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Sunday 8th October 2017

Camp Moremi

Before starting today’s blog I thought that I would give you a few details on Camp Moremi and how it differs from Camp Okavango. Firstly it is a land- based camp and therefore we will be spending most of our time in the Land Cruiser rather than trekking in the bush. The format of both camps is basically the same but in contrast to Okavango with its very modern accommodation and fittings Moremi is starting to show its age a little and in fact will be totally demolished later in the year and will be closed for some time while a new camp is built in the same location. Having said that Moremi is still a delightful camp as you will see from the photographs.

 

 

The daily programme at all of these Desert and Delta Safari Camps follows the same format and is basically as follows:

5.00 am – Wake-up call

6.00 – 6.30 Breakfast

6.30 ( or sooner if possible) – Morning excursion

11.00 approx- Brunch

11.30 – 3.30 pm – Siesta

3.30 – Afternoon tea.

4.00-  Evening excursion

8.00 – Dinner

During the early morning drive we may have a short break out in the bush for tea or coffee and towards the end of each evening drive we stop for a sundowner, more often than not in a location where we view the renowned African sunset at its best.

On this our first morning at Moremi we awake to leaden skies but Grass points out that this can be advantageous as this cooler, overcast weather often leads to more sightings, especially of the Big Five ( Lion, Leopard,Elephant, Buffalo and Rhino ) plus the addition of the the Giraffe and Hippo which make up the Big Seven.

We soon have to don our waterproof ponchos as the heavens open but what happens next quickly makes us forget any weather concerns as Grass sights a truly beautiful male leopard in a tree and close to the trail. No superlatives can do justice to this magical scene which is by far the highlight of our tour so far. We remain transfixed by this magnificent animal for some time before he provides us with a bonus as he decides to climb down to the ground before heading off into the bush. In keeping with the usual protocol Grass alerts all of the guides to this sighting but the leopard doesn’t grace us with his presence again. We move on feeling suitably smug that we have spotted a leopard before any other group. ( both the guides and our fellow travellers are very competitive! )

 

 

Words soon come through that a lion has been seen and we set off to that location, along the way enjoying the varied bird life including the African Darter and Sacred Ibis.

Lions are usually seen at ground level but on this occasion the glorious male is a short way up into a tree. Not for nothing are they called the Kings of the Jungle. Completely undaunted by the many vehicles encircling the tree he descends to the ground and heads off down the track with the fortunate tourists in tow.

This is turning out to be our lucky day as another guide has come across a female leopard and although we arrive rather late on the scene Gail does manage to gain a couple of superb shots through the branches.

 

Grass’s predictions concerning the weather and animal sightings are proving  to be ‘ spot-on’ and later in the day we encounter buffalo, giraffes and zebras, two of whom are testing each out in quite a tussle. Not really sure whether this is a serious duel or just for fun.

 

 

 

Wild painted dogs are an endangered species, the sightings of which are relatively rare so when the call comes through from another guide we head off to the location as quickly as possible. We are certainly not disappointed as we are able to get very close to a large group of these fine looking dogs including some young pups  who frolic around as pups around the world will. It is hard to believe that these benign- looking animals are amongst the most efficient and brutal killers when hunting in packs. Working as a well-drilled team they are tireless in the pursuit of their prey and often eat limbs off the victim while it is still alive. Looks are obviously very deceptive!

 

Even when back at the camp during the day  we are never far from animal and bird life and over a very short period we are able to film visitors such as a bush buck, saddle-billed stork and  Burchell’s starling.

 

 

Late in the afternoon we are treated to a herd of elephants with babies in tow making their way across the water.

This is perhaps an opportune moment to address the vexed issue of the undoubtedly huge damage to the environment caused by the elephants and the possibility of a cull to reduce their numbers. It is easy to understand why this is such a controversial  issue when one sees photographs of these animals, especially the enchanting young ones. In many ways I feel that there are parallels between how visitors to Africa view elephants and tourists to Australia consider kangaroos. Visitors to Aus see a kangaroo cull as killing Skippy and equally most visitors to these areas of Africa find it hard to look past photos of these beguiling creatures, particularly the miniature versions.

