Tag Archives: vacation

Postcards from Mokala: Scenery

The June school holidays saw us conducting a tour of the Mokala National Park, one of South Africa’s lesser-known wildlife gems, located just south of Kimberley on the edge of the Karoo and Kalahari. Our base for the trip was Lilydale Camp with its wonderful setting above the Riet River. Covering 284km² of open plains transected by rugged low hills, Mokala this winter is a feast to behold with wide swathes of Wild Rosemary bushes in seed, giving the veld a snow-covered appearance (hence the Afrikaans name “Kapokbos” for the Wild Rosemary) under absolutely cloudless skies.

Lilydale Unit#1, Mokala National Park, June 2024

View over the Riet River from Lilydale

Wild Rosemary (aka Kapokbos) in seed dot the veld in Mokala

Gemsbok walking through Wild Rosemary (aka Kapokbos) in seed

Dead tree statue in Mokala

Gemsbok scaling a hill in Mokala

Roan Antelope

Sociable Weaver nest

Springbok at sunset in Mokala (photo by Joubert)

Mokala sunset

Full Moon over Mokala

The enormous nests of Sociable Weavers are always a marvel, but this one looking like a human head spiked on an electricity pole was really creepy!

Remember that DeWetsWild can help you book a stay at Mokala National Park and I’d also be glad to escort you there on a guided tour!

Come along to “The Smoke That Thunders”

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While staying at Senyati Safari Camp we made use of their very convenient shuttle service to spend a day at the Victoria Falls, just 80km away in neighbouring Zimbabwe.

Known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya; “The Smoke That Thunders”, the Victoria Falls really is one of the most awe-inspiring sights on the planet and most worthy of its inclusion among Unesco’s World Heritage Sites. It was named in November 1855 by explorer David Livingstone in honour of Britain’s Queen Victoria. Here the Zambezi River drops over a cliff 1.7km (more than a mile!) wide into a ravine 108m deep, making it the largest sheet of falling water on earth. On average more than a million liters of water flows over the falls every second – the highest ever recorded was almost 13-million liters per second! The spray from the falls rise up to 800m high and can be seen from over 50km away on a clear day. Even with a raincoat or umbrella you are sure to get soaking wet! Don’t miss the chance to walk onto the bridge connecting the Zambian and Zimbabwean border posts for a view of the gorge below the waterfall.

Looking downriver over the Devil’s Cataract

Walking through the rainforest that surrounds the falls

Rainbows everywhere!

Devils Cataract

Looking down the gorge below the falls

Devils Cataract

Victoria Falls

Pathways wet from the misty rain

Victoria Falls

Danger Point

Bridge connecting Zimbabwe and Zambia just below the falls

Precariously perched tree below the falls

Around the falls on the Zimbabwean side the rainforest and associated wildlife is protected in the Victoria Falls National Park, while on the Zambian side you’ll find the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park.

Statue in honour of explorer David Livingstone

Vervet Monkey of the race C. p. ngamiensis photographed in the Victoria Falls National Park

Wild Fig fruits

Grey-backed Camaroptera

Chobe Bushbuck ewe

Chobe Bushbuck ram

Southern African Tree Squirrel interacting with a Wahlberg’s Striped Skink

Wahlberg’s Striped Skink

Terrestrial Brownbul

Yellow Pansy Butterfly

If you’re planning to visit, the flow over the falls is usually at its most spectacular during April and at its lowest during November. You can fly directly to international airports at Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) or Livingstone (Zambia) and there are many accommodation establishments to choose from (and DeWetsWild will gladly help with your bookings!).

Come along on a boat ride on the Chobe River

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During our tour of Botswana in June we set off on an afternoon boat ride from the launch site in Kasane, following the Chobe River upstream into the Chobe National Park and later returning along the main channel – the border between Botswana and Namibia – around Sedudu Island by sunset. Game-viewing and photographic opportunities from the boat was excellent as we floated low to the water to almost within touching distance of Nile Crocodiles, Hippos, Buffaloes, Elephants and a wide array of other animals and birds which were all surprisingly unworried by our proximity. Certainly an experience to savour and never be forgotten!

