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oceandavid   oceandavid David Young's TIGblog
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Afro Trek Safaris Videos

Botswana Wildlife

Take a few moments and go on a mini safari with Afro Trek Safaris, Botswana:

http://www.youtube.com/p/A50FCEE8446E8FC4">

May 11, 2008 | 4:05 AM Comments  0 comments



oceandavid   oceandavid David Young's TIGblog
David Young's profile

African Wild Dogs - After a Kill

African Wild Dog click for Wikipedia article.

It is late April and I am on a game drive with Alan and two friends from Italy - Gracia and Massimo. When we left Sedia Hotel at 7:00 am it was chilly. Approaching Moremi Game Reserve, we are just starting to warm up and thinking about some breakfast. Joe, are safari guide, starts to slow down our safari vehicle. For the next 10 minutes we have an extraordinary sighting of eighteen Wild Dogs - resting after a morning kill. Wild Dogs are seldom found in Reserves because they require such a large area within which to hunt.

It was a wonderful start to an exceptional day of game viewing. Elephants were plentiful, Joe found a pride of lions with three cubs - impala, kudo, girrafe, water buck and cape buffalo were spotted. We had a great lunch of chicken and tender beef roast, complete with salad and fruit for dessert. Seven or eight hippos provided the midday entertainment, complete with their occasional base booming sounds.
The day would not be complete without mentioning the birdlife - hornbills, egrets and a great white heron - who watched us eat most of our lunch. Vultures were in the trees around some kill we couldn't get to see. While looking at the lions Alan identified a Pels Owl call, which was unusual considering the time of day. All and all - quite an eyeful and earful.

May 4, 2008 | 5:05 AM Comments  0 comments



oceandavid   oceandavid David Young's TIGblog
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Mokoro Trails - The Transparent Reality


Over the past few years, the Okavango Delta and Maun in particular, has become perceived as an expensive destination with many Overland Companies no longer stopping in Maun due to what are considered to be high rates for activities such as Mokoro Trails. Even when Overland Companies do stopover in Maun, a growing number of passengers choose not to do key activities such as the Mokoro Trails because of the rates being quoted.

The rates at Sedia Riverside Hotel and Afro Trek Safaris are constantly reviewed taking in to consideration the declining value of the Botswana Pula against the US dollar, so that we always offer the best possible rates to our guests.

Below, we have described how the Mokoro Trails activity is arranged through the Community Trust that owns the concession area in which the trails are done and the rates the Trust charge locally based licensed safari operators , such as ourselves, for the Mokoro Trails activity

All drive-in Mokoro Trails from Maun are undertaken in the Okavango Kopano Mokoro Community Trust , known as the OKMCT. The OKMCT have outsourced the Mokoro Trail activity to various Safari Operators based in Maun who market the trails and provide transport for the transfers from Maun into the Mokoro Poling stations within the OKMCT Concession Area. The most popular poling Station being at Boro, which is used by virtually all safari operators from Maun.

Boro is presently not accessible at the moment due to the high flood levels so the operators, ourselves included are going to the Ditshipi Poling Station that is just under a two hour drive from Maun.


Afro Trek Rates for the Mokoro Trails Activity, including transfer charges are :
2 Day / 1 Night Trail US $ 110 - 00 per person

3 Day / 2 Night Trail US $ 125 - 00 per person

1 Day Mokoro Trail US $ 90 - 00 per person
( Rates valid for a minimum of four or more persons.)

The OKMCT is totally autonomous in the management of the Mokoro Trails activity and have fixed the daily rates which safari operators are charged as follows :

Licensed Guide with Mokoro US $ 25 - 00 per day
Licensed Poler with Mokoro US $ 20 - 00 per day
Entrance Fee to Concession US $ 6 - 50 per day

These rates exclude transfer charges into the concession poling station, this transfer is provided and charged for by the Maun based safari operator, the transfer charge being added to the OKMCT fixed rates for the mekoro and entrance fees , by the Maun based safari operator.

For a group of say 10 doing a two day / one night mokoro trail , the charges by the OKMCT would be just under US $ 40 per person. Afro Trek transfer charges into the Mokoro Poling station in the concession area are about US$ 40 per person ( In and Out of the concession area ) and are included in our rates given above.

