Okovango Delta & Livingstone18th November – 2nd December 2008
Itinerary:
Tuesday 18th November
Fly Manchester – Amsterdam – Johannesburg
Overnight at airport hotel
Wednesday 19th November
Fly Johannesburg – Mau – Xakanaxa
Five nights camping in Moremi
Monday 24th November
Move camp by road to Kwai for five nights
Saturday 29th November
Fly Kwai – Kasani. Road/ferry transfer into Zambia
Two nights at Royal Livingstone Hotel, Livingstone.
Monday 1st – Tuesday 2nd December
Fly Livingstone – Johannesburg – Paris – Manchester
Tuesday 18th NovemberAfter months of planning, anticipation and mounting excitement the four of us met at 4.00am at Manchester airport to check in for our flights to Johannesburg leaving our vehicles in the care of an airport parking service which proved excellent.
The flight to Amsterdam passed quickly and without incident and we had a couple of hours in the airport lounge before boarding the long all-day flight to Johannesburg arriving at 9.00pm local time. Eleven hours spent reading books, doing sudokus and crosswords seemed to pass relatively quickly presumably because we were all excited by the prospect of two weeks in Africa!
For the last hour of the flight as we approached Johannesburg in the dark we could see lightening all around us and this was a sign of the weather to come. Our experience of the immigration department was as tedious as usual, but eventually we were looking for transport to our airport hotel. Although our taxi had a minor shunt on the way, we eventually arrived safely at the hotel. It was now getting late and with an early start tomorrow, we went straight to our beds.
Wednesday 19th NovemberEarly breakfast at the hotel before using the shuttle bus to airport to catch the 90 minute flight to Maun where we were met by Spike Williamson who is a partner of the company that helped us organise our holiday. We had used the company on two previous trips and had found their service to be excellent.
We then had a 45 minute flight in a six seater cessna to the Xakanaxa airstrip where we were met by David Carson whose company had supplied vehicles, tents, equipment and the all important camp staff. David had been recommended by Spike and he proved to be an excellent choice. He drove us via an aging elephant and small calf to our campsite and introduced us to Kinessis the chef, as well as Washington and Felix who were to look after us so well for the next ten days.
Unpacking was neither necessary nor possible as we had brought so little with us and there was nothing to unpack into! So after a lateish lunch and a few minutes of acclimatisation we were soon off on our first game drive. It was a nice sunny evening and we soon discovered the vast numbers of impala in the area. These provide the staple diet of the big predators. With the onset of the rains had come the birth of many young impalas which provide many an easy meal at this time of year.
We also saw a small herd of zebras many of which showed signs of close encounters with lions.
A herd of about 25 elephants of all sizes provided a lovely sight in the evening sunlight as they made their leisurely way across the front of our vehicle. As the rains had arrived, we were warned that most of the elephants had dispersed into surrounding areas but we proved to be fortunate whilst at Xakanaxa in finding herds on several occasions.
The evening game drives at Xakanaxa were relatively short as the park rules do not allow vehicles outside camp after 7.00pm. This rule got stretched occasionally as we crept back to camp in the dark with headlamps off!
After a delicious dinner we were in our tents by 9.30pm.
Thursday 20th November5.00am. Awoken (if asleep!) by Washington’s “knock, knock” and the slosh of warm water into our wash basins outside the tents. After morning ablutions and a quick breakfast of fruit, cereal, yoghurts, toast, tea or coffee we were back on the trail of game by 6.00am. Overnight elephants had been through the camp whilst we were all awake. I was amazed at how they could move through so silently breaking only the occasional twig and dropping dung which made a soft “splat” as it hit the ground!
Our plan was to find the Xakanaxa lion pride which were heard roaring in the distance. Despite extensive searching the lions proved too elusive on this occasion. We stopped for coffee and buttermilk rusks and noticed a giraffe staring in a particular direction. After a short while other vehicles converged on the area that the giraffe had pointed to and we quickly joined the “circus”. The focus of attention was a beautiful male leopard which crossed our path and went up our tree. David correctly predicted that the other six vehicles wouldn’t stay long as the lodges all have regimented timetables so we soon had the leopard to ourselves. We stayed with him for two and a half hours before we lost him as he went hunting in impenetrable woodland. During that time he had given us many memorable moments through binoculars and photo lenses. Although the sky was overcast, and at times it was drizzling, we got some great photo opportunities.
