This image was created in Botswana on our newyear’s bush trip with our friends from South Africa. Near our campsite, a waterhole attracted a wide range of birds. Normally shy and not eager to leave the comfort of the thick vegitation, Burchell’s Coucals are hard to see in the open. I was sitting in [...]
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Shashe Farm is located in the far-east of Botswana, located in the Tuli Block area. This area mainly consists of privately owned farms, but the eastern part is also known as the Tuli Game Reserve. This area is trapped between the Shashe and Limpopo river bordering Zimbabwe, making it a unique piece of bushveld. Sadly though, since poverty is bad and worsened under the Mugabe regime, poaching is increasingly an issue. This, and the general tranquility of the region, make game quite hard to approach. We were invited to join a week’s stay at the farm and we were in a group of 12, to enjoy the festivities to say goodbye to 2009 and welcome 2010. The farm is located in the remotest part of the Mashatu Game reserve, where electricity and other related luxuries are not present: water was and is pumped from a bore-hole. The trip to the farm posed a few obstacles. One of them was foreseen, the Limpopo River was full, so a detour needed to be planned to get across to Botswana. Unforeseen was the crippled landcruiser upon arrival at the docking station. The dashboard panel was dismounted, the battery was flat and the braking system was dis-functional. We managed to get the engine running, but the brakes needed to be sorted out later. Our final destination in Botswana was Savuti, located in the north-east of Botswana, in Chobe National Park, surrounded by the Okavango, the Caprivi strip and Zimbabwe. As with the other camp sites the dry season was still on the go, although rain was in the air. Pitty, as with the rains and the wet season, the large herd migrations from the north can be witnessed. For the moment, until the rain arrives, animals are largely dependent on the many man-maintained waterholes for water, like here near the Savuti camp. Our second stop in the delta was Chief’s Island, one of the camps located in an area also known as the Mombo concession. Known for its legendary herds of animals, we visited in the quiet period between winter and rainy season, so were not so lucky.
Our trip to the Okavango Delta was our highlight bush trip of the last years. Many times wished for and planned for, now finally happening. The Okavango is one of the last true wilderness areas with unbelievable wildlife and beauty. Large herds of animals migrate to the rains and waterflows of the Angolan highfelds and rain-forests, coming through and ending in the Okavango. Our Okavango adventure started in Little Kwara: we flew directly from Maun in a small aircraft, being witness of this unbelievable view:
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