Reports are flooding in of river levels in the Zambezi, Chobe and Okavango far exceeding expectations, and this dramatic rise in water levels is quite a bit earlier than normal. Lodges and villages in the Caprivi are being flooded and evacuated. In Kasane, people are watching the river banks disappear before their eyes as water creeps up their boat jetties and gardens. At Rundu in Namibia, the same news pours in. And there are still loads of waterlogged floodplains in the Okavango Delta from our local rains. Mmmm? The more there is flooding upstream, the more water we will get and there is no way our hundred foot high river bank will flood over!

MIGRATION DUST SETTLES ON A DILEMMA

Southern Africa’s largest zebra and wildebeest population had already started their mass migration eastwards from the Boteti River to the saltpan grasslands before the first rain drop splashed against the dry Kalahari sands. The November build up of colossal tropical cloud build up was the signal to make the dangerous annual hundred kilometre move across the waterless layer of sand to their breeding grounds.

We set out on an expedition across the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park to the saltpans to look for them scattered across vast grasslands and water logged saltpans. The area was a lot drier than I expected for January, when most rainfall in Botswana occurs. We had prepared ourselves for the mud and slush of the pans and to perhaps have to turn back for fear of getting stuck for hours, or days!

We eventually found the migration, what a sight it was, thousands of animals as far as the eye could see along the shoreline of Ntwetwe Pan. Then as we approached the saltpan itself an even more spectacular sight unfolded ahead, the vast pan was full of water. A mirror of the evening sky filled with setting sun coloured clouds blew me away! Add to that the silence broken only by mirrored distant thunder explosions …and the mirrored zebra calls …mirrored sandpiper whistles. We camped in this paradise for the night…

Far away and behind the migration the lions of the Boteti remain in their territory to come to terms with the sudden disappearance of their staple food supply. The lions are forced to face their biggest test of resilience ever, as they have done for generations before and somehow triumphed. Except they have been under a lot more pressure this summer rainy season than previously experienced.

Myra is the name given to a lioness of the Kumaga pride by researchers studying the human/wildlife conflict along the Boteti River boundary of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. Myra was immobilised in November 2008 to fit a tracking device collar to monitor her movements during the ‘zebra crunch recession’! We are concerned about stock raiding forays by lions across the fence into rural communal farmlands, particularly as the fence is not being maintained satisfactorily. Myra is going to help us put a stop to lion/livestock conflict, is the plan. Botswana’s Problem Animal Control policy states that farmers are permitted to kill predators responsible for their livestock deaths, so naturally we in tourism and the environmentalists are concerned about the threats to our wildlife and want to find a realistic solution. Myra will be texting us frequent location updates so we know where she is at all times. Can you believe this technology?! And no we do not text her back to say thanks for the SMS!!!

Figure One: Lioness (green dots). Note the limited movement out of the park due to the park fence along the riverbed.

Male brown hyaena (red dots) GPS locations from the 27th November to the 13th December. Neither animal crossed the
fence over that period.

The detailed location information transmitted by Myra is the key to our knowledge of lion movements to confirm when and where the lions are crossing through the fence to raid livestock. This will help us prove to the park management authorities that due to poor park management there are still human/wildlife conflicts. It will also help us understand what to do to reduce the continuing conflict, so far the fence has made a substantial positive difference, just not enough.

All looked well until we started receiving text messages in February from outside the park fence in livestock country. The lions were breaching the fence where they crawled under the wires at night, making hit and run stock killings, to then return back into the safety of the park at first light. Glyn Maud sent me updates of Myra’s movements by email, it was typical of the lions along the Boteti during the wet season, and my concern for the Meno A Kwena pride grew as we saw less of them. A few years ago we were witness to lion shootings close to Moreomaoto Village when they hung the carcasses for all to see at the Chief’s Kgotla.

I was taking a break with friends on a game ranch in the Eastern Cape of South Africa when I opened a text message from Glyn. “MYRA SHOT!” “…Forfuxakes!” - Was my immediate response. Myra and the rest of the pride had started making regular crossings over to feed on livestock when she became trapped between the parallel park fences. Apparently she had been shot by farmers in close proximity to the fence, as had three or four others. It gets worse…

Myra immobilised by vet to fit tracking device collar … And her skin and tracking device collar in the police station at Kumaga.

News of the migration’s movements in the east of the park was showing a possible early move back to the Boteti, rain was not as substantial as we were experiencing over the Okavango and Chobe. Even if the migration returns for just a few days it will take some of the pressure off the lions, even if temporarily. We discussed all aspects of the issues involving the lions and increased conflict with farmers. Then we heard there are the six starving cubs of one of the shot lionesses wandering around Kumaga. Why? Why was this year deteriorating back into a more serious state since the construction of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park fence? Why are we seeing the surviving Kumaga lions in really poor condition? Starvation? Poison? Disease?

Then news of the lion conflict and possible disease was taken up by government with a sense of utmost urgency. I was seeing more officialdom at camp and the area in a week than I had seen in years. The long grass along the fence was cut, more patrols, more interest. Two emaciated lions were trapped and taken for tests in Gaborone. Turns out rabies was the result of tests, the disease had already been reported in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve since 2008. Sadly we are facing the complete annihilation of the Kumaga pride, and very likely spread of lion conflicts to neighbouring Meno A Kwena.

I increased patrols of the fence at Meno A Kwena and sure enough disclosed our own lion conflict ugliness – wire snares set in holes under the fence where lion tracks could be seen in the wet sand after recent rain. To add to the slap in the face, we found the snares to be tent gye cables, probably from our old discarded tents grabbed out of the rubbish trailer before it gets chucked at the village dump! We picked up three snares over a few days and destroyed them, filling in the holes with thorn branches and soil.

Steel cable snares set for lions under fence at Meno A Kwena February 2009

When considering the complexity of our conflict situation it is necessary to understand the broader past present and future of human settlement in and around natural environments. Our lions have a history of survival based on livestock resources in their environs. The construction of the fence did not stop that, it merely created a temporary difficulty that the lions soon adapted to and overcame. Nature has a cunning sense of seeking out the most beneficial resources available. The lack of fence patrols and maintenance resulted in lions figuring out they can cross the fence, feed on livestock and return to the safety of the park, with a lot more ease than hunting meagre and difficult wet season food resources in the park. The recent incidents have proven this simple fact and we are endeavouring to prevent further confrontations for the sake of wildlife conservation. We started with a simple step; saltlick blocks in the park to attract prey species to the area thus improving access to them by lions. We did the same in the communal free ranging farmlands at cattle posts so livestock can be better managed and herded into the safety of enclosures at night. Now it is up to the authorities to maintain a presence along the fence to create additional difficulties for lions to breach the fence.

Have a look at this remarkable video footage of human/wildlife interaction…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd97TnKlRZM

CAMP GETS SOME MAKE UP

After years of investment into the conservation of the Boteti area wildlife we have finally taken the plunge to improve the comforts of camp for our guests, within reason of course. I want to maintain the tented safari camp theme and to develop sustainable and environmentally friendly systems that reduce our Carbon footprint, seeing as that’s the trend these days.

Karien Belle’s speciality is producing the most stunning and original jewellery, she came to camp last year to create a vision in her mind’s eye of what the camp ought to look like. Maintaining that safari atmosphere, I reminded her. And practical, I demanded. The horror look she gave me said it all. Creative people are not practical at the best of times, so I let her get on with it without too much stomping the ground in defiance. Karien spent a few months in India gathering ideas and then making orders for all sorts things - furniture, leather, brass and copper equipment, military parachutes. What are we going to do with parachutes?

The project finally reached completion in March this year, and despite the creativity/practicality conflict, is looking absolutely stunning. Karien has excelled in turning Meno A Kwena Tented Camp from a simple Outdoorsman’s bush camp, into a beautifully charismatic and stylish safari camp that enhances the pristine natural surroundings on the banks of the Boteti River. I’ve yet to collect images of the new camp to publish in the next diary update. This one is seriously overdue and needs to be sent now.

CAVE CROCS

Caves are a rare geological fact here in Botswana. The Kalahari sand basin that covers this 99.9% dead flat country has engulfed all but a few outcrops of an elevated nature. So the caves in the banks of the dry Boteti River are quite special. More special is what lives in them. I wonder if they sense the river is flowing just thirty kilometres upriver from them, if they then would perhaps start crawling along the dry riverbed to the water. Well, not necessary, the river is coming. My prediction, this year, is that we will see water in the river all the way to Rakops, perhaps even the saltpans just beyond. Does anyone know how we are going to cross the Boteti into the national park at Kumaga in a few months?

WATER FOR LIFE PROJECTS

As is often the case with conservation efforts we are always constrained by financial support. The river flowing has eliminated our water problems at Meno A Kwena. So huge fuel expenses are no more, the sound of diesel pumps no longer pollutes the exquisite quiet of the African nights. The flowing river has brought change for the better but we still have a lot to deal with, it’s not all directly related to water despite its influence. The large herds of water dependant wildlife will still come to the river and will still have limited access because of the fence that traverses the park side of the river bank for most of the national park boundary. This will still create pressure on food resources within reach of the river.

It is our aim to carefully scrutinise the next dry season happenings along the Boteti as we expect the river to be flowing for years to come. The zebra and wildebeest population will grow steadily putting more and more pressure on water demands. To this end we must encourage the powers that be to consider moving the fence to allow increased wildlife access to the river. It is our intention to put more effort and time into the benefits from tourism being directed to the development of the rural communities living along the boundary of the park. It is after all our next phase in justifying the existence of the national park so that one day we see the light at the end of the tunnel. That light being the Central Kalahari Game Reserve being quite rightly connected to the Okavango and Chobe wetlands so necessary for the survival of Botswana’s natural wildlife resources.

I do think the present global economic situation is proving that tourism has to be of great value since it is one of the three major industries here now. And when considering that foot and mouth disease all but eliminated the beef industry for a while recently, and now the recession has shut down mining, it is up to us in tourism to help sustain Botswana’s economy from deteriorating further. Our incredible wildlife and environment needs us for their survival.

The Maun Festival planned for the end of April is a great juncture for all the reasons, especially when mulling over the economic and politic doom and gloom of late - …”SO LETS PAAAAAAAARTAY!!!” I am entering the Moreomaoto Village Primary School traditional dance group who are practising like mad at the moment, and Rustur, the woodcraftsman who is producing brilliant furniture for us at camp. The exposure will be fantastic for their huge potential.

Have a look at their website…

http://www.maunfestival.com

I was about to send this update when I heard the really sad news from the USA that Skip Essex had died from a heart attack. Skip hunted with my Father back in the 1970s, he loved the adventures of Africa so much he invested here, became a hunting guide and built a house for the hunting seasons. His African adventures diminished in time until many years later Skip returned to Botswana in 2005 on safari with his family. He was hooked again and bought into a partnership with my Brother Roger’s mobile safari company. Skip and his lovely partner, Danny joined our Water for Life Project and so set out to assist with raising awareness and funding in the States. Skip is my other founding trustee for Water for Life and will be missed and remembered for his wildlife conservation passion.

NEW WEBSITE

After years of putting up with my boring old website I was finally inspired to find the time to deal with it, scratch off another irritating point on my ever growing list of things I must do before I die…! But it is back on the list again as I have to now go and change everything to allow for the river flowing since the new website still speaks of the dry riverbed. I’m not complaining okay!

www.kalaharikavango.com www.menoakwena.com

MIGRATION RETURNS

One more thing I promise. The zebra migration has started to return early to the Boteti from the saltpans. This is the first time these zebras will find a river to drink from since they left the area after the first rains just before the river flowed in November. The first groups arrived on the 28th March, they usually only return as late as June but rain over the saltpans was somewhat less and earlier than normal. It is quite heart warming to see the zebra herds dwarfed by so much water in contrast to the last almost two decades of meagre water for so many desperate animals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5ob8e6aNH8

The Boteti River drains a small fraction of water from the Okavango Delta to flow two hundred kilometres into the saltpans of the dry Kalahari. Meno A Kwena Tented Camp is located where the river flows into the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. This is the dry season range for Southern Africa’s largest remaining wildlife migration. The water from the Angolan highlands, hundreds of kilometres to the north, that fell during the 2007/2008 summer rains arrived at Meno A Kwena for the first time since 1993! It was Tuesday the 25th November that water flowed down the dry riverbed for the first time in fifteen years! The river awakens from her dry coffin in the desert.

I cannot put into words what this feels like, what it means, my words right now cannot convey the immense relief I am experiencing. I am in a state of shock. Amazing how I have expected and hope for this so much for so long, that when it finally happens, it is almost unbelievable to comprehend. I am overwhelmed, that’s the word. So I am going to hand you over to Spot, AKA Kevin Ryan, AKA friend, AKA my Brother. He wrote these beautiful words below as a tribute to the river, and our Mother who died last Christmas day.

“This water, this lifeline to the dwellers and creatures along the Boteti, this is a gift from our Mother. These are the tears we shed. She does not want them. She gives them back to us. This is her offering so that we all may drink and bathe, frolic and gambol like new born wildebeest. This is her Christmas gift so that we will arrive, be happy and busy on the anniversary of her departure. Our Mother has been busy …Thank you Cookie!”

Cookie loved to sit in camp and be a part of the wildlife coming to drink from the waterholes, even if it was distressing at times. She understood. Her ashes, scattered in the dry riverbed at the beginning of this year have been swept up by the river, she is now a part of the new order that our Mother Nature has created to bring new life. Incredible numbers of fish came with the water, the new birdlife moving into the area is dramatic, already hippo have been seen nearby, crocs on the way, or perhaps already here lurking beneath the rippling surface – sinister submarine stealth. Meno A Kwena!!!

LIONS GET THEIR PAWS WET!
The new environment we have since the water arrived has changed dramatically, positively in all ways and we have to adapt. We have gone from one extreme to the other, there is so much water in the lagoon in front of camp. The wildlife has to adapt too. I had hoped the lions that frequent the waterhole and camp area would find them selves on the park side of the river, not trapped on our side. It turns out the females and dominant males are in the park opposite camp. My guide Max enjoyed his walk with safari guests along the riverbed filled with water a few days after the river flowed through the area. New birdlife in the area to show people – herons, egrets, storks, cormorants, bitterns, shrikes, babblers. Lion tracks! Jeez! JEEZUS!!! Max looked up from the lion spoor to see two young male lions dissolve into the thick acacia woodland ahead. JEEZ!!!