We had got so close (almost underneath) at one stage that one of our party was not allowed out of the vehicle for his regular comfort break. His agility in relieving himself out of the rear corner of the vehicle was admirable, especially as we were all laughing so much!
This lengthy leopard sighting made us very late for lunch, so there was no time for even the briefest of siestas before we were out again at 4.00pm. We then witnessed an impressive herd of over 100 elephants which appeared to be migrating fast out of our area. Sadly some other vehicles seemed to be accelerating their progress and it was impossible to follow them for long.
We then continued the morning’s quest for lions and the pride was eventually discovered in the mopane woodland. They began to move as it went dark and we brought up the rear of the pride behind the mature male who hurried for nobody! Eventually, and a little after the 7.00pm curfew, we made our way back to camp for dinner, during which the other mature male of the pride strolled past our camp about 200m away giving the occasional roar.
Friday 21st NovemberThis was our boating day when we were to sample the pleasures of travelling by mokoru in the Okovango delta. We had been slightly apprehensive about these from both a safety angle and also whether we would be too low down in the water to be able to see over the reeds. However, we were persuaded that we should experience these traditional canoes and had an hour’s drive to where we were to board our craft.
On the way we saw reedbuck, four very handsome male Kudu and a lone lioness fast asleep by the road. On arrival we had coffee and rusks (buttermilk again today), before boarding our mokorus which were ably propelled by Organ and Kenny. Spike had a third mokoru to himself as David drove back so that he could meet us with the vehicle at the Xakanaxa lodge later in the afternoon. It took us a little while to get used to the apparent instability of our boats but eventually we relaxed and I think we all enjoyed the experience. It was very peaceful to be silently propelled against the current through the fairly narrow channels of the delta.
The water lilies and water chestnut created a floating surface for the painted reed frogs to hop around on. It was indeed impossible to see over the reeds, but at least we had no problems with hippos! After a couple of hours they become pretty uncomfortable as the seats had no cushioning and you are sitting at a strange angle, so it was a relief when we were caught up by the motorised boat that brought our lunch and welcome drinks. We transferred into this more stable craft and having visited a vast heronry with huge numbers of Maribou stalks and witnessed a crossing male elephant, our driver then took us to an island for a picnic lunch. During lunch we listened to the song of a white-browed robinchat. After lunch we had a two hour trip downstream to the Xakanaxa lodge to meet David. On the way we saw lots of birdlife including the colourful malachite kingfisher. Our driver insisted that it was safer to travel at speed to scare the hippos so I for one was relieved to eventually leave the noise of the motor-boat.
The day had started sunny and became hot briefly before thunderstorms started brewing up all around. We were very fortunate to stay dry during the boating expedition, but the rain started once we got back into David’s vehicle. We found the Xakanaxa pride again and they looked a rather sad group in the rain. They all looked fairly thin and hadn’t eaten recently. The two mature males were back together with their pride. Another driver then alerted us to a nearby cheetah sighting so we left the pride and found about four vehicles watching a female cheetah about 100m away in long grass. This cheetah had recently lost the last of her two cubs and, like the lion pride, looked a bit forlorn in the rain. After a while, the rain stopped and she began to move off. The other vehicles made their way back to their lodges as it was nearly 7.00pm but we stayed with the cheetah and were rewarded with her posing for us in a beautiful sunset. When it was nearly dark she tried stalking some nearby impala but we could just make out the impala running off leaving the cheetah unsuccessful.
Saturday 22nd NovemberThis morning we set off towards another area, Bodumatau, where there is another pride of lions. We had only driven about a mile when Kinessis radioed to say that the camp vehicle wouldn’t start so it was back to camp to tow-start it. This failed, and it became clear that there was a more worrying electrical problem. Today was Spike’s birthday and his birthday wish was to have an aardvark sighting! We found no lions, no aardvark but plenty of hippos, crocodiles, monitor lizard, and Spike saw a Serval cat which we could not entice out of some scrub. David spotted an ostrich egg by the track but we decided to leave it where it was.
