I still remember my excitement when I have seen the aardwolf for the first time.  It was in 2014 in Okavango during a night drive – a tame, foraging individual allowed us to accompany him for 20 minutes.  You may ask, what is the Aardwolf!?  It is a very elusive specie of hyena (sometimes called civet hyena) that inhabits Eastern and Southern Africa. And, yes, it is primarily nocturnal and very difficult to see during the day.  It took me 6 years (until the January 2020) to be able to see and photograph this beautiful animal without the use of artificial light.  And it happened when a mother came to a den to fetch her two grown pups for a night hunt.  It was quick, it was getting dark and it was magical!

Let’s continue with hyenas.  I am not a big fun of a common, spotted hyenas, but I have a lot of time for their Kalahari cousins – the Brown Hyenas. It is the rarest of hyenas, adults are solitary and do not form clans as their spotted relatives.  I have seen brown hyena in the past, but it was a first time that I (and the group of photographers I was guiding) was able to spend a quality evening with three cubs around a den.  It was amazing to observe their evening rituals after leaving the den.  The bathroom break in a particular spot away from the den or grooming between siblings. And realizing the size difference between smaller female and her larger brothers.  True, memorable sundowner ?

Bat-eared foxes (BEF) are relatively common in semi-arid environment of Kalahari. They are small canids with characteristic large ears.  BEFs are very important in regulating termites, which together with dung beetles consist of 80% of bat-eared fox diet.  Thanks to their incredible sense of hearing they aren’t easy to approach and are known as escape artists.  We had one family a little less shy allowing us for some observations and couple photographs.

Evening drives are special as they allow to experience nature completely differently to what we used to.  Our bespoke safaris, always have night drives in the schedule when in Botswana.  Sightings vary from trip to trip, but we always see something interesting, exciting and sometimes flat out – unbelievable. 

Our next safaris to Botswana – January 2021 and June 2021.

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There are several possible concessions/camps in the region. I found Kwando on the western side of Linyanti to offer the best value and never disappoint in terms of sightings.  The place is known for big cats, elephants, buffalos, sable, roan, general game but also rarities such as brown hyena, aardwolf or pangolin.  In fact on my last trip we have had a very nice sighting of the young aardwolf lying peacefully by the den...  Hold on, the blog supposed to be about the lions! ?

Last couple years Kwando became a true lions heaven – at any time there are some 60 lions in the concession, and prides can reach up to 25 individuals!  In 2019/20 during overall 10 days I spent in the concession between June and January, my guests and I were able to see many cats. Sightings included a large (21 cats) Wapoka pride with two dominant males, and the Holy pride with two, very pale males and some 17 females and cubs. Finally this past January, my group of photographers have followed a coalition of very beautiful, some 7-8 years old brothers, two young females and a female mother on a hunt.  That is a lot of lions! And a lot of photo opportunities.

The green season is especially rewarding as one can have big cats to themselves only.  There is something to be said about totally relaxed animals, not bothered by tens of moving vehicles.  In addition, there is nothing more rewarding for photographers than ability to position for a ‘shot’, with the right angle and light to one desires.  Jockeying for the best position simply doesn’t exist!  The only challenge is to find the good spot, anticipate lions movements and of course…look out for those high grasses.

The top sighting of the January trip was the hunt of the lioness and the catch of a baby impala.  It all revealed in front of our eyes – the cruelty of nature, when the massive lioness ‘played’ with the impala before she finally snapped her neck and devoured small animal…as a snack.  But, this was a perfect example of the circle of life – baby died so babies can live…yes, the lioness gave birth to cubs and needed to eat to provide for her own offspring’s.

Linyanti marshes always deliver, regardless of the season.  It is also a permanent stop on our Green Season and June itineraries to Botswana.  You need to experience it to believe it!

Entrust us and join our safaris to Botswana in 2021.

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They are small carnivore belonging to the mongoose family inhabiting all parts of the Kalahari in Botswana.  Meerkats are also known as suricate and besides Kalahari, can be found in Namibia, SW Angola and South Africa.  They were one of my ‘target species’ during this visit to Makgadikgadi.

I have read quite a lot about habituated meerkats around the Jacks Camp in Makgadikgadi ecosystem prior to this trip.  However, I didn’t have set expectations, knowing how it all changes in nature everyday.   What I, and the group of photographers I was guiding, seen and experienced during our visits to meerkat colonies was simply amazing and exceeded all my expectations…that I really didn’t have ?

We visited two different gangs – one with 9 individuals (adults and pretty grown up juveniles) and the second one with six adults and two, small, 4 weeks old babies.  The visit were accompanied and supervised by a dedicated care taker for each family.  We were able to get out of the vehicle and instructed on how close we can approach.  Of course, as on all my safaris, I am observing carefully animals and develop understanding of the safe/comfortable distance…here, the comfort distance sometimes meant 1 centimeter.

Meerkats definitely learned how to take advantage of visiting humans.  They feel more comfortable in our company as jackals and other possible predators avoid the area.  We have also learned, that on the flat pans raised head of photographer is the best scouting point.  Moreover, sitting and lying down human bodies also provide an excellent playground after 1-2 hrs of foraging ? (photo of a meerkat on my head is courtesy of Tomek Szpila)

Photographing meerkats seems relatively easy, but it is actually quite difficult task because of their constant movement. Opportunities for wide angle and long range photos can lead to quite chaotic behavior – yes, photographer not the meerkat. It is not that easy to be super calm and premeditated when you visit these creatures for the first time – I found myself changing cameras all the time. Only during the last visit, I decided to stick to pre-planned scenarios. However, more visits are required to master the meerkat photography ?