I shouldn’t laugh but it is quite amusing how people react to extreme potential danger. They stumble, fumble, stomachs rumble, overwhelming concern about not doing the wrong thing as instinct rushes through the body and soul to run screaming like a mad person. Max hesitates and quickly assesses the situation. Lions trapped between the water and riverbank cliffs. Jeezus! Not good to be close to cornered animals, even a cute little cornered squirrel will cause great pain and discomfort when threatened. I went to look for them later in the day to find they had hidden themselves in the thickest of thorny acacia amongst the branches of an elephant-felled tree. Naturally I was concerned about the dangers this posed to us and ultimately the young male lions. We built a bridge of gum poles across a narrow section of the river in case they didn’t want to swim. There was a herd of wildebeest in the area for the lions to hunt if they got desperately hungry. The bewildered wildebeest eventually braved the river and headed east to join the rest of the migration. There was nothing else substantial for the young lions to eat here, except the huge population of catfish that flipped and flopped through the shallows. But these are desert lions, they don’t know about that. Or there was of course the livestock beyond the cliffs. Danger bells rang over there so the lions stayed, strangely with no desire to cross the river even if it was narrow and shallow enough in places to wade chest deep through. Lions do take to water if they have to, and get used to it …with a deep resentment. We all know cats harbour some sort of resentment. It’s a cat thing!

I’m not up to date on the dynamics of the pride at the moment with all these new changes in the area. I did notice after about a week of the young lions being trapped in the area that they very possibly are young males from the Meno A Kwena pride. They are at an age when, should a pride male take over be occurring or has already, be extremely weary of the new pride lords. They will be killed if they cannot get away from the area as a new order is established. That new order does not include any other males, especially those not related to the new landlords. I am assuming this is the case as one evening when these two young males were outside my tent as I left to go for supper and showed little concern about me, they were focused on something else more urgent. A full grown male was asserting his presence on the other side of the river opposite camp. Penetrating roars …rumble in the jungle. The young lions’ attention was on avoiding a rumble in the jungle, they moved away from the threatening gesture, back towards their thorny hiding place.

The longer the young lions stayed the more concerned I became about the situation. Not a big area and camp right in the middle of it. Lots of people walking around camp. When big cats sort out big cat politics they are at their most fearsome, focused fearsome. Nothing else matters. Not even collateral damage. It’s these situations all those lion horror stories come from, ask professional hunter - Soren Lindstrom about that! So naturally I wanted to alleviate a lion battle around camp, and hoped they would resolve the volatile situation sooner than later. We kept our ears and eyes open wide, we looked for the young lions in their hiding places every morning, evening and night. They were dug in for just over a week. The threatening roars from the opposite river bank persisted through the nights, like the roar of a Zulu army’s war cries, stamping feet and bashing spears against shields, preparing to attack. Still, it was all quite exciting despite our concerns.

Fear, and eventually hunger, got the better of the young lion brothers who finally made an exit from their hideout. It was time to face reality and accept that this area, once their safe nursery, is now not a place for growing young adults. It was time to go to boarding school, to learn to face the raw challenges of life. If ever they return to Meno A Kwena it will be to stock this nursery with their own cubs. Chances of that are pretty slim, the Kalahari is quite a challenge.

RESEARCH EXCITEMENT
Carnivore researcher Glyn Maud arrived at camp accompanied by veterinarian, Dane to see the river flowing through the riverbed. All the more reason to collect data on the predators of the area. They based themselves at Kumaga, thirty kilometres down river from Meno A Kwena, to put tracking collars on brown hyaena and lion. The immediate information from these transmitters would show us their movements, especially now the migration has moved away to the saltpans.

Predators are forced to frequent the livestock farming areas on the other side of the fence. Of course the urgency to cross the fence despite the dangers from pissed off farmers is there. Not much in the way of an easy meal when there aren’t thousands of zebra and wildebeest about. When we have all this important behaviour and movement information it is more likely getting the government’s attention to take the necessary steps to solve the wildlife/human conflict problems along the boundaries of the wildlife protected areas. I do believe this research is increasingly important for the development of sustainable tourism to reduce the confrontational encroachment issues we face.

Glyn told me they had great excitement while immobilising a brown hyaena. Lions appeared around them that night as they were fitting the tracking device collar to the hyaena’s neck. They had to work fast with no distractions but the lions persisted. Difficult to concentrate on high tech equipment and dangerous drugs when a lion is breathing down your neck! In human perspective, a stressed anaesthetist monitoring a dangerous medical operation while a pride of hungry lions prowls the corridors of the hospital, drawn ever closer by the strong sweet smell of blood!!! Glyn and Dane managed to deal with the hyaena successfully and then proceeded to dart one of the hungry prowling lions to also successfully place a tracking device on her too. Not a bad night shift.

SOUTHERN AFRICA’S LARGEST WILDLIFE MIGRATION
The zebra and wildebeest migration incredibly sense when is the right time to head to the saltpans, their wet summer season breeding range. The hundred kilometre move is long and dangerous as there is no water en route and especially traumatic for the mothers of early newborn foals, often unable to keep up with the rest of the herds. This will slow the family down to a point when they have to make the decision to leave the mother and foal behind. This is dangerous as predators are often not far away to target the young and weak. Foals are often abandoned by mothers in their desperation to get to the saltpans to drink.

The migration had already left by the time the river flowed through Meno A Kwena so they have no idea they will be returning to lots of water at the end of the rains, and onset of the next dry season. I am so very excited about their return as the riverbed will still be holding more water than we have seen in almost two decades. No twenty-four-hour-days pumping, no stress of too many animals and too little water. And the view of the migration coming and going will be even more spectacular as cliffs either side of us will channel all the wildlife within full sight of the camp.

I take this opportunity to wish you a safe and happy feasting festive season and all very best wishes for the New Year.

- David Dugmore

www.kalaharikavango.com

kkreservations@ngami.net

OKAVANGO & BOTETI FLOOD

As miracles are being realised in the west, so too are we experiencing the miracle of the rebirth of a river, lost for over a decade, returning life to a desolate world! The Boteti River is flowing deeper into the thirsty Kalahari than it has for sixteen years. A significant volume of water is seeping into the heart of the dry desert sands from the Okavango Delta. There is no other permanent water in Botswana besides the Okavango. Only the great green greasy Limpopo River a thousand kilometres to the south, and the Chobe, five hundred kilometres in the north.

This sequence of images was taken during one hour in the Boteti Riverbed at Lazy J Bend, near Moreomaoto Village, end of October 2008.

The Okavango inflow from Angola this year, according to the experts at the University of Botswana, was not responsible for the higher than normal flood levels in the delta, it was the high local rainfall we had during the 2007/08 summer. The high water levels this year are also the result of a gradual increase in local and regional rains over the last eight years. It’s mostly about what water is still sitting in the delta left over from the previous rains and floods. Global warming? Or a natural cycle? Apparently we experience thirty year cycles of dry and thirty years of dry periods. Been like that for quite some time, like thousands of years, maybe.

…20 minutes		…40 minute

I have been monitoring the water levels in the Thamalakane and Boteti Rivers regularly, to the point of being intensely possessively obsessed by it. No, not hanging out at The Bridge and Okavango River Lodge with the usual suspects at the bars! Rather to scrutinise the water flowing through The Old Bridge, while enjoying a bacon cheese and banana burger lunch! Willing the river to rise, higher and higher so it reaches Meno A Kwena this year, as I have desperately dreamed it would for too many years. God, we are the most impatient species! The water is just over ten kilometres from Meno A Kwena! It’s still flowing towards us at a rate of about one kilometre a day.

	…60 minutes	…The next day!

Watching the kids at Moreomaoto Village on the banks of the Boteti River playing along the edges of the water reminds me of the first time I saw snow in Europe at the age of sixteen on my first travels off the African continent. Most children from this village, a hundred kilometres from the Okavango Delta, have never seen water in the river right on their doorstep. They are instinctively fascinated by the fishes that are moving in their watery environment through the deep dry dusty river valley reincarnate. Little fishes, over-anxious swimming faster than the flowing river …flop flop flop on powdery talcum dust. Kids run shouting, frivolous village dogs loping alongside in the shallows, egrets take flight. Cattle stand bewildered where water was not the day before. A party of cheerful adults indulges in St Louis beer shifting from one shady acacia to another as the seeping water encroaches on their seated gathering. An immature fish eagle settles atop a dead tree surveying its new fishy surroundings.

The Boteti flood plain below was dry the day before, note the thorn enclosures around wells now flooded. The Boteti River has finally reached the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park’s western boundary. For the first time since 1995 there is water for wildlife in sustainable quantities. The deadly drying up of the Boteti in the 1990s resulted in 100 000 zebra and wildebeest deaths. Countless other wildlife was negatively impacted by the receding river that acted as a barrier between wildlife in the national park, and farmers living along the opposite bank. Water levels up stream in the delta are dropping fast, I am holding my brrrrrrrr……………eath! In geological terms, according to the UB experts, the water could be an impossible distance away from Meno A Kwena this year. The distance on a map is just over fifteen kilometres. In my head, well let’s say the river will be at Meno A Kwena in less than three weeks. There is hope, the first rains of the season have started with 10mm falling at camp in early November. My Brother, Roger splashes through the Moreomaoto Village causeway, dry the day before in early November 2008.

HEAT & FIRE

Most of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve has burned in the last two months. Nxai Pan National Park is on fire. Fires raged in Moremi and Chobe too. Hot winds blew freely and unobstructed across the waterless flat Kalahari, relentlessly engulfing all in its path, exhaling smoke and ash, charred flesh and bone. Luckily so far Meno A Kwena and Makgadikgadi are safe. Now, with the first storms approaching, we keep vigilant eyes on lightning strikes, for orange glows on far horizons at night, for mountainous smoke clouds. Our fire fighting equipment ready for fast action speaking louder than words, instant deployment to keep the migration’s grass safe from destruction and despair…

THE MAKGADIKGADI MIGRATION

This is the first year in over a decade we have not been seeing excessive numbers of zebra at Meno A Kwena. It has been a much less stressful year for them, and us. Less pressure on water, more grazing within reach of the waterholes. Decreased mortalities amongst the yearlings. Why? A number of possibilities exist, perhaps they are all responsible. Higher than average rainfall improving grazing. The decommissioning of the fence between Nxai Pan National Park and Moremi. Artificial waterholes in the hunting concession between Boteti and the Okavango along ancient migratory routes. Changes in water utilisation resulting from new government sponsored waterholes along the Boteti Riverbed. A large number of zebra have died since last year? One answer is the most exciting of all…

Once not so long ago, ancient migrations across southern Africa were traversed by tremendous herds of zebra, wildebeest, springbok and other roaming wildlife. Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of animals. Unrelentless in their demanding necessity to move from dry season favourable grazing and water, to wet season favourable grazing and water, an area stretching over the vast Kalahari sands from the southern Congo to the Cape. Then people came, they put a spanner in the wheel and it all ended in a very brief time from a geological perspective. God we are an impatient species!

Researchers have been monitoring a female zebra and her family this last year. They have observed some exciting unexpected migratory patterns between the Okavango Delta Meno A Kwena and the Makgadikgadi Saltpans. Distances of nearly 300km from the delta to saltpans. This is fantastic news for wildlife conservation management when considering social development plans for Botswana.

This information from one family of zebra is important data as it is representative of an ancient migration of possibly the whole zebra population of northern Botswana. This proves that once upon a time massive herds of zebra and wildebeest inhabited the Okavango fringes, central Chobe National Park and Boteti River system during the dry season Jul-Nov. They would migrate to the high nutrition grasses of the saltpans during the wet season (Dec-Jun) to breed. It is especially good news that despite these herds being blockaded by fences for some decades, they have amazingly resumed these migrations since a key fence between Nxai Pan and Moremi was decommissioned in 2006.

Good news for Makgadikgadi & Nxai Pans National Parks, the largest remaining zebra and wildebeest migration in Southern Africa has an escape route to the Okavango, should fire or serious drought occur. This single factor will greatly encourage an increase in the decades’ long decline of the Makgadikgadi zebra population. We have twenty thousand zebra left, from hundreds of thousands just fifty years ago. We can now expect in ten years, as conditions improve favourably, the population will increase to a hundred thousand zebra. Excited!

I have heard of recent increased numbers of zebra along the Chobe River. Can anyone out there verify this as I would be very interested to know, if this is the case, where they came from???

LIONS OF MENO A KWENA

The nocturnal hunting strategy of the Meno A Kwena pride females is being fine tuned. Their hunting successes are evident as they take advantage of the steep river bank cliffs. Camp sits on one of their favourite cliff ambush sites! So yes we see and hear many lion hunts, ambushes and kills in and around camp. Yes, we have to be extremely alert and aware and cautious. This is why all our tents are pitched inside thorn enclosures with sturdy pole doorways, all guests are accompanied by guides to the safety of their tents. To lie awake listening to the hunters …and the hunted.

On one particularly busy hunting night of stampeding snorting zebra and heavy breathing lions around camp, we expected the human sounding zebra scream, then silence, before tearing flesh and crunching bone sounds. It was not a successful hunt and we all slept soundly. Next morning we were awoken to the death scene right at the pole doorway to the research camp, next to the guest camp. Dabe and Dabe, the two Naro San guides were standing over a dead village dog with teeth puncture wounds to the neck! I noticed that Dabe and Dabe were gathering information from the tracks and signs in the sand and were about to give us a re-enactment of what happened at 5am that morning.

They heard the event from their tents just ten metres away. While hunting zebra the lions turned their attention to a dog that had sneaked into camp from nearby cattle farms to look for scraps from the camp kitchen. The dog bolted up the hundred metre long straight path to the research camp.

The lions gave chase. Dabe points to the sprinting dog’s deep paw and claw tracks in the sand, on top of the dog’s tracks are the giant cat’s paw prints gaining fast and furious. The dog must have been terrified seeing up ahead there was no gap in the pole entrance to the safety of the camp. Dabe and Dabe lying in their tent hearing the sound of pounding paws getting closer and closer to their campsite entrance held their breath and strained sensitive ears. They both hoped the last person to bed the night before had closed the poles properly. Otherwise the lions were going to get into the camp’s enclosure following after the desperate dog racing for its life.

There was a crash against the thorn branch enclosure. A brief yelp. A deep growl. Then rustling in the dry grass. And …quiet, except for Dabe’s and Dabe’s thumping hearts and a nearby jackal howl. Dabe showed us in the sand where the dog had, at great speed, crashed into the pole gate. Dabe points out the lion tracks where it skids and pounces onto the dog before it attempted plan B, the impenetrable thorn fence next to the pole entrance, too late. The giant cat pinned the dwarfed dog down as it bit easily into the neck, breaking it instantly with a crack, the Naro San guide articulates with a click of his tongue. Dabe lifts the damaged pole doorway where the impact of lion pouncing on dog had almost collapsed the structure. The lions played with the dead dog like it was a stuffed toy, tossing and dragging before dumping it to carry on with them stripy buggers.

