Hyena Pan is a large natural water-hole in the NG18 conservation area north of Moremi Game Reserve. On our drive up to the camp from Maun we saw many elephants and an abundance of wildlife and birdlife. The bush surrounding us was that of Mopani trees all changing colour – absolutely beautiful.

On arrival at the camp we were greeted with a song, ice cold face cloths to cool us down and a refreshing lemonade. What a great start! On moving to the social area of the camp it became apparent why this is such a special place. Everything was so crisp, the waterhole with 5 elephants drinking water and enjoying themselves, a comfortable area in which to sit and admire the view while having a cup of tea or an ice cold beer.

The whole experience at Hyena Pan with delicious meals, great service and above all the most incredible view of the water hole and the animals that frequent there is a little piece of heaven that I have brought back with me.

Until we meet again – Beautiful Botswana – I will miss you!
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On our trail we visit the Matobo Hills- A landscape dotted with granite outcrops and the site of the important ‘Indaba’ (meeting) between Cecil John Rhodes and Mzilikaze and his fierce Matabele Warriors.

(That night we camp on a granite ridge overlooking the park and spend the night telling stories around the campfire underneath the star-scattered African sky.)

We head out with the sunrise in search of rhinos in the park. Luck is on our side and it isn’t long before we find a big male. We track him for a while approaching him upwind and we were able to get very close without disturbing him.

Continuing through the park and visit World’s View- The burial place of Cecil John Rhodes and breathtaking views of the hills below. We end our stay with a visit to one of the many caves decorated with bushman paintings (some said to be about 2000 years old!)

It is time to head back to our big red truck before continuing our Game Trail Safari- Next stop game spotting in Hwange National Park…

Mich

Next stop to Maun we did go
Audi camp had a great steak to show
The Planet Okavango vehicle did arrive
With excitement for the delta we jumped and jived

Mokoros were the transport of the day
An elephant we saw along the way
Philemon and his polers crew
Shared with us their knowledge of the delta and the birds that flew



Next stop was into the parks
Moremi, Savuti and Chobe experienced in the dark
Lion, leopard and elephant among other things were seen
A unique experience was the bush shower to get clean

The group have all become good choms*
2 Germans, 2 Aussies, a South African and 4 Poms
2 of these Poms who love their Queen
Originate from Italy and Poland where they were teens

Our guides Chris, Pixly and Brian
Shared their stories as we could hear the roaring lion
An elephant’s foot was the lions food
He barely looked up it tasted so good

Across the border so we can see the Victoria Falls
“We are still game driving” Brian calls
What a sight the falls were to see
We could not stop admiring and smiling with glee

In the peanut butter republic a great time was had
And to say goodbye was ever so sad
Til we meet again we did say
We thank Beautiful Africa for showing us its way!

Sam Hudson
*Choms – South African word for friends

The rest of this trip we saw an abundance of wildlife including impalas, kudus, wild dogs, a leopard and then a large male lion coming within 150m of our camp, we then followed him in the truck to find him settle in and fall asleep in the middle of the road.

Our trip ended in Zambia and these lovely clients were soaked with happiness and relaxed from a great trip!

Thank you for the good times!

Jefias

Jefias

Last Tuesday we had a pack of 21 painted dogs chasing a huge male kudu through the staff quarters and they killed it right next to the dining deck. A pack of 21 that operates in our area – amazing!

The following night in camp the hyena and hippo made sleep almost impossible, the jackals joined in and it wasn’t until morning that we followed the tracks of at least 6 lions along the road that we
realized the why the hyena and jackal calls were so loud..

This truly is the African Bush!

Thanks for the feedback Nigel – our next Botswana Wild Parks Safari is excited to get there!

During the rainy season the viewing of the big 5 gets difficult as there is a lot of standing water and the animals don’t come to the usual waterholes that are swarming with wildlife in the dry season. Travelling through the reserve in our big red truck aka “The Red Elephant” we had some more luck as we managed to spot elephant, lion and a black rhino leaving us only short of the leopard and buffalo. Remarkable for this time of year… we were so lucky and loved the viewing.

Dirk

Once everybody had fulfilled his or her desire, we continued our game drive back to Okaukuejo. We stopped at a waterhole, to admire three Hugh Elephants that gathered around the waterhole. Once they were done with their drinking, they stood together as a group, maybe they talked about us, the funny looking two legged creatures! From a far distance we saw a Rhino coming towards the waterhole, and from the peak of the eye we could see a jackal moving the same direction. Once the Jackal realized that he wasn’t the only one heading towards the waterhole, he changed his route giving way to the Rhino. The Rhino reached first, taking a deep sip of the water, being watched from the Jackal at a far distance.

