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South African & Botswana Game Parks

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Kruger is the world famous nature park where all the wild game of Southern Africa is free to roam. It is in the N.E. corner of the Republic of South Africa, and effectively constitutes much of the border with Mozambique. There are two very large private game preserves that border Kruger to the west: Sabi and Timbavati. The preserves are fenced on three sides, but open to Kruger, so the animals roam over an even larger area. Within each preserve are a dozen or more "upscale" game camps; Kings Camp is one of those. It is difficult to not gain weight at a game camp. Most camps compete on the basis of who serves more tasty food -- three times per day!

At King's Camp, most guests are lodged in separate rondevals or duplexes. Check out rates and more information at (<a href="http://www.timbavati.krugerpark.co.za">www.timbavati.krugerpark.co.za</a>).

At most camps, the Range Rovers leave at 6-6:30 AM for three hours, and then again at 4:00 PM for another three hours. Normally, a local native tracker sits on the front as the "hood ornament," but in this posed photo, Julie Parsons, an Australian guest, took the lead seat. (She probably would not have been as eager to be in this position when we got "up close and personal" with the lion prides.)

Here we are after very heavy rains and flooding in Mozambique, which is just across the border from the Kruger Park area. By the time we visited, it had started to dry out but not everywhere. The Range Rovers largely stay on gravel roads until the big game is spotted. Then the fun begins.

Our game drive Guide lead us on daily hikes near the camp and having a rifle ready was no macho image exercise. One night we heard the male lion roar at the waterhole just 100 meters from the camp. Wild animals tend to stay away from people most of the time, but not all of the time.

The female adults protect their young carefully and thus approached our vehicle boldly. It was very exciting for all to see the adorable baby elephant and herd in person.

Just in case anyone thought the prior picture was a one time thing, here we are almost four years later, at Sandibe, Botswana, and the head female assumes the protecting position. Elephants are just fascinating to watch in all sorts of situations, as long as you do not upset them.

We ran into this rambunctious fellow on our first drive. He was an adolescent, according to our Guide, Wezley, and he certainly had a chip on his massive shoulders. He became aroused, flared his ears, trumped and started a mock charge toward our car. With this bad boy around, none of us wanted to be on foot.

This old boy was reportedly near the end of his reign. He had a pride of 20 or so females of varying ages. The young males are destroyed by the Alpha male or run off to grow up by themselves. But when they are full grown, and the old lion aging, the "change of command" is not an orderly affair, by all reports.

On your trip to Africa, you will enjoy one gorgeous view after another. Spending 3-6 days at African game parks is a vacation you'll never forget. The Kruger/Timbavati/Sabi area in RSA has smaller and more dispersed herds, and is very memorable for all who visit.

Virtually all visitors to Botswana game camps come via Maun, a city of about 30,000 located at the southern end of the Okavango Delta. From here your travel will be via still smaller planes; if you don't like flying in light airplanes, think about going to the zoo in San Diego instead. It will be much cheaper, but not as much fun.

Sandy, from Danville, California, is on the left, wearing three different pairs of sunglasses around his neck. Dave, squinting into the son, is the sherpa with all the hand luggage because the Third Musketeer on this trip, Catherine Moylan, is behind the camera. Welcome to Botswana, Latitude 20 degrees South!

In 1994, my first trip, and 2001, when Don Groth's family went, we were ferried around exclusively in Cessna 206s flown by ex South African Defense Force pilots. Judging by my experience in 2003, the planes are now a little larger, and hold about 8-10 people. The pilots, now from all over the globe, load the luggage, make sure there are no animals on the runway, and take off.

As we depart Maun for our first camp, about 15 minutes to the north by air or 6 hours by car, you start to understand Botswana. The country was grabbed by the Brits in late 1800s so Cecil Rhodes' company could build a railroad north through its deserts to the fertile and lush lands that became known as Rhodesia. Botswana has approximately 1.5 million people today, and most are in a few urban areas. The country gained its independence in 1966 from Britain and "suddenly" diamonds were discovered. Diamond-magnate/ Anglophile Rhodes would have been outraged, but the mineral wealth pays for a great health care and educational system for all Botswana citizens.