This pride of lions has a deep rooted history of fear and loathing of village hunting dogs in these parts. The farmers hunted cattle rustling lions down using dogs. Cornering the big cats in thick bush so the farmers could shoot them. This unfortunate dog was alone and outnumbered, the tables had turned for the big cats, they took full advantage of these new times, now their land truly is theirs since the fence has stopped livestock encroachment into the national park.

Note the pole doorway behind Dabe. The poles are closed for the safety of staff Sleeping in the research camp at night. 2008

RARE BROWN HYAENA MARKING ITS TERRITORY IN CAMP

It is always a great joy to see rare wildlife, to see brown hyaenas is extremely rare. To have them drinking from the bird bath in camp, and while we sit at the campfire just ten metres away, is very special. The image is not great but that’s an even more rare opportunity, for our guests to get photographs of brown hyaenas.

Brown hyaena drinking from the camp birdbath just 10 metres from the fire bowl where we sit in the evening. 10pm 12^th September 2008.

WATER FOR LIFE PROJECTS

Our conservation and community projects are progressing very slowly due to a lack of funding. The Meno A Kwena Water for Life Trust was registered beginning of 2008 and we are about to get the website and prospectus completed soon. Getting the word out there is the stumbling block at the moment. In the meantime we continue to have volunteers joining us from around the globe to assist with these valuable projects.

Janaina Matarazzo is with us at the moment from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She is involved with the Moreomaoto Village Primary School projects that include helping the teachers with typing endless exam papers they would otherwise painstakingly handwrite. Leaves very little time to teach so this is a small thing but makes a huge difference.

Janaina is working closely with Inajame Sandu, a professional musician who is instructing the children to play the marimba, traditional xylophone. Inajame has been a magician with the children and after just one term has taught the children not only how to play but to tune, and maintain these complexed instruments. The sounds they produce are sweet as birdsong! We are planning to hold a mini concert for our guests at the school before the end of term later this month. The ultimate goal is to produce a musical play that involves traditional instruments to tell a story about the need to respect our environment.

Inajame instructs the primary school children to play marimbas, Moreomaoto Primary School. 2008.

I take this opportunity to thank Martina Freyer and the staff of Uhambo eAfrica in Germany for their recent contribution towards our wildlife conservation and community involvement projects. We appreciate that our foreign partners are also taking responsibility for the need to protect our natural resources.

THE CHAOS OF MAUN VILLAGE!

Yes Maun is still a dusty village, the hub of Botswana’s tourism industry is like something out of a movie set. Yes, there is every chance of seeing your favourite movie star sitting at Bon Arrivee Bar and Restaurant opposite the airport terminal building! A thick concentration of modern cars, safari rigs and donkey carts compete for the few limited spaces of road through central Maun. The dramatic increase in vehicle traffic has overcome the development of road infrastructure over the last couple years. A direct result of the cheap second hand imported Japanese cars available in Botswana. As modern buildings and new paved parking replaces thatched mud huts and sandy tracks, the shamble of transition is quaintly evident despite the frustration of queues and reckless drivers. Gone are the days when we waved at passing vehicles, knowing people by the cars they drove. We don’t park outside the stores we visit any longer, finding parking is now an inconvenience.We don’t leave keys in the ignition of our open4X4 game drive land cruisers. We don’t greet everyone we walk past like we did up until just a few years ago.

A lot has not changed though, donkeys and village dogs still wander the busy streets following their noses and other asses! Adding to the already chaotic roads and pavements of masses of asses and piles of turds! Vehicles of all sorts of practical design for safaris, photography and wildlife documentary filming. White government trucks everywhere. Herero women in their traditional 1800s German colonial dresses like pretty dolls. Dust, yes there is still an atmosphere filled with dust.

The new chaotic mix of traditional and modern is bringing a sense of speed to the once sleepy slow village. Bottle necks at fuel stations and taxi ranks are bustling with people making appointments with buses and the countless stalls selling road trip snacks and other bare necessities like chappies chewing gum, sweet fizzy Iron Brew drinks, wild fruits from the Kalahari. Music. Boom boom. Always loud music. Boom boom. ‘The dusty air is alive with the sound of mu…sic. Boom titty boom. A different track plays through disco speakers in front of every store …boomshikaboom…shika…boomboomboom!’

To put this chaos into perspective I copy from the journals of Botswana Notes & Records written over 30 years ago.

Urban Migration in Botswana: Gaborone December 1975
By Betsy Stephens
Dept of Statistics

Botswana currently (1975) has one of the highest rates of urbanisation in Africa, and the capital, Gaborone, with an annual growth rate of about 15%, is the fastest growing town in the country. Prior to Independence in 1966, Gaborone was a small tribal village, and a colonial administrative centre. It was designated in 1964 as the site for the new capital (which was previously in Mafeking, Republic of South Africa, and nearly all of the present day population are migrants to the new town.

Until 1966, Botswana was a British protectorate, almost totally dependant on a rural

economy of subsistence agriculture, cattle-rearing, and the export of labour. The only ‘modern’ towns were Lobatse, Francistown, and the fledgling Gaborone – with a combined population of around 20 000. However, since Independence, urbanisation has been spurred by important mineral exploitation, some industrialisation, and an expanding government bureaucracy. While more than 50% of the population still lives in settlements of less than 500, a dramatic increase in employment opportunities in the towns, combined with a significant expansion of educational facilities, has resulted in the exponential growth of migration to the urban areas: At the same time, the population of the larger villages is increasing slightly, which may be related to the introduction of small scale industries, and other attributes of the modern economy. However, these villages remain predominately identified with the traditional rural lifestyle, and are not yet thought of as ‘urban’.

Historically, Botswana has a very distinctive settlement pattern and an unusual

tradition of mobility. Villages are the focal point of tribal life and originally, all tribal householders were resident in the village. They ploughed and ran their stock in the adjacent lands. Over time, a combination of population pressures and exhaustion of the land forced the chiefs to allocate outlying areas for cultivation (called ‘the lands’ by the Batswana), and further afield, to designate ‘cattle posts’ for herding activities. Families built temporary homes at ‘the lands’ and, if they also own large stock, at the ‘cattle post’ as well. There was regular seasonal movement out, and back to the village after harvest, or at the behest of the chief. Today, there is evidence of some permanent settlement at the lands, as the power of the tribal authority wanes. In addition to considerable internal movement, since the end of the last century, there has been an exodus of persons leaving to work in South Africa, predominately on short term contract in the mines. The 1971 Census found approximately 25% of the males of working age absent.

It is not unusual for members of an extended family to be resident at a given time in five different locations, although there is one settlement, or village, which they all call ‘home’. The kinship bonds remain strong, and are particularly manifested by ties to the place of origin.

INDEPENDENCE “BOIPUSO”

We celebrated “Boipuso” on the 30th September in camp with a staff party. There were no guests in camp so the party had no limits so to speak. Well it did end when the booze ran out. The 42nd year of Independence celebrates this extraordinary country’s development to be extremely proud of. PULA!

ASHES & SNOW
For anyone who appreciates art and nature, to do themselves a favour and look at the images on this website, they are an inspiration.

Get the book. Incredible. www.ashesandsnow.orghttp://www.ashesandsnow.org/

- David Dugmore

After a few suggestions to put this on my website so people could prepare themselves for their safaris before they left home, I finally decided perhaps it was a good idea. I had thought it might put people off coming to Africa’s deepest darkest secrets! I am sure it will help those people going on safari for the first time to prepare themselves for it.

The idea of this notice displayed in each guest tent is to help people get their heads around the concept of being aware, rather than afraid in the bush. Fear is our most dangerous emotion and so the more we know the more we feel safe, and therefore the more we enjoy and appreciate.

“A Warm Welcome to Meno A Kwena Tented Camp

It is a pleasure to have you stay with us, and we are here to make your stay as comfortable and safe as we possibly can. Our origins are in mobile safari outfitting based on the original safaris carried out in East Africa. Meno A Kwena Tented Camp is evolving from the pure mobile safari outfit to incorporate the permanent safari camp concept without completely losing the authentic safari atmosphere.

We, are not just about wildlife experiences, we put a lot of emphasis on the safari experience, the camp, staff, guides, hosts, and the rural community living in close proximity of the camp. It is very important you know how the camp operates considering the novelty of bucket showers, no electricity, and cooking on open fires. And the safety factor is a priority and so we constantly remind you to be aware.

PLEASE read this notice on your arrival, it will help you help us make sure your experience is safe, comfortable, and unforgettable. We will go through everything with you verbally and remain sensitive to your every move, every whim.

SAFETY AWARENESS

Awareness of our surroundings is key, to both the enjoyment and safety of safari. Don’t be afraid, don’t be worried, be careful of your imagination taking control of your awareness. Be aware is better than beware!

 

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You have noticed the thorn and pole fence around the tents, the traditional African method of keeping them, and their livestock safe from predators at night when asleep. This is effective but not guaranteed, please make sure the gate poles are closed and remain aware despite this predator proofing. The design is also good for snake avoidance as they can escape to the safety of cover in the thorny branches without you knowing they are there. Snakes are extremely shy, they are sensitive to vibrations in the ground (footsteps), and have no reason to want to waste venom on something they cannot eat, unless absolutely necessary for self-preservation. It takes up to three days for snakes to replace their venom so they don’t want to waste it.

All wild creatures can be dangerous, from the smallest insect to the elephant, mostly because of self-preservation. Man is the most feared living being on the planet, for all the reasons. It is very unlikely wildlife is going to be moving around the camp when people are up and about. Avoid confrontations by being aware of your every step, what could be ahead, and behind. We do encourage more than one person walking along the pathways to and from the tents at night.

Most confrontations occur when a mammal cannot escape. Cornered, animals with very young offspring, injured or sick, or just surprised within the flight/fright distance acceptable to individual species and situations. Never run, watch your feet and ahead, talk while walking, sing if you like, always use a fully charged torch (flashlight) at night. When leaving the tent in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, wake your tent partner and talk for a minute or two before opening the zip. Check around the outside area with the torch before leaving the tent. Talking or singing as you slowly approach the bathroom will help.

Creepy crawlies are generally most active at night and in the summer. But always be aware of snakes, spiders etc being disturbed and on the move in the coldest of winter nights. Always shake shoes, towels, clothes before using them. It is advisable to not keep clothes and shoes on the floor, having said that, still check before putting them on. Creepy crawlies can climb as well as they crawl.

In the unlikely event of a confrontation remain calm and in control. Its not always a good idea to run or make sudden moves. Basically react in a way to show the animal that you are not a threat to its life and or young. Running away can trigger hunting behaviour and most animals can run faster than a human. The safest place in camp is zipped up in your tent. The closest thing to a tent in nature is the termite mound. I honestly believe, from personal experiences, and those of others, that animals do not treat a tent as if it were inhabited. A termite mound is solid, so a tent must be solid. If anything, whatever it is the animal can smell, hear, must be on the other side of the tent, never inside it. And therefore is unlikely to attempt to break into it, though quite capably. I have watched lions, hyaenas and leopards cautiously sniffing around tents without once attempting to enter. And there was dried meat in the tent! When sleeping in your tent at night, make sure the zip is firmly closed. The gauze windows are as much of a screen as the canvas walls so keep them open if you like.

Never have food in your tents. Meat will attract carnivores, sweets and biscuits attract rodents and squirrels. Monkeys will try everything. Yes we have a resident vervet monkey family that so far have not become habituated nor a problem, and we don’t want to encourage it. Ends up with us having to shoot them, and you don’t want to be responsible for that do you now? Leave all food of any sort locked up in the kitchen.

Other dangers perhaps not even considered are tent gye ropes, thorny bushes, springhare and aardvark holes, falling off the cliff, tree branches above tents breaking, bucket shower ropes breaking, paraffin lanterns causing fire, choking, allergies. It is essential we know about all allergies, if any.

 

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The Boteti Rock plunge pool is there for your comfort, it is not a swimming pool, and please do not jump into it. Boteti rock can make you bleed. Please take it easy when using it, especially children must be with an adult when swimming. Check there are no crocodiles in it! You just never know.

And most important …BE AWARE!

WATER AWARENESS

The Boteti River stopped flowing in the mid 1990s. Since then the water table has dropped below the riverbed to approximately 2 metres. Beyond both riverbanks the water is salty and very deep. The fresh water in the Boteti is recharged by the Okavango when it enters the Boteti near Maun. Hydrologists tell me the water is limited should the Boteti not receive water and that’s quite possible. So water is extremely precious in the area.

 

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I am assisting the Botswana Government with the supply of water for the park’s wildlife as they are under resourced. In the height of the dry season thousands of animals, mostly the zebra migration relies on our water supply and this is a full time effort. At times the animals are drinking as fast as we pump putting a lot of pressure on the supply and the stress on wildlife.

The camp water reticulation is designed around the authentic safari camp where we don’t have water on tap though we do have flush loos for your comfort. The water jugs and canvas basins help us maintain comforts and conserve water. A bucket shower is more than enough for one person if you switch it on and off between soaping up. Most couples manage one bucket for the two of them, and it’s very romantic! Please let us know whenever you want a shower and the housekeeping staff will fill the bucket for you. Please appreciate we cannot do showers too late at night.

When using the loos be aware of birds and squirrels falling in as they try and get a drink. Keep the loo seat and cover down after use. Please also notify us if the loo is not working properly and if it is leaking. We cannot afford to waste water. Remember that the Meno A Kwena waterhole is the only water supply for wildlife in the western Makgadikgadi Pans NP and so there is a lot of demand for water, even in the camp at times.

We all drink the water pumped out of the riverbed, but as you are not used to it, please drink bottled water. The pumped water is clean and safe for bathing and washing as it is filtered through Kalahari sands.

And another thing …BE AWARE!

CULTURAL AWARENESS

It is my commitment to maximise benefits to the rural peoples of the area and so employees are sought from the nearby village and farmlands. All the staff are from the area, they are rural dwellers living simple lives based on pastoralism. These Batswana still maintain strong conservative values built on their culture. They are extremely gentle, unobtrusive in nature and quite shy as a result, especially as they are confronted with a completely new and unknown culture – foreigners and tourism.

