Namibia/Botswana/Zambia 18

Tags

bateleur, black-backed jackal, Botswana, buffalo, Chacma baboon, China, Chobe river, coppery-tailed coucal, elephant, hippo, Impala, Kori bustard, Lion, lioness, marabou stork, osprey, red-billed hornbill, Trumpeter hornbill, White-fronted Bee-eater, Zambezi, Zambia, zebra, Zimbabwe

Thursday 7th March, morning. As mentioned already, Neil and Jakes were not licensed to lead game drives in Botswana, but we had the opportunity to go on an optional (= paying) game drive organised by the lodge, leaving at 6.00 a.m. Most of us decided to do so, but in the event found we very much missed the quality of our own guides. We were again in two vehicles, open ones this time, and with a couple of other people staying at the lodge in each as well.

With a start at 6.00 a.m., it was still far from fully light.

The guides were clearly not interested/didn’t see birds at all, and it was the German lady in our jeep who spotted these and asked to stop for photos.

Marabou storks

The tour laid on by the hotel clearly caters for the general public just passing though, not knowledgeable (well, most of them) fanatics like us! But we did nevertheless see some interesting and new things, before we got back for a hasty breakfast at 9.00 a.m., and departure as soon as possible afterwards. For we were to leave Botswana finally for a brief sojourn in Zambia, before setting off on the long journey back to the UK.

It was interesting, for example, to see the Chobe River from a different angle than from the river itself.

Impala

Lots of impala

Chacma baboon

Here was a new one – a coppery-tailed coucal

A string of buffalo

I would have liked a chance to get a better picture of these Kori bustard, but the jeep didn’t stop.

This next was perhaps the most interesting sighting of the game drive. A black-backed jackal came trotting towards us, clearly carrying some very fresh meat. It stopped, dropped the meat, scrabbled a bit, and then moved on – without the meat – and passed behind our jeep. What was going on?

Over there is a hippo, but again the jeep didn’t stop

I think this might be a not-quite-adult female Bateleur, but I’m not sure

White-fronted bee-eaters

Perhaps this was the reason the jeep was rushing. We found ourselves in a bunch of at least a dozen other vehicles, all straining to catch a sight of…

.. a handsome male lion padding across at a great distance.

He was followed by a procession of five or six of his females – I lost count.

But they were a very long way off. On the other hand, had we not had the very good lion sightings earlier on in the trip, we would have been thrilled to see even these.

We turned round, and on the way back for breakfast caught sight of …

Zebra and impala

Buffalo

and Osprey

…………..

Crossing from Botswana into Zambia (the former Northern Rhodesia) was a more complicated affair than nipping between Namibia (the old South West Africa) and Botswana (the old Bechuanaland) had been.

I’m not sure what took the time at the Botswana emigration post, but hanging around gave us the chance to observe this Red-billed hornbill.

Entering Zambia involved crossing the ‘mighty’ Zambezi River. We hadn’t the time to wait for this bridge, being financed by China, to be completed. [Edit, 12th April 2020. I have discovered, quite by chance today, that this bridge, the Kazungula Bridge, is being financed not by China, but by the Japan International Co-operation Agency and the African Development Bank. How easily we accept that China is behind all development in Africa. And indeed China is financing much of the railway which will use this bridge.]

So we were going to cross by this.

Which was actually more fun.

Our vehicles were dwarfed by the HGVs also waiting to cross by ferry.

We were not allowed to stay in the vehicles,

But had to walk on, and stand for the crossing. Which was also more fun.

Looking east, please see Zambia (ex-Northern Rhodesia) to the left and Zimbabwe (ex-Southern Rhodesia) to the right.

And looking west, there are Botswana to your left and Namibia to your right. [Edit 12th April, 2020. No, Botswana and Namibia are left, only Zambia on the right. See map in article here.] Whether you can see them or not. The sun on Neil’s left shoulder appears to be coming from the north. That’s because it is – we’re south of the Equator.

We had been warned that here we would have to wait for anything between one hour and three. (Neil had FOUR sets of taxes to pay at different offices!) In the event it was two hours, in great heat, but at least we were in the roofed vehicles by now. There were some interesting things going on, like women picking up really heavy bundles of foodstuffs from the side of some huge HGVs which the latter had carried across the river in addition to their main freight, then putting them on their heads at walking off. I would love to know the story behind that, and I have no idea why I didn’t take photos. Perhaps because of a general reluctance to intrude on people’s daily lives.