After lunch there was even time for a short rest and showers while David tinkered with the car batteries etc in an effort to get both vehicles back to full health. We were off again at 4.00pm and were alerted by a lone impala snorting in alarm at something nearby. Unfortunately, this was the moment that David’s vehicle began to experience electrical problems and we were left with just a fleeting glimpse of the back of what we think was a cheetah. When we tried to start the vehicle to pursue the chase, there was just a “click” and by the time the battery terminals were tightened the cat was long gone. After another sundowner and sunset session, we began to make our way back to camp when we were informed of a cheetah with a kill. It was virtually dark when we found the cheetah but it was good to see her hastily filling her belly with impala. Back at camp we had Spike’s birthday dinner when the camp staff sang happy birthday and presented him with his home-made cake. Today was also my brother’s 50th birthday so I rang him on the satellite phone with appropriate best wishes and regrettably learnt of South Africa’s 40 point win over England at Twickenham.
Sunday 23rd November5.00am knock - knock as usual, and we were treated to a spectacular sunrise at camp whilst we had breakfast.
Not far out of camp we found two jackal cubs playing in the sunshine. We then found lion tracks and were following them when we got a tip-off from our camp staff that the lions were nearby with a hippo that they had killed the evening before. We got to them immediately and found them all full of hippo meat sleeping in the morning sun. Occasionally they would have another chew at the carcass but they really couldn’t fit any more in! It was interesting seeing one of the lionesses covering the hippo entrails with sand to prevent the smell attracting vultures. One young female was limping badly and must have been hurt in a scrap during or after the killing of the hippo. There was water nearby and the lions occasionally awoke from their slumbers to have a drink. As the sun got higher and hotter they began to look for shade and some came to the shade at the side of the vehicle which was exciting. The inevitable vultures duly started to arrive but the lionesses defended the carcass. After nearly two hours we decided to leave the pride and went in search of other excitements.
After coffee and rusks, we had a fleeting glimpse of a snake slithering away from the side of the road and soon afterwards David had a miraculous leopard sighting. All he had seen was a paw and short length of tail hanging down about 30 yards away in fairly thick woodland. It was only visible to him for a second or so as he drove by. This leopard was as relaxed and as photogenic as the male we saw on Wednesday and we watched her for a couple of hours before she came down for water.
We then lost her as she made her way into thick cover and so made our way back to camp for a very late lunch after a really memorable morning.
After showers and a cup of tea we set off back to the lion pride but word had got around and there were too many vehicles in attendance. Later we found two smallish herds of elephants (about 15 – 20 in each) which we enjoyed watching for some time. Sundowners were taken by a nice lagoon with another good sunset. Team photos were taken along with several gin and tonics!
Monday 24th NovemberLast night after dinner the camp staff had started taking down the kitchen tent and this morning they busily continued their well rehearsed exercise in moving the entire camp to the next location. We left camp as usual at 6.00am and went to see how the pride of lions had fared overnight. As we arrived they were carrying off the last few bones to some bushes and then they relinquished what was left to the vultures. It was interesting to note that the vultures had not found the entrails under the sand. Before leaving the Xakanaxa area we stopped and watched a large herd of impala and zebras around a couple of waterholes enjoying the morning sun. On the way to Khwai we found an albino lechwe which David had seen earlier in the year when it was just a young calf. A strange and extraordinary sight which earned David plenty of congrtatulations!
We exited Moremi about 1.00pm and made our way into Khwai and stopped at a nice spot by the river for a picnic lunch. Khwai is an area that has been given to the local community to manage in return for them vacating Moremi in the 1960s. Some areas have been designated for hunting and another for game viewing. Night drives are allowed as is walking so long as you have a community ranger in attendance. With this in mind we had selected July as our ranger when entering the area.
After our lunch of chicken pie, salami and salad we continued the short distance to camp. The site was even nicer than the first, being more open and carpeted in short lush green grass – almost garden like! As it was already past 3.00pm we decided to relax in our new surroundings instead of further time in the vehicle. Drinks were served at 6.00pm before the wind got up as a storm approached. We were just about to settle into the mess tent for further drinks and dinner when July arrived having seen wild dogs not far from our camp. We rushed out and searched for them with thunder and lightning all around but sadly found no sign of them. So after dinner it was straight to bed vowing to be up even earlier to resume the search for the dogs.
Tuesday 25th November4.45am Knock knock and a hurried breakfast to be away by 5.30am. But we could still find no trace of the dogs. We did find, however, some fresh buffalo tracks and David was considering tracking them on foot when we came across them under a bush.
