November 2007 Botswana, Africa Trip Report Part 1 Lebala Camp Our 4th trip to Africa was a visit to Botswana, a country known for its large numbers of national parks and game reserves. Botswana has a reputation for limiting the amount of tourists that can visit its parks. Hopefully this prevents visitors from overwhelming its natural resources. We booked a two week trip using Africa Travel Resource Ltd. This company did an o.k. job of booking the trip for us but made a few major missteps along the way. The flight from the States to Senegal was thankfully empty and my wife and I were each able to sleep in an entire row to ourselves. At the Senegal airport a security team came aboard and made sure there were no explosive devices hidden under the seat cushions and asked everyone to identify their luggage in a haphazard fashion. A few African businessmen boarded here but we are able to keep our seat rows and continue to sleep for the rest of the 8.5 flight to Johannesburg. Some say that J'Burg is one of the most dangerous cities in the world and the locals here certainly seem a bit paranoid. There are gated communities everywhere with signs that advise that "Armed Response" is on its way if anything goes wrong. Our cab driver drives a late model Mercedes and points out the sights to us. We pass the large township of Alexandria and a large bulldozed area where they are building a subway for the 2010 World Cup. We arrive at the Peech Hotel (gated of course) in the suburbs of J'Burg. It is a nice place to stay with some lovely gardens surrounding a swimming pool. I take a much needed shower to wash the grime of 18 hours of traveling off. The staff advises that guests never leave the hotel grounds on foot due to the dangers lurking outside. To save money on cab fare we eat dinner at the hotel bistro, the food is quite good and I wash it down with a few bottles of the local Castle beer. Beyond the hotel walls we can see the window of the indoor track of a gym, it seems that jogging outside is not a good idea in these parts. I'm not sure if these threats are overblown or not. The next morning at the airport we deal with a bit of travel hassle as the airline tickets that our travel agency was supposed to reserve for us did not get entered into Air Botswana’s computer system. We can't get in touch with our agent due to the time difference in London so I decide to purchase the tickets to Maun on the spot. Hopefully our travel agent didn't blow the booking of the rest of the trip and there will be someone waiting for us in Maun! The tickets set us back $1000 U.S., not a good start to our trip! We wind through a sea of Muslims waiting to fly to Ethiopia and board our flight to Botswana. On the short flight to Maun, the Air Botswana stewardesses serve African beef jerky and I watch some classic episodes of HBO's "The Larry Sanders Show" on my Ipod. Thankfully at the Maun airport there is a Kwando Safaris rep waiting for us. She is aware of the ticketing issue and assures us that we will be refunded the grand we plopped down to buy the last minute tickets. She says she not very "impressed" by what happened. A Kwando porter helps with our luggage and we board a very tiny prop jet piloted by a South African who looks to be about 21 yrs old. I sit next to him in the co-pilot seat and he tells me not to worry about the fuel gauge in front of me as it is broken. Very reassuring. The plane gets quite hot as we ascend in the air and there is no sign of civilization below us. I can see a herd of elephants below in the bush. The flight gets a bit choppy at points but the air sickness bags are not needed thankfully. Our flight drops off some managers in training at Lagoon camp and then flies low over some more elephants to land about 5 minutes later at Lebala camp. This is how you get from camp to camp in Botswana Looking out the prop jet window over the Okavango Delta, Botswana Waiting in the shade for us is our driver (Donald) and tracker (Moeti) from Lebala. Hilariously the plane buzzes us as we leave (although some will recall this is how Randy Rhoads from Ozzy Osborne’s band died). It is very hot out and the cars are open, not covered. The tracker sits on a seat attached to the front bumper and we set off to the camp. Along the way we see a good bit of wildlife. A Black Egret does its crouching thing in the water hunting for fish (the fish are attracted to the shade). There is a rare daylight appearance made by the African Wildcat; the guide thinks he must be pretty hungry to be out at this time of the day as they are usually night hunters. Of course my camera is still packed in the suitcase so I don't get any photos of this! A Yellow-billed Kite sits in a dead snag looking for prey. An African Darter spreads it's wings along a river (these birds are similar looking to the North American Cormorant). A Red-Crested Korhaan wanders through the bush near a solitary female Elephant. Lebala Camp is located in the South of the Kwando Reserve, near the head waters of the Linyanti marshes that form the border between Botswana and Namibia. Lebala means "wide open spaces" in the local Setswana language and the scenery is dominated by vast plains with scattered palms and tree surrounded by wooded savannahs. Lebala Camp is operated by Kwando Safaris. At the camp entrance we are greeted by one of the managers, Blue. She leads us across the wooden bridge to the camp and gives us the safety briefing: There are no fences around the camp so at night you must be walked to your tent with a guide and can't leave until morning. If there is an emergency at night Blue advises that there are air horns in the tents. She does mention that an