It’s my birthday and what an unusual way to spend it! Our introduction to Laos will be a two day cruise on a slow boat along the Mekong. I have seen examples online and it does not look very comfortable. However, we are all pleasantly surprised. We have a private boat with loads of space. It is hosted by a wonderfully warm and welcoming family who live on-board and provide us with lunch and refreshments. Before embarkation we were also able to buy snacks and drinks. We invested in a magnum of red wine, ‘Pringles’ and assorted chocolate bars. So healthy! Steep steps take us down to the boat. There are no handrails so you need to be sure of your footing and confident that you can carry your bags down on your own. For a minimal charge someone would assist you, but we travel light so no problem for us.
The Mekong River is the world’s twelfth longest river at an estimated length of 3050 miles. From its headwaters in the Tibetan Plateau, the river runs through Southwest China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and southern Vietnam. The extreme seasonal variations in flow and the presence of rapids and waterfalls in the Mekong make navigation difficult. Even so, the river is a major trade route between Tibet and Southeast Asia. The construction of hydroelectric dams along the Mekong in the 2000s through the 2020s has caused serious problems for the river’s ecosystem, including the exacerbation of drought
Wikipedia
The sky is blue and cloudless and it is a very comfortable temperature – probably around 23C. A perfect day for a cruise down a river. We sit back and enjoy the passing scenery.
Lunch aboard is simple but very tasty – a chicken curry, soup, rice, mixed vegetables and not a chilli in sight. The Lao people do not like spicy food. This is good news for me as I am allergic to chillis and had to be pretty careful in Thailand.
The landscape slips by at a casual speed. We have time to observe life along the river. Small fires are lit to clear patches of land and encourage new grass growth for the grazing cattle and buffalo.
Children play on the shore and people pan for gold. Big companies come in initially with heavy equipment to mine the gold. When they have gone there will still be a small residue. Local families take two or three weeks off with their families. They use it as a holiday from farming and hopefully can also supplement their income with a little gold. Maybe $20 -$30 worth but that is a huge amount to them.
We arrive at our destination for the night shortly before sunset. We shall be staying in a home stay in a hillside village. We do not really know what to expect but know that there will be 4 of us sharing a room.
We just take bare essentials with us as it is a steep climb up to the village and there will certainly be no bathrooms for us tonight.
We are shown around the village, given dinner of egg fried rice, stir fried vegetables and a local minced chicken dish. Despite the limited resources the people keep everything spotlessly clean and we have no concerns about food hygiene. As we finish dinner I am surprised by our guide and the locals singing “Happy Birthday” and presenting me with a beautiful birthday cake complete with candle.
Puna had carried the cake all the way from Thailand to Laos. In fact she had bought two – one for the children in the village. She transported them in a box balanced on top of her suitcase. Unfortunately it fell off while crossing the Laos border so there was a bit of cake damage! I heard her cry “Oh no!” But had no idea why she was so concerned. So very thoughtful of her.
After dinner we are treated to a welcome dance and invited to join in. It is all very slow and graceful although I don’t think any of us quite mastered it!
Then it was time for bed. We are shown to our home stay, which we will share with the family.
To our relief there is a separate building with a western toilet. Very clean but there is no plumbing so it needs to be flushed with a bowl of water from the adjacent water butt. We then enter our home for the night. We leave our shoes by the door, climb some very steep stairs and are shown our accommodation. A picture tells a thousand stories ….
Initially sleep is difficult. People in the village are still out and about and the dogs and chickens are quite noisy too. We hear our host family settling down to sleep and eventually all is quiet. Our mattresses are quite thin but supply just enough support and the blankets are warm. I think we all sleep better than we thought we would. But make no mistake. Dawn is a relief. As is going to the loo which I had been reluctant to do in the night. Not the easiest journey to get there.
When we wake the air is cool and mist hangs over the hillsides. We are led back to the communal area for breakfast of coffee, fruit, eggs and rice.
By 07.30 we are back aboard our boat. It is chilly and everyone wraps themselves in blankets and drinks lots of hot coffee or tea.
Eventually the mist clears. We sit in the sun at the bow of the boat and drink some more of our big bottle of wine. The scenery is wonderful…
and there are interesting things to see.
There is a final visit to Pak Ou Caves before we disembark. The caves are considered an important spiritual site by many Lao people. Thousands of Buddha statues and images line the walls.
There are two caves. We enter the first which is horrendously crowded and in my opinion pretty underwhelming. There are something like 300 steps up to the second cave but we decide to escape the crowds and return to the boat for some peace and quiet. The view outside the cave is somewhat marred by all the tourist boats.