Suddenly we saw a female Lion coming from the opposite direction of the Jackal, also heading towards the waterhole. The Jackal is having a bad day, I told myself. As the lioness was drinking, the rhino made its way thru the Elephant gathering, passing the Jackal on its way home. As the Rhino passed the Jackal, the Jackal jumped up and bit the Rhinos horn. The Rhino was wondering, as something was hanging in front of its face, and shacked it of. The Jackal came back to its senses, and once again just went out of the Rhinos way. And to complete the bad luck of the Jackal, the lioness decided to go pass the Jackal, as it was lying on the ground and pretended to be dead, it grabbed the Jackal with its mouth and gave it a bite. We where astonished, and waited for about 20 minutes, but the Jackal never stood up again.

The moral of the story is to know your place and never mess with the big ones!

Cape to Vic Der unglückliche Schakal

Nach einer angenehmen Nacht im Okaukuejo, dem ältesten Camp im Etosha National Park, machten wir uns nach einem leckeren Frühstück auf unsere Morgendliche Pirschfahrt. Es war noch früh, und die Sonne noch nicht allzu warm. Unser Ziel war es heute, Mittag in Halali zu geniessen. Auf den weg dorthin, sahen wir den speziellen Black-faced Impala, speziell deswegen, weil es davon nur knapp 1000 Tiere gibt und diese nur in Angola und Namibia zu finden sind. Nachdem wir dutzende Bilder geschossen haben, fuhren wir weiter, und sahen mehrere Giraffen, Elefanten und Löwen. Wir hatten sogar das Glück zwei Löwen bei der Paarung zu beobachten. Eins muss gesagt werden, die haben eine kurzfristige aber lang anhaltende Ausdauer. Wir kamen früh genug in Halali an, wären wir später gekommen dann hätten wir keinen anständigen Platz mehr gefunden. Nach einer kurzen Unterhaltung über unser bisheriges Erlebnis, hatte jeder die Wahl nach dem Mittag entweder zum Wasserloch zu gehen, um Tiere zu beobachten, oder selbst im nahgelegenen Pool das Wasser zu geniessen.

Nachdem jeder seine Wünsche erfüllen konnte, machten wir uns bereit für unsere Pirschfahrt zurück nach Okaukuejo. Wir machten an einem Wasserloch halt, um drei große Elefanten beim trinken zu bewundern. Nachdem die drei besagten Elefanten genug vom trinken hatte, bildeten Sie eine Gruppe direkt vor dem Wasserloch, wer weiss, vielleicht redeten Sie über uns, die komischen, zweibeinigen Kreaturen! Von der ferne sahen wir ein Nashorn, das Richtung Wasserloch trabte, und vom Augenwinkel aus sah man auch ein Schakal, das anscheinend den gleichen Plan hatte. Als dem Schakal klar wurde, das dass mächtige Nashorn das gleiche im Sinn hatte, lies er von seinem Plan ab. Das große, mächtige Nashorn erreichte das Wasserloch, und nahm einen tiefen, langen Schluck, beobachtet vom fernen Schakal.

Rhino

Lege dich nie mit etwas an, was größer und stärker als du selbst bist.

Patrick

Then suddenly we saw cauliflower ears peeping mischievously from the grass and wow! A pack of about 25 wild dogs ripping apart a juvenile waterbuck!!! We were so near the spittle was showering the vehicle. The waterbuck stood no chance it was a David and Goliath affair the pack shredded the waterbuck to smithereens and they rucked and mauled until only the horns were left. These dogs are severely endangered so much so that they are rare to see yet nature provided us with a great privilege.

Then after lunch they had yoga stretches and barked and yelped at each other playfully… another day in nature they looked bloodied and happy. On our way back to Hyena Pan a leopard crossed slowly into the bushes. It was a day to remember and that’s what holidays are made of. We air punched all the way back to camp until our arms ached and we continued happily ever after to enjoy our tour.

Yours in Adventures

Maxwell Muswere

The following morning breakfast was served at 8am as we enjoyed the sun rising over the peaks. After breakfast we geared up, filled out the mountain register and set off up Jacobs Ladder. The sun was shining as we crossed the river over the hang bridge and into the sloping foothills of a peak called Sheba’s breasts. On our right just across the river a big herd of eland stare at us as we take photos and enjoy the scenery.

Eventually we cut away from the river and reached Jacobs Ladder, a waterfall that drops into a series of 3 fantastic pools. With our swim gear on we headed to the bottom pool first. The water was refreshing after the hike thereafter we made our way to the second pool, the best of the 3, as it is deeper and better for swimming. For those that were not swimming there was a natural shower around the corner to help them cool down.

Great times and photos taken we all returned to camp with some laughs and smiles on our faces. What a great day in Africa.

Adriaan Smit

What a lovely experience for these teenagers.