Actually this is longer and paved better than most, which are usually dirt or grass strips. The game camps are scattered throughout the Delta, on concessions competitively leased for 15 year terms from the government. Few camps hold more than 16-20 guests, and there are usually only three bush vehicles per camp. The net result is a real high quality wilderness experience.

This photo gives a little more perspective to where drinks are enjoyed, all meals are taken, where we meet for the game drives. The small building in the center is the liquor locker and wine cellar, and off the photo to the left is the swimming pool. In the early morning and evening all guests are walked to and from their quarters by staff members because wild game does come into the camp regularly.

At many game camps, every other evening the staff marches in singing! And as Catherine Moylan, a very fine singer herself remarked, every black African seemingly is born with perfect pitch. She joined with them for a song and was really moved by their friendship and enthusiasm; the acapello music was great and the meal that followed, exceptional.

When the women are not cleaning huts or making food, they spend their time making baskets. The handiwork was very good and we brought several of them home with us. A good value at $10/each and a wonderful memento.

Because the grass ceiling of the Sandibe common area is so high, we did not immediately notice the colony of bats napping during the day. Like bats everywhere, they feed on insects at night and sleep off the day. (There were no bats in our individual huts.) South Africa's fruit bats or Megachiroptera suborder consists of 7 species. They are typically large in size with distinctively dog-like faces. Fruit bats occurring in South Africa include the following species: Straw-coloured Fruit-bat (Eidolon helvum); Egyptian Fruit-bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus), Wahlberg's Epauletted Fruit-bat (Epomophorus wahlbergi) and Peters's Epauletted Fruit-bat (Epomophorus crypturus).

Sandibe consists of just eight "huts" like this one that are far enough apart to provide complete privacy. Calling them huts is sort of a misnomer, as they have hot/cold running water, sinks and mirrors, electric fans and lights, flush toilets, and are fully screened. Not bad.

When you return to your room at night, the staff has dropped the mosquito nets so that your sleep will be peacefully free of insects. Well, that is generally true... The beds were very comfortable, to boot.

How lucky can you get! Many people come to African game camps repeatedly and never see a leopard. The Groth family's first night in Botswana, their first game ride, and they were treated to a leopard "up close." This female passed within a meter of the Land Crusier as she stalked her dinner.

Long known in the US thanks to Chevrolet, this small, two-toned "deer" is very pretty and fast. Quite a few wind up as dinner for lions and leopards, but these three managed to evade the leopard whose charge was a bit ill timed...

This picture was captured during an evening drive just before the sun went down. The giraffe is certainly well-suited for dining from the tender new leaves at the top of trees.

We learned from the guides that the giraffes have highly developed valves in their veins which compensate for the blood pressure to their heads whether extended into the trees or lowered into a water hole. Mother Nature is a fascinating engineer, and the giraffe is so interesting to watch. They just glide silently around and few animals bother them; however, they do fall prey to lions at times, especially when they get older.

Don didn't think his group had bothered these fellows, but the giraffes had decided to move on. Perhaps they had sensed the pair of lions that showed up five minutes later.

Kudu are beautiful animals easily identified by parallel, vertical stripes and distinctive antlers. These young Kudus, however, have no antlers and likely are female.

Much larger than Impala, the Waterbok is identified by its grey coat and white circle around the derriere. Some say it looks like they sat on a painted toilet seat.

The Okavanga Delta is well known for its vast areas of permanent and seasonal swamps. Accordingly, no visit is complete without a ride in a dugout tree canoe, or at least its updated fiberglass version.

A pod of two adult hippos with a baby. (More people are killed each year by hippos than any other animal in Africa.) It is imperative to be careful around these animals, especially when their young are near.

After a hasty retreat from the open waters prompted by the aggressiveness of a pod of female hippos with babies, Don Groth snapped this photo while still deep in the reeds.

While these waters do hold poisonous snakes, crocodiles, and hippos, just to name a few..., Dave Jefferson and Catherine Moylan return unscathed! "The King," Sandy Good, was still on the water, looking quite regal.

This was a very large herd of African buffalo, one of the members of the Big Five that most visitors want to see. (Lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino.) We have seen them all except the rhino, of which there are very few left and they must be protected at all times from poachers.