 

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Safari tourism is new to the area, it is important to develop it within the constraints of the culture of the people, and so patiently and gently. We are progressing sufficiently and with terrific results. All the staff at Meno A Kwena Tented Camp has been trained here in camp, and is learning to appreciate the importance of wildlife as it creates work opportunities. I encourage other benefits to the community through sourcing building materials, skilled craftspeople, and working with the village primary school where my staff’s children attend.

Unlike most safari camps and lodges in Africa where rural people don’t live in close proximity, as is the case here at Meno A Kwena, I have an open door policy to welcome local visitors to the camp in an attempt to educate and allow a sense of involvement amongst the people who lease their tribal land to us.

The Batswana names of the people are difficult for foreigners to remember and pronounce so don’t worry about it too much. If you refer to ‘Sir’ as ‘Rra’, and ‘Madam’ as ‘Mma’ you will get the response as much as if using their names. ‘Dumela’ is the word used for greetings. So…

“Dumela Mma” “Hello Madam”

“Dumela Rra” “Hello Sir”

“Gosiame!” (Kgo-see-um-mee) “Okay” “Fine” …“Cool!”

Remember …BE AWARE!

WILDLIFE AWARENESS

Besides the safety factor for our guests, it is important to be aware of and respect the wildlife coming for a desperate drink. Understand that visits to the waterhole are the most stressful times of their lives. Predators often take advantage of this concentration of food for them. This is their land, they don’t have much left and so we ought to respect that. The camp’s location at the only waterhole in the area for so many animals and birds puts a lot of pressure on them. It is considerate of us to remain quiet and to not move around within view of the wildlife coming to drink. So please, when on the edge of the riverbank keep voices monotone and avoid moving around too much. Our presence is alarming to them and sound travels further than it would seem.

There is an old tribal law that discourages people from starting uncontrolled fires. The guilty person goes to jail until the grass grows back to the length it was before the fire started! Please be aware that a fire in this area will result in the deaths of many animals, there is no other water close to their grazing ranges. Please be very careful with fires, paraffin lanterns, matches and cigarettes.

 

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Birds are our biggest allies in the survival of our species. They eat most insects that carry disease that kills people. They are also fantastic alarm bells for cats, snakes and raptors. If you hear birds chattering wildly, urgently, it could be that there is something you ought to know about and so take precautions. Your guide will help you with the identification of the various birdcalls. The chattering vervet monkeys roosting in the fig tree in front of camp at night will very likely mean they have seen a cat - lion or leopard. Snorting wildebeest, zebra and kudu are also alarm calls. A trumpeting elephant could mean lion are about.

CONSERVATION AWARENESS

Every guest staying at Meno A Kwena Tented Camp is contributing to wildlife conservation and rural people development projects. Income generated from safaris goes back into the area, out of immediate necessity and for the long term benefits required to secure a future for our wildlife. The camp supports its own initiative – The Meno A Kwena Water For Life Project. The project benefits wildlife as much as the people in the area. It is crucial that wildlife benefits the people directly and not just through government.

 

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Please accept our apologies for the pumps running, at times through the night. This is necessary during the driest times when wildlife pressure is at its most extreme. We don’t have electricity to run quiet pumps and solar power is just not sufficient for the large numbers of animals coming to drink.

The proximity to camp of the new Makgadikgadi Pans National Park fence constructed to stop the wildlife/livestock conflict was the decision of the rural people of the area. I requested that they align it further from the camp but political, social, and cultural issues influenced the final decision. The fence has alleviated the conflict situation between wildlife and livestock but resulted in a new conflict. That of wildlife and fence. And so we are constantly monitoring the effects of the fence on wildlife and occasionally we have to rescue trapped wildlife. It is sometimes traumatic to witness but we do try and help where we can.

Awareness is the first step to conserving wildlife …BE AWARE!

GUEST AWARENESS

Remember that sound travels in the clean clear fresh air of the African bush. The thin canvas walls of the tents don’t muffle those intimate sounds travelling through the clean clear fresh air to the neighbouring tents! That’s why the honeymoon tent is at the end of camp and a slightly larger distance from the rest of the camp! We’ve had a few embarrassingly quiet breakfasts the morning after!

 

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I encourage families at the camp and so ask if the parents would take charge of their offspring and consider others. Children are magnets to predators so they should be disciplined more than normally allowed in the developed ‘nanny’ world anyway. I will personally throw any mischievous child into the lion pit if they don’t do what they are …TOLD! And the parents! Please would parents also respect that the camp is not a playground, it is a place to relax and enjoy the wildlife and nature. I encourage families with children to educate them, and to learn about nature and wildlife. So please, parents, consider that you are responsible for them, and particularly the safety factor. So running around and making a noise goes against all our efforts to be aware of the environment around us in camp.

Thank you very much for reading this and enjoy your stay as much as we do.”

- David Dugmore & Meno A Kwena Tented Camp Staff

OKAVANGO & BOTETI FLOOD

Strange unexpected things are happening to the new Okavango Delta flood sweeping through the already rain saturated flood plains. Our local rains this season were above average in comparison to the last few decades. The Angolan flood waters coming into Botswana are lower than expected after many reports of heavy rains in the catchment area. Last year’s Boteti flood pushed the water sixty kilometres beyond its furthest point, since the mid 1990s, to twenty kilometres from Meno A Kwena.

Despite the surprisingly low recorded water coming from Angola, the combination of last years flood saturated riverbed, and the locally rain filled delta, I am convinced the Boteti will flow beyond Meno A Kwena later this year. I am supposing it will arrive in September. The recent delta flood into the Thamalakane River flowing through Maun was a big surprise as it came from the Gomoti delta river system before the usual Boro River. This means that high delta water levels came from our local rains. I do believe the rains in Angola were later than usual, and so that is still to flow into the Thamalakane River …I expect in July.

I have taken up a new sport, not that I am very sporty, pointless really unless its being productive, like digging a waterhole, or piling rocks on top of water pipes to stop elephants pulling them out the ground. Kayaking! Who’d have believed? I have a fear of drowning. I have a deep respect for hippos. They both kill more people from drowning in Africa than white water rafting in the Zambezi!

John Sandenbergh and I are planning a kayak trip from Maun to Meno A Kwena when the river flows through to there. About a four day trip. And so yes I am in training, finally sorted out the balance thing. That took a little concentration, and a few dunks in the Thamalakane River.

John has climbed Mt Kilimanjaro and other mountain peaks, kayaked raging rivers in South Africa, and is now embarking on a new safari company doing kayak safaris in the Okavango Delta. So I need lots of exercise and training to keep up with him down the Boteti River in a few months. I asked John what reaction to expect from hippos as I kayaked through their highway!

“Oh. Um. No problem, huh. Just keep going, hope the river is deep enough …yeah! For them to pass underneath without tipping you over. Good luck, um, David.” Yeah right John …Thanks.

The Maun expatriate population settled along the banks of the river as the villagers took up residence further away from the mosquitoes and crocodiles. On one occasion, in front of the Watson’s house where the hippos hide in tall reeds by day, I did a spectacular tumble.

I heard a voice from their garden, “hey Mike, there’s someone in a kayak on the river, you got an air rifle?” Shaky lacking confidence, I was distracted from my balancing act on the water, learning the hard way to right a kayak in deep water. Ha ha guys!

Daily kayak training had me proficient enough to not capsize any longer. I even handled a kayak/hippo confrontation pretty well, again in front of the Watson’s house. I smelled the gaseous bubbles coming up from the river floor before I saw them, then a subtle hippo ripple amongst the wind ripples caught my eye. I took evasive action into the shallows close to the river bank, same time gauging the distance I would have to run to Bird Safaris’ property wall. The two hippos surfaced, exhaled and snorted. I tapped paddle to kayak to give them a bead on where I was hidden in the reeds. They approached, ears pricked, heads raised, I paddled away as they headed to where I was and made good my escape back to The Bridge Bar for a drink!

There is still a lot of water in the lower Okavango for this time of year. While kayaking the last few months, I have noticed how the river did slow a bit and the levels drop slightly, but it’s rising again and the current is getting stronger. I will let everyone know, what’s happening and then as it nears Meno A Kwena will be keeping a daily record of its speed and volume so we know exactly when to expect it at camp and give you all the fantastic news!

MIGRATION RETURNS

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The zebra and wildebeest migration started returning to Boteti in late May, a little earlier than expected as the saltpans from where they came dried up early despite some very good rains in the Gweta area. The Meno A Kwena lion family won’t complain, they’ve been struggling to find food since the migration left in November last year. A few herds of wildebeest did stay in the Boteti area throughout the summer rains, and the lions killed kudu antelope and anything else they could get their paws on. It’s a time we increase our awareness so they don’t get their claws into us and our guests at camp.

Hattie from The Herbivore Research Project in Moremi had a zebra collared in Moremi Game Reserve during last summer come to drink at Meno A Kwena waterhole this last week. This is good news as it means at least some zebra are using this ancient migratory route between Makgadikgadi Pans and the Okavango Delta. This will encourage others and therefore improve conditions for the whole population, thus increasing the numbers back to the carrying capacity potential one day. A fence between the pans and delta was decommissioned and removed a few years ago when the Makgadikgadi fence was constructed along the Boteti.

The pressure is on the Boteti waterholes and seeps now that the migration is fully concentrated at Meno A Kwena and Kumaga. It’s going to be interesting to see how the thirteen new waterholes created by Department of Wildlife & National Parks will be received by the water dependant migratory wildlife. Certainly, we have seen the riverbed sourced waterholes being utilised at Kumaga. Those away from the riverbed are not as much. This could be because the wildlife is accustomed to the Meno A Kwena and Kumaga areas, with reliable water since the river stopped flowing in the 1990s. It will take some time for them to find the new water locations and so will let you know later in the year. Meanwhile at Meno A Kwena we are pumping almost 24 hours a day getting hundred thousand litres of water to the wildlife demanding everything we can supply.

A lot of people ask if the river flowing through Meno A Kwena will reduce the numbers of wildlife coming to drink in front of camp. No, not really. Due to high steep cliffs, and farming activities along most of the riverbed boundary of Makgadikgadi Pans National Park the wildlife will still concentrate in limited areas at Meno A Kwena and Kumaga. So we will still see the impressively spectacular numbers of animals and birds, in fact the increased water available to wildlife will secure a better future for the migration and gradually increase their numbers over the next years. What we are very excited about is an increase in the variety of wildlife species moving back when the river is flowing. The change to the environment will be dramatically improved in every way.

WATER FOR LIFE PROJECTS

Just to remind you, and to notify newcomers to the Boteti Diaries, we started the Meno A Kwena Water for Life Trust to develop our wildlife conservation and rural community involvement projects. The awareness we have created over the years has generated generous contributions, though never enough, for the enormity of the responsibility we have been dedicated to. Its ongoing and despite the time and energy we put in it must not stop, that’s worse than not starting in the first place. Management and maintenance is extremely important.

So it is with appreciation and thanks to recent contributors – La Tavola magazine subscribers in Switzerland raised a very generous amount of P70 000 to go towards our environmental education project. Mike and Liane of Abendsonne Afrika in Germany donated €900 towards the White Rhino introduction to Makgadikgadi Pans National Park project. Mischa and Hanka who have been very supportive over the years have contributed the funds we need for two fire fighting units to help us secure the grazing in the park. The threat of fire to the zebra and wildebeest population’s survival is a dangerous reality.

The very horny girls can’t contain their flirting, like teenage farmers’ daughters stuck on the farm with a loaded shotgun next to Papa’s bed the last couple years! The two female white rhino that have been wandering around the Boteti for two years manless have a man now! They have been joined by a strapping male, just relocated to the area. He rode in on his mount, Mercedes, from Khama Rhino Sanctuary just a few hours ride away.

The male white rhino was in his boma for just a matter of days before the females came to ‘check out the new talent’. It was decided to release him so he could interact with the females who have established themselves in their new territory. Now its up to them to get a new breeding family started so we will see a new growing population of white rhino spread throughout the Makgadikgadi & Nxai Pans National Parks.

White rhino, or square lipped rhino, as sometimes referred as are extremely territorial. The male takes active steps to stop the female from leaving his territory until they mate when she is in oestrus. They have a gestation of 16 months after which they give birth to one calf. Weaning is at about a year old until which time the calf remains in very close proximity with its mother, usually running ahead of her unlike black rhino calves that run at her side or behind.

I really have to get this diary off, been too long since the last one in March, sorry about that but been really busy here the last few months, its gone crazy here in Botswana’s tourism industry! Good good, its gotta be the most in demand African country to visit, what with all the political strife going on elsewhere. Nothing like that here, and its getting better and better all the time. PULA!

Please note our new reservations email address and to welcome Anita Lindstrom who has taken over our booking system in Maun. Please do not use any other email address for reservations or any info about Kalahari Kavango and Meno A Kwena. Tjitske Post in Kenya is no longer involved with us in any way despite the evidence she wants to be!

I do have a concern though, that is the extremely unnatural style in which the national park buildings have been designed.  The entrance gates to the parks are looking more like suburbia, than an aesthetic first impression of the pristine wilderness people are entering.  Goes to show why Walt Disney is such a success, and how necessary creativity can be.  Whose plan was that?  …Um! …Go to Disneyland and learn something innovative, mate!!!

MENO  A  KWENA  WATER  FOR  LIFE  PROJECTS

“ACT 1:  THE VILLAGE

The stage is dark.  (If performed in a well-lit place, use a black shadow cloth.)  The only light is a small fire burning in front of the hut.  Sounds of people snoring, cows mooing softly and donkeys shuffling around can be heard but only the dark figures of these can be seen.  Suddenly a couple of animals let out a nervous cry and the others scurry around in a panic.  A pair of eyes appears from the darkness and moves around the front of the hut slowly, sniffing and scratching.  Someone in the hut wakes up to the noise of the agitated cattle   He shouts “lion,” and this wakes everyone else up.  The people in the house get up and start banging pots and pans.   A shot is heard, and the lion runs away.  The choir sings a note conveying danger and fear.

The next morning.  Three kids are playing in front of the hut/cattle post.  One is pretending to be a lion and two others cows.  The lion lurks around and eventually pounces on one of the cows and starts pretending to eat it.  Two adult men (Obi’s father and his friend) are walking around looking for tracks, obviously very distressed.   The men herd some cows (just using hand motions) into the gate, which is a hole in the backdrop.  They walk through as well closing the gate behind and then come back on stage through the entrance to the kgotla…  They are excited, angry, energetic.

Five men are standing around the kgotla, chatting to each other.  There is a sense of tension.”