Close to the caves a new dam is being constructed to supply hydro-electric power. There are already several dams along the course of The Mekong and this, together with them, will have a detrimental impact on the river’s eco-system and further exacerbate drought.
We arrive at Luang Prabang late afternoon, disembark and are taken to our hotel for the next three nights. We shall be able to enjoy some much needed downtime there.
We buy a light meal at the station as there will be no meals on the train. I also manage to find some chocolate bars, cream horns and a packet of orio. Nailed it for the 12 hour trip! Embarkation is orderly and very much like boarding a plane. From the outside the train is dour with dirty windows and on a dark platform. A station official looking very much like a guard from a concentration camp ushers us on board. He is appropriately dressed. My first glimpse of our cabin fills my heart with dread. It does indeed look like a gulag train! The guy picking up his toilet roll from the floor doesn’t improve the concept!
The reality is marginally better than first impressions. We have lower beds which are comfortable singles. There is a clean pillow and quilted blanket and a curtain to give privacy.
However, it is a far cry from being a room with a view!
I would have slept well if it had not been for the unevenness of the track and the frequent stops. The train clatters and clunks and I am frequently awoken. I feel as though I am being violently shaken. It literally feels like someone is shaking the bed to make you get up! We survive the trip and a local bringing us coffee is most welcome. We arrive in Chiang Mai 12.5 hours after our departure.
We board very comfortable minibuses and are transported to our hotel “The Duangtawan” in the centre of Chiang Mai which turns out to be a far larger town than I had expected but definitely more tranquil than Bangkok.
Check in is not until 14.00 so our bags are left with the concierge whilst we head off for breakfast and decide how to spend our free morning. Some of the group have opted to take a cookery lesson but we thought that would be too tiring after our long journey. We go shopping for my birthday present instead and find some lovely silver jewellery. Whilst exploring the backstreets we stumble across the most beautiful temple. It is called Wat Loi Kroh and was constructed during the reign of King Kue Na (1355-1385). Surprisingly there are very few tourists.
We then go to the hotel spa and have a wonderful massage. An hour for £20! A bargain and so very relaxing!
Once everyone has settled into their rooms, we visit Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (a Theravada Buddhist temple) located 15 kilometres from Chiangmai Mai and situated on top of Doi Suthep mountain at an altitude of 1073 metres. The traffic is horrendous and it takes over an hour to get there. Eventually we make it just as the sun is setting. Fortunately there is a funicular which takes us to the summit. The views are far-reaching but it is very hazy and hard to see Chiang Mai clearly in the distance.
There are some magnificent carved pillars outside the temple.
We take our shoes off to enter the temple complex. It is beautiful and the monks are inside and chanting so this makes it very special. Outside the actual temple is a statue of a white elephant.
and we are told the story of its relevance.
According to legend, a monk named Sumanathera from the Sukhothai Kingdom had a dream. In this vision he was told to go to Pang Cha and look for a relic. Sumanathera ventured to Pang Cha and found a bone. Many claim it was Gautama Buddha‘s shoulder bone. The relic displayed magical powers: it glowed, it was able to vanish, it could move and replicate itself. Sumanathera took the relic to King Dhammaraja, who ruled Sukhothai. The eager Dhammaraja made offerings and hosted a ceremony when Sumanathera arrived. However, the relic displayed no abnormal characteristics, and the king, doubtful of the relic’s authenticity, told Sumanathera to keep it.
King Nu Naone of Lan Na heard of the relic and bade the monk to bring it to him. In 1368, with Dharmmaraja’s permission, Sumanathera took the relic to what is now Lamphun, in northern Thailand. Once there, the relic broke into two pieces. The smaller piece was enshrined at Wat Suan Dok. The other piece was placed by the king on the back of a white elephantwhich was released into the jungle. The elephant is said to have climbed up Doi Suthep, at that time called Doi Aoy Chang (Sugar Elephant Mountain), stopped, trumpeted three times, then dropped dead. This was interpreted as an omen. King Nu Naone immediately ordered the construction of a temple at the site.
The name of the Temple (Wat Phra That Doi Suthep) actually explains what the temple has. Phra entails of an honorific Buddha image, and Thatmeans a relic. Combining the two tells that there is a relic of Buddha’s in the sanctity of the Wat, and in this case it’s half of Buddha’s shoulder bone. The location of the shoulder bone relic is to be found in the rounded portion of the Chedi right above the octagonal section and below the ringed section.
For me the highlight of the site is the gold stupe. The top segment is made out of solid 22ct gold. The remainder is sheathed in sheets of pure gold, not just gold leaf. It really is something to behold and not unsurprisingly is guarded very closely at night. It is now dark and we walk down the steps set inside a snake back to the road.