While their proper name is African buffalo, they are frequently called water buffalo in the English speaking world, to differentiate from the shaggy herds of American buffalo. These African fellows are much more dangerous and are usually found in quite large herds. If wounded, they are known to sneak behind a hunter and charge. Climbing a tree is advised. The African /Cape buffalo buffalo is a large bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo and its ancestry remains unclear. Owing to its unpredictable nature, which makes it highly dangerous to humans, the African buffalo has never been domesticated unlike its Asian counterpart.

This joker may be ugly but he has to be taken very seriously. He first gave us an evil eye and then went back to eating grass. We are not so sure how a Spanish matador would do with this guy in the ring with him. Incidentally, the female buffaloes also have horns and are just as nasty.

We were very close to the lions, which as long as you do not stand up in the car, our guide assured us, was quite safe. In fact, as long as you stayed in the open vehicles -- which we assuredly did, most animals stay calm. A few years back at a game camp elsewhere, a 14-year old German boy jumped out the back side of a car, away from the guides, to take a closer picture. He was killed instantly, in front of his family. Quite a tragic lesson in taking orders.

We were about ready to leave the girls alone when the female pride spotted some vultures circling near the buffalo herd well over a mile away. Suddenly they were up and trotting in the direction of the birds, and we followed them. Were we going to see a kill?

What evidently had happened was a buffalo calf was miscarried very prematurely and dropped out dead. The carrion birds took off when the first lion arrived, and off she went with it. She had no intention of sharing it with her sisters either. The rest of the buffaloes looked on, perhaps glad the lions were not showing any interest in them.

We spent six days in three game camps in Botswana, and KB was our guide at Sandibe. He is far and away the most amusing chap we met on our safari trip; bright, self confident, and with a good enough sense of humor to do stand-up comedy in Las Vegas. CC Africa should make a promotional movie and have KB star in it; it would double their bookings!

Jofa, normally the Assistant Manager at Sandibe camp, was in complete charge while the white managers were on leave in South Africa. At all the camps we visited, the managers were Causasians, as were virtually all the guests, and everyone else was a black Botswanan. The relationships of all the races seemed to very good, and we think there will likely be some promotions to top camp management in future years.

After a short ride from the airstrip, the "open air" common area is a great place to meet the staff, relax with a cool drink and get oriented. Many of our Silkbush friends have stayed at Sandibe, a CC Africa camp, and think highly of it. Here, Darlene and Katrina Groth and some of the staff at Sandibe camp say adieu. After three days, the people they met upon arrival are now friends and goodbyes are heartfelt.

We normally stopped for a "sundowner" and snacks on each evening drive to watch the sunset. No matter what time of year you visit a game park, you usually need a warm jacket for a part of the drive. In an open car, 30 mph is cold after dark or before sunrise, and that is a significant share of the time spent on the drives in the Kruger area. In Botswana, the distances are usually shorter, the speed lower, and the air warmer, but it also can rain on you, too.

Chobe Game Lodge is the only lodge actually located inside of Botswana's oldest national park. The lodge was built during the era of "Rock Resorts" and reflects a level of luxury in the wilderness reminiscent of them. It is in the northeastern corner of Botswana, on the Chobe River.

Chobe Game Lodge was the location of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton's first marriage. (Dave Jefferson also visited here in 1994, but the world press failed to note it.)

Furnishings at Chobe are beautifully hand crafted locally and the rooms are more like hotel rooms than what one expects to find in an African park.

This was the serene view from the Groth's balcony at Chobe Game Lodge.

The pool was a refreshing respite following a 3-4-hour game drive on the park's numerous dirt roads.

Wildlife is abundant at Chobe. However, being located within a national park where wildlife has been protected for decades, the game is less fearful of man. This warthog is on the lawn just outside our room. Sort of nature's lawn mower.

The size and permanence of the Chobe River attracts huge herds of all kinds of animals. Seen here is a small herd of elephants taking a bath. (Later in the season when the river is the only water source, apparently the herds can be in the hundreds rather than the dozens.)

This pretty bird is called a Roller as it does slow rolls in the air when trying to attract a mate. Just another male showoff, it appears.

This fishing eagle is a big, beautiful bird. It swoops down into a river, grabs a fish with its talons, and off it goes to its high perch.

