Afro Trek Safaris in Moremi Game Reserve

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By David Young

Does the wilderness ever call your name? I often hear my name. Today I am answering the call and feeling fortunate to be looking at a packed safari vehicle with open air seats and a canvas roof. By 8:30 am. our group of seven is ready to head from Maun to Moremi Game Reserve for a three day safari. Qani, Shaka, Allan and Shylock are from Botswana, Trevor is from England, Kelly is an Australian and I am from Canada.

The first 25 kilometres are tarred roads. Before leaving the tar we stop to buy firewood. Another 50 kilometres of gravel road brings us to South Gate, one of the Reserves main entrances. While Shylock, our guide, registers the vehicle and occupants we stretch out legs, warm ourselves in the sun and have a cup of hot coffee.
We are heading to Khwai, our campsite for the next two nights. The road becomes more a worn trail and often we are holding on because of the dips and ruts. Heavy seasonal rains have caused considerable damage. The trip is now a game drive. Impala, kudu and giraffe are spotted along the way.

Camp is close to the River Khwai. The tents are erected in a semicircle, facing our vehicle, portable kitchen and chairs. From time to time our attention is drawn to the peaceful grunts of hippos enjoying themselves in the river. After a light lunch and brief rest, we are ready for the afternoon game drive.

Our camp is in a mopane forest. Elephants like to eat mopane trees for food and it is not long before we come upon two elephants feeding themselves as they make their way through the forest. Elephant spore or huge balls of dung are regular occurrences in this kind of habitat. The river is starting to overflow its banks. We explore some of the plains areas that run off the river. Soon the plains will be closed off to vehicles by the increasing annual flood. The soft late afternoon light gives us a beautiful sighting of a small herd of impala. They are relaxed and graze quite close to the vehicle. Moving further around the edges of the plains we meet 5 or 6 wildebeests – the clown of the plains. They tend to be more animated than other large animals and often entertain with their characteristic canter and toss of their head and horns.
Getting back to camp at twilight, everyone is pleasantly surprised that Shaka has setup camp chairs around a bright fire and has some refreshments on the dining table. Allan, Trevor and Kelly sit together by the fire and reminisce. They last met as a group 25 years ago in Australia. Our safari is part of celebrating their reunion.
Shaka has prepared a tasty curried chicken dish. The stories of these old friends flow around the table, like the quality South African red wine that is washing down the gourmet meal. A bottle of whiskey appears after dinner and the stories become more animated and comical. I feel quite honoured to be sharing highlights from the lives of good friends. No doubt, our trip will become part of the stories of future reunions.

We look somewhat unsteady, getting out of our tents the following morning. Over toast, coffee, jam, eggs and hot beans we discuss the cause of the unsteadiness. Kelly decides it is because the cots are low and none of us have camped out in quite a while. Pulling on some extra clothes to ward off the morning chill, Trevor observes how low the whiskey bottle appears to be. We allmutter some level of surprise, with explanations verging towards the mysterious.
Today we do two game drives. The morning drive is all about birds. Shylock knows the name and habit of all the birds, but I am also impressed with the knowledge of my fellow travelers. Shylock has been a professional guide for over twenty years. When one of us make a spotting or express an interest, he always expands our understanding. According to Shylock, “An interested guest is a guides best friend.”

The terrain we are covering is similar to yesterday, although in the opposite direction and more inland from the river. Fortunately some water remains from the rains of three months ago. We come upon a picturesque small, receding pond. Henry David Thoreau would have been happy to be with us. The collection and activity level of the birds is priceless viewing.
Qani is filling up her notebook with English names and descriptions of the birds. There is a balance, peacefulness and interaction that is miraculous to watch. Coffee and cookies are served. Grey Heron share the deeper water with Maribou Storks. Kingfishers are flying around and occasionally make way or Egyptian Geese coming in to land. Kelly’s attention is captured by the Pinkbacked Pelican. Much to our amusement he starts to hum an old ditty, “A funny old bird is the Pelican, his beak can hold more than his Belican...”