We were going to see a drag show after dinner but by the time we arrive back in town it is already close to 20.00, so we just have dinner and retire to bed. The restaurant we eat at was recommended by Puna and we had an excellent meal in a pretty courtyard garden.
Another early morning start sees us meeting a driver to take us to an artisan village on the outskirts of Chiang Mai. We travel in one of the local taxi type vehicles. Basically two bench seats in the back of a van. Our first stop is at the silk village where we are shown how silk is made. Silk worms eating mulberry leaves and making their cocoons. The cocoons are dried, placed in hot water and then gently unravelled. Their is over 300m of silk in a single cocoon. The silk is then dyed and woven into cloth on large manual looms.
Next door a shop sells a large selection of silk attire and I buy a lovely silk pashmina. The prices are very reasonable.
We also visit the jade village and the silver village. However, we are early, and the only tourists, so every sales person hones in on us and gives us a bit of a hard sell. This has the opposite effect and ensures that I do not buy anything. In any event the silver we bought yesterday was nicer and better priced. There is no doubt that the prices in this village have been upped for the tourists. We head back to the hotel and have time for a coffee before leaving at 11.00. As we drink our coffee a parade passes by with a band, floats and Chinese dragons. A very pleasant end to our stay in Chiang Mai.
A 3.5 hour drive takes us to Wat Rong Kuhn also known as the white temple. The original Wat Rong Khun was in a bad state of repair. Funds were not available for renovation so Chalermchai Kositpipat, a local artist from Chiang Rai, decided to completely rebuild the temple and fund the project with his own money. We are particularly lucky today because the artist is standing outside the restaurant and is happy to pose for photos. He is quite a celebrity and local hero.
The temple is very quirky but tells the story of Buddhism and the journey to nirvana. Here is the story:-
Bridge of “the cycle of rebirth”
The main building at the white temple, the ubosot, is reached by crossing a bridge over a small lake. In front of the bridge are hundreds of outreaching hands that symbolize unrestrained desire. The bridge proclaims that the way to happiness is by foregoing temptation, greed, and desire.
Gate of heaven
After crossing the bridge, the visitor arrives at the “gate of heaven”, guarded by two creatures representing Death and Rahu, who decides the fate of the dead. In front of the ubosot are several meditative Buddha images.
Golden building
A structure that stands out because of its color is the rest rooms building. Another very ornately decorated structure, this golden building represents the body, whereas the white ubosot represents the mind. The gold symbolizes how people focus on worldly desires and money. The white building represents the idea to make merit and to focus on the mind, instead of material things and possession.
Ubosot
The principal building, the ubosot, is an all-white building with fragments of mirrored glass embedded in its exterior. It embodies design elements from classic Thai architecture, such as the three-tiered roof and abundant use of Nāgaserpents. Inside the temple, the decor swiftly moves from pristine white to fiery and bewildering. Murals depict swirling orange flames and demon faces, interspersed with Western idols such as Michael Jackson, Neo from The Matrix, Freddy Krueger, and a T-800 series Terminator. Images of nuclear warfare, terrorist attacks such as the World Trade Center attack, and oil pumps hammer home the destructive impact that humans have had on earth.
Wikipedia
This is a fascinating place and it portrays a very strong message in a truly remarkable manner. I could have spent hours here photographing but time was limited sadly.
A short hour drive takes us to a small guest house in Chiang Khong, close to the Laos border. We stop to watch the sunset over the paddy fields…
Our accommodation for the evening is nothing fancy, but clean and functional and the room is large. The group head out for dinner with our guide Puna to a little family restaurant looking out over the Mekong. The food is simple but good.
We depart at 07.00 and are taken to a riverside hotel for breakfast. The view is spectacular with the sun rising over the Mekong and mist rising over the distant hills. What a beautiful view to greet me on my birthday!
Exiting Thailand is pretty quick and easy. To cross into Laos, we must board a bus (something akin to a large prison bus with a door which shuts us off from the driver). We drive across no man’s land to the Laos border. There we fill out entry forms and clear immigration. This is a fairly straightforward procedure if you have obtained e-visas in advance, but we have a longish wait once we have been processed. Two of our party do not have visas, so we have to wait for them. Eventually we are all cleared and can continue our adventure.