During three visits (each of 3-4 hrs), we have have seen them waking up, cleaning their dens, foraging, playing around, teaching young ones how to behave outside of the den and more.  Lying down, sitting or walking along meerkats on their quest for juicy scorpions or beetles, I felt as a part of a meerkat gang.  Very special and incredibly gratifying experience.

Our next safari that will visit colonies of these fascinating creatures – 2022.

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Makgadikgadi has been a first stop on the 11 days itinerary that ‘visited’ key wildlife destinations in Botswana. For details please visit Safaris>Upcoming>2020.

I have spent 4 days in the Pans guiding group of photographers and scouting in consideration for future safaris. We have stayed in the Camp Kalahari located in a private concession, 15 minutes drive from the National Park’s gate. Location offers uninterrupted access to vast Makgadikgadi system and its unique wildlife, including 3 colonies of meerkats.

The place is quite incredible and different from many others I have visited over the years. It’s buzzing with life this time of the year with thousands of zebras visiting green pastures. It is also a calving season, so one can see young ones of all hoofed animals. Semi-arid environment ‘specials’ such as the brown hyena, bat-eared foxes and meerkats are also bringing up their young ones. Local and migrating birds fill the air with their calls. The general atmosphere is enhanced by storms and rapidly moving clouds. Sunrises and sunsets are something else – simply magical!

Four days spent in Makgadikgadi consisted of many activities and phenomenal sightings, that will be featured in upcoming blogs:

• Three, eventful visits to two, different meerkat colonies
• An evening watching brown hyena cubs playing around the den
• An evening witnessing an aardwolf mother collecting its two juvenile cubs for the night hunt
• A visit to the Makgadikgadi National Park admiring flocks of lesser and greater flamingos
• Time with herds of zebras scattered across vast sea of fresh grasses
• Mornings with different families of bat-eared foxes
• Admiration of unbelievable sunrises and sunsets

The overall atmosphere and unique wildlife of the place is very special. It warrants the visit for every nature enthusiast. Makgadikgadi ecosystem will become a permanent stop on itineraries of our safaris to Botswana starting in 2021. Please check for details in upcoming months.

We will be visiting Makgadikgadi again in the 2022 season.

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In particular, it should be about the Green Season, an underrated part of the year, when Botswana habitats burst in saturated colors of vegetation, when afternoon skies often greet travelers with storms and rainbows, and finally when number of visitors is at its lowest throughout the year.

Photographers will love the ability to take unique, wide-angle photos of animals in their environment  positioned against dramatic skies, rainbow or thunderstorms.  Many of us are chasing photographs/sightings such as a large mane lion shaking his head with droplets of water spraying around or animals spread around the plains with a lightings in the background – visit to Botswana in the green season provides such opportunities.

Everyone will appreciate substantially lower cost of visiting Okavango or Linyanti, as well as often almost empty camps focused on providing impeccable service just for you.  And while the period when one can benefit from lowest prices lasts only 2-3 months, combined with other described benefits it’s a value proposition that is very tough to beat.

What is the catch? I think that reasons for such low number of visitors during the Green Season are multifaceted, including the fact that many people prefer to take their ski holiday in that time of the year.  One key reason, may be the climate – between October and February temperatures can raise above 40 deg C during the day with mid 20s during the night with humidity increase way above 50% creating less comfortable conditions than winter, peak months.  Having saying that, January/February ‘see’ already much more comfortable conditions than November/December.  

Second, very important part is related to ability to spot animals – as the name suggests, it is a green season which means vegetation is lush and dense, which makes spotting the wildlife so much more challenging than during a dry, winter months.  Availability of waterholes due to frequent rains also means that the wildlife is dispersed and moving on much larger territories. Implication of the latter fact is simple – sometimes it takes more time in the field to find a good sighting…but one can argue that what’s wrong spending more time in the wilderness admiring and breathing the beauty of phenomenal environment surrounding us, especially unobstructed by other vehicles…

Personally, I immensely enjoy hours of patient tracking, as they almost always resulted in exceptional sightings.  From lion cubs barely seeing the world for the first time led by their mother and protected by two powerful males, through young leopard being chased by baboons and finally settling in the thick bush, all the way to hundreds of elephants bathing in the Kwadno river. 

As a wildlife photographer, I believe this is the exact time of the year to look for ‘shots of the lifetime’ or experience the freedom of photography without disruption of crowds.  It may not be for everyone, but the Green Season safari in permanently on the Wild Encounter Safaris agenda during this unique time of the year.

My final thoughts – for people who are considering an African safari for the first-time, this may not be a month/time to visit the Delta due to reasons described above (for example Southern Serengeti may be more appropriate this time of the year).  However, the upside is that one can have entire camps almost private to themselves as the density of visitors is very low. 

For persistent observers, and anyone who wants to spend intimate time with animals not bothered by anyone else – well, this may be the ticket! For more info on the Green Season Safari and additional photographs featuring the season please go to Safaris 2020.

Welcome to the Wild Encounter Safaris

– an approach to the wildlife adventure and photography from a slightly different angle!

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