Since the Boro Poling station lies under 20 kms from Maun and the Ditshipi Poling Station about 40 Kms from Maun , we feel this rate to be fair and reasonable and covers our transfer costs , ground crew costs , public liability insurance costs, administration costs and vehicle maintenance costs.

The Afro Trek Mokoro Trails depart from the Riverside Hotel campsite for the Boro or Ditshipi Poling Stations. For the Mokoro Trails Transfers we use customised Toyota Landcruisers with rear mounted game viewing seats with a trailer for the luggage.

We feel the above transparency in our rate structuring is important, so that our
passengers know where their money is going and that it will encourage more people to participate in a Mokoro Trails and in so doing meet some of the Bayei Tribe who live in the OKMCT concession area and have a real eco-tourism experience at a fair rate. All our guides and drivers are from the region, two of them being from the Kopano Trust area so passengers are given a good insight into the culture and traditions of the people.

March 22, 2008 | 7:03 AM Comments  0 comments



oceandavid   oceandavid David Young's TIGblog
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Entering the 'Gates of Eden' - Botswana
Related to country: Botswana

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Entering the ‘Gates of Eden’ - Botswana
By David Young

It’s late August, seven o’clock in the morning. I am standing on the bank of the Thamalakane River, 10 kilometres upstream from Maun, waiting for my captain to pick me up in a ten foot punt. A Blacksmith Plover is making a fair racquet and half hopping and half flying around. At night watch dogs use them as an early warning system for strangers approaching. They make a pinging kind of sound like a blacksmith working. I hear the putt-putt of our 20hp engine slowly approaching and ready myself for departure.

Heading toward the Hippo Pool we wave at a mother and daughter fishing from the shore. We have seen these fishers before, out for much of the day, catching fish for their family. Entering the Hippo Pool we slow down and prepare to go through the main pipe. Heads bowed, we go under the ‘Old Bridge’ – the first bridge ever built in these parts.

Making our way upstream, we are treated to herons, cranes and ducks, busy with their morning activities. Soon we pass Crocodile Camp and Okavango River Lodge, who have breakfast guests of their own. Another kilometer on and we swing to port and start up the Boro River, towards Moremi Game Reserve.

Moremi Game Reserve is huge wildlife management area that was formed in 1963. It covers over 4,800sq.kms.or 20 percent of the Okavango Delta. You enter an unspoiled combination of mopane woodlands, acacia forests, floodplains, rivers and lagoons. Moremi is possibly one of the most beautiful wildlife reserves in all of Africa. If you plan to visit, come during the dry season from June to November.

The Buffalo Fence marks the entry into Moremi and the end of domesticated animals. We travel the 10 kilometers to the fence without incident. The annual flood waters from Angola are still causing the river to rise, in places overflowing its banks. On route we pass kitchen gardens, cows, goats and horses that are grazing and drinking at the rivers edge.

Slowing down, we pass through the Buffalo Fence. A group of tourists are embarking on an overnight mokoro trip. These mekoros are shaped out of plastic, not from the Mukwa trees that they were made from traditionally. The trips are called Mokoro Trails. It is an eco-tourism activity organized to benefit the village and individual polers and guides. A number of local hotels and lodges supply the customers. It is a beautiful, silent way to travel – ideal for photographers looking for close-up pictures of nature and wildlife.

The polers and guides are Bayei, the traditional tribe of the river who arrived in the area during the 1850’s. A mekoro outing offers plenty of time to reflect, ask your guide about the plants and animals you see and enquire about aspects of the local culture. Many of the guides are great storytellers and are use to fielding a wide range of questions.


Waving goodbye or ‘sala sentle’ to the travelers we continue on our trip. Although we are traveling in a narrow channel, the water spreads out over a wide area. The river grasses are swaying gently in the morning breezes. The distant plains, palms and mopani trees leave me staring in awe. I can feel my spirit fill and lift. I am now as close to the ‘Gates of Eden’ as I expect to get to in my life.

Later in the morning I am giving the captain a rest and navigating through a narrow channel. Unknown to us, we have disturbed a hippo that had made it’s way out of the water and was grazing behind some bushes alone the shore. Fortunately our boat has just passed the hippo before it charges.

