Day 4 and off to a new camp and a new reality. We again boarded a small propeller plane and flew to Khwai Leadwood, on the north bank of the Khwai River, of the Moremi Game Reserve, on the eastern Okavango Delta. Whereas Camp Kalaharai was located in a salt pan, and is primarily scrub brush, arid planes and bush, Khwai Leadwood is in the delta and the area is extremely lush with numerous streams, lakes and mashes. It is home to a wide variety of animals, and really highlights Botswana’s diverse ecosystem.
Upon entering the camp, the staff cheerfully greeted by song welcomed us home. The camp itself retains safari camp charm and incorporates a lot of local artifacts. Our room has a wonderful view of the delta and even has an indoor and outdoor shower! Last night we were serenaded to sleep by crickets that chirp, some very loud frogs croaking mating calls, and the hippos occasionally expelling flatulence. Overall, not the normal sounds for people who live in a city and yet still very pleasing. The staff at Khwai Leadwood goes above and beyond to make their guest happy. We arrived late afternoon to rain, so the staff organized a private sundowner cocktail hour after the showers stopped. On the way we saw Impalas, Elephants and Giraffe. Not bad for an hour drive.
We are perpetually tired and stuffed and this situation will not change until we get home. Why you ask? Everyday starts at 5:00 AM, breakfast at 5:30 AM and we hit the trail by 6:15 AM. We drive around for 3 or 4 hours then have lunch. After lunch is free time and then at 4:30 PM is High-tea followed by another drive and at sundown a cocktail hour. We return to camp around 8:00 PM and have dinner at 8:30 PM. The chefs at both camps are amazing and very creative. One small surprise is that they do not cook or serve local cuisine. I would life to have tried native Botswanan food, but I don’t think it will happen even after I asked the staff. I will say that Botswanan beef is delicious and we have been enjoying it a lot. After dinner with more wine, we finally retire to our rooms around 10:00 PM. After a shower and shave it is 11:00ish and we get some sleep. Rinse and repeat and this is our cycle for the 3 weeks. I know, cry me a river, your life is so hard. I am not complaining, just sharing.
New Camp, New Wildlife
Hard to believe traveling less than 200 Kilometers offers so much change in terms of wildlife. Some of this has to do with migration patterns and times of year but still, it is startling. For example, in Camp Kalahari we observed vast herds of Zebra grazing the salt flats but only a single Elephant and no Giraffe. Here, some Zebras, at least a dozen Elephants and Giraffes and this is Day 1. Also, Impalas, Baboons and so many bird species.
Rainy Season
This is rainy season, and for the first camp we only had a small amount of rain. Here in the Delta, it rains heavily at night and then turns sunny during the morning. Some beautiful sunrises and the air smells really good. By around noon the rain begins again and leaves behind huge standing pools that can be a meter deep. Mostly this is not a problem for the Safari Trucks, but occasionally they do get stuck. This happened to the truck behind us and so here is the video of their rescue.
Speaking of rain and flooding, we witnessed perhaps the bravest and stupidest thing ever. The Botswanan Government allows individuals to overland without guides in the public concessions. It means you can have cars being driven by people who may or may not have the expertise nor equipment to safely overland. So back to the story, earlier we forded a deep creek that was a meter deep. On our return, we see a guy wading through the creek in his bare feet. He has no idea if there are hippopotamuses or crocodiles in the water, so in my opinion he is either brave or a fool. The convoy decides it is safe, and crosses the creek. Most of the trucks were decent overland vehicles, but there was one guy who clearly didn’t have the best equipment and got lucky. See how high the water comes onto the vehicle and he didn’t even have a snorkel.
Birds and Bucks
Here are some of the birds, Zebras, Impalas we have already seen. You may be wondering why I included a picture of mushrooms. Well these mushrooms grow out of elephant dung and are quite common and I just found them interesting in a weird way.
Checkma Baboons, Elephants and Giraffes
We have had a few sightings of Checkma baboon, and you can almost see how intelligent and contemplative they can be. I especially liked how the baboon in the bottom series of pictures appears to be studying the fruit before eating it.
