Luxury Safari Holidays

The Busanga Plains is a great birding area and the open grassland areas are home to Rosy throated longclaw, Secretary bird, Grey crowned crane, wattled crane, African marsh carrier, red capped lark and saddle billed brook.

A group of guests recently spotted an unusual bird on a morning game drive. The snow white bird was spotted at Shumba Bridge between Shumba and Kapinga Camps. It was spotted feeding amongst a group of hamerkops. On closer inspection the bird was identified as a hamerkop with a pale plumage. The hamerkops usually have a brown colouration. This unusual colour is known as leucism – a lack of the melanin pigment. This differs from albinism which is a lack of any pigmentation. The bird had a few brown feathers with dark legs.

This sighting seems to be the first of its kind as there is no other reference to this mutation in this species.

The Busanga Plains are situated in the north western part of the Kafue National Park. These spectacular Plains are a vast expanse stretching in all directions as far as the eye can see. The Lufupa River feeds the floodplains – when the river bursts its banks and then recedes, it leaves rich grasslands that attracts huge herds of antelopes. The northern regions are also home to large numbers of sitatunga, red lechwe and puku and predators like leopard and lion are frequently seen.

Fifty years ago, lechwe were almost extinct in the area but their numbers have gradually increased over the years, since the creation of the national park.

Tags: Busanga Plains, Kafue National Park, Kapinga Camp, Shumba Camp, Zambia Safari

An adult Lappet-faced vulture was recently sighted by a guide and his group of guests at Mana Pools. It was seen amongst white backed, hooded and white headed vultures at an impala kill. On closer inspection the group noticed the bird was tagged. After doing some research it was discovered that the bird was initially tagged in October 2009 at a nest in Namibia – quite some distance from Mana Pools.

Over the last couple of years over 1000 vultures have been fitted with tags throughout southern Africa and since then there have been 3000 re-sightings of these birds. The project has revealed some interesting findings about their movements that will hopefully assist with the conservation of these raptors that are under constant threat. Electrocution from power lines, poisoning by farmers, traditional medicine and habitat destruction are just some examples of how these birds are under threat.

Mana Pools National Park is a conservation area situated in the northern region of Zimbabwe. The area turns into a broad expanse of lakes after the rainy season and as the area dries up the region attracts a large number of animals which arrive to search for water. It is one of Africa’s most renowned game viewing areas.

The word Mana means four in Shona – a reference to the four large permanent pools formed by the middle Zambezi. The pools are surrounded by mahogany, wild fig, ebony and baobab trees. The Mana Pools National Park is one of Africa’s least developed parks, much of which is only accessible on foot, and is home to huge populations of crocodile and hippo as well as huge herds of buffalo and elephant. Black rhino are always about and predators like lion, cheetah and leopards are frequently spotted. The park is also home to 380 species of bird including the white collared pratincole, banded snake eagle, yellow spotted nicator, Nyasa lovebird and Livingstone’s lovecatcher.

The Mana Pools National Park is perfect for those who enjoy guided walking safaris and the river adds another dimension to a safari as it is ideal for canoe safaris.

Tags: africa safari, luxury africa, Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe Safari

A rhino relocation took place recently in the Kunene region of Namibia. The rhino is now being monitored to assess its well being and adaption to its new home in the Palmwag Concession.

The exercise was essentially airborne – with the rhinos being spotted by aircraft and then darted from a helicopter and transported in a Huey helicopter. The animals then had transmitters implanted in their horns and were tranquilised and transported to the release sights.

Post release tracking revealed one of the animals had moved over a 100km’s in four days. The animals will continue to be monitored to ensure that they settle safely in their new areas. There have been no mortalities amongst the rhino which is testament to the skill of all those involved.

The relocation was a combined effort of multiple organisations including the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Save the Rhinos, Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation and Wilderness Safaris.

