Environmental report from Chobe Game Lodge - March / April 2008

Chobe Game Lodge's Environmentalist, Wouter Theron, reports on the happenings at Chobe Game Lodge over the past month as follows:

March marked the changeover between the dry and wet seasons in 2008 for Chobe. We measured a total 96.5mm in total for the month with the heaviest shower falling on the 1st when we measured 34mm. Most of the rain came in the form of loose showers lasting no more than 10 or 20 minutes. The change between wet and dry happened very abruptly around the 18th, with the first 2 weeks still hot and humid and the latter part of the month relatively cool and dry. After the last rain falling on the 18th one could definitely feel the chill of the oncoming winter more and more every morning.

The Chobe River came down in its annual flood and reached its peak levels around the 10th. It did come up rather high but nowhere near the levels of the 2007 season.

New Males in Chobe Lion Pride:

Our local pride of lions has been without any pride males for quite a long time now. We recently had 2 new males moving into the area, and it looks like they have decided to stay. They have mostly been seen in the vicinity of the pride but not really with them, so we assume that they haven’t really been accepted yet. Male lions normally meet with quite a bit of resistance when they take over new prides as the females are reluctant to accept strange males.

The absence of any pride males meant that we very seldom heard any roaring at night over the last 6 months or so. Due to the absence of any pride males one could only very infrequently hear the females roar, as a form of contact call when they were separated. Pride males tend to be very vocal since they roar as one of their ways to advertise their presence on their territory. Having new males in the area now means that we have the signature sound of an African night back again at Chobe – the King of the Beasts roaring at night!

The new males are still relative young, probably not much more than about 4 ½ years in age. The guides reported that they are very shy and secretive and often aggressive towards the vehicles as well. Their shyness definitely faded away rather quickly, and they paid a visit to Chobe Game Lodge on a number of occasions. On the picture below one of them can be seen checking if Mario, our Maintenance Manager, is at the office yet. The picture is courtesy of Field Guide Modibu.

During the 1st week of the month the big cats were very active in the Sedudu Valley area. At the end of February a big elephant died in that area, and the lions quickly moved in to feed on the nearly 5 tons of free meat. On the morning of the 3rd some of our guides were watching a few of the lions as they were taking a break from a hard nights’ feeding, when a luckless impala stumbled across the sleeping lions. They quickly killed it but were too full to actually eat it and left it for the vultures. 3 days later another impala’s luck ran out near the elephant carcass, this time the lions opted to feed on the fresh and tender impala – rather than the by now rather ripe elephant. Within the same week, as if they were not satisfied with the amount of elephant meat they’ve already consumed, the pride killed a baby elephant near the Sedudu Pan. They didn’t stick around too long however, leaving most of the elephant meat untouched. It would seem they were a bit tired of elephant meat after all. From here the pride moved west to Kabulabula where there is always an abundance of old male buffalos. They quickly tracked down and killed one of the grumpy old men, but were never able to finish it – a big male elephant chased them off the carcass. Payback for killing his family and friends! Before the lions could get back to the carcass, it was claimed by the waiting vultures and later a few hyenas joined in as well.

Other Sightings:

Our leopard sightings were a bit few and far in between as can be expected this time of year with the dense undergrowth. This doesn’t mean these elusive cats were not active; we did record quite a few sightings and also had a female very active in the vicinity of the Lodge.

We were also excited to record a sighting of and even a photograph (albeit not a great one) of a caracal, one of the smaller members of the cat family. Caracals are solitary cats and are very effective and agile hunters of smaller animals like guinea fowl and rodents and even prey up to the size of steenbok and young impalas. They are regarded as vermin in some parts of South Africa, but are not often seen in Chobe. This is due to the fact that they are most active at night, making this sighting of one in broad daylight even more special.