We ran across this heard of giraffe and elephants this morning. The baby was adorable and so why not more pictures of giraffe? Did you know that giraffe are related to camels? I didn’t but in hindsight you can see the similarities between the species. The elephants below are males or bulls, and they spend so much time eating. They are also territorial and we did not get too close. This is kind of odd as the elephant appears so peaceful and thus less dangerous, but a lion you can drive right up on and they ignore you.
We Saw a Leopard!
Finding and photographing a leopard in the wild can be a challenge. Leopards are notoriously solitary and blend well into the tall grass or hide in trees. We missed seeing him the first time and when our guide / tracker got word that a leopard had been spotted he tore-off to get there quickly. Why the rush? First, leopards move around and are easy to loose. Second, once the call goes out all of the near trackers rush to see the leopard. We were fortunate our tracker is from the immediate area and knows all the back trails and even performed some trail breaking to arrive before the others. We only had 10 seconds after we arrived before the leopard moved on so this is the one and only shot and I feel extremely fortunate for getting such a good picture
Hunting Lions
Another highlight of the trip is watching a pride of lionesses devour the Lechwe (antelope family) that they killed earlier in the morning. It is strange that we can drive within 3 meters of the lionesses and they will ignore us as long as we stay in the vehicle and keep our movements slow, avoid loud noises and do not stand out or create a unique profile. The sound of the lionesses crunching the bones of the Lechwe to consume every morsel of meat will last a lifetime. It is a visceral and unmistakable sound of the lionesses so intense while eating. Sometimes one of the lionesses would try to take a pice of the carcass from another lionesses. This generally resulted in snarling and a swat, unless it was the dominant lionesses, in which case she can do what she wants. Kind of feels like my wife when my dish looks better than hers. Guys, you know what I mean. You can see the Lechwe’s leg bottom left and the partially consumed skull and horns in bottom right. Lions are messy eaters, and once they finish their meals they pant heavily to help digest the meal.
Turn your volume up so you can hear the sounds the lions make while consuming their kill. Can you imagine being stalked at night by these predators? Not something I want to contemplate.
We also found a male lions. Males are territorial and will guard their territory jealously. This includes land and female lions. Other males will challenge them and sometimes this results in a fight. Mostly they try to avoid direct conflict and will simply roar to mark their presence. This fine specimen has been in a few scrap based on the damage to its snout.
Cheetah Cuties
We watched the cutest mother / daughter cheetahs today, and the baby was so playful and rambunctious that I just wanted to bring it home. It is hard to spot the cheetahs in the delta because of the high grass and their natural camouflage. They can literally blend into the environment and disappear, especially when they lay down. The baby cheetah decided a termite mound was the perfect place to play and pose for pictures.
Sorry, the pictures are kind of dark, it was overcast when I took them and the sun was at the wrong angle. That is the thing I am finding about nature photography. Often it is a matter of luck and patience to take the perfect picture. I have been experimenting with my camera and learning how to manually adjust the ISO, Apeture and Shutter Speed to improve the quality. What is amazing is that the iPhone can take outstanding photos that rival a dedicated camera.
Hyenas
They are known as scavengers and considered ugly by many. These powerful creatures hunt at night and can even harass a lion in sufficient numbers. Interestingly, they always return to where they were born and this applies to their offspring. We found this family that has lived in the same burrows for over 20 years.
Mokoro
We enjoyed a relaxing canoe ride in the Mokoro region. This is part of the same delta area and is so serene and peaceful. Each canoe is guided by a driver who uses a stick instead of a paddle to navigate the tributaries. We floated down the delta and watched birds, frogs and hippopotamuses and countless species of plants and flowers. It was a nice way to relax and just open yourself to nirvana.
Final Thoughts
This is our second camp and we have three more to visit; 1 in Zambia and 2 in Zimbabwe. The trip continues to exceed expectations in terms of the friendliness of the people, the wild life and animals. We visited a primary school for children 2 – 6, and let me tell you these are some happy and well behaved kids. When we entered the playground, the kids ran to us, some even introduced themselves and were smiling and happy that we were there. A couple of the kids were absolutely fascinated with my iWatch. It was a sweet experience and the entire school is run on donations without any government assistance. It was a 2 room schoolhouse and harkens back to the US founding days. Enjoy the video and the next blog will come from Zambia!