Africa Adventure Part 2

by Paul Klockenbrink
(USA)

The other male leopard had dragged an impala up in a tree and feasted on that kill during our entire stay at Kings Pool, while snarling at the hopeful hyenas below.

Paul's Safari Details: Rating: 10 +++++/10 Safari company used: The Africa Adventure Company (make an enquiry) Parks visited: Botswana: Moremi Game Reserve (Bodamatau), Kings Pool (Linyanti Reserve); Zimbabwe: Mana Pools (Vundu Tented Camp) Date of safari: 26 July - 6 August 2009 More Botswana safari reviews » Review Index: Wildlife Typical day In Part 1: Safari operator performance Accommodation Food Other activities Tips & advice Free Safari Photography e-Book Get the "Better Safari Photography" e-book, which pinpoints exactly what you need to know and do before, during and after your safari trip to improve your safari photography results whether you are a novice, intermediate or advanced photographer.

Wildlife

Wow where does one begin??

In Moremi, Elephants ruled this part of our trip in more ways than one! We were overwhelmed by the beauty of these magnificent mammals, but also learned that they demand the utmost respect.

Even on our first day, several agitated elephants made their massive presence known by trumpeting and making a bluff charge while only a few feet from our vehicles.

Perhaps this bluff charge was a foreshadowing of our second day in Moremi as our vehicle took a head-on hit from a cow elephant that did not appreciate our presence. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the vehicle was damaged and nerves were "slightly shattered".

Our next days in the Moremi bush included more "close encounters" not only with elephants, but also wild dogs feasting on a recent impala kill, and a spectacular male cheetah posing tirelessly for sunset photographs only a few feet away from the entire group.

One evening, we were lucky enough to observe a lonely male lion in a field next to our camp roaring under the celestial skies. Such a moment is impossible to describe, particularly the decibel level of the roar.

Huge kudos to our guides David and Brian who were beyond entertaining and were relentless in their search for whatever we seemed to be craving.

Other Moremi highlights included African wildcat, steenbok, serval, giraffe, wildebeest, hyena, warthogs, honey badgers, lechwe, tsessebe, reedbuck, kudu, buffalo, zebra, blackbacked jackal, hippos, impalas, waterbuck, baboons, vervet monkeys, Cape clawless otter, crocodiles, hippos and birds galore - ostrich, hornbills, bee-eaters, rollers, fish eagles, red necked falcons and saddle-billed stork.

At Kings Pool, we continued to see an amazing diversity of wildlife; it became clear from the beginning that this was leopard land. Our guides talked about the various leopards in the area and were extremely knowledgeable about their habits and where they could be seen, which only compounded our expectations.

We were unbelievably fortunate to not only see two different leopards at close range feeding on recent kills, but some of our group saw a young leopard make an acrobatic kill of a squirrel.

As in Moremi, the photographic opportunities were endless, and included a lioness and her two cubs taking a siesta.

Mana Pools offers unique opportunities for adventurous tourists… walking safaris and canoeing. The area is veritable wildlife Eden.

Our group, including all the children, went canoeing down the Zambezi river each day. The proximity to hippos, crocs, elephants and birds was simply breathtaking and never boring!!

Coming face to face with bull elephants on foot or in a canoe; you are pleased that you have some of the best trained guides in the world.

As we walked through the tall "adrenaline grass", it was breathtaking to come out on the other side and see a pair of lions - staring us down.

Wild dogs and lions were seen throughout our stay.

Those in the vehicle will never forget the elephant charge but the trip "spots" were the cats and dogs. The leopards and cheetah were magnificent. We watched lions and wild dogs hunt. Watching the lonely male lion roar under the stars was like something out of a movie. And crawling up within a few feet to a group of wild dogs was surreal. Not sure how we could match the rush we felt on foot or by canoe when approaching the bull elephants.

Our group likes an adventure and we were not disappointed!!!!

Typical Day

Our entire group of 14 loaded up in two vehicles just before or at sunrise-ready to "compete" with each other for the best sightings!

Because we were wildlife crazy, a couple times we never even made it back for an organized lunch - but we were always well fed.

Other days we did get back to relax some and nap at rooms after lunch before our evening game drives that started around 4:30 or earlier. Our guides were flexible and willing!!!!

Bedtime was usually between 9:30-10pm. In Mana Pools, we would head out for the first game drive between 6-6:30.

Typically we would drive to an interesting part of the Park via the Land Rovers, park and head out on foot. The guides were totally flexible as to how we spent the rest of our day - but we chose the canoeing adventure each afternoon.

One day we had a beautiful full brunch on a sandbar in the Zambezi river surrounded by Hippos!

We would usually wrap up the afternoon with a cocktail delivered down river or at the central camp to watch the sunset over the mountains.

We would then have a chance to clean up and relax before dinner.

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