Sunway Safaris – Adventures in Africa blog

During our recent trip to the Okavango Delta on the Botswana Wild Parks tour, situated in the north west region of Botswana, we traveled by mokoro ( a dug out canoe) to one of many islands with our Australian clients and all our camping gear needed for a two nights stay. On the second day of our stay, we experienced something very special. While our clients were practicing the skill of poling a mokoro, we had a very unexpected guest join them in the water. With caution they swiftly exited the water and we were entertained by our new hippopotamus friend about 30 meters off the shore from where we were standing. This was a great time for the photographers of the group as the hippo was constantly showing off his impressive sized jaws on regular occasions. Although not being one of the big five, it is one of Africa’s most dangerous animals, so we soon retreated back to our camp treating this animal with utmost respect. This behavior from the hippopotamus was probably caused by it being a highly territorial animal, and we had obviously encroached onto its territory. With hippos, they usually spend the majority of the day in the water which is a safe haven for them, and at night they retreat onto dry land where they graze. All and all a really special experience for our clients and guides respectively, and something we won’t forget for a long time to come.

A river in the Delta with a Hippo

Our local guide watching over the mokoro

Local guides taking us out on the Delta river

Gregory Bates.

Having just returned from my first tour with Sunway Safaris on the Botswana Wildside, with German clients I had a hard time narrowing down what I could blog about as we had so many great experiences.

However, one that definitely topped my list was the Okavango Delta. I had been to the Delta before in 2007, however, this time it was so much more. We left Maun early in the morning to meet our polers who would take us through the Delta in their Mokoros. After having loaded all our belongings and seated the clients into the Mokoros – it’s amazing to see how all of our belongings, including the camping gear, is expertly loaded and distributed among the various Mokoros –we made our way towards our campsite.

The ride in the Mokoros was one of the most peaceful things I have ever done – gliding slowly through the waterways, paying close attention to the polers who pointed out magnificent wildlife throughout the long winding journey to our campsite.

Arriving at the campsite, I have to say, it was really well chosen by our polers. We had big acacias giving plenty of shade for our tents with one side open towards the delta with one of the most stunning views.

On our second day, we went out on the Mokoros to watch the sunset on the delta. It was that special light, just before the sunsets, everything felt magical…

The absolute highlight, however, was the one hour scenic flight in a 6 seater airplane. You get to see the animals in a way you would never see them on foot, car, truck or Mokoro. There were hundreds of elephants in big herds roaming the savannahs and playing in the water, hippos feeding and bathing in the river arms, giraffes and zebras galloping through the landscapes.

All in all, it was an unforgettable experience. I can’t wait to go back to the Okavango Delta.

Cheers, Nicole

Namibia is really a land of wonders, like for example, it has lions and elephants and the big open spaces filling the mind with awe. One such space is the Etosha National Park, were my guests and I were lucky enough to visit on our Cape Town to Livingstone tour.

Early one morning we left for a game drive, and saw such an abundance of wildlife that we were content for the day. We saw elephant, giraffe, all types of buck and many birds. But on our way back to camp, we saw one lonely car overlooking a donga and so decided to join it, just to see if what they were looking at was worth their while. We weren’t standing still for one minute when we saw them, The Seven Dwarfs of Etosha (nicknamed by one of our guests) walking, one by one from the hiding spot at the bottom of the donga, just out of our view. What a surprise to see no less than seven lion cubs together.

Mother Lion with her Cubs

It appeared that the cubs were alone, this happens when the female lions need to hunt in order to provide food for their cubs. So, the Mums of these cubs were most likely out hunting and they know not to leave them alone for long because, as the Mums are out, the kids come out to play forming a miniture pride of their own and sticking together because there is safety in numbers.

It was great to see so many little ones together as lions are very sociable animals, needing the pride to work together as one for survival.

We wish to congratulate Reshal Rugbar (admin lady in our offices) and Andrew Lindsay (guide for Sunway and Mask Expeditions) on their recent nuptials.

They celebrated their beautiful day on the 16^th March 2013, in true African style.

The groom wore his traditional kilt while his groomsman wore suits and the bride looked beautiful in her white lace wedding dress.

We at Sunway Safaris wish Mr & Mrs Lindsay a truly amazing honeymoon and all the best wishes for the future.

the happy couple Mr & Mrs Lindsay