The Chobe River at Kasane

Schalow’s Turaco

Guinea-fowl Butterfly

Spur-winged Goose

Big Red Lechwe ram

African Darter

Nile Crocodile

Nile Monitor

Nile Crocodile

Pied Kingfisher

White-crowned Lapwing

Banded Mongooses

Banded Mongoose

Nile Crocodile

Pied Wagtail

Game-viewing by boat on the Chobe River

Cape Buffalo

Serenity on the Chobe River

African Darter

African Fish Eagle

Cape Buffalo

Baboon of subspecies Papio ursinus griseipes

Baby Baboon of subspecies Papio ursinus griseipes

Baboon of subspecies Papio ursinus griseipes searching for seeds in elephant dung

Baby elephant

Elephant youngster

Hippos

Cape Buffalo

Cape Buffalo and cattle egret

African Spoonbills

Yellow-billed Storks

Red Lechwes

Great Egret

Black heron “canopy feeding” on shoals of small fish disturbed by the moving buffalo

Game-viewing by boat on the Chobe River

Resting hippos

Spur-winged Goose

Red Lechwes

Marabou Stork

Waterbuck family

Marabou Stork

Pink-backed Pelican

Water Thick-knee

Goliath Heron

Namibian fisherman in a traditional mokoro

Red Lechwes

Large flock of Black-winged Pratincoles settling down on an island for the night

Sunset over the Chobe River

Come along on a game drive through Botswana’s Chobe National Park

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We made an early departure from Senyati in order to be at the entrance gate into Chobe National Park by the time it opened at 6am. One of the first animals we saw was a leopard stalking a herd of impala, a good indication as to the quality of the game-viewing we enjoyed for the morning we spent exploring the park.

Leopard seen early morning in the Sedudu Valley

Sunrise over the Chobe River

Lechwes on the bank of the Chobe River

Red-billed Spurfowl

White-crowned Lapwing

Buffalo feeding in the Chobe River

Meyer’s parrot

Baboon of subspecies Papio ursinus griseipes

Puku

Red-billed Spurfowl

African Hawk-Eagle

Swamp Boubou

Tropical Boubou

Baboon of subspecies Papio ursinus griseipes

Impala

Bradfield’s Hornbill

Little Bee-eater

Neddicky

Warthog

Vervet Monkey of the race C. p. ngamiensis photographed in the Chobe National Park

Serene scene on the Chobe River

Plains Zebras

Plains Zebra

Giraffe

Puku

Nile Crocodile

Great Egret

Elephants making their way to the Chobe River

Nile Crocodile

Hippo

Elephants on the banks of the Chobe River

Elephants making their way to the Chobe River

Elephants drinking from the Chobe River

Squacco Heron

Kudu cows

Kudu cow

Impalas congregating next to the Chobe River

The highlight of the day was finding three lions strolling across the Puku Flats. At one point they flushed a roan antelope from a patch of long grass, but it made a safe retreat. Eventually the lions found a shady spot in which to rest and we moved along.

Lioness

Young lion male

Lioness

Roan Antelope

Young lion male

Lioness

Young lion male

Lioness

Young lion male

We made it as far west as the Kabulabula Peninsula before we had to turn around and head for the gate again, as we had another exciting excursion booked for the afternoon. More about that in the next post!

Senyati Safari Camp

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Following our amazing Gospel on Safari experience, colleague and friend Hannes Rossouw and I extended our stay in Botswana a little by heading further north to explore the Chobe National Park and surrounds, basing ourselves at Senyati Safari Camp. Senyati is located in the Lesoma Valley, just 15km from Kasane, gateway into Chobe, and offers accommodation, camping, a restaurant and a fabulous sunken hide from which you can get some terrific images of the animals and birds that come to drink at the camp’s waterhole day and night.