I will leave it up to readers of the blog as to which side of the fence they come down on!

Quick note on the sundowner which as usual we enjoy in an idyllic setting before heading back to camp for dinner. We are all asked to place our order early on the first day for our sundowner choice and the camp team seems able to offer a surprisingly large choice of beverages which appear from somewhere in the Land Cruiser.

 

 

Today has been a day to remember and has really embodied all that wildlife safari travel is all about.

Cheers

The Obese Ferret

 

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Saturday 7th October 2017
Camp Okavango/Camp Moremi
Up at the usual time so that we can fit in a last short walk before we leave for Camp Moremi. Once again Boston joins Tau on the walk to ensure that we don’t get taken by any wild animals.

A good start to the day as we take the boat to a landing area for the walk and very soon come across a beautiful malachite bird on a branch along the water’s edge. However, this tranquil early morning scene is quickly disturbed by the arrival of a male malachite intent on some post- breakfast sexual activity. This is achieved in a matter of seconds and off he flies to bask in this glorious conquest.

          
Our next encounter is with a very large croc who pays no attention to us whatsoever and on arrival at the landing area for our walk we are delighted to find an elephant blocking our way. The reflections in the water make for some memorable shots. For the next ten minutes our animal friend puts on a great performance at close quarters until she moves away and leaves the way clear for us to disembark.

Once on the walking trail we again see a sausage tree bearing fruit , the weight of which would challenge the most robust of digestive systems.

As usual the track we are taking leads us past any number of antelopes, among them the evil-tasting and evil smelling water buck, the ubiquitous impala and the fine-looking kudu.

In amongst all these items from the lion’s menu we are able to add the beautiful Little Bee-eater bird with its yellow throat, and orange breast.   
One last look at a very pretty tree with lilac flowers(at this stage not yet identified) and it’s back to the camp for lunch before taking a 15-20 minute flight in a light 4 seater aircraft to Camp Moremi to the south-east of our previous camp. Shortly after take-off from the grass airstrip Gail is able to take some shots of elephants on the islands and the delta wetlands below.

As with Okavango, Moremi is in very attractive location and the format and modus operandi is very similar to our previous accommodation. We are met by a welcoming party, including one of the managers, a delightful lady called Tendani and our guide for the next three days, Grass. Grass is a sharp contrast to larrikin Tau but he is nevertheless a very pleasant fellow for whom nothing is too much trouble. As this is more of a land-based camp we will be spending most of the time in the Land Cruiser, rather than walking and we are soon off on our first excursion.
Our ugly duckling, the Wart Hog, shows his face on one of our earlier drives and Public Enemy No.1 as far as I’m concerned,  the baboons, live down to their reputation with the usual repertoire of habits, ranging across obscene, depraved, generally anti-social. I know that they are all God’s creatures but the Almighty must have had a real off-day when he worked on this one. Surprisingly, the baboon is Grass’s favourite animal, purely because the rest of the world hates him!
We soon spot the very large Spur-winged  Goose, measuring up to 102 cms and with some very glossy and black plumage.

It becomes immediately evident that the animals are here in greater numbers and more readily accessible than at Okavango and our next encounter is with an adult elephant giving himself a mud-bath. We will clearly have to change the saying ” as happy as a PIG in s..t !

As we proceed down the track we are fortunate to view  Zebras, all with their unique markings, our old friend the Water Buck, a herd of buffalos, numerous kudus and quaintly-named African Hoopoe. To complete the line-up we have the African Fish Eagle, African Darter and finally the Spotted Bush Snake whose camouflage is so good that that we struggle to differentiate it from the branches of the bush in which it is resting.

We eventually arrive at a large lake for our usual sundowner where other groups arrive to join us. We are treated to a real performance from the many hippos in the water and a spectacular sunset rounds our first day at Camp Moremi.