The flight from London to Bangkok was straightforward with no hitches. We flew with Eva Airways who I have not used before. They were quite excellent and I can totally recommend them. Bangkok airport is busy to say the least and it is not that easy to work out where you are going. However we make it through immigration in record time and then try to find our driver. As we clear customs we see drivers standing outside holding name cards and expect ours to be among them. This is not the case. Apparently there are numerous meeting places along the front of the airport – each used by 20-30 operators. It would have been helpful if G Adventures had provided us with that information. Sensibly we ask someone and eventually locate our transfer. There are hoards of people and we are glad to finally escape the airport frenzy. A very comfortable vehicle takes us to our hotel – The Hotel Royal Bangkok, which is in the centre of Chinatown. The traffic is horrendous and it is better to not focus too closely on the lane changes and proximity of other vehicles. The pavement is lined with street vendors and just exiting the vehicle and making it to the hotel lobby is a bit of a feat. The hotel is fine. Nothing fancy but clean and in a great central location for sightseeing.
We dump our bags and decide to go exploring. However after the long flight I am not really in the mood or quite mentally prepared for the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. We battle the crowds and traffic for 30 minutes or so and then head for the tranquil haven of the hotel rooftop bar and a G&T.
We sleep surprisingly well despite the 7 hour time difference and nearly miss breakfast! Then we set out to explore. The streets are just as busy but it all seems very manageable after a good night’s rest and we explore the street markets. Our noses are assaulted by all manner of aromas and not always pleasant ones. The variety of items for sale is staggering and I have no idea what at least 90% of the produce is.
We make our way to a small temple…
… and then walk to the river and take a ferry to the Royal Palace. By now it is beer o’clock. We find a cafe with breezy outside tables and enjoy a leisurely lunch and beer whilst watching the world go by. Lunch is followed by some seriously delicious ice cream. Feeling refreshed we set off on the long walk back to the hotel. The heat has really built so we sensibly decide to take a tuk-tuk instead.
At 6pm we gather to meet the rest of our group. Our guide is Puna. This is not her real name. In Thailand everyone has two names – their real name which will be long and include elements of the birthday, moon phase and family details. Consequently it can be very long! Accordingly everyone has a nickname – Puna means crab because her mother ate a lot of crab when she was pregnant. There are 16 in our group – 6 Brits, 10 Canadians and 2 Americans. Apart from 2 of us we are all more mature in years and doing the gap year we never had. I think it’s going to be a fun trip. We eat dinner and explore the night street market and have to sample a fried banana pancake even though we are full from dinner.
An early start sees us in the lobby for our first adventure. We again walk through the street market and find lots of fresh fish …
…as well as the more unusual fare. This time Puna explains what a lot of the food is. Yesterday we saw loads of big bags of golden fried puffy things. Paul thought they were pork scratchings. If only! Turns out they are dried fish swim bladders that have been deep fried. Apparently the older they are the better. They develop more taste with age. I hope I never have to find out!
20 minutes later finds us at the pier where we board a long boat to take us through the klongs. The river level is high with quite a swell and boarding is challenging. The river here is tidal. It is full moon and the tide is at its peak. To prevent the land around the klongs flooding, huge lock gates have been installed …
…. and we have to wait to enter. The long boats are powered by car engines attached to the stern.
I had expected the klongs to be smelly but they were not at all. Crocodiles and monitor lizards laze on any available raised bank.
The buildings along the klongs are largely wooden. The piles are rotting and some are leaning badly. Others have lost the battle completely. Newer buildings have concrete foundations or piles.
We stop at one point to feed the catfish. We are given bags of stale bread. There are so many fish. They boil on the surface and some are pretty large.
After the klongs we visit Wat Pho. A very impressive temple housing an enormous gold reclining Buddha some 51m long. It is the largest Buddha in the country. The site also houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand.
The soles of the Buddha’s feet are very ornate with beautiful pictures made out of mother of pearl.
We have time to wander around. There are lots of very ornate stupas around the temple. They have very intricate decorations and date from different eras.
It is now hot and we decide to go back to the hotel and have a relaxing afternoon. We spend the afternoon by the pool on the roof terrace and have time to view the Bangkok skyline and unusual buildings.
Departure is at 17.30 to take the night train for the 12 hour journey to Chiang Mai. We are not anticipating that this will be a particularly comfortable experience and sleep is likely to be limited.
Bangkok station is a pleasant surprise. It is brand new, enormous and looks very much like an airport terminal building. I hope this bodes well and that our train is going to be more pleasant than expected. Here’s hoping!
A short one hour flight takes us to Lebala Airstrip. There is one stop on the way at 4 Rivers to pick up three passengers – John, Heather and Cindy who are to be our travel companions for the next three nights. Our driver and tracker greet us and I am delighted to find that I am reunited with Mayezi who was my guide when I was here before during Covid. Our tracker is Peach and he turns out to be a gem. A warm reception at camp is followed by brunch.