Sable Antelope just outside Senyati’s camping area

White-backed Vulture soaring over Senyati

Blue Wildebees walking away from Senyati’s waterhole

Egyptian Goose at Senyati’s waterhole

Three-banded Plover at Senyati’s waterhole

Red-billed Spurfowl

Arrow-marked babbler

Giraffe making its way around Senyati

Giraffes making their way around Senyati

Cape Turtle Dove

Warthog approaching Senyati’s waterhole

Campsite #19 at Senyati Safari Camp

Senyati’s sunken hide

Elephants at the waterhole seen from the deck above Senyati’s restaurant

Elephant from Senyati’s underground hide

Elephants from Senyati’s underground hide

Chobe Dwarf Gecko

Bradfield’s Hornbill

In upcoming posts I’ll share some more pictures taken on a drive through Chobe National Park, a boat ride on the Chobe River, and at Victoria Falls in neighbouring Zimbabwe.

Back from Manyeleti Magic

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I am fresh back from our Manyeleti Magic Photo-Safari & Workshop hosted in conjunction with Hannes Rossouw Photography out of Buffelshoek Tented Camp, and what a trip it was – without a question one of the best I have ever had, and with 40+ years of visiting South Africa’s wild places that takes some doing! Of course I will be telling you all about it in good time, but here’s a little taste of what you can look forward to.

Red-billed Oxpecker diving into a White Rhino’s ear

Spotted Hyena

Bateleur pair

Lilac-breasted Roller

Cheetah

Young male Lion

Magpie Shrike

One buffalo from a herd several hundred strong

Pearl-spotted Owlet

The head of a Southern African Rock Python encountered on our Manyeleti Magic Photographic Safari

Spotted Hyena

African Wild Dogs in playful mood before starting their hunt

A Buffalo standing on a dam wall gives an unusual perspective

White Rhino

Leopard

Hippo eyeing us from the waterhole

Cheetah

Lions after dark

One of the males from the Kambula Breakaway pride

Two of the Kambula Lions at Manyeleti

Buffalo taking a little longer to chew this prickly grasshead

Old Buffalo bull

Plains Zebras

Lilac-breasted Roller showing off its colours

Gospel on Safari: Sua Pan

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Early in June I had the enormous privilege of spending 9 days at and around Elephant Sands Lodge, located near Nata in north-eastern Botswana, participating in Gospel on Safari where I and eleven other believers spent time with our Creator and His Word in the most amazingly unspoiled natural surroundings. Without a question it was one of the most impactful experiences of my life and I am immensely grateful for and humbled by all that was revealed to us, both physically and spiritually.

One of our nights was spent sleeping out in the open under the stars on the enormously empty expanse of Sua (sometimes spelt Sowa) Pan. The next day we explored more of the pan and its surroundings, making it as far as Kubu Island, a rocky outcrop covered by baobab trees and surrounded by a sea of salty emptiness.

Camping under the stars on Sua Pan

On the horizon lies our campsite on Sua Pan, surrounded by emptiness

A little island of stingy grass and a lone thorn tree on the enormous expanse of Sua Pan

Baobab on the way to Kubu Island

Kubu Island

Herd of Red Hartbeest on the edge of Sua Pan

One of the biggest highlights of the trip was an encounter with an enigmatic animal that I’ve longed to see my whole life. More about that soon!

Back from another jaunt to Mokala National Park

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We’ve just returned from another trip to the wonderful Mokala National Park, and as I am off again on our Manyeleti Magic Photo-Safari & Workshop today I am just leaving you this quintessential postcard taken at Mokala as a little appetiser of what is to come when I have the chance in coming weeks to tell you all about the trip.

Watching Black Mambas at Domtshetshu Pan in Botswana

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While camping near Domtshetshu Pan in Botswana recently, as part of Gospel on Safari, I took a stroll towards a muddy part of the waterhole, where I found two Black Mambas – one of the deadliest species of snake on the planet – wallowing in the mud, drinking from little pools and being very coy with each other. The snakes paid me no notice at all, making me think that they probably have never seen a human before – what an amazing thought! Later, one of my fellow campers joined me at the sighting and still the snakes acted as if we weren’t even there.

Black Mamba

Black Mamba trail

Gospel on Safari: Domtshetshu Pan

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For three nights, with special permission granted by Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks, our group camped out in the wild at a waterhole called Domtshetshu Pan. The sense of freedom, space and wonderment was amazing!