However, the day is not quite finished as the staff have got wind of the fact that a lady from the USA had already had a birthday celebration at Camp Okavango and , not to be outdone the staff put on a song and dance performance which would not be out of place on Broadway. Truly memorable, not only for the lady but for all present. The staff at these safari camps never cease to amaze us .
Cheers

The Obese Ferret.

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Friday 6th October 2017
Camp Okavango
Wake-up call at 5.00 and then it’s down to breakfast by 6.00
6.30 sees us off on a trek. It had been a possibility that we would share Tau with the Swiss- Germans but they had not considered themselves capable of taking a longer walk which Tau had planned . Gail and I were, therefore, left to the tender mercies of Tau as our guide and a pleasant fellow, Boston, who would be on hand to bring up the rear and ensure our safety.
After a short trip in a boat we start our trek through a grassy plain and in no time at all we view a water buck which is an impressive animal with a special defence mechanism against predators as it possesses an awful smell and decidedly unappetising meat.
Tau now spots a solitary elephant in amongst some trees and we are able to view at reasonably close quarters how the elephant holds the grass down with the hoof while using the tusk to dig out the nutritious parts.

We now go from the sublime to the ridiculous when we encounter some warthogs. Surrounded by so much beautiful animal life the hugely old warthog has truly drawn the genetic short straw and must have a terrible inferiority complex. On the positive side this little fellow has an incredibly amusing gait, making him/her much sought-after as a cartoon character.
The reserve has a huge array of antelopes, we now come across the kudu and some red lechwe which looks to me like a heavier version of the delicate impala.

To represent the bird kingdom a little Ground Lapwing appears but shortly afterwards a common reedbuck turns up to take centre stage.

   
We soon see a timely reminder that survival in this animal world can be a very tenuous thing when we find the huge skeletal head of what must have been a very large buffalo. It is certainly not just resting and has gone to meet its maker!

As Gail and I seem to be coping very well with the trek Tau suggests that we press on although our team of four almost became three when Gail fell into a fairly deep hole while viewing the abundant wild life. I know what your are all expecting but no, I did not take a photo of the incident, a sign that I am mellowing in my old age.
What followed next was for Gail the highlight of the day when we are confronted by a very large female hippo emerging from a pond with a tiny ( well by hippo standards) little one in tow.

 

Sightings of the Big Five ( elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo and rhino) have been very limited as have those of the other two which make up the Big Seven, giraffe and hippo but at least we have two out seven.
However, we are never short of some form of wild life and a reed- covered pond comes into view with numbers of Sacred Ibis and Egyptian Geese.
At last we strike it lucky when a very large herd of buffalo are seen at a distance but gradually moving in our direction. As the buffalo is regarded by many to be the most dangerous and unpredictable of the Big Five Tau leads cautiously to a vantage point from where we gain an excellent photo of the herd. We do have a light moment when I ask Tau ” what should you do if a large buffalo is  charging towards you?” The answer from our guide of many years experience?
” Pray!”

To round off a great morning  four elephants come plodding past us at close quarters.

It’s now back to the lodge for a cooked brunch and this gives Gail an opportunity to take some photos of our very well- appointed room and retire for a siesta until 3.30 pm.
4.00 sees us on a sort of African Gondola called a  Mokoro which is expertly skippered by Tau. Gail confesses to being a bit concerned about the vessel’s stability but it turns out her concern focuses on her camera and lens. Apparently seeing her beloved falling in the river and being taken by one of the large crocs is of minor importance.
It’s a beautiful tranquil evening as we push off from the jetty and not far down the river one of the impressive saddle-billed storks comes into view, standing on the grass-covered banks.

 

 

From the beautiful to the brutal a fairly large croc is spotted ( once again) by Tau and he seems completely oblivious to our arrival ( that’s the croc,not Tau!)

As always along these waterways we are treated to a display of some beautiful
Waterlies and yet another medium-Sized croc, this time ‘planking ‘ in the shallow water.