We are then shown to our tent which is Number 2 and the same one I had last time I was here. What a coincidence. It is large and very comfortable. We unpack our few belongings. We have travelled very light with hand luggage only. You really need very little clothing as all the camps do laundry for you. A nice long siesta leaves us ready for afternoon tea and our first game drive here.
What I particularly love about Mayezi’s guiding is that he takes an interest in everything around us. Not just the big game. We stop at a large tree being engulfed by a strangler fig and we look in detail at how the fig is taking over. I only now realise rather annoyingly that we did not photograph it. A small group of elephants amble by and a young impala hides in the undergrowth.
We see lots of small birds and I can never resist a bee-eater shot!
Last time I was here I spent a lot of time staking out a brown hyena den and in the end did see the pups. I ask Mayezi whether they are still here. He says he has been checking the dens regularly but has seen no activity yet this year. He suggests we go and have a look just in case. We sit quietly for half an hour or so but to no avail. However, sitting in silence and just listening to the bush is simply wonderful. You notice the little things. We spy a bush buck hiding in the long grass.
Then it is time to head up to the marshes. The water levels are much lower than on my previous visit. Mayezi says the rains have been very light in the last two years. Heavy rain is desperately needed. Nevertheless water still runs in the channels, which are populated by crocodiles and numerous hippos.
A water thick-knee patrols the water’s edge – excellent camouflage
We leave the vehicle to stretch our legs and photograph the hippos. Mayezi suggests we lie on the ground to capture eye-level shots. I am wearing shorts and the ground is prickly. Mayezi kindly fetches me a blanket to lie on.
We move a short distance to a slightly more open spot for sundowners. What a beautiful place. The sounds, the smells – real Africa. I feel like I have come home.
It’s a beautiful morning. We eat breakfast by the campfire whilst listening to the abundant birdsong. It turns outs that today we are in for some real treats with some rare and unusual sightings. Last night we drove past an aardwolf den and had a brief glimpse of an aardwolf pup. We make this our first port of call this morning and are not to be disappointed. A little nose pokes out next to some larger ears…
…and shortly mum puts in an appearance to…
As we are leaving the den we spot a wild cat – a very unusual daytime occurrence.
The morning continues to deliver with lechwe jumping, endangered wattled cranes, a lilac-breasted roller posing just long enough to set up a chance of capturing it in flight, a lone hyena and a majestic eland.
Then a call comes in. Wild dogs have been located but they are on the other side of the concession. Do we want to see them. Yes! Yes! Yes! We drive fast – half an hour of bumps and holding tight, but Mayezi is a skilful driver and knows the tracks well. The day is heating up. Then we see them – spread out under the trees and bushes.
Twelve in total including five pups, which are 4-5 months old. The dogs have full stomachs and have clearly made a recent kill as they still have blood on them in places.
Every so often the dogs scratch in the sand and throw cool earth on themselves. The pups are very lazy and when they want to pee just raise their rear ends and rotate them away from their body and pee sideways. Novel! The dogs are likely to just sleep off their meal through the heat of the day, so we leave the pack and will return later this afternoon. Quite an action packed morning and we have earned our coffee break!
Back in camp there are new arrivals sand we are delighted to see that our new friends from Tau Pan – Ed & Dee are among them. We greet them and instantly fall into easy banter. We have brunch and head back to our tent for a siesta. This is not altogether easy as the wind is rising and a dust storm is coming in. There is brief heavy rain and thunder and lightning, whilst the curtains fly horizontally and anything loose blows around inside the tent. Warthogs cavort in front of our veranda. They seem ecstatic to feel the rain upon them.
On our way to re-unite with the dog pack we see a side-striped jackal, a leopard tortoise and a male ostrich with a clutch of youngsters trotting along behind him, although well -camouflaged by the tall grasses.
The dogs are exactly where we left them…
but are beginning to stand and stretch.
The wind is really strong now. The pups try to catch leaves as they blow around. We wrap scarves and snoods around our heads in an effort to keep the dust at bay and park the vehicles so that the wind is directly behind us. Not the best photography conditions. One of my cameras has been playing up again so I have opted for the short lens which will cover any action shots. This does however mean that I shall not be able to capture good close ups. So be it. I am not prepared to change lenses in a dust storm.
The pups play and greet each other with excited squeaks and yips. The video I have taken is good and really captures the atmosphere. Every so often they approach the vehicles to investigate them. They sniff the tyres and glance at us, but clearly do not know what to make of us. They quickly revert to playing with each other.
Eventually the pack decide to hunt. There are lots of frenzied greetings, yips and yelps between them before setting their heads low and trotting into the bush. We follow as best we can but it is not long before they enter really dense mopani woodland and we are unable to follow. However, we have spent a magical 2 hours with them. A truly privileged and special encounter.