Fortunately it was not too long, once we set off, before we stopped for lunch. Though at one point we all leapt up from table (outdoors of course) to seek out a trumpeting Trumpeter hornbill, of which this was the best photo I could get!

Would you even know it was a bird?!

We heard, and indeed saw, plenty of these – very loud – at our next and final lodge.

Namibia/Botswana/Zambia 17

Tags

African fish-eagle, Botswana, buffalo, Cattle egret, Chacma baboon, Chobe National Park, Common waterbuck, Egyptian goose, elephant, giraffe, Goliath heron, hippo, Kasikili, leopard, Namibia, Nile crocodile, pied kingfisher, Puku, Reed cormorant, Sedudu, vervet monkey, warthog, water monitor, Water thick-knee, waterbuck, white-crowned lapwing

Wednesday afternoon, 6th March. Vervet monkeys hung around the lodge. Indeed we were advised not to leave our sliding doors open. I did go onto my balcony a couple of times to look, but I didn’t see any. These were in a common area.

After a rest it was out on the boat again, in the same direction. Some familiar wildlife and some new. One very special.

Reed cormorant

Chacma baboon

Water thick-knee

Young Nile crocodile. Looks almost benevolent.

White-crowned lapwing. This time the reason for its name can be seen.

Water monitor

The first and last time we saw this animal, a Puku

Pied kingfisher

Yes, we saw lots of elephants, but I didn’t take lots of photos

I was intrigued and, I confess, slightly amused to see this flag. I had noticed it in the morning, but this time I asked Neil for confirmation that it was indeed the Botswanan flag. ‘Why is it there?’ ‘To show that the [uninhabited] island belongs to Botswana.’ And I recalled from my previous reading that, while the boundary between Botswana (then the Bechuanaland Protectorate) and Namibia (then German South West Africa) had been settled between respectively the UK and Germany (I find myself indignant on behalf of the Africans) in 1890 as, at this point, the ‘main channel’ of the Chobe River, no determination had been made of which channel either side of this island was the main one. The two, by now independent, countries took the matter to the International Court of Justice in 1999. The ICJ studied the geography, including depth and speed of water flow, and determined that the main channel was to the north of the island, so it belonged to Botswana. At the same time it recalled to both countries that seven years previously, they had reached an accord whereby each would have unimpeded rights of way on the river on both sides of the island, known as Sedudu in Botswana and Kasikili in Namibia. Interestingly, leader Neil, Namibian, referred to it as Sedudu.

A very scarred back

African fish-eagle

Egyptian goose

Common waterbuck

Goliath heron

Buffalo and cattle egret

‘A long time’ since we’d seen a giraffe

Vervet monkey family

These last two pictures had been taken while the boat was moving fast, with, unusually, no stopping, and at a time when I would have thought we would be turning round. Yet the boat sped on, further and further from the lodge.

After a short while all became clear. A leopard! Those local boat steerers/guides keep in touch with each other!

I hadn’t given my hope of seeing a leopard – which would complete my big cat ‘list’ – a thought for days. But given this opportunity, I, like everyone else, took zillions of photos, of which here are a very few. It (I don’t know whether it was male or female) was a long way off, but once you knew where it was, there was a clear view.

At least she (no, sorry, I have to give the feline a gender) was alert, and not stretched out fast asleep

We dreaded that there might be/hoped that there would be some leopard/warthog action…

… but neither seemed very interested in the other in the event.

I moved to the upper deck of the boat, and by the time I was there, she also had moved.

Short of seeing her catch prey and dragging it up a tree (the chances of seeing that from a boat were slim to non-existent, I would imagine) this was the best possible view we could have had. From these pictures, I extract the following enlarged portraits.

It was now indeed a race to get back to the lodge before the (Chobe) national park shut. I don’t think we made it in time (there were no physical barriers) but I didn’t hear of the boatmen being fined either.