elephant rubbing against your tent in the middle of the night is not an emergency. Hmm, this place sounds pretty wild. You can help yourself to any drink in the fridge in the open air lounge. Blue quizzes us about any special dietary requests and then walks us to our tent. It is much larger than I expected. There is actually a normal toilet and a claw foot tub in one section of the tent and the bedroom looks out on a porch and has some reading chairs in it. There is a writing desk and coat rack in the middle section. There is an outdoor shower in the back and oil lamps are used to light the whole thing. Pretty posh digs. Our tent @ night in Lebala Camp, Botswana Tea at the camp is served at 4:30; there is nice spread of crackers, cheese, meat, and some hot dishes. The olive tapenade is rather divine. We have splurged for a private vehicle for most of this trip, so we leave around 5pm as this is when the sun starts to go down a bit and the animals become more active. We see a rareish family of Wattled Cranes in the wetlands as a hippo chews on some cud behind them. I'm somewhat envious of the cool water the hippo is enjoying as it still extremely hot out. Hippo near Lebala Camp, Botswana A pride of female lions hang out by a large termite mound, they eye a baby elephant near by but probably wisely decide to pass on that opportunity as it is surrounded by a very protective group of females, the elephants even glower at us as we snap some photos. The baby is a real cutie-pie. Baby Elephant near Lebala Camp, Botswana These two female lions were thinking about trying to snatch the baby elephant, near Lebala Camp, Botswana We observe lots of water fowl such as Yellow-billed Duck, White-Faced Duck, Spur-winged Goose, Egyptian Goose, Hadeda Ibis, Squacco Heron, and Black Crake. As the sun goes down we stop for drinks, the driver and tracker set up a portable table and serve snack and drinks. They will even make a G&T if requested. Sundowners with Donald & Moeti near Lebala Camp, Botswana As the sun sets we begin our night safari. The tracker sits in the front seat swaying a flashlight back and forth, looking for the reflection off eyes in the dark. He will put the light down if we come across Impala or other prey species so they don't get confused by the light and possibly injured running away. We can smell a buffalo kill nearby but can't find it. On a tree-limb by the side of the road we spot a Southern White-faced Scops Owl, he seems very nonplussed by our presence. Southern White-faced Scops Owl, he did that cool thing where his head goes around 180 degrees near Lebala Camp, Botswana We also get a brief glimpse of a Large-spotted Genet, a type of civet, before it rushes up a tree. Not a bad day/night at all... Genet out at night, Botswana At dinner Blue tells us how an ex-boyfriend of hers tried to popularize crocodile scuba diving. Weird. We skip desert as we are pretty tired and retire for the night. In my sleepy haze I hear hyenas and lions fighting over a kill outside our tent. Not sure if it is a dream or real. That laughing sound is very eerie... Nov 16th Friday We are woken up at 5am by our guide saying "Knock Knock" outside the tent (it has no doors, only zippers). There is group of folks eating porridge and drinking tea by a camp fire. Little chicken-like Francolin's scurry around looking for scraps. I learn from the staff that the lions and hyenas really did have a show down near our tent last night. We jump in our vehicle and take off; the weather is perfect as it is not too hot yet. There are lots of cute Little Bee-eaters in the grass, we watch a trio of Lilac Breasted Rollers squabble amongst each other loudly in a tree. An African Fish Eagle dives for a fish in the river but misses as a Hamerkop watches. A herd of massively horned Great Kudu hide in the bush grazing. Fish Eagle, looks similar to the American Bald Eagle near Lebala Camp, Botswana. He was about to dive for a fish. Greater Kudu near Lebala Camp, Botswana A female Steenbok rests in the grass. My field guide ("National Audubon Society Field Guide to African Wildlife") notes that they are water-independent. We watched two Forked Tailed Drongos harass a Yellow-billed Kite, it opens its beak every time they dive bomb it. A pair of warthog graze, it is amusing to watch them kneel down while eating. Some dwarf mongooses scatter under a log as we drive by. I mention that we haven't seen any hornbills on this trip and then we see bunch: African Grey Bill, Southern-Yellow Bill, and the Red billed. These birds are pretty common but very wary of vehicles and I never get close enough for a good photograph during the entire trip. Some beautiful Meyer's Parrots are seen, these are the only parrots in Botswana. Our driver sees the very rare Roan (a tall, powerfully built antelope) but it disappears before we get a glimpse. We break for tea under a huge elephant-scarred Baobab Tree as a Pearl-Spotted Owlet watches us. Back at the camp breakfast is served, then I use the outdoor shower for the first time, it is actually quite pleasant to use. Most of the rest of the camp seems to settle down for a nap in the heat of the day, I'm not one for napping so I hang out in the lounge by the river. It gets very hot out! A hippo gets out of the water near the bridge to the camp and grazes on the grass for a bit. On the afternoon drive we pause for bit to watch a Yellow Mongoose tidy up his den. He moves from entrance to entrance kicking out the excess sand. The guide theorizes that there may be a female with babies inside. Yellow Mongoose near Lebala Camp, Botswana We head towards to the water and hidden among the reeds is a mother Impala with a