We are all in a relaxed mood the next morning. Yesterday was so amazing that we are very happy to just take it easy and see what nature provides for us. A hammerkopf is being surprisingly co-operative. Normally I just get a dark brown silhouette but this morning the light is perfect.
Bat-eared foxes are yet again featuring on our radar.
Ground hornbills put in a distant appearance and a normally camera shy coucal stays briefly in the open.
A gentle start but it appears that this morning is going to provide us with some wonderful encounters too. A small well-fed pride of lions..
…followed by cute baby elephants…
… and three large male lions…
…and as if that wasn’t enough of a menagerie we learn that two cheetahs are in the vicinity. We arrive to find that they have made a kill by ambushing an impala behind the tree stump that they were resting on. They are not sitting in the best position for photographs but we can see enough – and hear the crunching…
They are incredibly full but they still manage to eat more. We are amused to see a leopard tortoise appear on the scene. Fastest animal meets one of the slowest!
We head back to camp and spot some dwarf mongooses. They are fast and fleet of foot but we watch them for a while trying somewhat unsuccessfully to capture them on camera.
As we take our siesta warthogs root around beside our room and elephants too are close to camp.
After tea we head back to the marshes where we alarm a hippo
and disturb a huge crocodile on the far bank.
We watch the herds of lechwe grazing nervously and then spot a fish eagle in a nearby tree. The light is perfect and we sit for a while trying to take the perfect picture.
A black-backed jackal enjoys the last evening rays of sunshine
We enjoy our final sundowners of the trip before a short night drive where we see a hyena and of course loads of springhares. The staff have prepared a special farewell dinner for us all with local dishes, but before we eat they entertain us with joyful singing and dancing. There is genuine warmth from the staff and many of us have tears in our eyes. Quite an emotional experience.
A very special last evening here and make no mistake, I shall be coming back. Lebala is a magical place and my travel agent – ATR rate it amongst their top 5 favourite camps in Africa. I would concur.
Our flight out is at 11.15 which gives ample time for a final game drive. Wow! What a farewell drive it proves to be! It is a beautiful morning. It rained last night and now mist lies over the plains and water droplets glisten on the grass. A tsessebe and calf graze quietly and a little bee-eater is already on the hunt.
Mayezi says “Let’s see if we can find a leopard before you go.” A good plan but unlikely, we think. Then suddenly, on the road right in front of us, appears a large male leopard.
He is no hurry and not in the least intimidated by us. He ambles along the road, stops to scent mark and to poo. This is his territory and he knows it. We follow him as he saunters off. Then, to our amazement, the guides spot another male leopard maybe a hundred yards ahead of us. The first leopard also sees it and sets off at full speed. Mayezi says “Hold on tight!” and we race across the plains in hot pursuit. The intruder is chased up a tree where he looks down and growls ferociously.
We are now in for over an hour of leopard interaction. The leopard in the tree wants to escape but can see no way out and the leopard below bides his time, circling the tree and then lazing in various bushes. The exertion has made him salivate profusely.
He has all the time in the world.
The leopard in the tree looks down
and occasionally re-positions apparently to view any alternative escape routes.
Eventually the large male has had enough and stalks towards the tree. Then, in the blink of an eye, he is up the tree and a full scale battle ensues. The fight is ferocious and we really think one of them will fall. Somehow they cling on. At times, just by a claw or two, it would seem. We gasp and hold our breath. This is intense. I video it as capturing any single shots would be nigh on impossible. I have however managed to extract a screenshot from the video.
The young intruder male is higher up in the tree and that gives him an advantage. Accordingly the larger male appears to lose the battle. He climbs down and after hanging around for a bit slinks away. He sees a warthog and looks like he wants to hunt but the warthog spots him. The element of surprise has gone. We follow for a while but do have a plane to catch. In any event whilst watching the leopards, a huge herd of elephants appears in the distance. And I do mean huge – 100 plus.
We do at least need to have a brief encounter with them. Time is running short. They bathe in shallow water and spray themselves with dust. We are not in the best position for photos. The sun is directly in front of us, but we do not have the luxury of time to re-position. Not to worry – the encounter is firmly imprinted in my mind’s eye.
It seems as though we can never drive more than a few yards before seeing something amazing. We encounter a group of very young impala, a vervet monkey that scampers up into a tree – the only one we have seen on this trip – and then a tiny baby impala – still wobbly and clearly very newly born,
We are now late and drive fast to the airstrip. So fast that we do not notice the pride of lions lying right next to the track. There are a lot of ways to approach lions and this is definitely not to be recommended. I look down and suddenly see a lion’s head inches from my leg. I shout “Lions!” and a large male and female start to stand. I do not know who was more alarmed – me, the lions or poor Peach who was still sitting in the tracker seat. We did not decelerate! We drove 50 yards clear so Peach could get inside the safety of the vehicle. We then made a brief re-visit, the lions seemed to have re-composed themselves…
…although the lioness that was closest to the track still looks rather too close and rather too interested!
