Photographic Safari: Self Drive Tips for Capturing the Big Five

There are pros and cons for paying to go on safari or do your own self drive. When you go on a paid safari, you have the advantage of a trained spotter usually and you don't have to worry about watching the road as you ride along; they are doing that (you hope!) You are also in a vehicle that sits high off the ground and so sometimes you can see things people in a regular passenger car cannot.



This being said, the freedom of a self drive is immense. When you find something, you can sit and watch to your heart's content. If if it something of everyone's interest like a lion for instance, my advice is to turn your vehicle so no one can block your view! If you in a busy park like Kruger during the school holidays there are pluses and minuses. One advantage of going at this time of year is that there are more eyes out spotting the game, though it can get quite hectic when one of the Big Five is spotted. People can get a little crazy so you have to assert yourself and hold your ground. This is one big advantage of a small car: you can quickly zip into a space or move around some big clunky 4 x 4's as needed.

When out driving, and you see a car stopped, backing up etc., slow down and start segmenting the viewing field and looking for it. We were able to spot a leopard in a tree by slowing down, stop, go forward six feet, look around, go forward six more feet and so on. It allows both the driver and passenger to look for what has been spotted.

We also if possible, see which direction the people are looking so we can both be looking in that direction. Before setting out on a game drive, it is advisable to look at the sightings board, and if you can talk to others at the board to see what and where they have seen anything. We go a cheetah report from a man who had seen two cheetah that very morning. We went out looking but were not successful. We did the game drive at about 10-15 km where the cheetah had been spotted which did allow for both of us to be looking.


Another tip is to not just look on the ground; look in the trees especially ones that look like a likely place to find a leopard. Look ahead, something could be crossing the road--the elephants can just suddenly appear on the side of the road. Lions seem to enjoy lying around and if you are lucky it is on the side of the road!

Vultures circling usually indicate a kill somewhere and you can try to follow their path or if they are in a tree, look around so see if you can find something nearby. Prey animals like the impala are worth watching if you see them "alert." They may be sensing one of their predators is in the area and may show themselves!

For more of our pictures of Lions Mating, see
Vicious Lovers: Lions at Dusk, Mating, Then Stalking Off For Their Nightly Hunt at http://www.traveljournals.net/stories/30097.html

Drinking with Elephants: Chobe River Boat Cruise

Boat Ride on Chobe River

After our early morning game drive, we came back and got ready to go out for a Sunday afternoon boat ride with the fun owners of Africa Gallery, one of our favorite places to sit and drink coffee in all the world.

Vicky, Finn, and Clive have a pontoon boat they keep parked on the river across the
street from their shop, Gallery Africana and Coffee Shop. We had met them on earlier trips and were visiting with
them about life in Zimbabwe at present and what had been happening in Kasane. Vicky was wonderful when we told her we needed fuel for our stov. She took us several places to find some
fuel for our stove and invited us to go with them on the boat.

She said that during the recent flooding they had been worried the boat was going to end up on the lawn but it never actually did.
We were joined by Karen, her two sons and friend Jacques and then we were off. It was nice leaving earlier than
the regular boat cruises because we had the river to ourselves for the first couple of hours.

Not only was this a great cruise, it was a culinary experience as well. First, we had tea with "just made" chocolate
cake with a scrumptious icing. We were being entertained by crocodiles sunning in various sizes, monitor lizard,
pied kingfishers, bee eaters, and a malachite kingfisher and then some elephants came down to the water. We enjoyed watching them swim
across to the island. We could see giraffe off in the distance up the hill. On the island we could see hippo and buffalo.

We continued cruising and then set out some more food for people to munch on as they wanted. What a treat! There
were small pizza's, fresh bread and cold cuts, olives, pickles, salad, cheese pastries, peppadews with feta, avocado/
tomato dip, chips, chocolate covered strawberries and of course more cake if you wanted.

We then started seeing several elephants coming down the hill. There were all shapes and sizes, including several
small ones. We stopped the boat and watched the small ones playing around in the mud under the eye of the mother
elephants. Soon they were joined by another group and then another! It was interesting to watch as they drank, and the
little ones played around. The little ones were not quite sure what to do with their trunks, a little bit of a learning curve
it seems.