The Kingfisher -- one of the smallest, and one of the prettiest, in the Kingfisher family.

This amazing bird is probably the largest bird in the area. Our tracker said it is so named because of its long slim legs. (Do they teach American sexism to the guides here?)

The view over the Chobe River from one's private patio is breathtaking!

This is a very small portion of Victoria Falls. The volume of water when we visited in the African spring of 2001 was so heavy it was impossible to see more than small sections. Even then only as glimpses through the very brief clearing of the constant mist on the Falls.

The Zambesi River, marking the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, drops into Victoria Falls. Incidentally, the "two Z's" were known in the late 1800's as Southern and Northern Rhodesia, named after Cecil John Rhodes, founder of the Debeers diamond cartel, Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, and noted English colonial imperialist. Victoria Falls was a logical place for the Groths to end their Botswana adventure because it is a fairly short drive from Chobe Game Lodge. There is also scheduled jet service daily back to Johannesberg, South Africa.

Most of Botswana is desert, including the Chobe Park. While a National Park, where all wheeled vehicles must stay on the established roads, there are many game camps permitted within the park. Savute Camp, located on what once was the Savute River, is about a 20 minute drive from the airstrip. Man, was this place hot and dry in November 2003.

This was the extent of all improvements at the airstrip servicing Savute. Why these particular pieces of equipment were there, we really don't know. (Must check with Desert and Delta, the operator of Savute camp.)

Ngamba, pronounced "Numba," was a nice, young guide, reasonably knowledgeable and helpful. However, he was less effective because his English proficiency was not up to the standard needed to communicate with and control our enthusiastic group. He'll get better, but it really pointed out to us how important it is to have great guides to create fabulous game camp experiences.

We saw large numbers of elephants (Savute) everywhere, from the initial drive in from the airstrip to the time we left. There were many other animals in the Chobe National Park, as well, including the rare cheetahs we saw at long range with our binoculars, but man did we see elephants.

Guests meet here twice a day to prepare for the game drives but noon and evening meals are served on a covered deck overlooking the dry river bed. The government actually paid to install and run large water pumps to keep three waterholes going, so the game viewing below the guests is constant. In the evening there are large lights on the waterholes so you can enjoy your meal and the animals simultaneously.

Continuing the discussion of the prior photo, our dining deck was just to the left of the swimming pool. It is perched on the bank of the dry riverbed, so the waterhole is actually quite a distance away, and below. There is also a strong, electrified fence in the riverbed to discourage elephants from coming up to drink out of the pool.

Of the three camps we stayed in 2003, Savute perhaps had the largest and nicest visitor accommodations. The cabins are all perched on the bank of the Savute riverbed for game viewing, and ours was one of the best locations.

The rooms are fantastic. Be warned though that electricity goes off at 11 PM sharp every night; so be prepared.

I blew off the afternoon game drive as it was 104F and I had had enough dust in my eyes to last me the day. So I read Robert Ludlum's latest, and watched elephants all afternoon. There wasn't a minute in six hours when there were not at least 5-6 male elephants at the trough; seeing how they established who was boss, and the actions of deference and personality were absolutely fascinating!

So, it's 40 degrees C (104 Farinheit) in the shade and these big guys are drinking ferocious quantities of water from the waterhole below our cabin all day and half the night. Sooner or later, something has to give. So he unravels this firehose and lets loose ...

We have seen pictures all our lives of the male lion so that is not surprising. But when they are 20 yards away, you realize how big and powerful an animal they are. And then you notice your guide does not have a rifle in the open vehicle ...

What provoked her, we really don't know. We were sitting quietly in our vehicle, minding our own business and looking at perhaps two dozen of these cats around the waterhole as the sun went down.

The alpha male is in the distant background, while some of his brides take a drink. The only thing that made us a little nervous was the starter on our vehicle started sounding like it may fail. And fail it did the next morning on our early game drive.

There is no question who the real boss of the jungle is. There were about 20 lions around these two waterholes, and when the elephants started moving in, the lions moved out in a hurry. Certainly a pride of lions can take down a lone elephant, but nobody screws around with any size herd of elephants, especially thirsty ones.

Another major component of the lion's food groups, Zebras are very powerful animals who can really kick. Despite looking like small horses, they are legendary for never being domesticated by man. No saddles/no way.

