Etosha Game Park Namibia. Recent Thoughts on Etosha . The last decade has witnessed a large increase in visitor accommodation both inside the park and just outside the gates particularly near the Andersson gate. Correspondingly this has led to a large increase in the number of people visiting Etosha, with a corresponding degradation in being able to view game, especially in the eastern part of the reserve. When I visited the park for 10 days in mid-September, it was not uncommon to find 20 vehicles including a double decker bus lined up in rows around the popular waterholes. This concentration of vehicles made it impossible even to see the waterhole from the back positions. The only way to get a front position was to get there first or to stay when all the vehicles departed and wait patiently for the animals to arrive. The great irony, is that although accommodation at the Okaukuejo rest camp has increased by 100 beds to 450, almost all visitors depart early to explore the park. This leaves the waterhole at Okaukuejo virtually unattended, providing unencumbered viewing conditions both day and night for visitors who can view the game on foot and at close range […]
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The Wildebeest Migration, Kenya The crossing of the Mara River during the wildebeest migration is one of natures all time spectacular events. “Nyumbu Anabuka!” crackled through the radio sets. It was the signal all wanted to hear, and with that authority we raced to the vantage point overlooking the steep banks of the Mara River. Unfolding in front of us like a Hollywood blockbuster movie was one of the great spectacles in the world. Hundreds of wildebeest and some zebras were tumbling down the opposite embankment in a cloud of dust and crossing the shallow river in an endless column. In front of them were giant Nile crocodiles inching towards their prey, their nostrils barely visible above the churning water and airborne spray. It should be emphasized that the crossings are but one part of the great spectacle of the migration across the Masai Mara grasslands. There are so many animals that their number pepper the grassland black in a panorama that stretches as far as the eye can see, fig4. These are good times, not only for the grass feeders but also for the predators. For the grazers, there is danger all around, in the bushes and in the tall […]
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Great Whites Breaching False Bay Capetown There is little to prepare oneself for the dramatic spectacle of a great white exploding out of the water 20m away. Blink and you will miss it. Experience it, and it will be burned into your memory forever. Breaching can be seen around the seal colony on Seal Island near Capetown between May and August with peak occurrence in June-July. Seal Island, fig1 is located on False Bay, fig2 some 12 miles from the naval port at Simon’s Town near Capetown. It is a small rocky island of 800m length and is the home to some 60,000 Cape fur seals. The seas around the island provide ideal hunting conditions. The turbidity of the water and the dark sloping rock bottom provides perfect concealment for the shark as it vertically attacks the seals silhouetted on the surface. The speed of the ambush can be with such ferocity that the shark will come completely out of the water. There are four tour operators: African Shark Ecotours http://www.ultimate-animals.com Apex Shark Expeditions http://www.apexpredators.com. White Shark Adventures http://www.whitesharkadventures.co.za/ Shark Explorershttp://http://www.sharkexplorers.com/ All are located in Simon’s Town and depart Simon’s Town wharf before dawn. African Shark Ecotours and Apex Shark Expeditions […]
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White Lions, Leopards and Wild Dogs of Timbavati. The only well known pride of White lions in the wild, resides in the Timbavati game reserve Fig1 where it was reintroduced in 2003 in the Motswari sector. The pride has since been observed at adjacent lodges and as far south as Umlani. See fig2. As leopards are shy and difficult to locate, a reasonable population density is important to ensure sighting success. The highest density of leopards in the Timbavati is again in the northern sector. African wild dogs are both scarce and constantly on the move ranging over a large hunting area. Fortunately, five of the Timbavati Private Safari Lodges have pooled their concessions to provide a shared traversing area up to 20,000 hectares, (200 Km2) Fig3. Although this traversing area is not completely contiguous, due to scattered private farms and private shared blocks that prohibit access, the traversing area is sufficiently extensive to follow a wild dog pack for a few days if the dogs are present in the region. An additional consideration is the number of cars on safari within the traversing area, for some fraction of these vehicles will drive to the same subject, resulting in a […]
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Sand Dunes Sossusvlei Namibia. The sand dunes of Namibia are large and dramatic, yet are a short stroll by foot from the road. Near Sossusvlei they rise to 300m (being amongst the world’s highest) with individual sand tongues extending across the gravel plains on either side of the main sealed road, see Sossusvlei map, Fig1. Prevailing winds sweep the plains clear of sand and preserve their classical shape. This process is so efficient that it is possible to have one foot immersed in sand and the other positioned on the gravel plain free of sand. Visiting the Sand Dunes of Sossusvlei. . ♦ The sand tongues start to appear around 24 km from the gate at Sesriem and continue to Sossusvlei at 65km. (see fig1). ♦ The best time is after sunrise when the air is clear the colour of the sand appears vibrant and the shadows are very dark (fig2). ♦ At sunset there is some dust or haze in the air and there is less contrast, but the light is more red (fig4). ♦ Best time to visit is May to September when day temperatures are moderate 20-350C, but the nights can fall below freezing. During November-February peak […]
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Lions of Duba Plains Botswana. Duba plains is renown for dramatic clashes between lions and buffalo. Relentless enemies of equal prowess forces hunting to occur during the day. Duba Plains itself is a wildlife reserve of 35,000 hectares. It is located on an island at the northern confluence of the Okovango Delta, some 45 minutes flying time by charter plane from Maun,see Duba plains location map, fig1. The landscape has been shaped by two major factors. The annual flooding of the Okovango Delta inundating part of the island and depositing silt and nutrients and the presence of termite nests which allow the colonization of the wetlands by shrubs and trees. This has produced a cluster of low lying islands interspersed with shallow channels and open grasslands fig2. The habitat supports small herds of red lechwe, tsessebe, warthogs, and a scattering of other animals including baboon, buffalo fig3, hippo, bat eared fox, aardvark, ostrich, giraffe and a few leopard. In winter herds of migrating elephant traverse the reserve. But the major attraction of Duba Plains is the interaction between the resident herd of 1000 Cape buffalo and the two prides of lions ; the Tsaro pride of 9 lions on the […]
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