Botswana
Big Cats & Wild Dogs In June Product Manager Brian Wood joined our inaugural Best of Botswana holiday …
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otswana at the dry time of year, as the life-giving waters of the Okavango trickle southward towards Maun ... the flow was perceptible in places, and in a couple of months the grasslands we crossed will be shallow lagoons dotted with islets, set against a backdrop of dead trees, the result of being submerged for months at a time. Dry it might be at present – with clear and cloudless skies that mean cold, starry nights around the campfire, the guilty pleasure of soup, hot water bottles in bed, and chilly early morning game drives until the sun warms the land – but it rained cats and dogs throughout our stay. First the cats. One joy of any safari is the opportunity to watch wild creatures at close quarters for long enough to understand their behaviour, particularly when in the company of a knowledgeable guide who can interpret the signs, provide insights, and thus aid understanding. Lion cubs are particularly charismatic with a huge ‘Aaaw!’ factor as they stalk each other, pouncing and play-fighting in preparation for the real thing, and involving the adults for as long as their patience lasts. We watched in fascination as two females moved off from their five cubs to hunt. The cubs followed half-heartedly, but continued playing ... until they suddenly seemed to realise they had been left on their own, at which point their confidence and playfulness deserted them, and
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they hunkered down in a thicket to await their mums’ return. One memorable moment was the evening beside the Khwai River when we listened – from no more than a few metres away – to one mature male lion roaring to another at dusk. It started gently enough, but soon the powerful resonance of a deep belly-roar that carries for up to eight kilometres set the bodywork of our game-viewer vehicle vibrating in sympathy. And then the dogs. The drama of a pack of some 30 wild dogs running through our campsite early one morning was an marvellous sight. Elsewhere we saw wild dogs spooking a herd of elephants as they ran, trumpeting and roaring, through their midst. We were also transfixed by the sight of hyena pups emerging tentatively from their den in the company of a baby-sitting female who stood watch as they played, though they were not slow to return to safety at the slightest whiff of danger. Playtime over, they were packed off back into the den to await the arrival of the clan with food. Serval and African wild cat, blackbacked jackal and bat-eared fox were also on our menu of felids and canids, but the finest sightings were undoubtedly the leopards – seven or eight in all. Quite how a lone leopard can haul something as heavy as a dead waterbuck high into the fork of a tree is utterly beyond me. Unfortunately we didn’t see the action, merely the result. Ah the joys – and the mysteries – of nature!
Small Group Tour Best of Botswana Group, 15 Jun, 20 Jul, 3 Aug, 31 Aug & 19 Oct 2019 13 days, from £4,195
For full details and our collection of tailor-made holidays to Botswana visit www.wildlifeworldwide.com or call 01962 302055.
Over 25 years experience of designing the finest wildlife holidays