The above extract is from a play we are producing for the Moreomaoto Village Primary School to perform to our guests at Meno a Kwena Tented Camp.  Courtney Jones wrote the play after volunteering for us in 2006.  The production is designed to educate the school kids about how safari tourism is beneficial to them and their environment, once they have learned to understand it.  Yes a comedy!  And a musical.

The recently delivered set of six traditional marimba (xylophone) musical instruments, to the village school, was acknowledged with great enthusiasm by the Deputy Head Teacher, Mma Pearl.  The instruments were made possible from funds raised by the readers of La Tavola magazine in Switzerland.  We have sourced a marimba player to teach the children to play them, as part of their traditional dancing and singing repertoire to practice, until we produce music for the play.

We are assisting with various wildlife conservation and community development projects we have identified as priorities for the encouragement of environmental awareness.  Our trust has been officially registered to accept tax free donations for these projects.  We are in the process of setting up promotional material, and creating our website for maximum global awareness.

At some point soon, I will detail our projects, and what is required.  It is our mission to create awareness to potential donors of the importance of understanding the threats to the environment in developing countries.  Our aim is to develop sustainable tourism potential for maximised benefits to the people of Botswana.  This is necessary for the preservation of our threatened wildlife and habitats.  Our efforts involve more than the basic benefits of employment and income to the country.  Education comes from opportunity - we are helping the government of this dynamic country provide that opportunity at every level.

Our present and proposed projects include environmental education at the local village primary school.  Supplying desperately needed water to wildlife, their dependency on us is the result of fences blocking their access to water.  White rhino rehabilitation, after decades of human encroachment wiped them out of the area.  Assisting government with National Park wildlife management on a crisis level, particularly relieving fire threats.  Creating a community owned tourism enterprise with maximised benefits to the people of the Boteti.  Encouraging local industry to support our tourism venture.  Giving the rural people of the area the benefit of the doubt as they learn to understand this new tourism industry, particularly when considering the impact it has on their culture.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and express appreciation for the recent support from Mischa and Hanka Tryzna and (artist friend) for their contribution of funds towards water provision for the Boteti wildlife.  To Kristine Hannon who went to a lot of effort to raise funds at her ‘Botswana presentation’ in Belgium to raise funds for our community projects.  Kristine’s website is… www.traveltheglobe.be.  To Desert & Delta Safaris for their speedy action in supplying the materials for the construction of the rhino holding enclosure.  To the Meno a Kwena Tented Camp & Safaris guests who gave cash donations while on safari with us.  This appreciation goes specifically to these people’s compassionate obligation to the planet’s environment.  Isn’t that what all this is about?  Global environmental obligation!

A  LUXURIOUS  RHINO  PALACE!

The proposed male white rhino relocation plans for the Boteti in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park is moving ahead with the recent completion of the holding enclosure by Desert & Delta Safaris.  Ms Mercy Masedi, the National Rhino Coordinator for DWNP will be doing a site inspection of the new structure, in which the rhinos will become acclimatised to their new home.  She says the plan is to release two males in April, one after the other, as the enclosure has been designed to hold one animal at a time.  I will update everyone after our meeting in my next diaries.

The two resident female rhinos are spending a lot of time close to the hippo pool at Kumaga, a thirty minute drive from Meno a Kwena.  We saw them with guests in mid March, which was brilliant as the guests were not happy to be on safari with us, saying they felt Meno a Kwena Tented Camp was a bit too rustic!  They expected a luxury lodge with air conditioning and teak decks!

Patrick, our Camp Manager, and I were somewhat worried at 8.00 pm the night after they set out at 8.00 am for a day trip into Nxai Pan…  they had not returned to camp!  We were considering a rescue plan, and thinking the worst case scenario, unhappy high expectations of luxury guests stuck in the mud at Baines Baobabs until late at night!  That would have been the straw that broke the camel’s back for these people.  Their agent was interested to know their comments having never been to my camp.  Bummer!  Then we heard the diesel land cruiser approaching!  Thank goodness for that!  Was not in the mood for an all night Kalahari rescue plan, especially as I felt these people did not deserve rescuing!

Turns out the reason they were late returning to camp was a leopard sighting at Nxai Pan which thrilled the guests …and the rare sighting of the two white rhinos at Kumaga!  Wow!  Brilliant!  Thank God!!!  The guests had forgotten all about the lack of chandeliers in camp, they realised there was more to luxury than that.  Dabe, their guide, was a real star, opening their eyes to a newfound magnificence, and of course, luxury is relative at the end of the day.  Yes, we here will agree that the luxury in our lives comes from being a part of nature… we are so fortunate to be able to have this.  When we can instill this appreciation in our guests, especially those ignorant to it, then we have done our work properly.

TWENTY  CHICKENS  FOR  A  SADDLE

Late in 2007 Jenny Dunlop, family friend and Morula School teacher in Selebi Phikwe, visited camp with her friend Linda Scott, and daughter Lulu.  I was thrilled to learn about the Scott family’s creative efforts to do their bit for Botswana.  Their innovative idea to encourage self-employment amongst the villagers, with crafted wire and beads, made from rolled varnished magazine paper, really impressed me.  I had never seen that before, so simple, yet very effective.  I was also very interested in Linda’s other daughter, no not in that way …they are very pretty though!!!, Robyn’s creativity, a new book called ‘Twenty Chickens for a Saddle’.  Great title for a story about Botswana!  I would like to share this with you, as we all ought to be reading these stories, we so can relate to.  Yes, we do all have our ‘African childhood’ stories but it’s not very often one does anything about publishing them, and in turn compassionately supporting the less fortunate members of our society.  Have a look at the intro’ I copied from their website, really cool…

“Twenty Chickens for a Saddle, a story that begins when six year old Robyn Scott’s parents abruptly exchange the tranquil pastures of New Zealand for a converted cowshed in the wilds of Botswana.  There, falling in love with the country where Robyn’s eccentric grandfather had served as pilot to Seretse Khama, Botswana’s first president, Linda and Keith Scott set off in his pioneering and unconventional footsteps.  Their three small children, mostly left to amuse themselves, grow up collecting snakes, canoeing with crocodiles and breaking in horses in the veld.

This is the funny and moving account of the family’s fifteen years in Botswana, during which Linda haphazardly and single-handedly home schools Robyn, Damien and Lulu, while Keith runs a flying doctor practice, attempting, with erratic success, to adapt to the unique demands of rural clinics and the growing burden of AIDS.  The book remains throughout an uplifting, engaging and deeply affectionate portrayal of an extraordinary place and family.”

‘Mothers for All’, is an AIDS orphans’ support organisation established by proceeds generated from book sales.  Check out their website for more intriguing information about AIDS in Botswana, and the goodwill project… www.mothers4all.org.

I  HATE  CHRISTMAS!

Ever since a terrible car accident in Zimbabwe, just before Christmas of 1983, took my brother Alan’s young life, I have had mixed feelings about the festive season.  Yes, a time to celebrate and give was also a time to take.  Our family was about to meet for our usual very festive Christmas celebration that my Mum, Cookie, so loved.  Since leaving school, we had all gone our separate ways, but Christmas was always spent together.  Cookie looked forward to it all year long, to being with her four sons at Christmas time!  The devastation of Alan’s death just before Christmas has been with us all ever since.  Especially for Alan’s Mum, our friend and crazy purple Mother, Cookie, who has relived that terrible night every Christmas since.

It didn’t seem unusual for Cookie to tell a friend this last Christmas that she had strong feelings… even visions, that Alan felt very close to her.  Extraordinary, she said.  As she does, in very Cookie fashion!  She had been admitted to a Gaborone hospital a few days before Christmas, for what turned out to be a chest infection.  Nothing life threatening.  She would be out on Boxing Day, the doctors said.  God she hated being in hospital.  Especially as she was booked to fly to Maun the day after Boxing Day.  To come to Meno a Kwena Tented Camp for New Year celebrations there with my Brothers and I, her nieces, Leslie and Bridgitte, friends and other animals!

There were the usual Christmas wishes phone calls, especially appreciated as Cookie wasn’t having fun, there were many, and friends going into hospital with flowers and gifts to cheer her up.  My Bothers and I should have been there, I know that’s what she needed most.  She repeated that she felt very close to Alan.  Then she was gone!  …Gone to Alan.

I suppose if there is any consolation, it would suffice to know that at least Cookie, who adored her sons, and despite leaving three of us behind, at least had one to welcome her.  That in a sense makes it a bit easier for us to lose her, knowing she wasn’t too afraid, she had Alan to take her by the hand… I can picture that!

My Brothers and I unanimously agreed that we would hold a “Celebration of Cookie’s Life and Laughter” at Meno a Kwena.  She loved her time when visiting camp.  The peace and tranquility, the commanding territorial roar of lions in front of her tent at night just when she needed to pee… “Oh my Lordy!”   The camp staff were so considerate towards her, treating her like a Mosadi (Mogolo).  Camp guests loved her stories at supper of a ‘hunter’s wife in Africa’.  Cookie was ever so interested and concerned about the plight of the wildlife at Boteti that she made a considerable contribution to our efforts to keep the migration alive with desperately needed water.  She loathed the negative effects of development and progress on our environment and so shied away from modernisation and materialistic values.  Her ashes were scattered in the Boteti Riverbed, in the one place she loved, close to her boys.

PRESIDENT  MOGAE  RETIRES

Festus Gontebanye Mogae, born 21 August 1939, retired in March 2008 after his second term in the Office of the President of Botswana.  He is a native of the Bamangwato tribe, from Ngwato District, also known as Central District, where Meno a Kwena is located.  Mogae studied economics at the University of Sussex and then at Oxford in the UK.  On his return to Botswana he worked as a civil servant before taking up posts with the IMF and Bank of Botswana.  He was Vice President of Botswana from 1992 to 1998.  Mogae promised to tackle poverty and unemployment, as well pledging to stop the spread of HIV-AIDS by 2016.

Seretse Khama Ian Khama takes the Office of the President of Botswana from Mogae after his term as Vice President.  Khama is the Paramount Chief of the Bamangwato tribe.  He is the firstborn son of Sir Seretse Khama, the country’s foremost independence leader, presiding over the people of Botswana from 1966 to 1980.  Khama was married to Lady Ruth Williams Khama.  Ian Khama is the fourth president of Botswana - the next general election is planned for October 2009.  Khama has served as the military commander of the Botswana Defense Force and is a qualified pilot.

In 2007 Khama appeared on the BBC Top Gear motoring programme.  In his short appearance he met the presenters Clarkson, May and Hammond as they prepared to brave the Makgadikgadi Pans crossing, in the most unlikely old two-wheel drive saloon cars!

At the end of September one of our saltpans experience safaris was ready to head out into the middle of the saltpans from base camp, on the edge of this vast flat dry lake bed.  The intense heat building up the last week was unusual for the end of the winter, should have been a lot milder.  There was no distinguishing where the pan surface met the sky, the horizon shimmered ahead of the quad bike safari convoy as they entered the 13,000 sq km pans.  Hot salty dust air stung sunburned faces, eyes squinting from intense light reflecting off scorched bone white saltpan.

“…The heat was hot and the ground was dry but the air was full of sound…”

Two hours later at the pans camp in the middle of absolutely nowhere, the sun was low in the sky as it quickly approached the curved earth surface to suck with it the day’s heat and light.  The first stars appeared before the sun was gone, not a cloud to be seen, as has been the case for months since the end of the rains in May.  Relief!  The deadly beautiful quiet night under the stars was perfectly cool.  Supper, drinks round the campfire, then bed under the stars, has got to be one of the most incredible experiences ever.  To lie there looking up at the big wide starry sky above, fighting to keep eyes open, is mesmerising.  Waiting for just one more shooting star, or meteor shower, to not waste a second of it …impossible to describe it really, one has to experience it oneself, like an orgasm!

I tried describing it to my kids …orgasm that is …when they reached teenagerhood.  “Yuk Dad!!!”  See what I mean…

My eyes were closed, yet aware of a flash of light that was gone by the time I opened them.  Must have been a huge meteor shower or asteroid burning up there.  The light appeared again a second later, on the horizon …lightning!  Yes lightning far off to the north.  The first real sign of rain this season.  Great!  Or maybe not so great!  Far enough away to not be a problem for us???  I don’t know, out in the middle of one of the biggest inland depressions in Southern Africa is not the best place to be in a thunderous Kalahari storm!  You think I could sleep after that?  No bloody way!  Got up and lit a smoke.  My eyes glued to the constantly flashing northern horizon.  It was beautiful.  Ten minutes later I was convinced the flashing sky was moving closer.  Had a pee, another smoke.  An hour later, shit!  It’s definitely coming.  It was 11pm, the guests were asleep.  I wondered if anyone else was aware.  I called to Steve in his bedroll a hundred metres from me.  Mmmm?  Steve, look to the north.  Mmmm…shit, he replied!!!

The first gust of wind hit without warning.  No trees or grass to rustle the alarm.  It hit like a speeding train hits the compressed air in a tunnel.  Like a St Bernhard dog’s bark …WOOOOOFFFF!  That was when the tables and chairs went flying.  The gusts came in waves picking up camp equipment, knocking things over, dust, canvas, pots and pans crashing, smashing glasses and plates.  The emergency tents were rocking far off in the distance.  They are there for this very reason, in case of unexpected storms in the dry season.  The wind speed increased, the gusts intensified, tents seemed to disintegrate as guy ropes snapped, fly sheets stripped, tents collapsed.

The rain hit shortly afterwards, reinforcing the powerful frontline wind.  Despite us taking shelter in the remaining stubborn tents the rain pelted the pan with so much water that by morning what was left of the camp was standing in a foot deep lake that stretched as far as the eye could see!  It took three hours to travel by quads back to the shoreline through the water.  The tracks were not visible at all, we needed jet skis, not quadbikes!

“…‘Cos the desert had turned to sea…”

OKAVANGO FLOOD BIG BOOST FOR BOTETI RIVER

Despite our long and very dry season this year the Angolan rains were higher than average last summer, water levels in the Okavango Delta are spectacular!  The delta has filled to the point it is overflowing water into the Boteti River in greater quantities than we have seen since the mid 1990s.  The Boteti River water is still moving downstream along its riverbed, dry since 1995.

In my last Boteti Diaries in September I wrote that the water would reach us in October, this is not the case, it has so much dry riverbed to fill before it reaches Meno A Kwena.  The river has slowed somewhat, levels in Maun are dropping, and little rain has fallen over the eco system since it started at the end of September.  It’s more likely we will have better rain in November, and so keeping the faith strong for it to keep on keeping on.