The show belonged to the smaller members of our Chobe Animal Family during March with regards to excitement. We had some fun and games with snakes as is normally the case in March. With the hot humid weather they are normally very active, and we’ve had large numbers of them around as they got flushed out of the floodplains of the Caprivi by the rising floodwaters. They were also trying to fatten up for the cold dry winter ahead of them, making them more active and conspicuous. Some of the customers we’ve had to remove from the Lodge grounds included Spotted Bush Snakes, Puff Adder, Olive Grass Snakes and Boomslang. The most exciting encounter happened on the 13th (good thing it wasn’t a Friday), when we had an Anchieta’s Cobra that entered the greenhouse at the workshop area. He caught a nice fat squirrel inside the greenhouse, and when he tried to make good his escape through the diamond mesh of the greenhouse he got stuck right at the bulge in his body where the squirrel was.

Of course that meant he wasn’t a very happy cobra and it also meant we had to get up close and personal with him to try and get him out. Mario had to push his body out from inside the green house while pulling the diamond mesh up. Wherever possible we never kill snakes if they enter the Lodge grounds, even the venomous species. We are inside their habitat after all, so we normally capture them and release them away from the Lodge. The cobra was eventually captured quite successfully and released a long way from the Lodge in the park.

The catch and release policy with regards to snakes is not applied to any extent by the troop of banded mongoose that inhabit the area around Chobe Game Lodge. These little guys normally sleep in burrows they excavate at various places around the Lodge area. On the evening of the 25th their sleeping burrow happened to be at one of the management houses. At around 20:00 Rodney Gerrard, our accountant, and his family heard the mongooses going wild – a big African Rock Python of just less than 2m was trying to help himself to a dinner of mongoose pups down in the burrow. The brave little mongooses wasn’t going to let that happen without putting up a stiff fight though, and within a few minutes the fight was over and they left the big python behind for dead. It was severely mauled and we presumed it was dead when we removed it from the Gerrards’ home, but on our return in the morning to take pictures it was gone. It might have just been down for the count after its mongoose encounter, or its’ been dragged off and eaten by a scavenger during the night.

Birdlife:

We are lucky enough to have a pair of Schalow’s Turacos take residence at the Lodge. These birds are quite secretive and prefer to stay high in the canopies of the bigger Brown Ivory trees in the gardens. They are heard often but rarely seen. Below is a picture taken on one of the rare occasions when they present themselves for viewing.

Schalows’ Turaco

Other notable sightings were that of the Black Crowned Night Heron; a rare species active around watercourses at night, Lizard Buzzard, Collared Sunbirds, and also Three Banded Plovers – another mostly nocturnal species.

The above was just some highlights of wildlife news happening in Chobe. Every day brings something new and interesting out here in the bush and we will keep you posted on our sightings and experiences in May as well.

Leroo La Tau - Why this is going to be a great safari destination.

Yesterday, 03 April 2008, two of our Reservations Consultants, Cindy and Nadia, from our Johannesburg office had the opportunity to accompany Bernie, our Operations Director, to Leroo La Tau on a routine visit to inspect the building of the new Leroo La Tau.

During their short visit, Bernie took them for a quick drive around the area near the lodge and this is what they saw:

Upon arrival at the lodge, they walked to the viweing deck and drinking at the waterhole in front of the lodge was this beautiful Giraffe.

They then drove down towards the Boteti River bed - this is a view from the River bed back up towards the lodge site:

A short drive from there and around the bend in the river, they came across two White Rhino:

About 100 meters away from these two Rhino, they encountered a pride of four Lions - a male, a female and two cubs. Heading back to the Lodge, as it was starting to get dark, they found another Male Lion on a kill:

All of the above encountered within a short period of time and this done without even seriously looking for game.

Feedback from Bernie and his team is that Leroo La Tau construction is well underway and the results thus far are very satisfying. As far as the building is concerned, all the main structures for the 12 chalets have been completed and most of the thatching and raised decks for the chalets are near completion. All the glass fronted, timber and thatched roofed chalets will look out over the Makgadikgadi National Park and raised on the high banks of the Boteti River.

