Thursday, June 20, 2024
After High Tea, we departed on the afternoon game drive at 16:00.
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| Haliaeetus vocifer/African Fish Eagle |
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| "Wrinkled" round footprints of elephants |
Not being in a national park, but in a private concession, we were able to go off-road to follow four cheetahs.
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Cheetahs marking a tree, spraying from
a gland beneath their tails |
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| The cheetahs crossed in front of our vehicle |
We would also see African savanna elephants, impalas, tsessebes, steenboks, Cape buffalo, greater kudus, giraffes, warthogs, and hippos.
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A drop-down table on the front of the vehicle holds
the Sundowner drinks and snacks |
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Time for the night drive, with a spotlight
searching for eye shine, to see Bubo lacteus/
Verreaux's Eagle-Owl |
We would also see a Southern Lesser Galago/Bushbaby and an African civet.
Friday, June 21, 2024
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At 5:45 wake-up call, we saw this
huge orange moon setting in the west |
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We had this "bushbaby" (hot water bottle in
a fleece wrap) in our beds at night, and on
the morning game drives, along with Maasai
shuka/cloth to be used like a blanket |
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The morming game drives began after breakfast,
at 6:45, in time to see the sun rise (KSS) |
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| Water channels are spread across the delta |
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| Fording across a water channel |
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| A pod of Hippopotamus amphibius/Hippos (KSS) |
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| A pair of Equus quagga/Plains Zebras |
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Mother and child Loxodonta africana/
African Bush Elephants (KSS) |
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| Woo-hoo, a Panthera pardus/Leopard! |
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| A termite mound with an anteater den below |
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| We followed the leopard, hoping she was on a hunt |
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Time for a coffee break: Tamiko & Kent with
guide Mark and tracker Boxer |
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| Coffee break set-up |
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Tamiko next to a Macrotermes sp/Fungus-growing
Termite Mound that can be up to 10 m/33' in height (KSS) |
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| Hyphaene petersiana/Northern Lala or Real Fan Palm Trees |
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| We found the brotherhood of four cheetahs again (KSS) |
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| Coracias caudatus/Lilac-breasted Roller (KSS) |
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Back at Camp Kalahari, Paraxerus cepapi/Smith's Bush
Squirrels were scampering everywhere |
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Nests of the Plocepasser mahali/
White-browed Sparrow Weaver |
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| A pair of Otocyon megalotis/Bat-eared Foxes |
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A cackle of Crocuta crocuta/Spotted Hyenas with their cubs
have taken over an anteater den under a termite mound |
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This hyena walked a circle around our safari vehicle
as we watched his family |
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| A male Struthio camelus/Ostrich |
We would also see guineafowl, red-billed spurfowl, red-eyed doves and Cape turtle doves, grey herons, great white egrets, white-crowned lapwings, African wattled lapwings, white-backked vulture, African howk-eagle, Gabar groshawk, Bradfield's hornbills, grey hornbills, fork-tailed drongos, red-billed buffalo weavers, red-billed oxpeckers, Burchell's and Cape starlings, and a white-browed robin chat.
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| Wow, the cheetah brothers feast on an impala! |
We would also see elephants, baboons, yellow mongooses, impalas, wildebeest, tsessebes, steenboks, Cape buffalo, elands, kudus, giraffes, and warthogs.
During the night safari, we saw a honey badger and a Cape porcupine.
Saturday, June 22, 2024
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On the morning game drive, the cheetah brothers
were all cleaned up, and had full bellies |
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| Oh, boy, now the cheetahs are pooping! |
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| Merops hirundineus/Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters |
We would also see guineafowl, red-billed spurfowl, red-eyed doves and Cape turtle doves, double-banded sandgrouse, coppery-tailed coucal, moorhen, grey herons, sacred and glossy ibis, white-crowned lapwings, African jacana, white-backed vulture, Bradfield's hornbills, grey hornbills, lilac-breasted roller, woodland kingfisher, crimson-breasted shrike, fork-tailed drongos, magpie shrikes, red-billed buffalo weavers, yellow-bellied greenbul, red-billed oxpeckers, Burchell's starlings, Marico flycatchers, and a white-browed robin chat.
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Another pair of Equus quagga/Plains Zebras;
each zebra has a unique pattern of stripes |
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Time for a ride in a mokoro/the traditional boat hollowed out
from sausage tree wood, but these would be made of fiberglass |
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Two persons per wobbly craft; we were poled by Boxer;
the Gomoti River was full of invasive plants (KSS) |
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Our guide Mark was the leader of the expedition
(at the far right) and he carried a rifle in case he needed
to scare off menacing crocodiles and hippos |
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Boxer waves goodbye after we managed
to get out of the mokoro ourselves |
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Because of his short neck, the Phacochoerus africanus/
Warthog must kneel to reach the tasty roots of plants |
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Our goal for the afternoon game drive was
to find the Lycaon pictus/African Wild Dog |
Video of African Wild Dog
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| A whole pack of wild dogs rest up before the hunt |
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| A journey of Giraffa giraffa/Southern Giraffes |
We would also see elephants, Smith's bush squirrels, impalas, wildebeest, tsessebes, steenboks, red lechwe, Cape buffalo, kudus, and crocodiles.
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Kigelia africana/Sausage Trees from which
mokoros/traditional boats were once made |
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| Our Sundowner spot for today |
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| Kent has his Sundowner Windhoek beer |
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| Snacks of boerwors/sausage, cookies, and dried chickpeas |
Sunday, June 23, 2024
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Our final Rra Dinare morning game drive,
on the way to the airstrip |
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| A male Panthera leo/Lion stalks between the safari vehicles |
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| Anoki shoots the lion |
We were fortunate to share the game drives with a delightful young couple from New York.
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| Lion tracks along the road |
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| So many Aepyceros melampus/Impalas |
We would also see elephants, squirrels, jackals, zebras, wildebeest, steenboks, Cape buffalo, kudus, giraffes, warthogs, and hippos.
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| Micronisus gabar/Gabar Goshawk |
We would also see guineafowl, red-eyed doves and Cape turtle doves, Marabou stork, yellow-billed stork, Goliath herons, African darter, brown snake eagle, white-headed vulture, Bradfield's hornbills, lilac-breasted roller, crimson-breasted shrike, fork-tailed drongos, magpie shrike, red-headed weavers, red-billed oxpeckers, Burchell's starlings, and Marico flycatchers.
Next: Flight to Camp Kalahari.
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