The water recently arrived at Moreomaoto Village where it’s causing much entertainment and excitement amongst the villagers.  It’s a huge social event causing great joy and interest, everyone is smiling uncontrollably.  The children who have never seen water in their riverbed are in awe, their pets are inquisitive and not quite sure what to make of it.  A narrow section of fast flowing water was a good spot to catch fish.  Otomilwe, one of my camp staff was with friends.  They were catching small 15cm bream with a net made from mesh wire.  A small fire on the bank acted as a grill next to which was a pile of salt on a plastic bag.  The little fishes were literally caught, thrown on the fire, sprinkled with salt, and the flesh sucked off the bone.  Salty sandy grilled fish, very nice smoky flavour …delicious!  It’s hard to believe after all these years living on the banks of a depressingly dry riverbed.

Stories are already being published in our local papers of crocodiles killing livestock in the Boteti.  Yup, the river, as life giving as it is, can also be extremely dangerous as crocodiles move into the deep dark depths of opportunity.  There are numerous deep wells left abandoned in the recently flooded riverbed as the water flowed into them in the middle of the night.  The under fifteen year olds will not know how to swim.  We are initiating a project with the Moreomaoto Village Primary School to educate them of these dangers and to learn to swim in our camp swimming pool, under supervision.  It did cross my mind that perhaps this is not as positive an idea as it may seem.  Africans are not encouraged to swim as all rivers most likely have crocodiles in them!  Livestock had access to both sides of the riverbed - that will have to change and further limit grazing especially during the driest months.

I will write about the water when it arrives at the boundary of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park where wildlife will have access to the river for the first time in over a decade.  It will stop the elephants coming into camp to drink water from the swimming pool!  The water is, as of today, less than 20 kms from Meno a Kwena.  We need the rain now!!!  The flow of water is finger biting frustratingly close to us, yet has so many odds against it flowing much further.

LOST LION CUBS STILL ALIVE!!!

The new Makgadikgadi Pans National Park fence was constructed by the government as a ceasefire gesture to the wildlife/livestock conflict that was resulting in extreme pressure on the survival of wildlife in the area.  Its success eventually became evident when we noticed wildlife behaviour adapting to the security positively, especially amongst our lion population that was dependant on livestock during the wet season when the migration left the pride’s territory.  They were becoming habituated, from a distance, to our presence hence increased sightings of the pride in daylight hours.

We had great excitement in late 2006 when we saw the first cubs in the Meno a Kwena pride since the fence went up in 2004.  Three of them.  But then reports of lion shootings in March 2007 had us very worried.  We no longer saw the cubs, nor their mother in the area, and assumed the worst.  The rest of the pride of five lions was still intact throughout the dry season, though a lot less tolerant of people than at the end of 2006.

And then, incredibly, while checking on the waterholes and pumps at night, just over a month ago, I was blown away with surprise when, in the car lights ahead, thirteen lions.  The two males nervously faded away into the darkness, four adult females, three one year old cubs, four three month old cubs, all huddled together drinking.  There were another two lions calling far away in the distance inside the national park.  I was particularly surprised at how relatively calm they were about the car lights on them.  Something they were not happy with in the past.

A good predator population is a good indicator of a healthy balanced environment.  This is a sign that conditions are improving and makes me quite happy.  I do still worry about the possibility of them going into the livestock areas now that the zebra and wildebeest migration has gone, they are their speciality prey species here.  If they cannot get through the fence then they will either have to learn new hunting tactics to specialise in hunting kudu antelope that are plentiful, or attempt to move far from their territory to look for other sources of food.  Whatever happens, the pride is in for a very tough time until the migration returns at the end of the rains in about May or June.

LION HUNTING BAN

Most of our foreign guests are surprised that there is still a big hunting industry in Botswana, and the rest of Africa.  I think they assume that as Botswana has a good wildlife conservation record they would not allow hunting safaris.  Actually, I tell them, hunting is very much a part of wildlife conservation through sustainable resource utilisation, if it is sustainably managed.  I personally don’t concur to trophy hunting, rather getting my rocks off on shooting them with a camera!  …And I shoot a helluva lot!

The government has yet again put a blanket ban on the killing of lions in Botswana!  The ban was put in place a number of years ago and lifted for the last two hunting seasons.  I am happy about this as there is too much indiscriminate killing of predators, but do believe more than hunting bans are necessary to conserve wildlife.  Wildlife in a geographic sense has to be of some sort of value to be considered viable.

Below are some comments about the reason why commercial hunting has an important place in conservation.  It’s down to the utilisation of marginal wildlife areas where livestock pressure is threatening wildlife sanctuaries.  Controlled trophy hunting acts as a necessary buffer between livestock ranch lands and protected national parks and reserves.  As the situation stands right now in Botswana, as an environmentalist, I accept that sustainable controlled hunting is the better option than livestock.  Non hunting tourism is not viable in these marginal areas at this stage, though definitely has potential for future development, and as wildlife corridors between the more productive protected wildlife areas.

“Lets not cloud the issue with animal welfare and hunting ethics debates.” - L. Patterson
Kalahari Game Services

“The best case scenario for predators is a network of protected areas linked by areas through which predators can move freely nationally and internationally.” - Graham Hemson (D.Phil),

“I personally believe that lions and cheetah are deeper in the red, genetically, in population status and human confrontation than what we’ve been led to believe.” - Tony Reumerman Wilderness Safaris Botswana

“A balance of farm management and wildlife management, including the removal of individuals that are chronic livestock predators, is the way forward on this issue.” - Matthew Swarner Graduate Group in Ecology, U.C. Davis

“The wildlife Department took a long time to follow up reported livestock killings and then they didn’t believe us.”

“I wish we could kill wildlife when it kills livestock, instead of getting little compensation money from the government.” - Livestock farmer, Moreomaoto Village.

“I raise cattle on communal range in Southern Kgalagadi where we are having a severe drought. The nearest good grazing at present is over 10 kilometres away and my animals are coming in for water, on average, every 2.5 days with some coming every third or fourth day.  By October, if it doesn’t rain, I expect the majority to return for water every fourth day. It is not possible to kraal animals in these circumstances.”

“While it’s true that the economic cost of predation is small at the national scale, it can be devastating for the individual farmer - a pride of lions can and will kill two adult cattle a week.  You need a very large herd to sustain that level of loss.” - Richard White. “I farm at a cattle post near Tsabong”

“We anticipate that the researchers and conservationists will reply to say that they need more information and need to do lots of clever things like tracking movements, counting populations etc. etc. BUT this is effecting the livelihoods of farmers NOW and their viability has a knock on effect on employment of workers etc.” - Kalahari Game Ranchers Association

“Lewis farms cattle on farm 188NL in the Ghanzi district - he is plagued by lion.  On the 23rd March he noticed an incursion of a group of lion- thought to be 3 young adults one older one (mother?) and 3 or 4 cubs.  He informed DWNP who asked that the lion not be shot as they would like to capture and translocate.  DWNP then deployed with assistance from BDF who were / are interested in catching the cubs for their own purposes.  They have been unsuccessful despite around 15 personnel with 3 vehicles being part of the team.  Around 15 May the owner not being happy with lack of results took an active role and deployed his own vehicles and staff to assist.  I think at that point permission was given to shoot 1 lion in the hope of chasing the group away.  During this exercise they identified a further 3 big males active on the property and the adjacent farms, the lions modus operandi being to enter at night kill eat and then depart.  From May 18 to date they have verified 22 cattle kills, 4 gemsbok, 2 hartebeest - these verifiable - in all probability more.  Last Friday due to continued lack of success the farmer was given permission to shoot them all.” - Gavin Richards Kanana Wilderness.

“The fence is successful in separating wildlife from livestock, but not stopping poaching.” - Kumaga Village resident.

“Some of us will be involved in tourism in the future and have a better life.” - Boteti Resident

“When conducting research in a hunting area we should also have realistic expectations.  As a researcher you cannot expect to collar a significant proportion of the limited number of trophy predators in an area and in doing so deny the operator access to a resource that is part of his business, especially when we are conducting long term projects.  We do need good communication with the hunting operators regarding specific collared animals to ensure that we do not lose a critical study animal at a time crucial to the study instead of relying on a blanket hunting ban of collared animals.” - Christiaan and Hanlie Winterbach

“The other big issue is compensation.  Botswana is one of the few countries in Africa that compensates for wildlife damage.  Although we can appreciate the support, whilst good in theory, in practice it is very difficult to maintain and run effectively.  Other options are no compensation at all, community run compensation schemes and insurance schemes.

It does become more difficult to deter predators in a game farming situation.  It is one thing to deter predators away from livestock towards their natural prey.  However, on game farms this is what they find in abundance. The options are more limited:

1. Regular boundary patrols - one of the most effective deterrents for predators is human presence.

2. Effective fencing and swing gates - these gates can be effective in excluding predator species.  They allow entrance to hole digging animals like warthogs but are not recognized as entrances by predators.

3. Conservancies.

4. Sustainable utilisation.

What about the idea of a predator hotline? I heard they were launching this idea in Namibia. When farmers have a proven problem animal the hotline is called and a hunting safari operator is alerted that the animal is available. Could such a thing work somewhere like Ghanzi?

What about the old system mentioned by Richard White, where a proven problem animal could be shot and the trophy sold?  What were the reasons this was discontinued?”

- Rebecca Klein, Cheetah Conservation Botswana

NEW HIPPO POOL

Now here is a pretty picture, let your imagination go and you may even smell it!

Pour into a bath tub, until two thirds full, a concoction of shit, slimy terracotta clay and algae.  Fill the rest of the tub with sulphurous concentrated water, real smelly stuff.  Add to that enough salt to make the muck three times saltier than sea water.  Add a few rotting animal carcasses infested with maggots.  Now get in it …and try to enjoy your wallow, the only one you have, and you need it to survive, SO GET IN!!!

As said before, the Boteti River previously flowed to the Makgadikgadi Saltpans until it dried up in the 1990s.  One large depression in the riverbed at Kumaga exposes the water table and so most of the hippos that once lived in the Boteti either escaped into the Okavango Delta, or were trapped here for the last decade, with nowhere to go.  There were probably over 50 hippos stranded there in the late 1990s.  Now there are seven, the rest died of starvation, or were killed by adult bulls.  They have been living in this filthy muck of excrement, sulphur, salt, rotting carcasses, and God knows what else for a decade now.  The water is toxic to drink and so the hippos will wander along the riverbed to look for water where elephants have dug into cleaner seeps.

I am happy to say that on my last trip in the Kumaga area was pleasantly surprised to see a much happier group of hippos in their new swimming pool!  Ian Khama, Botswana’s Vice President, and President to be next year, commissioned the excavation of a new pool with much much cleaner fresher water, and better still, deep enough for them to completely submerge under the surface.  Their old pool was too shallow from so much junk.

NEW PARK WATERHOLES

A brief note to say the construction of the last two of thirteen new waterholes in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park is almost complete.  This is going to make a huge difference to the wildlife when they return to Boteti next dry season.  As of next year we expect to see the end of the fifty year steady decline of the largest zebra and wildebeest migration in Southern Africa.  These new waterholes will decrease the unacceptably large wildlife concentrations at Meno a Kwena and Kumaga, as we have had over the last four years.

Despite the possibility of the river flowing through the area again, the new waterholes will still be necessary since the new fence does stop wildlife access to its water along most of the length of the riverbed.

PYTHON IN THE BATH!

The wildlife coming to the vicinity of camp is attracted by the water we supply for them, both the large animals to the waterholes, and birds flocking to our birdbaths in camp.  The birdbaths are a hive of activity all day long as the conditions are ideal for them, particularly as they have habituated to the relative safety due to predators being more wary of people.

A guest was riveted to the never ending flurry of birds, camera clicking away, when all of a sudden the birdbath water exploded like a fountain!  The birds fled into the thick thorny acacia bush above, all but one.  The python, wrapped itself around the small finch in a death lock for a few minutes before starting the process of swallowing.  This has turned out to be a regular occurrence for the opportunistic predator that we see lying in wait in the birdbath most days now.

STUDENT VETS

Animal vets and nurses recruited in the UK by the Maun Animal Welfare Society come to Botswana to assist making the village cats’ and dogs’ miserable lives somewhat better.  A team of them came to stay at Meno a Kwena Tented Camp while they worked in Motopi and Moreomaoto villages nearby.  I like the concept, as it really helps to control the ever increasing domestic pet population that will ultimately result in disease and encroachment affecting our wildlife.

Mervyn Palmer, who arranged this project, explained to me that the benefits to the villagers were a controlled healthier population of domestic animals.  The animals were spayed to prevent excessively high over populations that resulted in unhealthy physical condition of individuals.  On some occasions the villagers requested that their pets be put to sleep as they could not afford to keep them.  Very often the pets were injured, or suffering from illness that required treatment.  I hope these visits become a regular occurrence in our area to reduce the human/wildlife confrontation further, perhaps even to treat wildlife that we often find injured as a result of the park fence.

NEW TV DVD PLAYER FOR SCHOOL

The incredible couple Mike and Margaret Hingley drove into Maun in their old Land Rover shipped out from the UK.  It is an inspiration to see this relentlessly adventurous couple of characters, in their 70s, doing what most people can only be bothered to watch on The Travel Channel, or National Geographic.  They spend months on the road crisscrossing Southern Africa.  On their last visit to Meno a Kwena they brought materials for the local primary school, books, pens, games, posters, their Landy was a Christmas sled and Mike was St Nicholas with his fluffy white beard …ho ho ho!

This time they arrived with the gesture of cash they had raised to buy the primary school a television set and DVD player.  We went to Atlantis Electronics shop here in Maun to purchase the equipment.  I explained to the owner of the shop that Mike and Margaret were here to help us with our school environmental education project.  The plan is to give the school natural history DVDs.  These are easy for people, who want to contribute to our projects, to bring out when they come on safaris with us.  Atlantis very kindly offered to contribute too and gave us the DVD player for free.  This meant we could buy a bigger screen TV set as I am very sure the whole school will be watching every time they watch a movie.

I asked Liam, one of the volunteers in camp, to go to the school to help set it up for them.  The head teacher and teachers were so fired up about the gift they arranged for the traditional dance group to put on an impressive display for Mike and Margaret to show their appreciation.  Liam told me one of the teachers was so keen on how the system worked that he couldn’t help notice she was holding a DVD of her own.  The Gods Must Be Crazy!  I suppose we are going to have to accept that a certain amount of abuse has potential.  Still, I can’t help but give them the benefit of the doubt.  We are all guilty of that, aren’t we…
FOOT & MOUTH OUTBREAK!