The wooden decking in front of the main lodge building as well as the new viewing deck and sunken fireplace are also heading towards completion.

Leroo La Tau will soon be one of Botswana's greatest safari destinations!

Passport and Visa Requirements for Travel to Botswana

All visitors entering Botswana must hold a passport that is valid for at least six months, except those with United Nations Convention travel documents. Visitors must also have outgoing travel documents and sufficient funds to finance their visit to Botswana.

BOTSWANA’s Department of Customs and Immigration has introduced legislation stating that visitors requiring visas to enter the country will no longer be able to purchase them at the Port of Entry and will now have to pre-arrange visas. Visas can be arranged with the Botswana High Commission and in countries where Botswana is not represented, may be obtained from the British High Commission.

For further information, and to enquire about visa requirements please contact the relevant Botswana High Commission as follws: http://www.botswanatourism.co.bw/embassies_and_consulates.html

Never A Dull Moment at Savute Safari Lodge

Written by Assistant Manager Action Kehusitswe -

It was late afternoon around 1830 last week, Action and Banaki were in the office doing their usual duties at Savute and waiting for the guests to return from their game drive when Lodge Manageress Banaki started screaming! As Action turned around he saw a pack of wild dogs chasing a fully grown female kudu close to the office! It then sprinted through the dining room and bar and down the pathway to Room number one hotly pursued by four wild dogs. The kill took place behind the deck of number one and three of the wild dogs left one behind to go and collect the other pack of four. They fed on it all night and then stayed around the lodge for two days – what an amazing experience for our guests!

We are seeing an amazing increase of Wild Dog activity in and artound Savute Safari Lodge and if this is an indicator to the quality of game viewing so early in the season, we are very excited about what the dry months will deliver this year.

Once before a kudu was chased by wild dog right into the office and it was slipping on the smooth floor tiles – (now at Chobe Game Lodge) Manageress, Tania Bruwer, was trapped inside for a couple of minutes until the Kudu managed to get up and escape!

Camp Okavango - A Few New Changes and Two New Faces

Camp Okavango recently opened again, after a month of refurbishment and clean-up, to welcome guests for the 2008 season. During closure time, our new Lodge Managers, MC and Michelle, who have moved to the heart of the Okavango Delta from Camp Moremi, used this opportunity to settle in to their new environment, familiarise themselves with the set-up of the camp and oversee the refurbishment. We welcome them to Camp Okavango!

MC, the Nephew to John Khata, who has been at Camp Okavango for almost 30 years already, is no stranger to the Desert and Delta Safaris family. MC worked for many years at Camp Moremi and Xugana Island Lodge, and has excelled from his early days as a waiter and Barman at Camp Moremi and Guide, Assistant Manager and Manager at Xugana Island Lodge. Just over two years ago, MC spent a year at Disneyworld on a cultural exchange program and honed his skills in Tourism Management. He returned to Desert and Delta Safaris at the end of 2006. It was during this time that he met Michelle, who hails from Kwazulu-Natal. Michelle joined Desert and Delta Safaris in 2007 and spent the year as an Assistant Manager at Camp Moremi. We are confident that their great zest for life and positive approach to Tourism Management are going to ensure that guests to Camp Okavango leave with incredibly fond memories of their Okavango experiences.

Apart from various soft changes to the lodge, we have replaced the entrances to all the tents with new glass and mosquito netting sliding doors. This is a welcome change to the old zip-up doors and we are confident that our visitors are going to enjoy our new tents.

Camp Okavango guest accommodation is in eleven safari tents, with en-suite bathrooms. All rooms are raised above the ground on wooden decks ....... and now boast brand new glass sliding doors as entrances. Each room deck allows for guests to relax and enjoy the views of the Okavango Delta wilderness.

The new entrances of the Camp Okavango tents as from the interior of the tented room.

