Story of Lion's fighting at a Kill, More

Note: More pictures of these events are posted at www.traveljournals.net/rmalone

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Our idea of Adventure Travel is probably tamer than many, but we are having a very exciting time!

Sunrise of our first morning drive from Satara we found lions down, interested in a herd of buffalo who were approaching them. Were we to witness another "Battle at Kruger", made famous on youtube ?


As it turns out, they stopped short of each other but what they did do was very interesting.

(we have tried twice to load a video, will try again when we get to the US 0

After one of the female lions chased off the buffalo, she joined the male and another lion in moving off a short distance to rest.

Then, from stage right, a line of buffalo returned led very strongly by the big bull with his head out and sniffing. When the line of buffalo were almost to the lions, the bull rared around and reversed course, with his herd soon running in reverse in front of him.

So interesting to get to witness this! We are so thankful!




Lion Cubs at a Kill
Over the next several days we were to witness lion behavior around a kill very up close and personal. For more stories and pictures about what was a very unique experience for us, please go to http://www.traveljournals.net/travelers/rmalone/journals/3615/ .

Getting There and Away in Africa: Ngepi Camp to Kasane Example

How to Not Travel Light

(But......You know, like the name of the blog say: Adventure Travel the World, In Style, On a budget.)


Ngepi camp: Getting There and Away options Traveling independently in Africa allows you to be creative and practice patience! On this trip we added some new and varied experiences of travel options. We have traveled using both the large commercial buses and the minibus, an empty overland truck and taxi between two cities. While we were at Flatdogs in Zambia, Robert was talking to a gentleman that runs a small, independent tour using a 4x4 vehicle with seating for five, a rear storage compartment, and two tents on the top. He was taking his group to Malawi for a week and then returning to Windhoek. He usually e-mails camps along the way back asking if anyone is interested in hitching a ride, paying for part of the gas. Since he knew we were heading to Ngepi, he asked if we wanted to ride with him and make it to Ngepi in two days.! Shared a taxi with two guys to Chipata and he picked us up the next morning and we were in Ngepi in two days as promised! When we left Ngepi, we decided we didn't want to wait for the Intercape Mainliner and decided to "catch a hike" as they call it. We had Nathan drop us at the police checkpoint and we settled down to wait. The guard at the entrance to Mahango had told us there was a minibus that ran from Rundu to Katima Mulilo. We were hoping to be able to catch a ride with them or if the right person came along, "catch a hike." Finally after about two hours of waiting, the guys at the police checkpoint told us they had a ride for us. It was a long distance lorry (18 wheeler) heading for Katima Mulilo. We got all our luggage loaded in, and climbed aboard. As usual, you can have some of the most interesting conversations as you travel along. He was traveling from Walvis Bay to the Congo carrying a load of frozen fish. We had a great discussion about traveling in the Congo, and just his experiences of travel in general.

When we got to Katima Mulilo, he needed to go the Engen station and charge up the freezer. Luckily for us, Mukusi Cabins are right next door and they allowed us to set our tent up on the lawn. They have a nice restaurant and bar and so it was a great experience. The next day we caught the minibus to Kasane and were delivered directly to Chobe Safari Lodge to continue our adventure travels! The border crossing from Namibia into Botswana was done very smoothly.

Swine Flu
Interestingly enough we were asked to fill out a paper about swine flu since we had U.S. passports. The customs agent assumed we were traveling by private vehicle and told us we needed to pay. He was surprised when we told him we were traveling on the mini bus !
We got wonderful help from locals at the police checkpoint : "I will catch you a hike ! " and they did, including helping with our bags. We tipped them.


Our limo...


Laura riding high up in a beeg truck!



Thanks to John, the very nice Namibian truck driver who gave us this ride from Divundu to Katima Mulilo through the Caprivi Strip! Lots of signs on the road warning of Elephants, but we saw none this day.

Near the station where John stopped to plug in his freezer trailer full of fish he was taking to the Congo through, Zambia, there was a little oasis we had noticed when we were passing through Katima Mulilo before. Mukusi camps The showers and toilets were not very clean but we were glad to have them. Camping was not on the list of prices, but they did allow camping when asked.











Next morning, Robert caught us a ride from a guy in the Engen parking to the mini bus rank.

This is the second time we have taken the mini bus (passenger van) to Kasane, and though it left full we were comfortable, and the price was right! They made room in their trailer for all our bags, and dropped us a Chobe Safari Lodge as we requested.


Transiting through Chobe National Park with the locals on the mini bus, we saw zebras this time.


We knew we were in Kasane when we saw the warthogs in the street!

Crowned Cranes -- Adventure Birding in Zambia

Crowned Cranes with Saudi Expats Karen and Dave, and the E Learning King of the Luangwa Valley, our fellow long term Flat Dogs camper Sasha.

Ok,you say, what is 'Adventure Birding?' Well, for us it was getting out of the vehicle in a game management area where lions and leopards and hippos and such are free to roam. Taking a risk that buffalo might happen up and not like the idea of people being in there space.... For us, that is a real adventure and got our heart beating faster than the normal fo sho.

We were fortunate to be invited on two afternoon game drives with fellow Flat Dog Campers in order to search for the Crowned Cranes at the Kalawani Pan in the Game Management Area across the River from South Luangwa National Park.

The crowned cranes are called kalawani because of the sound they make when they are
calling to one another.

There was a very large group of about 150 crowned cranes moving about on the area. They
have several very distinctive calls they make to each other. We got to sit and enjoy them
for quite some time before they began to fly off to roost in the trees for the evening.

They would leave in groups of 15-30 at a time crying "kalawani,kalawani" according to
Sasha.

We sincerely want to thank Sasha and the British couple for this unique experience!



While there listening to the haunting calls of the large flock of cranes and other sounds we were pleased to see Zebra come into the area.


We also enjoyed sighting a Goliath Heron the day we went with Dave and Karen in their Land Rover, and two Maribou storks during our sundowner with Sasha.



The Crowned Crane is the national bird of Uganda, according to Sasha, but we were quite awed to see it in Zambia. What an amazing bird! What a real rare gift to see a flock and hear their haunting calls..... We are so thankful!