The group is in high spirits heading back to camp for lunch and a rest. The afternoon game drive takes us across The Bridge Over the River Khwai, an assortment of floating mopane logs. Trevor has been hoping for a lion sighting and Shylock is out to give it his best shot. After about an hour drive and only seeing one old male elephant, Shylock appears to stop for a rest. Trevor is more than a little startled and draws our attention to a male lion resting in the tall golden grass. Suddenly we are all startled. There is also another male and female lying in the grass, not twenty metres away. It may seem over done to you, but we are using binoculars. The males have been fighting over the female and we are looking at the damages of battle – the cuts and bleeding. We leave wondering if the fighting is over or whether nightfall will bring another ferocious encounter.
The following morning we do a final game drive, determined not to leave any leaf unturned. It is the quality of game viewing that makes Moremi so enjoyable. Often you do not see another vehicle during an entire game drive. You never feel rushed or harried by the outside world. Many visitors come for a once in a lifetime trip to Africa. Here is the ideal place for that trip of a lifetime or as in our case the reunion.

Hoopoe Visiting Sedia Riverside Hotel

The Hoopoe is a medium sized bird, 25–32 cm (9.8-12.6 in) long, with a 44–48 cm (17.3–19 in) wingspan weighing 46-89 g (1.6-3.1 oz). The species is highly distinctive, with a long, thin tapering bill that is black with a fawn base. The strengthened musculature of the head allows the bill to be opened when probing inside the soil. The hoopoe has broad and rounded wings capable of strong flight; these are larger in the northern migratory subspecies. The Hoopoe has a characteristic undulating flight, which is like that of a giant butterfly, caused by the wings half closing at the end of each beat or short sequence of beats.^[6]

The song is a trisyllabic "oop-oop-oop", which gives rise to its English and scientific names.

From Wikipedia.

Let Me Take You On A Boat Cruise

THAMALAKANE RIVER BOAT CRUISE

DEPARTS SEDIA RIVERSIDE HOTEL JETTY
Daily@1700hrs or As Required
( Subject to Bookings )
Ask at Reception or Safari Office for more details
Cruise for about two hours.

Forget the dusty roads and potholes for a couple of hours, enjoy the waters of the Thamalakane River, highest waters for over thirty years, pass through water corridors lined with reeds, rushes and grasses opening out onto waters carpeted with beautiful water lilies and other flora.

Wonderful for the waterbirds, with many species now enjoying these favourable habitat conditions. The camera and bino’s may be usefull. As we go by Maun Nature Reserve, look out for giraffe, zebra, kudu, and impala. To see a zebra washed clean by the rain, dipping its head into the thick emerald grass or maybe witness a giraffe drinking warily from the river are visual delights which can be encountered. Spot the secluded estates of Maun celebrities hidden away in the riverine woodland.

MIN. of 4 PERSONS , MAX. of 12 PERSONS PULA 60 per person only

Pelicans Cover Maun Skies

Pelicans In Formation Over Maun

Late afternoon the banks of the Thamalakane River can be covered with hundreds of Pelicans coming together for a night of rest. During the days you can now often look up and see squadrons of Pelicans circling over Maun. On good days, with plenty of wind, they are up in the sky playing with the thermals - dipping and diving, regrouping and doing the process over and over again.

With the new flood about to arrive in Maun, it can only be hoped they will stay with us for a while longer. It remind's me again of the old ditty Kelly would recite when we were on safari together:

"A funny old bird is the pelican.
His beak can hold more than his belly can.
He can hold in his beak
Enough food for a week,
And I don't know how in the world he manages to do it!"

On days like this, it makes you wonder - should the Pelican be the National Bird of Botswana. For another perspective of the Pelicans in Maun - click here.

Best Time to Safari in Botswana

The Best of Times - Botswana

Each period of the year offers different highlights, though May through to October / November are the months offering the best general wildlife viewing opportunities. The drier months result in better game viewing as the animals are forced to visit the fewer remaining water holes and pans in order to drink each day.

The predators merely have to wait at these water sources, being fewer in the drier months and therefore more crowded, for the animals to approach and commence drinking. For the wildlife enthusiast with limited time to spend, the period June to November is the wisest choice of times to go on safari in the Okavango Delta or Moremi Game Reserve.

