THE ADVENTURE : PART 4 - LEBALA, LEOPARDS, LIONS & MORE

 The next leg of our adventure had us flying for just over an hour on a little six seater plane to the border between Botswana and Namibia. Here we stayed at a five star camp called "Kwando ". There were eight luxury tents to accommodate a small group of people from all over the world.

KWANDO SAFARI CAMP

 Once settled into our tents, we had a simple but delicious light lunch. Then, it was off in the safari jeep with our guide, Timba and our tracker, "Mr. TT". The animals that they were able to find and how close we got to them was absolutely  amazing and breathtaking. At times, heart stopping! So come and enjoy the safari with us, by looking at our beautiful shots!

 A lioness with her three cubs. They were heading towards the water to drink, but later the lioness challenged a cheetah who had an impala kill. Apparently, the mother cheetah retaliated so that her little cub could scramble up a tree to safety. In the end, the lioness and her cubs won. Mama cheetah and her little cub wandered off past our vehicle.

 This time, we saw a cheetah. It came down from the tree and started to stalk a baby baboon. The cheetah didn't know that a HUGE troop of baboons was following! Two big, ferocious male baboons came in the sides and gave chase! Timba, our driver gave chase, bouncing us in the jeep like Indiana Jones! In the end, the cheetah lost out on the prey, but survived to live another day. It lay down in the grass exhausted and trying to regain a  normal heart rate.

 An early morning start with a cuppas around the fire.

Can you spot the leopard up in the tree? We weren't the only ones chasing the game for great photos!

Ahh, sundowners. An African institution!

A COALITION OF CHEETAHS!

 A rare find!

A jackal

Wild dogs or "painted" dogs

A hyena cub and adult

A bustard. The heaviest flying bird!

 A wildebeest that thinks it is an impala!

Zebras at sunset.

A Giant Eagle Owl

The staff singing and dancing for all of the guests on our last night.

Time to catch our plane back to Kasane. But first, Mr. TT has to shoo the zebras and

 warthogs off the landing strip, so that the plane can land safely.

Farewell, Timba! You are an amazing guide!

  Ahh, playing Elizabeth Taylor who came to Africa with Richard Burton…..long ago!

 Time to leave Lebala. What an ext ordinary adventure we had  staying at Kwando Camp!

THE ADVENTURE : PART 3 - CRUISING THE CHOBE RIVER

This part of the adventure saw us being collected from the hotel in a speedboat, travelling a few hundred metres down the Chobe River to the Botswana Immigration Office to be stamped out of the country. We then boarded the speedboat again and sped down the river, across some rapids and did an immediate right hand turn into a small, but busy inlet. We were instructed to disembark and head up the "goat path" to the Namibian Immigration Office and have our passports stamped again. Then it was back to the speedboat and a further 15 minutes up the river to locate our houseboat. What a treat we  were in store for!

We stayed onboard THE ZAMBEZI VOYAGER. It  was quite luxurious and beautifully appointed. The staff, amenities, food and service was five star. All day and night, we could hear the hippos coming up for air  snorting and bellowing. One of our guides explained that the hippos come up to laugh after another hippo told a joke below. Every time I heard a hippo making it's incredible noise, I laughed, too!

Birder Di and Birder Karen at the ready.

We viewed herds of elephants going down to the river to swim, bath, eat and play.
We never tired watching these gentle giants and their young ones. I loved hearing the hippos "laugh"!



Listen to the hippos!

Our first afternoon saw us boarding our own individual dinghies with our own guides. They took us down river to explore, experience and enjoy the sights, sounds and life living along the river for the locals.  The local dugout canoe is called a "moroko" made from the local trees. This is what we saw. 

The following day when the men set off to go Tiger fishing, Karen and I set off with our guides in our own personal dingoes again. This time they were taking us to the local Namibian island called "Impalila Island" where they grew up. It was very poor, but relatively clean. The men go off fishing and to work. The women stay home to look after the children, cook, clean, wash and build the houses out of termite mud!

Ahhh…sundowners! A favourite pastime of ours!

 On the morning before we left, Karen and I went off in a dinghy….together… on an early morning "Bird Expedition" with our guide. We also wanted to check in and see what was left of the elephant carcass. This is what we captured on our cameras.

Kingfishers

 Bee Eaters

 Lialc Breaster Roller &  Malachite Kingfisher

 Lizard up a tree and mating lizards. They were everywhere on this little island, along with crocs!

 Big water buffaloes

This is what was left of the elephant carcass.  The vultures were squabbling over the remains.

We could see a tusk, skin and a remote tracking device on the sand. 

The circle of life.