After examining an acacia tree split in two by lightning, we had coffee and rusks before undertaking a short walk and being shown various bones, plants and insects. It is fascinating to be shown the more detailed activities of insects and smaller mammals when in the bush on foot. It is not necessary to walk far and I would recommend this activity where it is allowed by the rules of the reserve. We then continued the game drive until lunchtime.
After lunch, showers and a short rest we set out again and immediately found a large herd of about 100 buffalos. Continuing, we got word from a rare encounter with another vehicle of a leopard with an impala not far away. We went to it and witnessed the female leopard leaving its kill under a bush and wandering off into thick cover. We waited while the sun set, hoping she would return to her kill but after a few sundowners she still hadn’t returned so drove on a little further in the dark finding some hyenas setting off for their night’s mischief. Then it was back to camp for dinner, and wondering whether the leopard had returned we set out again afterwards! There was no sign of the leopard but we saw an African wildcat and lots of spring hares. Straight to bed on return at 10.30pm.
Wednesday 26th November4.45am Knock knock and normal breakfast routine. We went straight to the leopard kill again but she had not been back but we could hear lions calling so considered a walk to try to find them. The Chobe border was so close, though, that David and Spike thought the lions could be over the boundary where we were not allowed to walk, so having seen another wildcat we decided against the walk. After coffee and rusks we tried a bit of fishing – David caught a small catfish but we couldn’t entice the Talipia (bream) onto the hooks. David got a leach firmly attached to his leg as he waded into the river. The gamedrive continued around the airstrip where some lions had been seen earlier but we found no sign. We spotted a bull elephant, and then saw a couple of ostriches with 10 large chicks and some warthogs of varying sizes led by a large male who performed an agile circular manoeuvre in alarming his family to the shelter of the bushes.
After lunch and showers we were out again and strangely found alot of leopard tortoises in one small area. We also found two separate herds of buffalos but generally we found very little before stopping for sundowners and a spot of fishing. Spike waded out up to his waist but still caught nothing except attracting the attentions of a leach. We drove back to camp in the dark seeing another bull elephant on the way. The champagne frogs were making the most amazing noise in all the wet areas and as we trained the spotlight on the water lots of bream jumped giving encouragement that fishing is not a complete waste of time.
Thursday 27th NovemberOvernight Spike had heard a leopard making its way through camp and we had all heard lions calling locally around 3.40am. We had a lie-in until 5.00am this morning and we set off with July walking from camp at around 6.00am. Quite soon we heard Kudu making some alarm barks and we decided to investigate. Following various alarms from squirrels, guinea fowl and francolin we eventually caught up with the source of the problem. David saw a leopard cub and we just caught a glimpse of the mother before they both disappeared into the thick cover. Spike had never seen a leopard whilst walking which demonstrates how lucky we were. After coffee we had another go at fishing whilst being watched closely by hippos. No success. Continuing the game drive we found more buffalos, warthogs and saw the same gang of ostriches.
The afternoon game drive turned out to be quite uneventful as we made our way to the airstrip area. We saw a herd of lechwe having a lot of fun cavorting in a flooded area but very little else. Sundowners were taken by the airstrip before we headed for camp in the dark. David spotted fresh lion tracks in the sandy road and we had followed them only a short distance before coming across the elusive pride just about to start hunting a herd of tsessabe. The lions lined out to stalk their prey, leaving one lioness minding the only cub. As the hunt was imminent the headlights were turned off so as not to influence the outcome in any way. We then heard the galloping of hooves and suddenly all was quiet again. We drove on just 100 yards and turned on the lights. A lioness had brought down a tsessabe and had pinned it to the ground by its neck, suffocating it. The rest of the pride wasted no time and were soon tearing into the stomach of the unfortunate beast.
This was nature at its most savage and we witnessed a very gruesome scene from about five yards dinstance! It was especially exciting as we were continually having to turn off all lights to make sure that we kept some life in the vehicle’s battery, otherwise we were consigned to spending the whole night in the close company of this pride. Having watched the lions gorge themselves for over an hour we drove back to camp in a state of shock or perhaps it was disbelief. Either way, we were virtually dumbstruck from what we had witnessed.
So it was a very late dinner but we were forgiven by Kinessis even though it was well past his “restaurant’s” closing time!