baby that is probably only a few hours old. She will keep it here for a few days until it is strong enough to join the herd. Its legs are still pretty wobbly. Impala hiding near Lebala Camp, Botswana We bounce up and down in our seats as we bypass the roads and cut across the plains to view a group of lion cubs waiting for their mothers to return from the hunt. They take turns running around a termite mound and playing in the tall grass. The guides here have seen many male lions kill rival lions cubs but these are well hidden and hopefully safe for the time being. Lion cub near Lebala Camp, Botswana We find their mothers resting a short distance away. We watch as a near-sighted wart hog almost walks right into them. The lions tense with anticipation but the alarm calls of some nearby impala tip him off. He still has a problem as the lions are blocking his den and he must find shelter before dark (the sun is quickly setting) but he may have a backup den nearby. We take our break for drinks and pass a huge African Rock Python crawling near our break spot. It lifts its head in the air as it smells us. The driver tells us that sometimes wild dogs will attack an engorged python to get to the prey inside. African Rock Python smells something near Lebala Camp, Botswana On the night drive we see some very skinny Jackal looking for vermin. They probably have young they are feeding. We almost always see jackal in pair, if we see one we always look for the other. The guide turns off his torch when we come across impala or zebra so as not to confuse or injure them. At dinner the camp manager Alvin tells us stories about working with the crew who filmed the BBC special "Planet Earth" nearby. Check out the DVD of it if you can, it has some great footage of a wild dog hunt. It gets quite windy out and we see flashes of lighting in the distance. In the tent at night it rocks back and forth. The squeaking sounds like there are warthogs in the tent but it is just the wind I hope. Nov 17th Sat On our morning drive we see the lovely Woodland Kingfisher; we hear its song all over the Okavango Delta. Pass a baby Wildebeest with its umbilical cord still attached. We are on our way to a reported lion kill when the driver gets a call on the radio that a Leopard has been spotted. He notes that it is quite far away and may be gone by the time we get there. He lets us decide what to do and my wife decides that it is worth a try. He has us buckle in and I secure my camera gear. We race down the road at high speeds, leaping in the air over bumps. It takes about 45 min to get to the leopard area and luckily he is still there. The other vehicle that was watching him for us pulls away and we are the only the ones watching him as he stalks through the woods and stretches on a log. The driver guesses he is a young male about 5yrs old. This is first time I've seen a leopard moving around in the open, before I have only seen them resting in trees. He hides behind some bush, perhaps hoping that some nearby impala will stumble into his claws. We leave and let him hunt in peace. This leopard will pose for cash near Lebala Camp, Botswana Leopard walking through the Bush near Lebala Camp, Botswana He was thinking about Impala dinner near Lebala Camp, Botswana Back at camp it is siesta time again. From my chair in the lounge I watch a jackal run by. Yellow Weavers tend to their nest near the camp bridge. I purchase some postcards from the camp store; the stamps have nice "mushroom and aardvark" motifs. A Lilac Breasted Roller dives from bugs in the bush in front of the camp, then returns to his perch. At the 4pm tea they serve "African Burritos” that some what quench my cravings for southwestern American burritos. On the afternoon drive we see the huge Goliath Heron. There is rain in the distance and soon it catches up with. Thankfully the driver has stashed some ponchos and bags for our camera gear and books in the car so our stuff is safe. The rain pounds down as we approach the buffalo kill. There is a pride of lions feasting on it, even the cubs are gnawing on any pieces they can tear off. One female rolls on her stomach contently. The smell is umm, "interesting". They are chewing on the bones and skin so the guide thinks they must be quite hungry. The cubs fight over access to their mother's milk. Full on yummy buffalo as the rain falls near Lebala Camp, Botswana We take our sundowners near a herd of wildebeest, a very picturesque setting. Sadly the only beer the guide bought this time is St. Louis, a very watered down beer from Gaborone, not one of my favorites. On the night drive we see another python, lots of Springhares and a jackal. Back at the camp some South African tourists show us some interesting video they took at the buffalo kill earlier in the day. A crocodile had decided to try and steal the lions kill and as a result the lions tore its back leg off. The video shows the stub and a lion cub pawing at it. Would make a good Youtube footage I observe. Sun Nov 18th We pack up as it is time for us to visit a new camp. We are driven by our guides halfway to Lagoon Camp; the good news is that the transfer doubles as a game drive. Capital! Our tracker spots the tracks of a large leopard crossing the road; it is amazing how they make sense of what looks to me like a jumble of dirt on the ground. An elderly male elephant hangs out alone, he trumpets at us as we drive by. Lots of Giraffe browse among the trees and we hear the frequent calls of the Woodland Kingfisher. We get a nice view of the rear of a Pearl Spotted Owl's head; it has two "false" eyes on the back to confuse any enemies. On to Part 2 Lagoon Camp Trip Report Index