We saw a huge herd of buffalo crossing the river. Unfortunately, several of the tour boats came up close to them and
the herd broke into two groups and seemed uncertain as what to do. As the boats would move off, they would regroup
and continue with their journey across the river.

There were a lot of birds to also enjoy as we traveled along. We saw African spoonbill, skimmers, darter, cormorant,
squacco heron, grey heron, and African fish eagle.

As we cruised back, we enjoyed wine, beer and shandies. The sunset was perfect as usual. Finn had been a
professional photographer and seemed to know how to position the boat to get the best shot. The entire trip had been
a great experience.

Lions in Chobe National Park, Chobe Safari Lodge Game Drive 6 am

Puku on alert, where are those lions?




Ahh, here they come, how awesome!






And, wouldn't you know it, here come the dang game drive vehicles. The guides radio each other when they find something big like lions.


Early morning game drive with Chobe Safari Lodge


We had been invited to go on boat ride on the Chobe river Sunday afternoon. We needed to pay our
park entry fee and Finn had suggested it might be cheaper to go through the Lodge than pay 130 pula
each for the entry as individuals. We decided to do the early morning game drive with Chobe Safari
Lodge. Finn was correct---we paid only 70 pula for the entrance fee through the Lodge. Of course, we
had to pay for the game drive also.

Got up early and fixed our coffee, heated a roll and went up to reception to go on the drive. It was very
cold that morning and I had on t-shirt, shirt, sweater, long sleeve shirt, and windbreaker! I also was
wearing my winter hat. Fortunately, I had a blanket to cover my legs. It was especially cold as we drove
to the park.

There were only six of us in our vehicle which was nice. In the beginning we were not seeing much in the
way of game but were enjoying the rising of the sun over the river. You can see how much the water is still
up and the lushness of the place.

The guides do communicate with each other by radio and alert each other when they have something in
sight. Our guide had told us we might not see any "cats" because they are usually seen later in the day,
when suddenly we could see off in the distance what looked like animals jumping across the plains. It
was lions! They did not catch what they were after and stopped and come right at our safari vehicle. they
were very, very close!

We got to enjoy watching them along with several other vehicles that had come driving up. The two we were
watching were females and our driver said the males are staying with the young cubs. We then continued
on our drive. We saw a huge male kudu with four females. He was so kind as to pose for us until we had
all gotten our shots.






Finally we experienced the Kori Bustard, the largest flying bird in Africa actually flying, scared up by a lion!

We saw two different kinds of vultures, but did not see any evidence there had been a kill in the area. We also
saw our first jackals for this trip. As we were driving back from the park, there were three elephants in the
bushes by the road. All in all, a very nice game drive.

More Adventure with Safari Mike: Luangwa Lions Lounging, Male Giraffe Necking

Lounging Lions of Luangwa

Because the park entrance fee is good for 24 hours, we were able to do both a late afternoon and early morning game drive with Mike. He had been working for Born Wild Foundation in Malawi. According to Mike, this organization was founded by the actors from the classic movie.

When we set out on the early morning drive, Mike informed us if we saw lions, be prepared to sit and watch them for a couple of hours. We said that would not be a problem for us. He had been on several safaris at Flatdogs and had yet to see any lions. And, afterall, since he had been working for Born Free wildlife conservation in Malawi for several years, we simply had to help him study his lions! We had noooo problem with that idea at all!

We drove through parts of the park we had not been to but were not finding any lions. We would get hopeful when we would either see very little in the way of wildlife and what looked like an animal alerting as if there might be a lion around.

Finally we came on a safari vehicle and stopped and asked them if they were seeing anything. They said there were lions right back where they had been. As we approached the area where they had been, we saw a giraffe sitting on the ground. We wondered if the lions were still there because the giraffe did not seem concerned. We drove into the clearing and there they were! It was 10 lions in two groups sitting on the ground.








Suddenly, they got up and looked like they were getting ready to start hunting. Some began to move out and others went plunk, back down on the ground! They moved into several groups and began to do what according to Mike they do 80% of every day------resting! Mike hopes one day to become a safari guide and has a book with facts and figures about the various animals.