In May, the flood waters from Angola are still making their slow and deliberate progress through the Okavango Delta. The rains have now ended, the nights are significantly cooler with temperatures averaging around 15 Celsius (60 Far) and day temperatures peaking at just over 30 Celsius (90 Far).

Breeding herds of elephant increase in density as they visit the perennial rivers of the Okavango, Chobe and Kwando. The seasonal pans begin to dry up. The lush greens, so evident in the wet season, begin to fade quickly into the duller dry season colours, allowing the predators to take full advantage of the fact that their coats now blend in with their surroundings again. The migrating birds commence their annual flights to winter feeding and breeding grounds in distant lands.

In June, temperatures reach their lowest, night temperatures towards the months end can drop to below zero (32 Far) but day temperatures still hit around 30Celsius (75 Far ) . Dry and dusty conditions now dominate with pans and water holes now resulting in the animals drinking at permanent water sources, closely followed by the predators

However, the wet months of December through to March offer other spectacular highlights which should not be overlooked. Obviously the vegetation at this time of year is rich with lush green growth evident everywhere.

Many of the antelope family have young ones during this period to take advantage of these nutritious grasses for grazing. This again offers predators rich pickings - these very young antelopes being easy prey for lion, cheetah, leopard or wild dog. For the birding enthusiasts the wet months can be a delight with many males of the various species displaying their full breeding plumage.

Request For Information - Afro Trek Safari

Les Francaises on Safari - Le Professor

Excursion à Moremi

Un Game drive est toujours plein de surprises. Ce fut le cas. Départ très matinal : 6h
Nous sommes 16, il faut donc 2 4x4. Sur les banquettes nous gelons pendant le trajet que durera 2h jusqu’à la première entée. Petite pause d’une ½ h avec café et biscuits. Déjà quelques observations de gazelles et girafes aussi que d’oiseaux. L’excursion commence vraiment après la 2 eme entrée quand les plans d’eau apparaissent. La piste est plus étroite et plus route.

Observations réalisées :
1) Mammifères :
Girafes +de 20, Eléphants + de 100, Singes verts 10, Hippopotames 20, Gazelles et antilopes +200, Cobe défassa, Cobées rouges, Steenboks, Impalas en grand nombre, 2 lions au repas ainsi qu’une lionne
2) Oiseaux :
2 cormorans africains, 3 hérons cendrés, 1 aigrette ordoisée, 2 aigrettes ….., 3 ombrettes, 2 tantales, 1 cigogne blanche, 5 lois sacrés, 10 oies d’Egypte, 3 oies de Gambie, 2 aigles pecheurs, 1 aigle bateleur, 150 francolins à bec rouge, 30 pintades, 1 grue conanculee, 1 outarde, 25 jacanas, 40 vanneaux armés, 100 tourterelles du Cap et à colliées, 5 tomeras ……., 10 grepeurs en …., 5 rolliers à longs brins, 80 calaas à bec rouge, 2 hiromdeles, 1 gonolek rouge et noir, 50 …….. Flèches, Vols de tisserins travailleurs à bec rouge, 30 étourneaux métalliques, 10 étourneaux d’Alexandre, 30 fraque-boeufs, 5 corbeaux, quelques coucon et 1 vanran

Le pique-nique est délicieux : (salade, poulet sandwiches), jus de mangue ….Fruits ( banane poires). Le retour commence à 15h30 après observation finale de lions. Poussiéreux nous rentrons vers 18h45 plein d’émerveillements.

Maun Safari Flashback

Birdwatching With Kelly Revisited

I received an email over the weekend from Hugh Kelly. He is thinking about bringing some family members to Maun and taking them on safari. It was fun to think back to the trip we did 6 months ago. Along with his reflections on our safari, Kelly also provided a more complete version of his pelican ditty:

'Regarding pelicans - funny old birds, as discussed around the campfire
after a few shots of Bells.'

" A funny old bird is the Pelican
His beak can hold more than his belly can
He fills up his beak
With enough food for a week
But I'm sure I don't know how the hell he can"

San Diego Reader - Breaking News

Afro Trek Safari, Botswana Breaks Through!

For stories about Botswana, the Okavango Delta and Moremi Game Reserve click and go to the San Diego Reader. This weeks story is the second of five stories to be published during the month of November. You can read the first short story by clicking 'previous blogs' after the end of this story.