Namibia/Botswana/Zambia 16

Tags

Botswana, brown-throated weaver, buffalo, Chobe National Park, Chobe river, Chobe Safari Lodge, Darter, elephant, elephant crossing river, Giant kingfisher, Glossy ibis, hippo, Impala, jacana, Nile crocodile, Red bishop, Reed cormorant, Squacco heron, water monitor, white-crowned lapwing, wire-tailed swallow

Wednesday, 6th March. While our guides were not licensed for Botswanan wildlife trips, there was nothing to stop them explaining things if we took established boat rides from Chobe Safari Lodge within the Chobe National Park. So at 9 a.m. we set off for the first of two boats rides today – in which we saw lots of elephants! On the whole, to begin with, we kept to the south bank of the Chobe River.

Facing north. Darter and reed cormorants.

This little fellow, a wire-tailed swallow, hitched a ride for a short while.

Red bishop. So striking.

Brown-throated weaver

Jacanas

Giant kingfisher

Nile crocodile, not very big, only about 5 feet (1.5 metres) long…

When we saw elephants, I took enormous numbers of photographs and videos. Just a very few are here.

Play fighting

This big bull isolated himself to his own mud bank, very near to us.

The eyes have it.

Not threatening nor hassling, just cooling I think.

I had this taken just to prove that I was really there. I’m still on the boat!

We continued on our way, to a ‘lovely’ muddy area.

Glossy ibis

Two glossy ibises

We had pulled in, nudging the bank. The local guide had to draw this to my attention – right under my nose. Squacco heron.

The Flanders and Swann song is, I believe, about hippopotamuses. Clearly elephants like mud too.

As do Buffalos (or Buffaloes – take your pick)

We started wending our way back, mainly along the northern bank of the river now.

These impala were on the far southern bank.

White-crowned lapwing

There’s a water monitor in there

The we became aware of lots, and lots, and lots of elephant lining the southern bank.

On the northern bank was already this leader, presumably the matriarch of at least some of them. She summoned them over.

And they came. The elephants here are well-known for swimming across the river.

Just as mum holds her trunk out of the water, so does her tiny baby, keeping very close to her right ‘hip’.

Still there

Presumably those that crossed were all of the same family.

And after a good wallow for some, they continued on their way.

As did we, ready for our lunch.

Namibia/Botswana/Zambia 15

Tags

Botswana, buffalo, Carmine bee-eater, Chobe river, Chobe Safari Lodge, Chobe Safari Park, Collared sunbird, Common myna, Dark-capped bulbul, emerald-spotted wood-dove, golden weaver, Impala, Lucky bean tree, Magpie shrike, Malachite kingfisher, Namibia, Openbill, Red-billed quelea, Schalow's turaco, tree squirrel, white-winged widowbird, Zambezi River

Tuesday 5th March. Last few hours in Namibia. During our customary pre-breakfast walk around the grounds of our lodge, the Zambezi River looks much the same as it did the evening before.

These splendid flowers are those of the Lucky bean tree.

Poor early morning light , and distance, made it difficult to get a good take on these woodland kingfishers.

Dark-capped bulbuls

On our way to a different border crossing…

Emerald-spotted wood-dove

But before getting there, we stopped for coffee at a very small lodge, with, I think, the hope of seeing a particular bird.

Not this tiny one, spotted first by me (a rare occurrence!), a collared sunbird…

but this large pigeon-sized one, very elusive high in the tree, a Schalow’s Turaco, only found immediately round here, and in the same group as the Go-away-birds.

This is the young man who showed us round. He was raising the tree squirrel, hoping to release it into nature in due course. It was very tame.

Continuing, and near the border crossing…

Malachite kingfisher

Another of those Openbills

By lunchtime we had reached the Chobe Safari Lodge, right by the Chobe Safari Park, where we were to spend two nights. I have to say, very comfortable and smart as it was, it was my least favourite resting place. It was HUGE! As a result the dining area sounded like a large works canteen, very noisy, though I had no complaint about the food. There was a large swimming pool which had many people around it, as if we were at a seaside resort. And my room, on the second floor (there hadn’t been any second floors so far) was really just a very modern, characterless, hotel room, from which this was the view, onto the Chobe River.

Not to be blamed on the lodge, but the temperature that day was the highest we were to know – 38° C max – and, with an overnight temperature of 20°C min, at last I gave in and put some air conditioning on. I had been resisting up to that point on environmental grounds.