Te end yet another splendid day Tau has arranged a sundowner on the rather. bumpy grass airstrip  on which we had arrived from Maun.
A table is duly laid out with drinks and nibbles and we are soon joined by the four Swiss Germans who regale us with one of their national songs.

In fumbling around in my wallet I end up paying an excessive tip to the guy from the camp who had brought all the goodies down in the Land Cruiser. These US dollars all seem to look the same but it was a bit galling as he left Tau to serve all the drinks while he stood by like a shag on a rock.
Cheers

The Obese Ferret

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Thursday 5th October 2017
Johannesburg to Camp Okavango
After all of the fine weather we have had for most of our trip it’s something of a shock to the system to open the curtains to very leaden skies and incessant rain. However, the all-too-hearty breakfast soon lifts our spirits and we set about discarding some clothes ( and leaving them in the left luggage at the hotel to be collected on our way back to Perth ) in order to keep below the 20 kgs limit including such items as toiletries, cameras etc. We manage to reduce both cases to around the 8 kgs mark which leaves us to ponder why the hell we can’t achieve this on all of our trips!
Our flight to Maun in Botswana doesn’t leave until 11.45 am so we have plenty of time to buy extra luggage padlocks, a very fetching lightweight hat for Gail and some Imodium, rather ironic as we spend most of our time when travelling with our digestive system more blocked up than my arteries used to be!
Not surprisingly given the weather we have a rather bumpy flight during the early stages coming out of Johannesburg but we soon climb to an altitude which gives far smoother conditions.
I am seated next to a lady from the USA and she tells me that her 89 year old mother-in-law has long wanted to visit Africa and after a life of travelling to far-flung parts of the world she is treating her 4 children, partners and 2 grandchildren to this holiday of a lifetime. Would that more 89 year-olds could be as adventurous and inspirational as this lady.

We had been fore-warned of the problems on entering Botswana but nothing prepared us for the more than one hour it took to get through Customs and Immigration. The official took about an hour to seemingly put a German family through a modern version of the Spanish Inquisition. Surely she couldn’t still be holding some sort of grudge from the Second World War !
While waiting in line Gail makes me feel as though I am back home in Coles as she goes through the rigmarole of jumping from queue to queue and trying to second-guess which official will process people most quickly. As usual we end up getting through last.
Once we get through to the Arrivals we board a 12 seater Cessna Caravan for the 30 minute flight to Camp Okavango. The pilot is a lovely young woman who looks young enough to be my great- granddaughter and we share the flight with 7 American tourists who are also here for a two night stay.

The Camp is an absolute delight and the cabins ( the description does them a disservice as they offer 5 star accommodation in every way ) are simply superb.
A welcoming party is on hand to give us a briefing  and drinks before we head off to freshen up after the flights.

Next is an afternoon tea before Tau who is our guide for the duration of our stay takes us off on a trip along the tranquil waterways of the delta.We are fortunate to have him to ourselves as the 7 Americans have to share one guide.
On a balmy evening we are able to see a huge array of bird life and the very knowledgable Tao gives a running commentary on all of the bird, animal and plant life. He has an incredible ability to spot various creatures along the banks and at one stage he takes the boat in close to a small, young crocodile which had previously been invisible to us. A little further on we get up close  and personal with a medium-sized crocodile in amongst the reeds paying absolutely no notice to the three intruders.

To finish off what has been a great introduction to the Delta we arrive at a fairly large lagoon where a number of hippos put on a great performance for us.
Tao produces some nibbles and drinks for us while we sit back in the boat and take in the whole spectacular.

Back at the camp we take a shower ( it’s very humid) and set off for the  dining area. There is time for a pre-dinner drink  and to make the acquaintance of four Swiss- Germans, a couple of whom are on their fourth visit to Camp Okavango.
Dinner is acceptable without being spectacular but who really cares when everything else about this camp is absolutely top notch.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret

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