Chobe Savanna Lodge - Kasenu Village Boat Project Completed

The 13th of January was a very special day for the people of Kasenu Village in the Kasika Conservancy, Eastern Caprivi. As a result of donations left by guests of Chobe Savanna Lodge, they were able to purchase a brand new fibreglass boat and a 15hP engine. The boat will be used to transport pensioners to collect their pension money and as a taxi for not only Kasenu but also the surrounding villages. This is the first permanent taxi on the Chobe River in the Kasika Conservancy.

(Chobe Savanna Lodge Management meeting with the Kasenu Village to hand over the donation)

Chobe Savanna Lodge supported a number of villages since October 2003 with various projects that improve general living conditions without changing the traditional nature of the villages. Managers of Chobe Savanna Lodge, Johann and Anja van Schalkwyk, continued this objective when they started working at the lodge in June 2005.

Since March 2006, Chobe Savanna Lodge has taken its guests to Kasenu for cultural visits. The villagers explain to the guests how they catch fish, fix fishing nets, dry fish, build traditional mud houses, medicinal uses of plants in the village as well as day to day activities in the village. Once the tour ends, everybody meets in the boma under the big baobab tree and guests are invited to join in the traditional singing and dancing.

In November 2007, John Sepiso, assistant manager at Chobe Savanna Lodge, and Ester Magwaza, from Kasenu, made their way to Lusaka to purchase the boat. Transporting the boat to Livingstone wasn’t too difficult as many empty trucks offer lifts to those that require them. The trip from Livingstone to Mambova proved to be more difficult – the only vehicle available was a small pick up vehicle that the 6 metre long boat did not fit onto properly. As a result, as they reached Mambova, the driver informed John that the fare was increased by K100.000, which made it just as expensive as the trip from Lusaka to Livingstone! Sekoma Island Lodge (a sister lodge of Chobe Savanna Lodge) towed the boat to Kasane, where Chobe Savanna Lodge then picked it up. The engine arrived shortly after the boat and Chobe Game Lodge (another lodge in the DDS group) assisted with the installation thereof.

While waiting for the boat to arrive, Martin Silimbani (an inhabitant of Kasenu) was taught how to drive a boat and had to get to know the Chobe River. He was also taught how to maintain the boat engine as this would also be one of his responsibilities. Susan Matomola (also from Kasenu) was given lessons in basic accounting as she was elected by the village as the taxi bookkeeper. By the time the boat was ready to make its first trip, all the necessary training was completed. All profit made by the taxi will go to the village. The village has decided that their next project will be a community vegetable garden and are busy drawing up a proposal.
On behalf of Kasenu and Chobe Savanna Lodge, Johann and Anja thank all the guests and fundraisers that donated money toward the project as well as everybody else that was involved in making this project possible.

(The Maiden Voyage in the new Kasenu Village Boat)

(This smile and the excitement of the new boat for the Village says it all.)

Renovations at Savute Safari Lodge

The time for renovations has come and Savute has just undergone a spectacular make over. The signature blue furnishings have been replaced with more neutral tones and the lodge exudes pure sophistication and elegance.

Each chalet peeks out from under the legendary Camelthorn trees and has been decorated in a blend of cool natural colours, patterns and different textures.

If you take a leisurely walk up to the bar area to quench your thirst or simply delight in one of the famous sundowners in front of the waterhole you will be met by a group of striking giraffe who will majestically look down on you while you wait for your drink!

The library and lounge areas have been completely revamped and you can sink into the soft colorful cushions that are scattered around an assortment of leather, fabric and wicker arm chairs and sofas.

For those scorching afternoons that are so prevalent in the Savute you can relax in one of the brand new pool loungers at the pool and watch the wild life as they come and go from the water hole in front of camp like old friends at a local meeting place.


The new Savute, is a place where nature and wild life can be enjoyed from stylish, natural, comfortable surroundings.