A corridor area and part of the dining area, with, rarely, no-one else immediately around

Our leaders, being themselves visitors from Namibia, were not licensed to show us round the national park, so later in the afternoon, we went out for a drive to … another sewage works. Some good sightings though. Here are a few.

Carmine bee-eater

Magpie shrike

We kept a wary eye on this buffalo. It does not appear close because I used a lot of zoom. It appears close because it was close!

Common myna

Impala, solitary, and a long way off.

Red-billed quelea

Red-billed buffalo weaver

African Golden weaver

White-winged widowbird, related to the Red bishop.

Namibia/Botswana/Zambia 13

Tags

African harrier hawk, Botswana, Caprivi Strip, Cattle egret, Darter, Drotsky's Lodge, dung beetle, Fan-tailed widowbird, Glossy ibis, Gymnogene, jacana, Lesser striped swallow, Little bee-eater, Long-toed lapwing, Mahangu Safari Lodge, Namibia, Okavango Delta, osprey, Papyrus, Pel's Fishing Owl, Red bishop, Red-billed spurfowl, Red-shouldered widowbird, saddle-billed stork, Scarlet-breasted sunbird, White-fronted Bee-eater

Sunday, 3rd March. Botswana at last, but only for a day trip for now. But first, breakfast. We always ate outdoors at Mahangu Lodge, for the three days. We did wonder where we would eat were it to rain, as we couldn’t see anything like a dining room, but the situation didn’t arise.

We set off to drive the short distance to the Botswana border to the south of the Caprivi Strip.

Lesser striped swallow

It was not long before we reached the border and went through emigration and immigration controls.

Never miss a chance to observe wildlife.

Scarlet-breasted sunbird

Everyone stood around taking photos while this hardworking dung beetle made its way over to a kerb, an impossible obstacle. With reassurance from leader Neil that it could do me no harm, I picked the beetle up and placed it where it appeared to be heading, then carefully placed its dung ball by its ‘nose’.

We moved on, into Botswana. We had just one purpose in making a day trip into a different country, which was to see a particular bird, very rare.

In due course we arrived at Drotsky’s Lodge, where we would in due course have lunch, but first we were to take a trip from there on the swamps of the neck of the Okavango Delta. The 17 of us were on two open boats, seated one person each side of a narrow gangway, with no shelter from the sun. We had been well-warned to protect ourselves as much as possible, and for me the breeze from the movement made the experience quite pleasant.

Some, by now, familiar and some less familiar birds.

White-fronted bee-eater

Little bee-eaters

African jacana

Cattle egret

Long-toed lapwings

Fan-tailed widowbird aka red-shouldered widowbird

Glossy ibis

Papyrus and a convolvulus

Gymnogene aka African harrier hawk

After a while we saw the very bird we had hoped for, a Pel’s Fishing Owl, way up in a tree by the bank of a river we were travelling on. It’s a large bird, and the colour of a ginger cat! To quote from my bird book, ‘… cinnamon underparts and rufous-brown upperparts …… Strictly nocturnal; spends the day perched in the dense foliage of a large tree ….. When flushed, flies a short distance and resettles in another tree, from where it watches the intruder.’ Which is exactly what it did while we watched it.

Having admired the magnificent bird, we meandered back along the channel, in and out of another one, and went back to the lodge for lunch.

Saddle-billed stork…

… flying off

Red bishop

Osprey

Darter

White-fronted bee-eater

I saw this in the grounds of the lodge.

Red-billed spurfowl

After lunch, retracing our route, we went back though emigration (Botswana) and immigration (Namibia) controls.

And I was pleased to see elephant on the opposite bank from Mahangu Lodge, where we were to spend our third and last night there.

By the way, if it seems that there are awful lot of birds in these posts, these are just a sample! We were given a list at the outset of 538 birds we might see, potentially, as they had been spotted on previous Naturetrek trips here in previous years. By the end of the two weeks, collectively we had seen or heard about 375 of them, and added two more to the list, one a lifetime first for leader Neil, a Red-throated twinspot. (I didn’t see it, so no chance of a photo. Indeed, I doubt if I saw half of the total myself, and I took photos of many, many fewer, concentrating mainly on the larger ones.)