Desert Rhino Camp is situated in the Palmwag Concession amongst the rolling, rocky hills and scrubby vegetation. The Palmwag Concession is known for its calm, tranquil beauty and has a diversity of desert adapted wildlife which includes the largest free roaming black rhino population in Africa. The camp is a collaborative effort between Wilderness safaris and the Save the Rhino Trust. The rhino population has almost doubled since the formation of the Save the Rhino Trust – a remarkable achievement in a very short time. During the 1980’s poaching almost wiped out the entire rhino population.

The accommodation consists of 8 Meru style canvas tents that have been built off the ground on raised decks. Each tent has a private viewing veranda where guests can enjoy beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and stunning sunsets.

Tags: africa safari, Desert Rhino Camp, luxury africa, Namibia Safari, Palmwag Concession

A wild dog pack were frequently seen around the Kwedi Concession - Botswana -  in the last few months. Amongst the pack was a heavily pregnant alpha female who seemed to be on the look out for a den site. Towards early June this female was no longer spotted with the pack while out hunting. The guides observed as they dogs would make a kill, feasting frantically before heading off in a northerly direction. Most of the sightings were confined to fleeting glimpses of shapes running through the bush in the morning or at sunset. This behaviour indicated that pups were on the way or had already been born as the pack was obviously taking food back to the female.

More recently two of the camps guides spotted dog tracks in the mopane woodland. They decided to follow the tracks into the bush where they came across a small clearing not far from a pan. Below one of the dead trees they saw the opening to a new den with fresh dog tracks in the surrounding soil. Unfortunately the pups were not in sight that day but few days later the guides decided to return to the den site – this time leaving the camp before first light. It took some time for them to find the site and after two hours or so they were in the right place.

They parked some distance away so as not to disturb the dogs and then sat patiently and waited. At about 0800am their patience was rewarded as they spotted the squealing pack returning from a morning hunt. The female in the den reciprocated, emerging from the hole as they arrived. A short while later a fluffy faced pup stuck its tiny little head out of the hole. It gave the guides a quick glance before running to the safety of the main pack. The guides returned their gaze to the den where a bunch of pups emerged, following the first pup to the adults.

The guides estimated the age of the pups to be between 6 and 8 weeks. They attempted to count them but this proved to be an impossible task at first as the pups were jostling for the attention of the adults. Eventually, they counted nine new additions to the Vumbura Plains pack.

Tags: africa safari, kwedi concession, luxury Botswana safari, luxury safari, vumbura plains

A recent sighting reminded everyone at Shumba Camp that they needn’t always venture too far from the camp to experience spectacular wildlife sightings. The Busanga Pride were spotted killing a red lechwe opposite one of the guests tents. The guests were woken to the roaring sounds of the two males and four adult lionesses. The guests decided to give the sunrise viewing a miss and headed straight out on a game drive in search of the lions. They travelled a mere 100 metres out of the camp where they came across a male tucking into the red lechwe. He was growling at the other lions – a warning for them to keep a safe distance. The dejected females moved off to the side. Later on in the day when the group was returning to the camp they came across one of the prides lionesses hunting a puku. Unfortunately she failed in her attempt – probably as a result of her impatience.

One of the other highlights on this game drive was a stop at the Mukambi Island where they spotted an African Marsh Harrier quartering over the reeds. They also spotted a Rosy throated Longclaw in the nearby grass as well as a herd of about 450 buffalo.

Shumba Camp is situated in the centre of the Busanga Plains in the Kafue National Park in Zambia. The plains are flooded for most of the year creating a perfect, yet inaccessible bird sanctuary. During the dry season beween July and October the plains can be reached by four wheel drive. At this time the vast open plains are ideal for spotting wildlife – which includes hundreds of red lechwe, puku, stately roan and oribi as well as herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo and Lichtenstein’s hartebeest. The shear wealth of game attracts a large number of predators like wild dog, lion and cheetah.

Tags: africa safari, Kafue National Park, luxury africa, Shumba Camp, Zambia Safari

Chintheche Inn was host to quite a few sailors this month. The 25th International Yacht race ended on the shores of Chintheche – with an exciting finish. The race, which starts in the south of Lake Malawi, is the longest freshwater sailing race in the world.