The recent paranoia outbreak in Northern Botswana has resulted in paranoia alerts that have resulted in paranoia restrictions that have resulted in paranoia action.  The road to Meno a Kwena involves a detox at Makalamabedi vetenary fence.  It’s quite an event.  On the road transfer to camp, I tell my guests they have to stand on the pesticide soaked mat then put their foot in their mouth!  This is how they control foot and mouth in Africa!  The most gullible ones do give me that ‘you gottabejoking’ look.

VISIT TO MOREMI ‘CIRCUS’ GAME RESERVE

I haven’t been to Moremi Game Reserve in a long time.  Must be a few years, been tied up down Boteti way.  One of the things I love most about the Kalahari, besides the stunning wildlife, is the fact we can experience it almost exclusively.  Yes that will change with the growing interest in the region as the Okavango and Chobe become saturated with safari visitors.

Moremi has got to be one of the most pristine and beautiful wildlife protected reserves in Africa.  And everyone wants to go there.  What pisses me off is how very little respect and control of this precious place is maintained.

We came across a pride of lions on the banks of the Khwai River, male consorts, their queens and five cub princes.  My Brother Roger stopped the car on the track a hundred metres from them, a well placed position of precision.  Half a dozen ‘paparazzi’ safari lodge vehicles encircled the pride in the open plain, off the track, breaking the law of the jungle.  Too close.  One by one the annoyed royals got up to go get some space.  They padded towards us in single file.  We dipped our heads, they confidently passed by the vehicle within five yards of us.  The paparazzi were relentless as they raced towards the pride in an attempt to cut them off.  The lions were obviously distressed and clambered into the nearest thickest bush to hide for the day.

I dedicate the song ‘A Horse With No Name’, by the band America, to everyone who lives in, works and visits the Okavango River Delta.  This is my choice of an appropriate soundtrack for the Boteti Diaries.

A Horse with No Name - America

On the first part of the journey

I was looking at all the life

There were plants and birds and rocks and things

There was sand and hills and rings

The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz

And the sky with no clouds

The heat was hot and the ground was dry

But the air was full of sound

I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name

It felt good to be out of the rain

In the desert you can remember your name

‘cos there ain’t no one for to give you no pain

La la …la la la la la…

After two days in the desert sun

My skin began to turn red

After three days in the desert fun

I was looking at a river bed

And the story it told of a river that flowed

Made me sad to think it was dead

You see I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name

It felt good to be out of the rain

In the desert you can remember your name

‘cos there ain’t no one for to give you no pain

La la …la la la la la…

After nine days I let the horse run free

‘cos the desert had turned to sea

There were plants and birds and rocks and things

There was sand and hills and rings

The ocean is a desert with its life underground

And a perfect disguise above

Under the cities lies a heart made of ground

But the humans will give no love

You see I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name

It felt good to be out of the rain

In the desert you can remember your name

‘cos there ain’t no one for to give you no pain

La la …la la la la la…

It makes me happy, these recent high levels of water flowing into the Delta.  This is rainwater that fell in Angola during the last rainy season that ended in May this year.  Sadly just not enough to flow the 120 km down the Boteti River to Meno a Kwena.  And it’s a sad sight for me to see twenty zebra in Maun Game Reserve with a lot more water than our twenty thousand desperately thirsty zebra have in the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park.  Unjust.  Unfair.

…and the Beautiful Botswana Blue Boteti River!

Summer has started earlier than expected.  August was more like September, and now in September we are experiencing intensely hot October weather.  I suppose the dryness after our last poor rainy season in Botswana makes the environment appear more desolate.  Leafless woodland.  No grass on the plains.  Colourless grey bush.  Sand and dust everywhere…everywhere…

…Except the big Botswana blue Boteti River snaking its way through the big dry colourless Kalahari Desert, pushing its way with steady vitality towards the distant Makgadikgadi Saltpans.  The massive river filled with water is actually quite dramatic to see, as it is such a contrast to the unwelcoming countryside beyond the high riverbanks.

The higher the Okavango water levels, the further the Boteti flows into the Kalahari.  The water has now flowed beyond the last 15 years’ flood extent, which was Chanoga Village, about thirty kilometres from Maun and the Thamalakane River.  The big Botswana blue Boteti is now pushing eighty kilometres from Maun, and will flow through Motopi Village Bridge any day now.  That leaves just thirty km to go until it gets to Meno a Kwena.  There are many influencing factors to consider.  What the hell!!!  I am positive and expect the river to reach camp in the next month.  PULA!!! …It will!!!

I smile when I see the villagers along the Boteti so very excited and captivated by water they haven’t seen in 15 years.  The children running into and splashing water they have never known in their lives.  It’s the new thing to do after work and school, to go see where the river is today!  The scrawny livestock scrambling down the hot dry sandy riverbanks to drink remind me its not all about water, the animals have to eat within reach of the water.  They struggle to get back up the steep banks for the long walk to look for depleted food.

New Boteti Waterholes

The Botswana Government has contracted the Kalahari Conservation Society to supervise the installation of 13 new artificial waterholes along the Boteti Riverbed.  Besides the Boteti flowing this is the most welcome development we could ever wish for.  The limited water available to wildlife up to now has been incredibly dangerous, and so very stressful for the wildlife, and for us, who have been dedicated to keeping water flowing from our pumps every hour of every day of every month …of the last fifteen years since the river dried up.

The new waterhole system designs are based on our systems developed over nearly five years of operations within the constraints of our environment, and the unique wildlife activity and behaviour we experience at the waterholes.  I am impressed with the implementation of the waterholes, it pleases me that the government chose to involve the Kalahari Conservation Society to supervise the project.  I have seen some of the completed solar powered waterholes, and I will develop the Meno a Kwena system along the same lines to minimize management and maintenance of the system.  Even if the river does flow through the area next month!!!

The frustration of the delayed action to get these new waterholes installed is finally over, the disappointments and sadness of the last nearly five years has come to an end.  It was all worth it though, the pressure to survive against so many odds is hopefully over.  What will be interesting, is when the Boteti River starts to flow again, as some of these new waterhole pumps are underground in the riverbed.  In my opinion, and my pumps are in the riverbed too, I will be ecstatic about the flood and just remove the pumps for when the river dries up again.  The money we would spend on diesel will go towards champagne as we celebrate the miracle river!  PULA!!!

In the meantime these new waterholes have taken a lot of pressure off us to supply water as the wildlife spreads out to access better food sources in new areas, previously inaccessible from our waterholes.  This does not mean we are pumping any less, we are still pumping as much as we can, the wildlife drinking as much as we pump.  It will just be a matter of time before they learn about these new waterholes.  We can now look forward to an end to the decline of Southern Africa’s last and largest remaining wildlife migration of the Kalahari.  We can now look forward to a steady increase in the zebra and wildebeest population from the present 30,000.  Researchers claim that under optimal conditions we will see that number increase to 100,000 in the next decade!

www.earth-touch.com

I have been impressed with the popularity of the website ‘YouTube’ and reckon this is the medium of the world, of the future.  As Skype develops to overcome emails, politicians are utilizing YouTube as a stage to win presidential elections.  How fast technology snowballs.  And so the concept of a natural history or wildlife version on the internet captures my attention.  An unlimited place to create awareness amongst a growing population of computer literacy.

Brad Bestelink approached me a couple months ago with this very idea.  He and his wildlife film production team have designed a website along the lines of YouTube to collect and produce professional quality edited wildlife film stories for public access on the internet, almost instantly.  And from the remotest places on earth.  Its all possible now with satellite telecoms and digital film technology.

Brad is based at Meno a Kwena Tented Camp to film the wildlife at our extremely busy waterholes.  The footage is uploaded to their edit suite in South Africa, the very same day from where they produce finished sequences on their website for the public all over the world to watch and interact with, within 24 hours!  Unbelievable and amazing.

Amazing because this is the future of learning and seeing almost instantly what is happening in the wonderful world of wildlife, and having the opportunity to interact with the people in these remotest of remote places from your home, school, university and office.  As the concept develops, I foresee potential visitors and their agents accessing the site to get up to date information and instant audiovisual images of the places they want to visit and experience.  The African adventure will start at home long before actually arriving in the flesh.

The opportunities for education and research are as exciting as for tourism.  The interactive site is open to discussion, questions and answers are enhanced with on the ground facts.  Specialists are encouraged to join the site to convey knowledge and experience, sharing it with interested people all over the world.  The opportunities are endless and fascinating.

Several introductory sequences filmed at Meno a Kwena waterholes are already on the site for you to watch anytime you want.  There are a number of stories on the site from the Okavango River to the rest of the world.  Comments and involvement in their blog are welcomed.

Register at www.earth-touch.com FREE!

Leopard in Camp!

Early one morning in August I was walking to the dining tent for my first cuppa tea, it was still quite chilly first thing as the sun rose. I saw Dabe tracking something in the sand pathway behind Tent 3, his hand moving like the steps of an animal about the size of a dog, a large dog.  It’s a wonderful thing to watch a Naro Bushman tracking.  He becomes the animal he pursues.  It was obvious the tracks he was following when he hunched his upper body, stalking cautiously like a leopard, low to the ground.  Paws confident as a surgeon making delicate incisions in the sand.

I watched Dabe stop at the pole gate to Tent 3.  He parted the poles and gently, easily leapt through them.  In my anxiety I walked over to Dabe who was now wandering round the tent.  The stealthy leopard had got through the predator proof pole gate and thorn enclosure!  Shit!  That is not good.  I mean yeah great, there is a leopard in the area but this one is different.  This one has the experience of hunting around human settlements.  This is not comforting.  It’s the busiest time of year and camp is busy with guests and staff.

Our tents have thorn enclosures around them to stop predators getting close to the sleeping guests.  It’s our way of dealing with security at night, as guests occasionally need to go to the loo in the quiet of night, which is a little scary for them.  It is not good the leopard got in, and it managed to get into Tent 4 and 5’s enclosures.  Dabe pointed out the clear leopard tracks in the sand just a few metres from the sleeping Italians!

We have since modified the enclosures to make the entrances almost totally impenetrable and reinforced the thorn barricades around the tents.  It’s the time of year we get the zebra coming into camp during the night, to feed on the last of the grass close to the waterholes.  This draws the lions in, a little daunting as the occasional stampede through camp in the middle of the night does result in zebra jumping the thorny acacia fence into the tent enclosure.  I tell my guests to be careful of what they wish for, could be a pride of lions killing and eating a zebra on their verandah in the middle of the night!

Some recent rarer sightings include leopard, wild dogs and cheetah in and out of the national park.  The most exciting sighting for me one night when checking the waterholes was a spotted hyaena.  Have never seen them at Meno a Kwena before, heard them, seen their tracks, but this was a first sighting.  Sadly, two brown hyaenas have died in the area.  We found one dead in the waterhole, the other apparently shot, or bitten by lions, found dead near camp.  It had a tracking collar on and so I called Glyn from Brown Hyaena Research Project.  Unfortunately, the collar was damaged so he could not retrieve any movement data, which could have explained why it died.  The hyaenas do cross over into livestock country where they are sadly poisoned, shot or snared.

White Rhino Project

In my last Boteti Diary, I introduced the plan to translocate two horny male white rhinos for the two horny females we have in the Boteti area.  Map Ives from The Botswana Rhino Management Committee asked me for assistance to supply the materials and build a strong pole enclosure that will accommodate the newcomers for a number of weeks to habituate them to their new home.

The very busy peak safari season has kept us too busy to make any progress.  Despite this we did receive some contributions from a couple of sources.  Abendsonne Afrika in Germany, very compassionate supporters of ours, were quick to realise the importance of the project, and Mr & Mrs Maine from South Africa personally came to camp to deliver some funds. I am hoping our new trust fund will be registered very soon so there will be increased incentive for the further funding required to get the project off the ground.

Once the enclosure is in place the rhinos will be captured and transported to site where they will be contained until they accept the area as their new territory.  We will assist with staff and vehicles to care for them until they are released.

Both white and black rhinos were almost wiped out by poachers in Botswana for the global demand of their horns.  It is a global responsibility to help this group of rhinos re-establish themselves as the ‘Adam & Eve’ of a new population in the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park.  These rare animals will help secure the preservation of wildlife in the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park through increased tourism potential.

The Saltpans Experience

Far across dry rolling grasslands to the east of the Boteti stretch the vast Makgadikgadi saltpans.  At this time of year, our dry season, it has to be one of the most dangerously hostile and dry environments in the region, where only the most extreme desert adapted creatures can exist.  We encourage all our safari guests that visit Meno a Kwena Tented Camp & Safaris to include the saltpans experience in their Botswana safari!  Why on earth would a tourist want to consider an experience that took the desert wildlife millions of years to adapt to?!

Well, the answers are simple yet profound.  The implausible spiritual effect is astounding.  The experience puts all life as we know it into perspective.  There is nothing out there.  Like space.  The effect of nothingness is an unusual experience, particularly for people who come from an extremely busy developed world.   The infinite flat white saltpan surface plays tricks on conscious minds.  A world of illusions.  “Is it real, or a surrealist image?”  “Am I awake or, asleep and dreaming?”  “Are we on earth, or am I on the moon?”  There cannot be anywhere as full of emptiness as the Makgadikgadi saltpans in the dry season.

This mesmerizing environment can only be enjoyed when traveling deep into the saltpans with experienced and knowledgeable safari operators who will share the emptiness of the saltpans in style.  Mind blowing style!  Imagine dining at the only table set for a three course meal, outside …and on the moon!  Close eyes and picture sitting at the only campfire on the surface of the moon with an ice cold G&T!  Now open your eyes and imagine lying with your lover on the only bed floating just above the surface of the moon to see a complete horizon of stars!  It’s not easy to know whether you are awake or asleep.  This is the spiritual effect I am talking about.

To minimize the ugly sight of vehicle tracks on the pan surface we use lighter quad bikes to travel to the interior of the saltpans where the ‘camp of stars’ is lost among the stars of the universe…

Top Gear …in Top Gear on The Saltpans

Jeremy Clarkson and his BBC TV Top Gear production team recently crossed the Makgadikgadi saltpans and Okavango Delta for one of their popular ‘anything goes in a car’ episodes.  To give it an edge they made the spectacular crossing in regular old saloon cars they picked up in South Africa, an old Mercedes and an Opel Kadet.  Emphasis was put on the humour factor for entertainment value.  What on earth are these guys doing, asked the professional safari guides they hired!  To cross the saltpans and Okavango with these pieces of old two-wheel-drive junk is absurd.  Almost as if their reputations were at stake, being seen to be driving anything but a 4×4 Land Rover, or Land Cruiser in the middle of the desert.

