobe NP

 

 

The magnificient sunrise and the excellent lion sighting in the morning add to my positive vibe, as our next stop was to be along the Chobe River. We have reached Ghoha Gate in no time, driving on good road.

 

 

 

But after the gate, this morning turned into a proper nightmare on 4 wheels! On the other side of the gate, there are 3 options to drive on: left towards Linyati, straight towards Kasane and right toward Nogatsaa. Right turn was obviously not the right one. Left turn doesn't feel good either. On top the Garmin route was set to drive straight, and that was the direction we took. If only I would took a minute or two to check this direction also on maps.me ! There I would notice a warning saying "Avoid this route!", and whoever added it to maps.me, knows why! On Google Maps this track is named as a Transit Road ... and it does not have any resemblance neither of transit and less so of the road. Not even a track. The worst 17 kms I have ever spent behind the wheel driving anywhere in Africa so far. A true and proper nightmare. About half way there I have to stop driving, to enter into one of my Hulk modes (Michael would know about them). I was adamant to turn around ... but there is no place to turn around! So on we went, fighting with waves after waves of deep sand, bouncing up and down and left to right. Hilux is indeed a mighty sturdy vehicle. After what seems as an eternity to me we have emerged into a much wider Linyati-Kachikau cutline, a true highway to drive on. If we would turn left, we would reach the cutline in about 8 kms, and would save us an hour minimum plus a lot of curse words (from my side only). 

 

 

At Kachikau we have finally reached the tar road, and after a brief stop to refuel at Shell gas station near Muchenje, 30 km from Kachikau, we have arrived at Ihaha Campsite; there was a short detour done to Kasane, to resupply with eggs and a few other items. 

 

 

 

Our campsite was IC3 (Daniel will correct me on this one), however, when arriving at this one, it was without any shade or tree, and I hate it immediatelly. We have asked at the manager office if we could get a different one; as it was weekend the main office was already closed, and the manager allowed us to overnight at any other empty one, yet we would have to move if the "rightful" owners would come. As lucky as we were, we could stay both nights at IC7, a much nicer site.

 

 

 

 

The sunsets over the Chobe River were just spectacular, they can rival any lion sightings we have had there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 04:24 PM by xelas

[Atravelynn]

Your Savuti shots spell success in my book.  Wishing you a quick recovery from your bypass surgery.  You can plan your next travels and work on your trip report for the next 6 months.

Edited 22 hours ago by Atravelynn

[michael-ibk]

Those beautiful sunsets will have helped smoothing Xelhulk back into Bruce Ban..., uh, peaceful happy Alex.

[xelas]

1 hour ago, Atravelynn said:

You can plan your next travels and work on your trip report for the next 6 months.

That is what will be my main job until the end of this year. If not for long flight(s), I would love to have a couple of weeks at the Caribbeans 😊. 

[xelas]

17 minutes ago, michael-ibk said:

peaceful happy Alex

Sounds like the direction I should go in my “second life”. I am sure Zvezda will not have any objections 🥰.

[KaliCA]

(Funny you should mention the Caribbean… We are off for a beach holiday in St. Thomas two weeks from now. 
Come on over! The water will be warm….)

 

Happy to hear that you liked Ihaha, albeit not the assigned campsite. This is such a problem they have there. It’s always “fully booked” but then only 4-6 sites out of 10 are a occupied!

[xelas]

9 minutes ago, KaliCA said:

Come on over!

Would love to, but way too early. I am targeting February, just need to find where to.

[xelas]

I really liked Ihaha campsite and that part of the Chobe river. While water level was lower than usual, the wildlife was easy to spot. One can either use the river front sand bank track or the upper road, which come handy in wet season. Even driving a few roads/tracks in the interior of the park (between the river and the main tar road) gave us some pleasant sightings.

 

But everything revolves on and around the river, both local life and wildlife. Plenty of elephants, not so many hippos as I would expect, and to my surprise, no visible crocodiles. A huge buffalo herd comes to drink, if driving on the sandy bank of the river it can become quite intimidating being surrounded by these grumpy looking giants. One more animal that I have missed seeing previously were monkeys; we were warned that they can be quite a menace at the campsites, but we have had no unpleasant visits or being target of their shenanigans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[xelas]

We only had one full day here, I wish we could stay longer. We have skipped the breakfast and drove out of the camp early, driving right up the river (Kasane direction). That was a great decision as not too far we have encountered a group of game vehicles cruising slowly and looking up the river bank. By postitioning our vehicle in time on the strategic spot, we got a chance to watch the pride of lions walking through bushes towards our position. Nice!

 

 

 

 

At Serondela Picnic Site, about half way between Ihaha and Sedudu Gate, Chef Daniel opened his field kitchen and prepared us a yummy breakfast. With a view of a Tawny Eagle! 

 

 

 

 

There are several lodges within the NP, and with Kasane being so close, the number of game vehicles has started to increase. That is when we decided to explore some of the interior of the park. One option is Kalwezi waterhole. Driving through wooded area was refreshing albeit not good for wildlife sightings. At Kalwezi we have found Sable antelope, a lifer for me (at least that is what I think). A majestic animal in all regards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On returning back towards the river, a young male elephant decided to give us some hard time; he was obviously not willing to give us a free pass, and to avoid any further confrontations (there might be his older brother hidden somewhere close). we have turned the other way. The problem was, on the Chobe NP map, the track we were on does not reach the tar road. With no alternative option, we drove it all the way, and to our relief, we found out that the map is incorrect. A few kilometers towards Ngoma Gate there is another track that goes directly from the tar road towards Ihaha campsite.

 

 

 

P.S.: the baby elephant is not the one giving us attitude!

 

 

Edited 6 hours ago by xelas

[xelas]

While not as prolific as along the Khwai River, the birdlife was good. Below are the ones I've got around the campsite:

 

Chinspot Batis

 

Tawny-flanked Prinia

 

White-browed Robin-Chat

 

Rattling Cisticola

 

Lilac-breasted Roller

 

Greater Blue-eared Starling

 

 

On exiting the park, and driving towards Sedudu Gate, again along the river, we have had one more lion sighting; more relaxed lionesses but we could drive closer, for a series of close-up portraits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A fine destination it was, and as an all-year destination a great option for whoever starts or ends Botswana from Kasane side. Personally I would love to stay a couple of nights cruising the river on one of the floating hotel boats.

Edited 6 hours ago by xelas

[TonyQ]

Some great sightings on this section