6AM wakeup call.
Colder this morning than it had been at Little Kwara. Great colors in the sunrise, most likely due to the fires burning just across the border in Namibia.
A light breakfast – muffins, cold cereal or porridge, is served by the fire pit.
Just outside of camp we spot a smaller heard of buffalo. We spent a good amount of time with them before heading southwest to look for lions.
Came across a variety of wildlife along the way.
Spent time trying to get a lilac breasted roller in flight. A fun activity for would be photographers, quite boring for others. Thankfully the other couple were also interested in photography.
Guide found lion tracks around coffee break.
Coffee break at a dried up mud hole.
After break followed the tracks which showed evidence of cubs at times.
It’s getting late. Past brunch time we head back to camp, the guides still searching the ground for tracks. Sherry looks up and spots a male lion in the shade of a bush. His head is only up a few minutes before he lies back down for a nap. His must have a full belly, concludes our guide.
Just across a grassy area from where the lion is napping, elephants are drinking from the river. The sun is high in the sky making the light bad light for photos but still fun to watch.
On the way back to camp we come across a small herd of giraffes with very young babies. Jako, our guide, thinks just 2 weeks old.
Finally reach camp after 12PM.
Brunch – spinach pasta casserole, tomatoes stuffed with tuna, slaw, beans, apple salad, Greek salad. tropical fruit, cheese and crackers – the same kinds of good French-style cheese from South Africa that we had at Little Kwara.
Afternoon Drive
The plan was to search for lion tracks then head to the wild dog den to see the puppies. The pack has 14 puppies that are just getting old enough to go on hunts, meaning that the pack will soon leave this area.
The male lion was still sleeping near where we left him before brunch.
It’s a long bumpy ride to the den. No dogs. Not a puppy nor an adult in sight. Obza, our tracker, tracks them through the forest for a while but the vehicle can’t drive into the dense woodlands.
We find half the pack sleeping on the road, but no puppies. We make a plan to try again tomorrow.
Great fire in the bush for sun downers.
Dinner – Thai chicken, rice, broccoli, roasted sweet potatoes, chickpea curry, bread pudding for dessert
Took a shower under the stars before bed.
August 28, 2016
For links to all the posts in this series see the Botswana/Zimbabwe page.