Friday 28th NovemberIt was virtually noiseless last night except for a distant hyena that I heard at about 3.00am. Knock knock at 4.45am as we wanted to get back to the lions before vehicles from Khwai lodge found them. On the way July spotted a female leopard with a semi devoured impala. She carried the remains of her kill under a bush and we felt sure that she would still be there later. We continued to the site of last night’s drama where we found the lions leaving the scene of the crime for the shade and privacy of some nearby thicket. We watched them settle down and preen each other before leaving them to slumber through the day. The scene of the kill was completely clean save the skull of the tsessabe. To underline the savagery of nature the calf of the deceased tsessabe was standing alone nearby. We went back towards the leopard but found a herd of buffalos in the area. They could smell the leopard or its kill but eventually moved away. The leopard and its kill had disappeared. We scoured the immediate area and found evidence of the prey having been dragged away. We were at the point of giving up when July spotted a leg of the impala up a tree. David and Spike assumed that hyenas had stolen the rest of the kill and we moved a distance away to see if the leopard would return. After some time we were again on the point of giving up when I spotted the leopard returning. She went up the tree even though a black kite had knocked the impala leg back down to earth. We got closer and had our third big opportunity of the trip to see leopards at very close quarters. She never totally relaxed and eventually returned to the thick cover without the impala leg.
We then all had a grasshopper hunt as July thought they would be the ideal bait to catch the Talipia. July was the most efficient, but even this bait proved totally ineffective!
After lunch and showers, we went back to the airstrip area to see how the pride were faring. They were not where we had left them and so we roamed around before stopping early for sundowners on the scene of the lion kill last night. Another guide then told us that the lions had killed a buffalo calf and immediately after Kinnesis radioed with the news that a leopard had killed an impala within yards of our tents. Drinks were forgotten and we set off back to camp taking a quick look at our lions feeding on a young buffalo on the way. Having got back in record time, we could find no sign of the leopard and after a brief hunt around the camp we jumped out for drinks and a barbeque dinner cooked by David over the camp fire. The steaks were a bit tough but combined with plenty of wine, it was a great final evening in the Delta.
Saturday 29th NovemberUp as usual at 5.00pm and as we packed the staff were taking down the kitchen, mess tent etc. All the equipment was going back to Kasani and the staff were then going back to Zimbabwe to their families for the first time in many weeks. We said our farewells and left camp as usual at 6.00pm.
We found the lion pride in the same area sleeping in some thicket having had their fill of buffalo. A small hiccup ensued as the camp radioed to admit that Felix had left some of our luggage in a tent. Having retrieved the bags, we slowly made our way to the airstrip by 8.30am in time to meet our plane to Kasani. This had been a wonderful adventure and the Okovango had lived up to our greatest expectations and we bade farewell to David. On the flight out of Khwai we flew over our campsite and saw the staff heading out having finished packing up.
Once in Kasani, we were met by a driver who took us to the river crossing over the Zambezi to Zambia. This was the first and only time we were hassled for trade of African goods. The crossing and subsequent border passport processes were lengthy but not impossible and we arrived at Livingstone in time for lunch. Spike’s partner, Rita, was already at the Royal Livingstone Hotel to greet us. We all had lunch together, while looking forward to 48 hours of rest before our flight back home. We booked a boat trip to Livingstone Island for lunch the following day. The rest of the day was spent by the pool or in our rooms watching New Zealand beat England with a bit to spare. Rita and Spike joined us for a very good dinner when we discussed our adventures of the past ten days. After ten nights of camping under canvas we really appreciated the comforts of a top class hotel.
Sunday 30th NovemberAfter a very good breakfast we walked to the falls but there was very little water flowing over the Zambian side. We could see the bungee jumping from the bridge but none of us fancied that experience!
We had a couple of drinks at the hotel before going to Livingston Island for lunch. Here you get a fantastic view of the falls if you are brave enough to get right to the edge. Other tourists were swimming in a pool right on the lip of the falls – not us though! After a good lunch we were taken back to the hotel where we relaxed for the afternoon before having a quiet last dinner and early bed.
Monday 1st DecemberBefore flying back to Johannesburg we took short helicopter flight over the falls which was a great experience enabling us to see this great spectacle from all angles. We then said our farewells to Spike and Rita before starting our long journey homewards. All connections worked perfectly and we were tired enough to sleep reasonably well on the overnight flight to Paris. We eventually got back to a snowy scene in Manchester at about 9.00am the following day. The heat of Africa was soon seemed a long way away!