The atmosphere is always great, especially at the finish when the sails of the 40 yachts start to appear on the horizon and everyone strains to see who is in the lead. The staff were on hand to help pull the boats out of the water and the sailors were offered hot sweet potato soup and bread rolls.

Later that night the Inn played host to 200 people who enjoyed a variety of delicious dishes prepared by the chefs. The party continued well into the wee hours.

Chintheche Inn is set on the northern shores of the beautiful Lake Malawi – with hundreds of metres of pristine white sandy beaches with opportunity for great snorkelling, beach walks, boating, cultural interactions, diving, swimming and bird watching.

Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa, is an African Great Lake – the third largest in Africa and the eighth largest in the world. It is the second deepest lake in Africa with more species of fish (450 recorded species) than any other body of water on the planet. The birdlife is also spectacular and include species such as kingfisher, fish eagle, heron, jacana, egret and white breasted cormorant.

The lake measures 370 miles in length and is 45 miles wide in places. The total surface area is 11 429 square miles. The lake has shorelines on western Mozambique, eastern Malawi and southern Tanzania.

Tags: Lake Malawi, Lake Nyasa, luxury africa, luxury safari, Malawi

The mornings have been bathed in a thick mist – Swakopmund weather in the heart of Damaraland. This is as a result of the very cold winds that have been blowing in from the ocean. It has created an interesting contrast with the parched plains – accentuated occasionally with a few green shoots along the edge of the river systems.Some excellent news from the camp is that three of the elephant cows are pregnant with two arrivals expected any day now. Some of the guests have even been lucky enough to see the babies moving in their mummies tummies.

A recent addition to the wildlife population is a baby steenbok. It was recently spotted in the Aba Huab river with its mother and her male companion. Steenbok do not rely on water for their survival. They only drink on rare occasions and during the dry season they feed on high moisture plants like bulbs and tubers.

Doro Nawas Camp is situated in the rugged area of Damaraland. It s set on a small rocky outcrop within the floodplain of a small tributary of the Huab River. The elevated location provides endless seemingly endless views of the beautiful Etendeka Mountains and red sandstone cliffs of Twyfelfontein – an area renowned for its San rock engravings.

The camp is a joint venture between Wilderness Safaris and the local community. The majority of staff are from the local community and revenue from outsourced services such as laundry, road maintenance, land leasing, staffing of radio outposts and a percentage of accommodation revenue flows back into the community.

Activities include nature drives and wildlife viewing at the riverbed and along the valleys. You may be luckily enough during your stay to spot a rare desert adapted elephant on one of your game drives. You will also enjoy an expedition to Twyfelfontein to see the largest collection of petro glyphs in Africa.

 

Tags: africa safari, Damaraland, Doro Nawas Camp, luxury africa, Namibia Safari

The winter season has reached its peak with variable weather. Warm afternoons are followed by cold evenings caused by the freezing breezes blowing in from the south. As a result of the weather conditions the landscape is becoming drier by the day and increasing numbers of animals have been making their way down to the various waterholes. Large herds make their way to these watering holes at dusk and at dawn, in silent, single file.

The agile striped tree squirrel are often spotted hopping about the walk ways and jumping between trees. Other guaranteed sighting of smaller mammals.

In the lodge area include rock hyrax and dassie rat. Baboons have been regular visitors to the camp – a rather unusual occurrence at little Ongava. These chattering primates are usually spotted at the waterhole.

The lodge is situated in the Ondundozonanandana Mountains – an area of interesting volcanic rock formations. The dolomite rocks with traces of iron oxide have often – at first glance – been mistaken for bushmen paintings. The lodge commands fine views across the reserve from the top of these mountains and is a spectacular place for seeing wildlife, scenery and other desert features of Etosha. Ongava has a large private wildlife reserve where you can expect to see white and black rhino and a good range of plains game. You will also be able to venture into the Etosha National Park where you will find herds of elephant, leopard, cheetah, lion, oryx, hartebeest and black rhino. The birdlife is also fascinating with several fine examples of desert mammals including ruppel’s parrot, pygmy falcon and raptors.

