Morning safaris here are 6 - 9 am so no breakfast beforehand. We left at 6 sharp and, unfortunately, missed Brian and Sylvia in the head count due to the 4 vehicles constantly jockeying positions as they prepared to leave the hotel. We arrived within 15 minutes at the gate but had to do some quick thinking to figure out how to get them to us. Fortunately, the guides were on the ball, had them picked up and they pulled in a few minutes later and we were on our way.
We headed into the park with our tracker, Den, a very nice well-informed guide determined to find us what we wanted....cats....of the big variety!
On the way, we took the sandy road just above the water's edge so that we could look for animals drinking on the right as well as keep an eye on the high ground to the left for animals heading down to the water. There were plenty of impala as well as waterbok and some huge water buffalo and some hippos off in the distance on the island in the middle of the Chobe River.
There were also birds of many shapes, sizes and varieties. Let's see ......one of the most beautiful birds is the lilac-breasted roller with its amazing phosphorescent blue and green wings and blush-coloured chest. It is small and looks quite plain until it spreads its wings to fly and the sun catches the colour in the wings and they shine out like a bright spray of vibrant colour! There's the red-billed horn beak, the grey-hooded kingfisher, the African spoonbill, the morning dove, the black-winged stilt, the spur-winged goose, the sandpiper, the glossy ibis and the brown Egyptian goose. Larger birds are the white-backed vulture, the African fish eagle (very similar to our eagle), the yellow-billed stork, the open-billed stork, the Maribu stork and the great white egret. And, of course, my absolute favourite - the lily trotter (think I called it a lily jumper in a former blog - my bad!). Last but not least, the guinea fowl - looks like a cousin of our Canadian pheasant - plain grey with little white spots but the most beautiful little bright blue head you can see when you get up close.
We spotted another pod of hippos and the guide explained that a dominant male may have up to 20 females in his pod that he keeps under guard from other males. A hippo travels mostly at night when it is cool to get its food. It travels up to 20 km. a night from the water and can eat up to 130 kg. a night. It stays in the water during the day to stay out of the heat of the sun as its skin is actually very thin, almost pink, and can burn and cause pain. (Other names for groups of hippos are: school, raft or thumb).
We also saw a few crocs but from a distance. They can grow up to 30 m. long and up to 120 years in age. The female will lay her eggs in a hole she digs in the sand on the bank of the river. She then guards the site for almost 3 months before the 60-80 eggs she's lain hatch. She then takes the young into the water and stays with them for only about 3 weeks before she leaves them on their own. Only roughly 10-20 % survive.
We gradually drove away from the river and up to a safe (?) site for a
coffee/tea break and then back into the safari vehicle. Suddenly, Den
told us there had been a leopard spotting and he took off with us in the vehicle holding on for dear life! We bounced around as he drove around bushes and
in soft sand (like mud) before we came across a number of vehicles stopped
up ahead.
Den was on the shortwave trying to get the low-down on the leopard from the other guides and he explained to us the leopard was in a low growth green bush about 40 feet away. The bush was very dense and it was unbelievably hard to try to make out a leopard when he was so well-hidden but I finally spotted (pardon the pun) what I believed was a part of him so I took the shot! Eileen, who was sitting behind me, also caught a glimpse of him and got a shot and then very kindly offered to take a photo for someone else who wasn't in the right position. She took the picture and got the best shot yet!
The leopard was very hard to see but we saw what we could of him and it was exciting! We went back to the lodge for coffee and breakfast and to share the stories of our adventures!
Break time until our 3 pm river safari was spent by the gang getting to know the area. Some walked a few blocks to a bank at a nearby mall to get pula, the local currency, (not puma, which I mistakenly blurted out and it seemed to stick!). Others explored the local artisans' huts and did some shopping. Then there were the poolside people who soaked up some rays before cooling off in the pool. Then we all gathered again for the afternoon cruise.
We walked across the road to the sister lodge, Chobe Safari Lodge, through their lobby, past the pool and down onto the dock on the river. We all loaded into one large pontoon boat and headed out on the Chobe River.
It wasn't long before we were seeing huge crocs on the river banks and we were able to get up to only a few feet away! On the island, on the opposite river bank were hippos out of the water grazing on the grass and high reeds. There were a large number of Cape buffalo (not water buffalo) grazing on the island as well and, again, we were able to get up very close and get fabulous pictures!
Den was on the shortwave trying to get the low-down on the leopard from the other guides and he explained to us the leopard was in a low growth green bush about 40 feet away. The bush was very dense and it was unbelievably hard to try to make out a leopard when he was so well-hidden but I finally spotted (pardon the pun) what I believed was a part of him so I took the shot! Eileen, who was sitting behind me, also caught a glimpse of him and got a shot and then very kindly offered to take a photo for someone else who wasn't in the right position. She took the picture and got the best shot yet!
The leopard was very hard to see but we saw what we could of him and it was exciting! We went back to the lodge for coffee and breakfast and to share the stories of our adventures!
Break time until our 3 pm river safari was spent by the gang getting to know the area. Some walked a few blocks to a bank at a nearby mall to get pula, the local currency, (not puma, which I mistakenly blurted out and it seemed to stick!). Others explored the local artisans' huts and did some shopping. Then there were the poolside people who soaked up some rays before cooling off in the pool. Then we all gathered again for the afternoon cruise.
We walked across the road to the sister lodge, Chobe Safari Lodge, through their lobby, past the pool and down onto the dock on the river. We all loaded into one large pontoon boat and headed out on the Chobe River.
It wasn't long before we were seeing huge crocs on the river banks and we were able to get up to only a few feet away! On the island, on the opposite river bank were hippos out of the water grazing on the grass and high reeds. There were a large number of Cape buffalo (not water buffalo) grazing on the island as well and, again, we were able to get up very close and get fabulous pictures!
The sights and scenes were incredible! There was waterbok as well as the African fish eagle and the great white egret along with the kingfisher and the lilac-breasted roller. The next thing we knew, a lone elephant was making its way down to the water's edge so the guide headed over that way to get closer. The elephant actually "jogged" down the beach to a soft, grassy area and stopped. Then it stuck its trunk in the water and began drinking and bathing itself and we were only about 60 feet away! I took video because pictures, alone, don't capture the whole essence of what's happening and it was incredible!
We were all transfixed watching this show until he finally lumbered away off into the distance.
We turned around and went back the way we'd come and continued getting fabulous pics of the hippos in and out of the water (I'd never seen hippos on land grazing before - very cool). And seeing so many Cape buffalo was also a treat.
Then our guide manoeuvred the pontoon to get the best sunset shots we could with different animals and very African-looking trees in the foreground. All in all, it was probably the best river safari of the trip and we talked about it all through dinner!
Tomorrow......Victoria Falls!......am so excited!.........JT
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