BEYOND LUXURY TRAVEL

Many local villagers have been affected by the floods – some with flooded crops and others having to move out of their waterlogged villages. On the positive side however, when the floods subside, the soil will be nourished and fertile and there will be no need to wait for the floods before sowing the next crop. The water, the new life, the new rivers and flowing Channels has excited every person and animal in Botswana and there is a feeling of rejuvenation in the air, the birth of a new era in the Okavango Delta.

The Savute Channel

The most interesting and miraculous phenomenon of this year’s floods is the flowing of the Savute Channel in Northern Botswana’s Chobe National Park. (click here to read more)

Game viewing

Savute has always been known as the elephant capital of the world but the flowing of the Savute Channel into the Savute Marsh has attracted more elephants than we have ever seen before. Breeding herds of 500 elephants are currently in Savute. Magnificent to behold, but also somewhat devastating to the surrounding vegetation, with the candlepod acacia shrubland thinning away to just some trees dotted here and there.

The over flooded islands in the middle of the Okavango Delta have forced the animals to congregate onto the few dry islands, making game-spotting on walks and helicopter flights a shoe-in.

The abundance of water has resulted in plenty of delicious, fresh green food for the antelopes and they are looking fat and healthy as we approach the rainy season. This is the time of the year when they start having their babies and we are all looking forward to seeing the somewhat wobbly and fragile little “bokkies” springing around our place very soon.

Birds

The good rains and the exceptional floods have brought many birds to the Okavango Delta. An ornithologist’s paradise, the Delta is home to more than 450 species of terrestrial and aquatic birds. The endangered Wattled Crane and the rare endemic Slaty Egret enjoy their largest concentration in the world right here. 75-80% of the world’s 4000 slaty egrets are found in this area alone. Just a few of the many species found in the Delta are the exquisite malachite kingfisher, the goliath heron and the African Fish Eagle.

More and more aquatic birds have settled in the Savute Marsh. Fish Eagles, yellow billed stork and pied king fishers are now a common sight in the area.

Vegetation

The floods have affected the vegetation differently from one area to another. We have seen grasses, reeds and other water-loving flora fill up the Delta in areas that had been bare. On the other hand some trees, especially the acacia species, are slowly drowning as they are stand in water.

The Savute Channel has brought many changes to the surrounding vegetation. It is thick and green whereas in the past the trees, plants and grasses would turn brown as soon as the rains were gone. However with time, more trees will die as the water level increases and as the dramatic increase in elephants visiting the Marsh takes its toll on the vegetation.

While some things change, others remain constant, such as the passing of another year and happy festive seasons. On that note, we would like to share a message from our General Manager Warren Stone:

For me, Christmas time is a time of families coming together, of reflection over the year that has just past, and also a time of anticipation of the year ahead.

Orient-Express has made many impressive changes this year, including a journey of discovery, of getting to know the staff better and thus unlocking their true potential.

2010 has also been an encouraging year as the tourism industry in Botswana is showing signs of improving and so we are excited about the prospects for 2011. As General Manager of Orient-Express Botswana, I am looking forward to all the challenges that the year may hold, knowing that I have a much better understanding of my team, and with our on-going motivating training, we will exceed all expectations, both from ourselves and from our guests.

Below is a poem which sums up my wishes for everyone as we come to the end of another year:

Whatever be the colour of your eye,

Whatever be the colour of your hair,

Whatever position you occupy,

Whatever religion you might declare,

Whatever be the colour of your skin,

Whatever be your political thought,

Virtue be in your heart, or deadly sin,

Whether you have treasures, or possess nought,

In this Festive Season please turn your face

Towards a stranger and hold out your hand,

Offer him, or her friendly embrace

And try to make him, or her understand,

That we are all of the same family.

There is no place for violence, or hate,

There is no need for quarrel, or enmity,

That a just, peaceful world we must create

And we must learn to live in harmony,

Putting behind us all our bloody past,

Securing safety for our progeny,

For them to live on Earth in peace at last.

by P. J. Oszmann

Thanks to all the staff at Orient-Express Botswana for their hard work and enthusiasm in ensuring that each and every one of our guests has enjoyed an authentic journey of discovery at our camps. I also wish everyone a Merry Christmas, a prosperous 2011 and may all your dreams and aspirations be realised.

And from me, Onx Manga, I would like to extend my very best wishes to everyone who has taken their time to read all the wonderful news from the bush, to those who have been inspired by the stories to eventually find themselves in the African wilderness and to those who are still dreaming of coming to Africa one day; may your dreams come true.