Another incredible feature to the Etosha National Park is the shimmering white salt pans which provide an interesting mirage like backdrop for photographing wildlife.

Tags: africa safari, Etosha National Park, little ongava, luxury safari, Namibia Safari

The temperatures have been slowly rising since the end of June with the passing of the winter solstice – although it is still too early to give up on the cosy hot water bottles which help to keep off the cool morning breezes.

One of the most memorable experiences at Selinda Camp must be the opportunity to view the spectacular tangerine glow sunrises. Guests can watch it whilst enjoying their breakfast on the front deck. As soon as the sun rises over the palm trees the temperatures rise.

The Linyanti water levels continue to rise and the boat jetties had to be modified to accommodate – luckily in the last week or so the water has started to subside a little. The guests, however, have been thrilled by the boat transfers from the airstrip which provides a wonderful introduction to the camp. The highlight of this boat safari is spotting the fish eagle nest which at the moment is occupied by two chicks. The parents of these two chicks are often spotted catching large bream. Guests can also see hippo which at this time of the year are spending a lot of time out of the water - making the most of the sunny weather.

The wildlife at Selinda Camp is always prolific and guests are fortunate enough not to have to travel too far to experience it. On most afternoons a breeding herd of elephants can be spotted at the camp. They are very entertaining - often interacting with the resident hippo. Two honey badgers have been spotted foraging at night and a pair of Dickinson’s kestrels has been roosting in the camps roof. They have been spotted hunting for frog and toad. On a recent game drive cheetah, wild dog, leopard, lion, buffalo and roan antelope were all spotted. Some more interesting sightings were a caracal feeding on a rodent and a leopard killing an impala. Guests witnessed the leopard covering the antelope’s innards with dust – a way of hiding the smell from scavengers. The same leopard was spotted lazing about on a termite mound the next day. She was startled out of her daze by a warthog that charged out of the hole on the same mound where she was lying! The opportunistic leopard seized the chance to catch the pig but was scared off by another warthog who bravely attacked to save the life of his friend. The warthog put up a good fight and the leopard eventually scampered off, with amongst other things a bruised ego!

We mustn’t forget to mention that the Selinda lion pride have been seen on a regular basis in the last month. On many occasions they have been seen feeding on various morsels that the females have caught.

And lastly, a very unusual sighting was that of a group of lions which were spotted down by the water one evening eating a red lechwe. As the night began to set in the group returned to the camp to rest before returning the next morning to find the lions feeding on a crocodile measuring about two metres in length. They could only speculate as to what had transpired in the dark of night but the general consensus was that perhaps the greedy crocodile had tried to muscle in on the lions kill – underestimating the lions in the process.

Tags: africa safari, Linyanti, luxury africa, luxury Botswana safari, selinda camp

The weather has been icy cold at night with temperatures often dropping to freezing – then rising to mid twenties to thirties (Celsius) during the day.Guests have been fortunate enough to see the return of the wild dogs which have been denning close to the old Zibadianja Camp. The last recorded denning in the Reserve was back in 2005. This group of wild dogs have settled close to the old site – remaining fairly static and spending most of their days hunting. One of the most common spots for seeing these dogs is in the south eastern section of the reserve. One of the guides was fortunate enough to have recently spotted the first sighting of a little pup – the encounter was brief and the pup soon disappeared out of sight.

Much to the guests delight – the dogs have killed two impala in view of the main deck with the latest kill taking place while they were having their breakfast. The guests were having a late breakfast when they were startled by the whooping of the dogs. After the dogs returned from having a drink of water, they followed them to behind one of the tents where the dogs were feeding on a large male impala. It was quite extraordinary that no-one heard the kill.

Some leopard news:

One of the camps leopard cubs had not been seen for a while and staff had feared that harm had come to it. They were relieved when the leopard and her cub were recently spotted just south of the camps headquarters. The same leopards adult daughter has found her own territory adjacent to her mothers and is very rarely seen near her mother.

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Tags: africa safari, luxury Botswana safari, luxury safari, Selinda Spillway, zarafa camp