Tag: "Wildlife"

Bountiful Botswana from Chobe to the Kalahari [PICS]

Botswana is wildlife heaven and really is a top safari destination. The Okavango Delta is out of this world, so lush with crystal clear streams, all the more incredible as it flows through the desert. The house boat on the Zambezi was a fabulous way to watch all the river activity as animals come to drink. Don’t miss the Kalahari if time allows as these vast flatlands are breeding grounds for huge flocks of birds and attract thousands of zebra in the Spring.

With an estimated population of 70,000 elephants, Chobe National Park is the perfect place to visit if you want to see the largest land mammals on the planet.

Traditionally a means of transport for the locals, a mokoro is the perfect way to experience the tranquil Okavango Delta. The mokoro allows you to gently glide through the Delta and is perfect for birding and finding the smaller creatures while on your Botswana safari.

2 young male lions had claimed territory from an older male. The young male must then mate with the lioness which can happen 20 – 40 times a day and only lasts about 15 – 20 seconds.

Wild dog are endangered species. I was fortunate to see 3 different packs at Vumbura Plains, Selinda and Chobe National Park. It is amazing how the whole pack start to wake with the pups first and then the older dogs waking slowly over about 30 – 60 minutes.

Impala are also known as the McDonalds of the bush. The rutting or mating season begins in April/May at the beginning of the wet season. The young are usually born 6 or 7 months later but more specifically as the first rains fall in October or November. The female has the ability to delay giving birth until the rains begin.

As terrifying as light aircrafts are to some people you cannot argue that this is the best views of the Delta. You can also choose to do a helicopter trip from certain camps in Botswana.

In the land of the Baobabs

I’d like to tell you about an exceptionally inspiring new initiative in the Morondava area of central- west Madagascar, called Baobab Center. Our Malagasy ground handler and good friend Nivo Raveljaona visited this new project earlier this year, and is keen to include visits here as part of our program in the West of Madagascar.

Dama, the leader of one of the country’s most popular music groups, Mahaleo and his wife have opened a center in Morondava, where they train farmers to cultivate rice using sustainable techniques with only natural products. These farmers are often migrants from everywhere in Madagascar; are very poor and have no land on which to cultivate. ‘But they are ready and willing to work’, says Nivo.

The center allocates a plot of land to each person and teaches them that to escape poverty, they have to become self sustaining: in other words, they have to grow their own rice (Malagasy traditionally eat rice three times a day). Without land there would be no rice and no work, so the principle is simple: convince people to think of work first, rather than money. Two thirds of the produce is kept by each farmer and a third goes to the center, which is responsible for building huts, water pumps and sanitation works. After a family is sufficiently established, they leave the center and return to their home regions, where they train other farmers using the techniques they have learned .

‘I went there in April and was amazed by the little village’, says Nivo. ‘We want to do something to help this center. So, if tourists want to visit a typical Sakalava village , this is the perfect choice. I was very happy to watch the children taking care of their trees, that they have planted themselves and in many cases, have even named’, Nivo enthuses. ‘From the plane as you descend to Morondava airport, I have in recent years noticed that there are less and less baobabs, and because the center has a vast tract of land, it would be excellent to have tourists planting baobabs there. The people at the center will then take care of the trees’. Nivo elaborates: ‘the lady in charge, Noro, is a former English teacher, an excellent hostess and a very good cook .They have an organic vegetable garden and a farm. We dined there and the food was delicious’ .

Nivo proposes that people who arrive in Morondava in the morning could visit the center, see the village, the rice fields and Noro could give a briefing on how the center operates. They can then plant baobab trees, enjoy lunch there and in the afternoon, drive to Camp Amoureux which is at the Alley of Baobabs at exactly the right time for photographing the baobabs at sunset . (The center is on the way to the Alley of Baobabs which is a World Heritage Site and National Monument). At night they can then visit Kirindy Forest, part of the new Menabe Protected Area, which has an otherworldly look about it being dominated by thousands of baobabs, of three different species – the largest of all, Grandidier’s baobabs, is found only in this narrow area. You can also see the robust Adansonia za of the island’s southern half, and the smallest of the baobabs, Adansonia rubrostipa or the ‘Bottle baobab’.