I would describe that as an adrenalin packed morning! However the thrills keep coming as there is now a different cause for concern. The wind is increasing and a dust storm hits the airstrip.
The arrival of our flight is consequently delayed by 30 minutes. Watching our plane land is less than inspiring. There is a strong crosswind and nailing the ground takes three attempts. I can confirm that we were all feeling somewhat apprehensive. Fortunately our pilot is skilled and professional. She flies us around the storm into clear blue skies with great views.
The approach to Maun is straightforward and remarkably smooth.
Sadly our adventure is now at an end. It has been the most incredible holiday and at times a complete sensory overload. I am looking forward to relaxing at home but also cannot wait to return!
We have a leisurely morning with breakfast at 07.00 leaving the camp at 8:30. The flight from Tau Pan to our camp Rra Dinare in the Okavango Delta should take less than an hour but ends up taking almost four. Our pilot is ill so the flight has been changed to another operator. This involves flying to Maun, disembarking to refuel, then flying pretty much back where we came from. We are met at the airstrip by our guide Mark and tracker Sarah. It’s a short 15 minute drive to camp. We have brunch and a glass of rose then head off for showers and a much needed siesta.
Our tent is very comfortable and the view from it is incredible. We can see miles across the verdant plains where buffalo, lechwe, impala and numerous birds abound. I am dozing on the bed when a shadow crosses the decking. I look up to see a large giraffe ambling past our deck and only inches away. A huge herd of buffalo are passing by. Wow!
At 16.00 we have tea and set out on our first drive at 16.30. We find a pride of 7 lions. They’re just lazing in that way that full lions do when its really hot.
We stay with them briefly, there will be no action for a while yet. There is a good variety of birds, which Mark is good at identifying and then encounter a coalition of four cheetahs.
They are in their prime and look very healthy and well fed. They are active and playful. One rolls in a sage bush just like a cat rolling in catmint.
They yawn, stretch, scent mark and lick each other.
There is lots of interaction and a good photo opportunity. They are posing nicely.
We spend a mesmerising 30-40 minutes with them before reluctantly moving on. This is the holiday for bat-eared fox sightings. A small cub peeps out from its den under the watchful eye of its parent.
The sun is setting and all too soon it is sundowner time. We park on a wide open pan and watch a couple of elephants sauntering away into the bush. Mark tells the story of how he and his guests were stalked by lions in this very spot whilst taking a comfort break. He had to face off the lioness, who was feet away, get into the vehicle and drive up to the guests who scrambled in over the bonnet. Maybe a story for the end of the trip…..
The routine in this camp is the same as Tau Pan… wake up call at 05.00, breakfast at 05.30 and game drive at 06.00. As we eat breakfast we can see lions harassing the buffalo. What an amazing sight from camp!
There is lots of interaction and standoffs between them. It was noisy in camp last night as the buffalo were attacked by the lions… and the lions won. The carcass lies out on the plains.
The lions are very full but that does not stop them trying their hand at another buffalo.
Lechwe spot the lions and make a hasty get away.
We spend three hours with the pride and it is interesting to watch the story unfold.
As the heat builds up, the lions relax and look for shade in which to sleep off their huge meal. They see our vehicles as good shade options.
A lioness lies down in the shade directly in front of our vehicle. It’s time to leave before she decides to crawl underneath it, in which event we would be immobilised for a while!.
We see a lot this morning. Loads of birds including lilac breasted rollers, a sacred ibis, pelicans, kingfishers, marabou storks, a saddle-billed stork, a Goliath heron, birds of prey and more…
We also see banded mongooses which are too fast to photograph, a small monitor lizard…
…three separate hyena encounters
…the four cheetahs from last night with very full stomachs
And of course – hippos, buffalo, zebras, lechwe, impala, tsessebe and beautiful landscapes.
A pretty good morning! We have brunch and head back to our tent for a well-earned siesta.
The afternoon is scorchingly hot so it is a quieter experience. We see the bat-eared fox and cub again, giraffes, another hyena, zebras and swallow-tailed bee-eaters.
A lioness is lazing with her three 9 month old cubs. The young male seems shy and twice when he looked up he put his paws over his face as if playing peekaboo. Very cute, but sadly I missed the shot but did get this one.