Diva Barbarella was gracious enough to contact Delta Dave about two months ago, requesting Botswana stories for her newspaper. It has been fun writing the stories and has helped me focus on what I really like about Botswana. Hope the readers of the Afro Trek blog enjoy them.

Wildlife Magic On Safari, Botswana Part 2

Trevor's Safari Continues - From The Daily Post, Liverpool

To read Trevor Peake's review of Sedia Riverside Hotel click this link.

"Herds of impala, zebra, and wildebeest abound in the Delta. Giraffe are encountered alone or in small groups, as are elephant, the Greater Kudu, a large browsing antelope, and Red Lechwe, another antelope with raised hindquarters and deeply splayed hooves which allow it to run swiftly through the shallow waters."

"Warthogs, wild dogs, mongoose and baboons are frequently spotted, but the sight of a leopard or any other member of the cat family is a rare treat, one denied us apart from the fairly comotose lions. But there is always an abundance of multi-coloured birdlife, with species too numerous to mention."

"A must during my stay though, was a mokoro trip. A mokoro is a native dug-out canoe, poled through the shallow waters of the Delta in almost total silence, which leaves the birds undisturbed to put on a display as they go about their business."

Botswana National Bird?

In an earlier blog I mentioned that the Lilac Breasted Roller was the national bird of Botswana. A member of Birdlife Botswana has commented that Botswana does not have a national bird. I defer to his far more knowledgeable perspective and would like to set the record straight.

I was talking about the lilac breasted roller this week with a local guide and he expressed surprise. In the end we recognized it may be one of the great bird mysteries of Botswana. Where did the misconception start? Perhaps the lilac breasted roller should be made the national bird of Botswana and take it's place proudly alongside the zebra. It would look good on the coat of arms for Botswana.

You are encouraged to click on the Birdlife Botswana link above to find out what is happening with birds in Botswana. To go to the source of the photo please click here. I am so slow with a camera it would take me forever to get a photo of this beautiful bird.

Maun and 'The Gates of Eden'

Sunday morning, my friend Ernest and I start out from Sedia Riverside Hotel on a trip up the Boro River and into Moremi Wildlife Reserve. To get from the Thamalakane River to the Boro you have to travel under two bridges - the water levels are now high enough to navigate all the way upstream by boat. Like Jacques Cousteau, alot of our outing is about research is about water.

The current is pushing downstream and the flood peak could still be a month away. Going up the Bore to the buffalo fence is about 12 km. You see domestic animals, birds and a variety of farming and garden plots along the river. The buffalo fence is the boundary of the Moremi Wildlife Reserve. Here, everything changes.

Now you enter the 'Gates of Eden' or as close as I am going to get in this lifetime. You don't go too many kilometres before you see wildlife. You feel like you are on a wet safari - cape buffalo, giraffe and elephants are not uncommon. The narrow river channel arcs and bends in front of you. The panorama is wonderful.

Today we spend about half an hour watching elephants have their morning bath and eat brunch. Their brunch is a combination of river grasses and stripping branches from bushes. We have our lunch at a lagoon futher up stream and try some fishing. The lunch was satisfying and the fishing disappointing. Changing lures, adding small chunks of ham and even spitting on the lures didn't work. Fishing stories will have to wait for another trip

Gliding Through Nature - A Bird's Eye View.

A very popular activity is a 1 or 2 day mokoro trip - complete with poler and guide. You can see the abundance of nature the Okavango Delta has to offer. Bird lovers and photographers, in particular, love the silent way you can enter into different habitats - capture what is happening and move on.

Afro Trek partners with Mokoro Trails, a local community trust - delivering and picking up visitors. Mokoro trips are an eco-tourism activity that gives the visitor a snapshot view of a traditional mode of transport. Motswanna have for centiries been navigating for the maze of channels that is the Okavango Delta.

Along with birds you are likely to see various antelope, elephant, buffalo, zebra, giraffe and lion. Doing the Mokoro Trails and participating in this type of eco-tourism make a positive impact to the polers and their communities, without compromising our environment. Enjoy one of the largest inland deltas in the world - the feeling can be overwhelming. When you get home - your photos and videos will help you regain your composure.

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