“Masigo le Mathogonolo a Keresmose le ngwaga a moshu.”

Compiled by

Onx Manga
Environmental Manager

Vegetation in Khwai seemed to change colour almost overnight, probably due to the sudden drop of temperature at the end of last month. Kalahari leaf trees continue to shed their leaves while at the same time they are starting to show their purple flowers.

In Savute the vegetation has changed dramatically. Most of the trees have turned gold and brown, or they have lost their leaves, except for the camel thorn, the African Mangosteen and the Woolly Caper bush which are still prominently green. The Savute Marsh is surrounded by greenery due to all the water in it. Acacia seed pods are falling, attracting antelopes, birds and elephants to the acacia woodland. Elephants have been seen displaying very sensible behaviour by shaking the pods off the tree instead of just pushing the whole tree over – which is their normal custom. Maybe they do understand that they might need that same tree next season.

Game viewing

In Savute the zebras have moved on to the north to mark the end of the migration, after having spent six very exciting weeks in the area. They stayed longer than usual because of all the water around but they have eventually moved on in search of lovely fresh green grass. However, there are still large herds of Buffalos and wildebeest, breeding herds of elephants sighted regularly swimming in the channel by the Marsh; and giraffes are also frequenting the Savute Marsh to feed on the candle pods acacia seeds. We must bear in mind that most of these animals would normally have moved on as soon as it stopped raining because the waterholes would dry out, but not this time, it looks like they are here to stay and enjoy the fresh water – great news for Savute.

Leopards were sighted most out of all the big cats. There are currently two female leopards near Savute with their young cubs. We normally spot the mother hunting for food during the day, returning to her young cubs in the evening to feed them. We are being quite spoilt with leopard sightings and we saw as many as three different leopards on one afternoon game drive last month.

Not to be outdone, we have spotted two tiny baby leopards with their mother at Khwai.

The wild dog den in Khwai is always a highlight for any visitor. The critically endangered species have finally introduced all the members of their pack to the public. Just knowing that there were puppies in the den was a very exciting feeling but coming face to face with 12 of them was an overwhelming experience. We continue to see the dogs regularly, especially on the afternoon drives, hunting and then they go back to the den to regurgitate the meat for their pups to digest.

A pack of just three wild dogs has been sighted on a few occasions in Savute and we expect them to den somewhere behind Sable Hill as they always seem to head that way every time they have been spotted. From past reports I had lamented that our Savute pack of wild dogs must have separated or something major must have happened as the big pack of 21 seemed to have split up. And now we have also spotted a new pack of six wild dogs. We know they are not part of the old pack as they are much much lighter in colour. I suppose time will tell what happened to the big old pack.

Birds

Savute is most definitely a paradise of bird life with so much water around us. Yellow billed pelicans were frequently sighted in the Marsh and the area also boasts eagles such as the Marshal and Tawny Eagle. The crowned plovers and the blacksmith plovers are nesting so one has to be careful driving in the open plains, especially near the water holes, not to be attacked by these rather aggressive protective birds as they protect their nest.

At Eagle Island it is breeding time for egrets and herons in the Okavango Delta. The natural heronry close to Eagle Island Camp is alive with such a great variety of egrets including the rare and endemic Slaty egret, the Black Egret, the little egret and the cattle egret.

Reptiles

Reptiles normally hibernate during winter however we still managed to see a crocodile, a rock python and a monitor lizard as these three fairly large reptiles somehow never go into full hibernation as they love to come and bask in the sun.

General

The water level continues to rise all over northern Botswana; The Okavango Delta is the fullest it has been since 1984. The Chobe River in the far north is overflowing and the Thamakane River and its tributaries continue to flood Maun. Some houses along the Thamalakane River have been flooded but luckily the lodges have not been affected. It looks like the flood waters will continue for at least another month and so we will continue to see the so-called dead rivers come back to life. I think this is the rejuvenation of the Ngamiland and the birth of a whole new era for us.

This month we share a little about Andrew Young, Regional Camp manager for Khwai River Lodge.

Originally from South Africa, “Drew” is now a full-blown wild-life man. It all started with fly-fishing in his youth followed by a few years work in East Africa and South America as a guide. He met Sarah in Peru two years ago, now his fiance, with whom he now manages Khwai River Lodge. He loves it, “it is close enough to home but still I am in the pure wilderness”. Andrew is mad about photography and particularly his brand new camera lens. Just look at his two photos of the wild dog pups.