These guys look like cows having bad hair days! The Wildebeest, also called the Gnu, is an antelope belonging to the family Bovidae which includes antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep and other even-toed horned ungulates. It is native to Africa.

Among the many new people we met on the trip, Gabriel Peralta and his new bride, Adriana Masano, were perhaps our favorites. On their extended African honeymoon from Cuernavaca, we ran into them at Savute and enjoyed them immensely. Most of the people who visit the game parks in Botswana are pretty interesting and friendly; but these two shown like bright, twinkling stars.

Most of our pilots were fairly young chaps. The typical flight lasts 20-30 minutes but saves days of ground travel for tourists. They ferry camp guests and staff around Botswana seven days a week, so they do build up their flying resumes if they want to work.

As we flew from Savute to Nxabega, we spotted several fires in the delta and asked about them. Evidently the peat goes down very deep in some areas and if a fire gets started, it is virtually impossible to put it out. We asked how long these fires had been burning and they told us: At Least 50 Years!

As their website (<a href="http://www.ccafrica.com">www.ccafrica.com</a>) proclaims: CC Africa (Conservation Corporation Africa) is one of Africa's most comprehensive African safari operators with 30 luxury safari lodges in Africa's most breathtaking locations, and over 30 years of experience. Nxabega (pronounced "Naah-bay-hah") was the second of their Okavango Delta camps we visited, and we were totally satisfied with the people and their stars, the animals.

This place was just so comfortable, we could have spent a week there, reading old books and getting to know the people better. Nxabega camp is perched on the side of a wetland, but there was plenty of dry land around for game drives.

Sammi was our Guide at Nxabega, and we considered ourselves very fortunate to be with him. A former schoolteacher, this man is exceptionally bright, deep thinking, and capable of rising to any level. Our conversations covered every subject possible, even including wild game. We learned a great deal about Botswana from him in our short time together.

Nxabega was the only camp we stayed in actual tents, and it worked out just fine. While it was getting pretty hot in late November, we had an electric floor fan that worked well. We also had hot/cold running water for a shower, but were encouraged not to take excessively long showers. (There is a mother everywhere ...)

Isn't this a beauty? Our guide drove our big, heavy Land Cruiser across this bridge several times and it put our hearts in our mouth each time. You would probably think twice about walking across this S. African bridge by foot, to say nothing about driving a car across!

Tssessebe are members of the antelope family, about the same size as Kudus, and sporting the same humped shoulder as the kudus. We saw quite a few in the Okavango Delta at the two camps we visited.

A bachelor herd of Impala with a type of bird that usually follows them. The birds serve as a lookout for dangerous predators that stalk the Impala.

Such a graceful and beautiful animal! Unfortunately, some of them wind up in the belly of a leopard or lion every day, with the spotted jackals cleaning up after the main meal.

At Nxabega, Dave Jefferson has his day in the real front seat of Toyota Land Cruiser, playing "game tracker," while Sandy Good, allegedly mature Stanford MBA, reacts with characteristic poise. The German tourists in the back seat had not yet loosened up, but they came around. (Both were very nice, well dressed people, but a bit bewildered with the crazy Americans.)

Stephen Waud and his charming bride Sarah were from London and were most keen rugby fans. England was playing Australia for the World Cup and we watched the whole game on satellite TV in the camp manager's hut in the middle of the bloody Botswana swamps! Perfect reception, too. When England prevailed, the Brits went nuts! I think Steve is still celebrating. Taught those cheeky Aussies a thing or two, eh!

It is appropriate we should end our game camp tour with Sammi's smiling face. This handsome bachelor guide made our two days in Nxabega camp absolutely fascinating. His knowledge on all subjects was exceptional and his humor was first class. He is a great credit to his employer, his people, and we hope our paths will cross again someday.

While these travelers are walking out to a turboprop to leave, they must fly first to crime-ridden Johannesberg and before continuing on to Cape Town or back to Europe/USA. The Cape and Botswana leaders all know that tourism to both areas would double if international flights could come directly into Maun, and then continue to Cape Town, by passing Jo'berg. However, until Air Botswana is privatized by the government, this will not happen. Ach, Shame!

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