Mike drove from the open area where some were resting, "off road!" ,to a place where another vehicle had gone. They turned around and left, we saw nothing, turned around barely missing trees and such, when Laura cried "look", two lions were coming up behind us. They, too, went plunk, and began to rest. We watched them for some minutes up close and personal, and it was thrilling, I tell you.

Then off stage, we heard a thundering of hooves. What was that?
Later we learned from the folks in the Flatdogs game drive vehicle that the lions all of sudden got up and chased the giraffes! No luck, though.

Just after we heard the hooves another self drive vehicle drove up, this one carrying people in muslim dress, one man driving, three women passengers. Laura commented that the back window had been broken out, and she wondered if by elephants. As if the man read her lips, he began telling us that they had been in a lodge near Flatdogs and had left oranges in the back. Oops, seems that "Wonkie Tusk" had been busy....

We then spent the next two and a half hours ,moving between and watching the resting lion small groups. Many times they were very "cat-like" in their behavior--rolling over and stretching, preening and cleaning and yawning and stretching. It was all very entertaining!





Male Giraffe "Necking"
We also came up to three male Giraffe doing the strangest thing. According to Mike, the males were "necking." They were butting each other with slow but great force, apparently in preparation for the mating season. Mike told us that male Giraffe are distinguised in part from females by the hair being worn off their horns.

Pictures of Leopard on the Hunt! Awesome experience with Mike the Safari Man !

Leopard on the Hunt! Awesome experience with Mike the Safari Man !

We were about to find a place for a "sundowner" where you get out of the vehicle and watch the sunset. Yikes!

As we road along the dirt park road we spied a game viewing vehicle stopped on the side of the road. They had spotted a leopard that was almost impossble to see in the grass, even with great sunlight. Ibises were circling loudly near the ground making their strange calls, but we just could not make out the leopard! Finally it got up and began hunting. We pulled along side them and they silently mouthed, "Leopard."

Afternoon Game Drive with Mike, Part I

After we had done our very interesting drive through the wild game management area in the morning with Mike, we returned to the camp to prepare for our trip into the Park. One of the interesting sights we saw when were driving through there was a hippo with one of his teeth growing sideways out of his mouth. Poor thing. We also saw a woodland kingfisher that was very colorful right above some puka on the ground. We decided to fix ourselves sandwiches and would enjoy them within the park. I walked over to the self-catering kitchen with my head in the clouds and not paying attention to what was going on. I got within 15 feet of the door and looked up and there was Gilbert by the kitchen. He flared his ears and took a step toward me. I started and then, WHAT DO YOU DO? They tell you to freeze, remain calm, and slowly back away. I can tell you, the first thing you do is panic! I was first tempted to jump into the bush but then moved slowly away and when I got out of his sight, walked as fast as I could back to our tent. Robert said I was as white as a ghost!

Mike drove me back over to the camper kitchen and we fixed the sandwiches and were off to pay our fees at the park gate. When you enter the park you, the pass is good for 24 hours. Because we entered at 1:00 pm, the permit was good until 1:00 the next day. Since Mike has been to the park several times, he had a good idea of where we could go. His main focus was looking for lions but we enjoyed other animals and birds along the way. Since he is driving a Land Rover, he was enjoying taking off on some of the small tracks that quite often petered out and we had to turn around and go back. His comment as he turned off onto these roads, "This is not a problem for a Land Rover!"

We enjoyed the puka and impala that were out in great numbers. We stopped at one waterhole and saw black egret, open billed stork, and African spoonbill. At another lagoon type area, we saw hippos gliding through the water lilies. At one point we were amused when a gray heron landed on the back of one of the hippos and it appeared that he was surfing as he was standing still on the hippo back and being propelled through the water.










We saw some a magnificant kudu male with his fine horns and nice markings. We saw Swainsons's francolin running back and forth across the road. We saw a very large herd of buffalo on both sides of the road. We continued to drive and explore areas of the park we had not been in. We saw elephants and a family of giraffe, the baby running back and forth.