We end the drive with sundowners next to paradise pool and very nice it is too.
A new day brings more great encounters. We are on our way for a mokoro ride in one of the channels. There is not much doing but I spot a fish eagle and take a couple of shots.
Then my camera behaves strangely. I can see through the viewfinder but it will not let me take shots. Just as I am cursing at my camera we see a leopard. It is in the open and just yards from the trail lying on a dead tree. No time to change lenses and use the zoom. Thank goodness I have a second camera with me, but it has the short lens on it. I get what I can but annoyingly I shall now have to keep switching lenses. This was not the plan.
She does not like our company and disappears into the undergrowth. We try following. It is hard with very few ways through. We duck low as huge branches bend and catapult back against the vehicle. We do eventually manage to locate the leopard but she is hiding in dense undergrowth. We admit defeat and move on.
We see a huge monitor lizard, a little bee-eater and a large pride of lions with young cubs. I would have liked to spend longer with them and watch the cubs but Mark is keen to move on and continue to where we are going to take the mokoro trip. Best laid plans.. A call comes in that there is a leopard cub in the area and it is in a tree with a kill. We are in luck. It is still there, but really hard to see. I have marked its position on the tree below.
We drive closer for a better view.
Finally we make it to the channel where the mokoro excursion will take place. The channel is quite deep and we can see two hippos in one direction and a load of buffalo in the other. The idea of being in a canoe so close to such large animals that can tip it over is not appealing. Oh and did I say there are also crocodiles on the channel edge. We vote against it and drink our morning coffee admiring the view, which is beautiful, before clambering back into the safety of the vehicle.
We see a couple of bee-eaters
and then encounter a very large herd of buffalo – several hundred I would say. They are crossing our path so we have to sit and wait it out. The sun is shining towards us so the photos do not turn out well. Never mind – Mark says he will drive into the open so we can see them crossing the water. It’s a great plan and the photos could have been amazing if he had put the vehicle in a position where the sun would be behind us, which I note the other guides did manage to do. Nevertheless it was an incredible encounter. The giraffes in the background were a bonus and fortunately I do have some half decent video.
The afternoon finds us again looking for the young leopard. It is not in the tree where we left it this morning but it has to be close by. We drive slowly around the surrounding area, catch a glimpse of a tail and follow. Of course leopards are the master of stealth and following is not easy but we manage.
Eventually it goes back into the tree with the kill. I line up a shot and just as I am taking it Mark moves the vehicle to a position where only he can see the leopard. Pretty annoying. “Have you all got a good view” he says. Er no! I have the vehicle roof and thick branch in the way. I can see nothing. We sit for what seems like ages, while I am quietly fuming. Finally Mark moves the vehicle to a better position but just as I am lining up the shot he starts the engine so he can get a better view. I cry “No! No! No!” I think he may finally have got the message. Here’s hoping. Considering how high up and hidden the leopard is, I get some great shots.
It peers upwards.
…and then chases a squirrel up really high. We are worried the cub might fall, but fortunately it realises its limitations, and descends to a lower and sturdier branch.
The rest of the afternoon is quiet. It has clouded over and it is raining in the distance. The animals can sense it and there is not much happening – a few elephant, a hoopoe, a steenbok, a few baboons, a decent sized herd of kudu and another pride of lions. We have seen so many on this trip. It is good that they are doing so well.
Sundown finds us back at paradise pool where we watch and listen to the hippos whilst drinking G&Ts. A nice end to our stay here. There will be no game drive tomorrow as we are leaving camp at 08.15.
Best laid plans. We have asked for breakfast at 07.00 but when we reach the communal area everything has been cleared away and there doesn’t seem to be anyone around. We pour juice from the lunch station and then someone appears, asks us what we would like to eat and then goes to fetch it from the kitchen. We sit on the deck soaking up the view, whilst eating eggs toast and muffins. No manager or staff in sight. Strange. No-one is there to say good-bye.
Eventually at 08.30 someone appears to drive us to the airstrip. He drives like the clappers as we are late. The track is bumpy and we fly up and down on the seats. Not impressed. We stop en route where Mark meets us. He is out on a game drive but he swaps vehicles and drives us to the airstrip. He thought we might miss the plane. He apologises. Says there’s been an error. The manager had gone out and we had been forgotten about. Badly done Rra Dinare.
I have loved my stay here and we have had some very special encounters. The room was very comfortable with a view to die for – often seeing more action from our deck than out on a drive! However, this experience does rather confirm my feeling that the camp staff are not as motivated as they should be. It will be going onto my review sheet and also fed back to my agent. It is a stark contrast to the hospitality received in the previous two camps and indeed all of my previous safari experiences.