It is a young bull, charging just about the speed we are motoring. The hippo is above us, running downhill into the narrow stream, 3 or 4 metres away. My last vision is a large swell preceding the surging mass of the hippo as it runs after us, into the river. We hold on tight and after a pregnant pause and no further commotion, breath a collective sigh of relief. We have just come very close to knocking on heaven’s door.

Soon we find a good looking piece of shoreline, with mopane trees for shade, and put sore. After starting a fire for our marinated ribs, it is time to stretch our legs and have a look around. We inspect some damaged trees. Much of the lower bark is gone. Elephants have recently been here for their lunch. When we return to camp the fire is ready for our grate full of ribs. We eat, take a short rest from the midday heat, clean-up and continue our search for Naraka Lagoon.

With the floodwater so high, the lagoon is almost 400 metres across. Motoring into the lagoon we are met by three hippos surfacing, snorting aggressively, and submerging. Circling the lagoon more hippos rise to greet us. After our narrow morning escape, we are in no moos to push our luck. Fishing can wait for another day. Sightseeing becomes our major priority.

The return trip is more leisurely than expected. We adapt to the rhythm and meandering of one of nature’s largest and most beautiful inland deltas in the world. The highlight of the trip home is a herd of over twenty elephants coming down for an afternoon drink and bath.

Elephants can travel long, dusty distances with a doggedly determination. Their skills at smelling water from far away are legendary. If you want to see elephants in a state of pure joy, watch them entering a river. We have turned of the engine and are just floating downstream. The closer they get to the river the faster they move. The elephants start raising and lowering their head, tusks and nose in a sense of excitement. They do not test the water before plunging in. The babies are the last to enter the water because some of them stumble, not experienced enough to know how their noses should work when their heads bob up and down.

Thirty minutes later the elephants are returning back the way they came and we proceed on our way home. Ducks, cormorants and geese entertain us in the late afternoon, flying beside and in front of our punt. It appears as if they are testing their speed and maneuverability against the 20hp engine. We make one last short stop and watch some Jacana – the African lily runner move over lily pads and through dense river grasses. With the softening light of the setting sun, they provide one last inspirational sighting for our trip into paradise.

So much to see, so little time. Now we are motoring along in darkness. The captain makes haste slowly, particularly passing under the two bridges that lead us home. Finally we tie-up, unpack, make our way up the riverbank and prepare supper. After dinner we sit back and reflect on just how exceptional a day we have had inside the ‘Gates of Eden.’

March 4, 2008 | 6:26 AM Comments  0 comments



oceandavid   oceandavid David Young's TIGblog
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Moremi Game Reserve - Rainy Season

Lioneses Resting With Carcass - Paradise Pools, Moremi


Elephant Enjoying Mud Bath


Early January brought some friends from Canada for a visit to Maun. One of the things we did was a mobile safari with Shylock Raborokwe, into Moremi Game Reserve. The video above shows a huge male elephant enjoying a very wet mudhole. We saw pleny of game - hippos, kudu, impala, wildabeasts, sable, dudiker, crocs, saddlebacked storks, spur winged geese, lions....


Moremi is very wet this year. Northern Botswana is having a heavy rainy season - most places already have over 300mm and some are over 400mm. With 6 to 8 weeks still to go for prime rain times, it could be well above our average rain fall of 460mm.



January 15, 2008 | 9:01 AM Comments  0 comments



oceandavid   oceandavid David Young's TIGblog
David Young's profile

Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana - World Class

Whatever your motivation - see the 'big 5', travel the Okavango Delta, bird watching, seeing the heart of Africa, going on safari or just a family trip - Moremi Game Reserve deserves serious consideration. It is one of the best game reserves for variety of habitats, undisturbed viewing of game and closeness to travel facilities.



To do more research go to Google search and look for botswana, moremi_game_reserve, wildlife. I also have a couple of websites with Moremi Game Reserve information, photos, video and sound. Afro Trek Safaris, Botswana and botswana wildlife will give you good backgroud perspectives, Put yourself in the picture, get yourself on safari.



December 9, 2007 | 6:12 AM Comments  0 comments

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