Baobab Alley, Madagascar

Kirindy claims a world record for primate density – in this case several species of Lemur. By day you should see the ‘dancing’ and iconic Verreaux’s sifakas, along with Red-fronted brown lemurs, while by night you have the chance to see the world’s smallest primate, the endangered Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur. There is a grid of broad trails on flat, sandy substrate, so anyone can walk there with ease. The forest – which is usually tinder-box dry – has a wealth of other wildlife including the biggest predator, the Fosa, which my colleague Rachel Dobb managed to photograph in broad daylight at the researchers campsite in June.

Fossa in Kirindy

Recently, biologist Luke Dollar released this excellent video clip on the Fossa which he has been studying for many years.

Reptiles present in the area include the world’s largest chameleon, Oustalet’s chameleon, which can reach about 2 ½ feet in length – it was at Kirindy that I saw a truly monstrous specimen of about that size. (Over 60% of chameleons are unique to the island and it is their epicentre, as is the case with Baobabs). If you are lucky you may also see the very beautiful Labord’s chameleon, and a variety of snakes and other lizards. With the well tended Camp Amoureux, there is at long last good quality accommodation for visitors who want to explore the Menabe region with its compellingly unique locally endemic assemblage of flora and fauna. As Rachel and I often reminisce, there is definitely something quite surreal about being in that forest which is dominated by thousands and thousands of baobabs…

Nivo & Derek co-wrote the Globetrotter Madagascar Guide, now in its 4th edition. It remains the sole Madagascar guidebook co-written with a Malagasy author.

World Rhino Day 2012 – Help save the Rhino’s in Africa

“A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his father but borrowed from his children”…John James Audubon

We all hear the shocking headlines of even more rhino poaching in Africa and the numbers of rhinos in the world is diminishing by the day. It’s a terrible problem which is brought up constantly by conservationist and nature lovers alike but what is actually being done about it and how do we stop the carnage of these beautiful creatures?

With information on the internet and social media, the shocking problem of poaching is accessible to everyone and is in the minds of the young and old. None more so than the 11 year old Julia Murray from Hong Kong.

We all know this problem needs to be addressed before the species is eventually instinct and will no longer roam the lands of Africa, but if we do nothing how will we ever know if we could of made a difference. That’s why the story of this little girl truly touched me.

With an imminent birthday approaching, Julia a South African born girl living in Hong Kong decided to organise a birthday party with a difference. Each of her guests would take part in painting a picture which would then be auctioned off online to raise money for Julia’s Rhino fund. It was decided the money collected would be given to Chipembere Rhino Foundation. The foundation indicated that they had a need for tracking collars that cost approximately R10 000 (£740) to dart and collar one Rhino.

The party was held, T-Shirts were made and the pictures were auctioned. Amazingly Julia raised R30,000.00 to help the Rhinos. The family had planned to go on a South Africa holiday and Julia was given the opportunity to collar her Rhinos which the funds she raised had helped purchase.

Julia's Save the Rhino's Photo

“Being up close to these huge animals was a humbling experience. Spending time with these amazing people, who do so much to care for animals, really inspires me to continue raising awareness and money for rhinos. I hope we can make a difference so that my children too, can experience these wonderful, almost prehistoric beasts. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who helped make this an unforgettable experience for me”. Julia Murray

Julia made a small but significant difference in the global fight to keep Rhinos from extinction and is a great inspiration to us all. If we all made the effort to help, this incredible animal will survive. Where would the Big-Five be without any Rhinos??

Today is World Rhino Day, bringing awareness to the poaching of Rhinos. If you’d like to donate to help save the species you can do so through WWF.

An African Adventure to Zambia & Botswana

The family summer holiday is a treasured institution which has been an integral part of family life for many decades, but this tradition normally ended once the children grew up went to university or found themselves a job and in effect left home. In recent years, however, there has been the development of a new type of family member - the ‘adult-child’. These are children who although they are adults, still live at home and are pretty dependent upon their parents. Being one of these adult-children myself, I felt that I should be included in the family holiday because I haven’t left yet! This is where the problems began to arise, because a pool and a buffet would no longer suffice. I wanted an adventure, excitement and fun but I also had to find something for our parents to do. That’s why our Africa holiday was just perfect!

In my family, we have myself at the age of twenty, my sister who is seventeen and then my parents (whose ages I will not reveal in case they read this!). My sister and myself have always enjoyed going on family holidays but when we had to spend the third year in a row on a European holiday where we spent most of our time looking at monasteries, we decided that it was time and opportunity to broaden our horizons and visit somewhere new and exciting. Africa, in particular Zambia and Botswana, was my mum’s suggestion. When she announced to my sister and myself that we were only allowed 20 kilograms of luggage including hand luggage our jaws dropped and suddenly, we were faced with a dilemma of having to put six of our seven pairs of shoes back! Despite the fact that we didn’t have three outfit choices per evening, seven pairs of shoes or hair straightners, this was probably the best holiday we have ever been on.

Royal Livingstone

Looking back now, I can’t believe that we didn’t go sooner! Africa was the perfect location for us and the hotel that we stayed at had everything to suit the two different age groups. My sister and I could go and bungee jump 111 metres over the Victoria Falls whilst our parents sat on the Royal Livingston Hotel’s sundeck and watched the sunset over the Zambezi River.

Our trip began in Zambia, though our time here was quite limited. We managed to visit Victoria Falls and Livingstone Island and both of these experiences were amazing. Though we had seen photographs of Victoria Falls, nothing can prepare you for the sheer magnitude of it in real life, and when our guide on the Livingstone Island Tour suggested that he would hold our ankles and hang us over the edge, I could see my mum’s face drain of all colour. My sister and I did it anyway and only then did I truly understand why the this waterfall is classed as one of The Wonders of the World – with water rushing everywhere and the bottom of the waterfall further than the eye can see.

Victoria Falls, Zambia

Botswana was our next stop and this is really what we had come for – the amazing opportunity to watch wild animals in their natural habitat, something which is so rare nowadays. Botswana has fantastic conservation programmes and they have kept the animals truly wild, by limiting the number of tourists allowed into the country. None of the guides carried guns as they believe that you are in the animals ‘backyard’. I thought that this was all very nice until day three when our truck was being circled by a lion! A spectacular sight.

Savute Elephant Camp Lounge Area

Now you would be forgiven for thinking that getting the chance to see animals like this would mean ‘roughing it’ a little, but as I am sure you have gathered from mine and my sister’s shoe collections we are not the type of family who would be caught camping. But to our great relief in Botswana, this was not an issue – the two ‘camps’ we stayed at, The Savute Elephant Camp and the Eagle Island Camp were more luxurious than the majority of hotels we have stayed at, set on a platform above the ground, these wooden structures had canvas’ pulled over them, so you felt like you were at one with nature but with flushing toilets, full working showers (both indoor and outdoor), twin sinks and a comfortable beds – this was hardly a tent! We had the best of both world’s and all the fun of hearing elephant and hippos walk past, around and sometimes into our ‘tent’ – but with the comfort of knowing (particularly in the case of the elephant) that the tent would withstand these late night wanderings.

Botswana’s wild animals and the beautifully untouched landscape not only took our breath away, but also somehow solved an age old problem, that we, as I am sure many other families experience, the dreaded ‘seven–day itch’. This is the point in the holiday when you have tried everything at the buffet, read every book you have brought with you and laid in the sun to the point where you’re skin is starting to resemble the colour of Marmite, so you end up fighting between yourselves and you have at least one evening where no one is speaking to each other. The beauty and magic of Africa managed to remove this key holiday feature, probably because we were all too busy comparing photos, tracking lions and trying to avoid elephants on the way to our room.

Elephants in Botswana

Not only did we not argue, but our African adventure brought us all closer together. I would describe us as a very close family, but with my sister at boarding school, my parents spending two weeks out of the month away on business and me at university nearly three hours away from home, it is rare that we all spend time under the same roof. Spending time as a family is obviously the main point of a family holiday, but in fact, on most of the holidays that we’ve been too, we are never too far from listening to our iPods, watching TV or connecting to the closest Wi-Fi to check our Facebook! However, in Africa, we were staying in lodges which were completely isolated from the outside world. Ee didn’t have any of the usual distractions, but instead, we spoke to each other, laughed together and sat round the camp fire listening to stories from the camp guides and the other guests.

Africa is an amazing continent with dramatic scenery, diverse wildlife and a rich culture, but more than anything Africa seems to have a kind of magic to it. Not only did we become closer as a family, but we began to appreciate the small things in life, things that we so often overlook when we’re rushing around trying to do a million things at once.  Africa brought a sense of calm over us and let us completely relax, unwind and just take a break. Unluckily for my parents, I think that they thought that soon they may be allowed to stop taking me on holiday but after that trip they are going to have a hard job getting rid of me! I’d recommend adding a Botswana safari and Zambia holiday to any family holiday hit-list!