Well they did, with a lot of back up and support, and people who know the pans well.  The outcome was news all over the British tabloids that Clarkson had attacked, destroyed and conquered one of the most remote and inhospitable places on the planet.  I received a phone call from The Observer newspaper who asked all sorts of questions about the incident.  I hadn’t realised the immensity of the impact the Top Gear crew must have made on the pans, particularly as I know the area well.  The press made it sound like Mr Clarkson had gone in there with the US Marines!  Not the old 1980s saloon cars, that they had a convoy of tanks, Hummers, six-wheel-drive personnel carriers, rocket launchers, choppers!

I was asked about my concerns as a safari operator of the negative impact this had on the ancient saltpans.  Yes anything we do to the environment will impact on it.  From minimal disturbance, to unacceptably high levels of damage.  As far as I was concerned, the impact of a few saloon cars was minimal.  The positive side is the good publicity Botswana gets that will benefit the tourism industry.  My concern is the potential free for all floods of uncontrolled tourists that will flock from the region in every form of sport utility vehicles imaginable.  And that if this is not controlled, will spoil the aesthetic value of the pans we are promoting to high income tourists, as falls within Botswana’s sustainable tourism development policy.  Check out the episode this coming Christmas on BBC, then come and support sustainable Botswana tourism with us.  End of story.

End of that story!  The other story is that the BBC were back in the pans area again this month to film sequences for the world famous Alexander McAll Smith stories about The Number One Ladies Detective Agency.  Lights!  Camera!  Action!

Water For Life Project Update

Last year the Swiss La Tavola magazine wrote about our community development through tourism project at the local village primary school.  They helped to raise donations from their readers for us to produce a musical play written by Courtney Jones who was in Botswana as a volunteer from the USA.  We have not had a chance to do much with the school this year, apparently due to their new curriculum.  That does not mean we have stopped.  The traditional musical instruments have been sourced and made for us so we can expect to start the production as soon as we locate musicians to teach the kids to play them.  A set of six marimbas (xylophone), three sets of drums, and finger pianos will be used for the theatre production.

As the Boteti River waters flood down the deep gorge towards Motopi and Moreomaoto villages, we will start a project to teach as many children as possible to swim.  Most of them under the age of 15 will have never seen the river full of water, and so quite possibly not know how to swim, or are not aware of the dangers in the water.  I have seen many children going down to the river excitedly playing in the water with seemingly no concept of the potential threats.  The old deep wells used the last 15 years since the flood last reached this far, are hidden below the surface now.  Fast flowing sections where water pours strongly over rocky ridges like rapids.  Many trees and shrubs have grown in the riverbed since 1995.  These act as dams and could trap children against the strong currents.

Liam Westall and Tony Faulkner arrived from the UK to spend a couple months helping with our community development and wildlife conservation projects.  Young Englishmen in their late teens, early twenties had hardly settled in to life in the bush when a pride of lions ambushed a herd of zebra close to their camp.  Liam and Tony were alone in the research camp and so started screaming as loud as they could like little girls!!!  Joking aside, it is quite daunting to hear the commotion, realising lions were involved, and not able to distinguish what direction they were headed, and what the correct cause of action ought to be.  The lions brought down a baby zebra within 100 feet of camp.

A few nights later the lions were back.  They chased a zebra right through camp.  Tony and Liam again alone in the research camp, pitch black, pounding hooves, loud heavy breathing, crashing, breaking bushes.  The zebra jumped the thorn enclosure around the tents and managed to escape the lions.  I saw them a little later on when checking the waterholes in the riverbed.  It was the Meno a Kwena pride with their three eight month old cubs, the ones we thought had died after the shooting earlier this year.

Tony and Liam have since their arrival hung more reflectors on the fence close to camp to reduce the number of animals stampeding into it when chased by predators.  They have started training my local staff to produce, cheap to make, picture frames that can be sold for a big profit to our guests, in town, and for use here in camp to display all my photographs.  The idea is to make frames with as few tools as possible, easy and cheap, to locally source materials, to produce effective creative and stylish frames.  We are mounting all sorts of photographic images taken in the area over the last years to decorate the camp as a gallery telling the story of the Boteti and Kalahari.

Liam helped my Water For Life crew try to herd a zebra through the fence back into the park.  The animal was so weak they were able to manhandle it into the back of the land cruiser and drive it to the waterhole.  The young zebra struggled to its feet and drank for a while before it took a few weak steps up the riverbank.  An hour later I looked into the riverbed, a vulture was sitting on its head pecking out its eyeball!  The dehydrated starved young zebra was so weak, the stress of the capture was too much for it, it died soon after its last desperate drink.

Tony has gone into the saltpans for a week to assist Glyn with the brown hyaena research project.  When I told him where he was going, and explained that, after his weekend in Maun with lots of girls round the swimming pool, he was going to a place so very far and so very different, not sure he will handle it.  But what an experience it will be tracking nocturnal hyaenas all night long, and then trying to sleep in the 40 plus degrees heat of the day with swarms of thirsty flies trying to suck all the sweat and moisture they can get at.  No bikini lined swimming pools out there either!

Money or Your Life …or Both?

Picture this image.  You fall down a hundred foot deep well with steel walls.  Your first concern is - ‘am I injured?  No.’  ‘Shit, the well is dry!’  ‘How the hell am I getting out of here?!’  Then you notice why you are not injured.  The well is full of money …bank notes broke your fall.  Lots of them, hundreds of US Dollars, Euros, Pula, Rands, Namibian Dollars…  There is no way of getting out.  What would you do?

Our current staff tip contraption was originally built by my extrovert steel welding artist brother, William, as a podium for our conservation and community projects fund raising presentation book.  Guests could read it and then pop cash contributions into the hole where it fell to the bottom of a metre long steel borehole casing where it piled up to help us save the world.  This was the plan, but it ended up being a podium for our visitors’ book, and staff tips instead.

After several years of use we would never have imagined this work of steel art turning into a bizarre setting for a bizarre scenario.  .  One of my waiters mentioned a bad smell in the living tent emanating from the staff tips.  Yeah …money stinks!  Sure enough something was dead in there.  Either a mouse or a squirrel?  Second thought, a rodent has a vociferous appetite, and needs to keep its teeth cropped to stop them growing back into their skulls.  Shit!!!  …Yes money shit!!!  It was August, the busiest month of the year.  It was the end of August.  The biggest amount of tip money of the whole season was in that well of hunger and thirst and shit and death!!!

We couldn’t contain ourselves any longer.  Keys unlocked the padlock, anxious staff peered into the opening at the bottom of the steel casing.  Shredded bank notes were stuck to the rotting tree mouse as it was extricated with a stick.  More bank note confetti paper poured out of the steel pipe!  There was enough bank note confetti for several weddings!  Hardly a bank note was untouched by the confetti mouse teeth machine, iyaiyaiyaiyayeeeeeeeee!!!  Words could not utter the feeling of loss from my staff, iyaiyaiyaiyaieeee…   A tree mouse looking for a nice safe place to nest as summer sets in fell through the hole, landing at the bottom of the borehole casing amongst thousands of Pula in cash.  A starving mouse and all there was to survive on was money, enough money to buy hundreds of thousands of mice enough feed for years!  An interesting thought provoking scenario, that can be used to describe many situations we are faced with in our materialistic world.

We managed to save some of the damaged bank notes and retrieved about 50% of what had kindly been given in thanks for the hard work our staff put in for our guests.  I am creatively working on an idea to project the story on canvas with the half-eaten bank notes glued onto it, approach the Tate Modern Art Gallery to exhibit it to the public, and hope for a good selling price to reimburse our deserving staff!

David Dugmore
Meno a Kwena Tented Camp & Safaris
“Passionate about Wildlife”
Makgadikgadi Pans & Nxai Pan National Park
Botswana

Head Office

Mobile         + 267 713 11251

Office          + 267 686 1634 or + 267 686 0981
Skype         david.dugmore
Email                  david.dugmore@kalaharikavango.com

Website      www.kalaharikavango.com & www.waterforlifebotswana.org (coming soon)
Mail            Private Bag 053, Maun, Botswana

Reservations, Marketing & Sales Enquiries & Accounts

Mobile         + 254 722 598 858

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Google Earth…

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THE BOTSWANA RHINO MANAGEMENT PROJECT

I was in the USA on a marketing and awareness trip …and holiday when my guide Dabe sent a message that he had seen the two white rhino in the Boteti Riverbed. I was ecstatic. Wow! Our first sighting of these two new inhabitants with guests on safari. Wow!

This letter from Map Ives of The Botswana Rhino Management Committee describes the rhino rehabilitation project we have offered to assist them with to create a new population of rhinos in the Boteti area of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. This, despite a lot on our plate is an extremely important project as Botswana developes to attract visitors to more wildlife areas than just the Okavango and Chobe. There are huge tracts of land that are untapped and have so much potential. Controls and management are of course the ever important constraints we must work within. It is crucial we maximise this potential sooner than later hence taking advantage of whatever potential comes our way, even if we are burning the candle both ends.

Meno A Kwena is in the perfect situation to help this project. We have realised the importance of tourism to be the economic engine, not only conserve wildlife, but to maximise benefits to the rural people living in close proximity to these wonders of the world with so many threats facing their existence.

Wilderness Safaris

Private Bag 214

Maun

Botswana

24^th May, 2007.

David Dugmore

Meno – a – Kwena Camp

Makgadikgadi Pans National Park

Dear David,

RE: BUILDING OF BOMAS TO TRANSLOCATE WHITE RHINO TO THE MAKGADIKGADI PANS NATIONAL PARK.

As you know, there is an ongoing program to re-locate both white and black rhino to areas within Botswana where they historically occurred, and conditions currently exist for a successful component population to be established.

To this end the Botswana Rhino Management Committee, which comprises members of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks research and management divisions, along with private sector representation, has successfully moved 27 sub adult and adult white rhinos to the Okavango region of northern Botswana. The project started in 2002 and so far we have had 10 births of wild rhino bringing the total to 37 white rhino.

These have been joined by 4 black rhino as part of an ongoing exercise, which is continuing presently, with negotiations for further black rhino at an advanced stage.

You will have seen that two adult female white rhinos from the Okavango operation have moved naturally, from the main Okavango to the Khumaga area of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. Our patrols have been monitoring these animals very closely and have established that they have localised and formed a home range along and inland from the Boteti River. Further to this, we are happy that there is sufficient security, food and water in that area for the permanent establishment of a rhino management pod in that area.

This is in keeping with our current strategy of establishing both national and regional meta-populations of white rhino, adding to the viability of the overall objective of increasing rhino numbers both in Botswana and within southern Africa. The strategy, which has been developed in close consultation with the SADC Regional Program for Rhino Conservation and the African Rhino Specialist Group, has proven extremely successful in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

At a recent meeting of the Botswana Rhino Management Committee in Gaborone, it was noted that the two females at Khumaga have reached breeding age and as they should positively contribute towards population increase over the next twenty five years, we would need to add a minimum of two males to the Makgadikgadi Pans animals.

We currently have a single male and a single female of similar age in another part of Botswana, and we are proposing to move them to the Makgadikgadi as a start of this potential management pod. The objective would be to add another male at a later stage, when one becomes available. The presence of two males is necessary as they are known to be stimulated biologically, to mate when there is the presence of another male. However, it is highly possible that the single male may breed without this stimulus.

The committee has charge me with the task of requesting private sector operators in the Boteti/Khumaga area of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park to raise funds for the building of a single holding boma unit at Khumaga. This boma is built of tanalith treated gum poles with facilities for shade, food and water provision. Specifications for the plans of the boma are available and will be sent on to you shortly.

As we are planning to re locate these rhino within the next four months, we are very short of time to raise these funds and kindly request that you pass this letter on to anyone who may be able to donate towards the building and care of this boma, which would be used for any further translocations in the future.

May I ask that you administer any funds donated, including names and addresses of donors so that they may be acknowledged and kept up to date with progress.

Thank you for offering to assist as you always do for conservation.

Ever onwards

Map Ives

Chairman

Botswana Rhino Management Committee.

mapi@wilderness.co.bw

cc Mercy Munyadzwe – DWNP Rhino co-ordinator

LION FAMILY SHOT BY FARMERS

Bitter sweet. I also received a rather distressing message from Jeff in camp that lions were being shot by farmers somewhere near camp along the Boteti. I so wanted to be home to deal with it, this is a nightmare I live with all the time. Typical it happened while I am away, after these years living with a sense of hope that the fence was designed and constructed to stop this shit, and I was thousands of miles away on another continent. That the conflict was a thing of the past and the future looked brighter. Why this after all we have done and I am not there to deal with it? Jeff wrote a report on the incident…

“Sometime between the 25^th and 27^th of February, two lionesses found their way under the fence close to the village and apparently killed one horse and one donkey. A shooting party was dispatched and both lions were shot .The lion carcasses were then brought to the kgotla in the village. This attracted widespread attention and it was heard that numerous people from the village took part in photo sessions with the carcasses.

Some 3 km’s before the village I noticed fresh vehicle tracks traversing all over the area outside of the fence and realised this was obviously a shooting party looking for lions.
As I came close to the village I then noticed a lioness running west between the fence .She was exhausted and highly stressed, bumping into both fences every few steps. I immediately drove away from the fence, out of sight of the lion in a big arc so as to try and get ahead of her. I then found the hunting party of 4 men, being led by Moreomaoto tribal policeman Mr Motswiri. He was in uniform then but now has apparently retired. Two men were armed, one with a 12 gauge pump action shotgun, one with a 30- 06 hunting rifle. One man seemed to be an onlooker. I instructed these men to hold their fire, which they did. There were no DWNP officials present. These men then explained that there were two more lions just outside of the fence, hiding in the river scrub. This proved to be true as these lions started calling, probably for the lion caught between the fences. She by then had turned around and was heading back towards the other two calling [going east again]. She noticed all of us and became extremely aggressive, attacking the cattle fence viciously. I instructed the hunting party to back off out of the sight for if this lioness managed to get over the cattle fence, dire circumstances may have prevailed .The men backed off. I told them I was going back to the village to get mobile signal, for once again alert DWNP but to no avail as the network was down.
On my way to the village I encountered a cavalcade of cars and pick-ups all with armed men aboard .I tried to stop them from proceeding but they all sped by, not paying any attention. I made the decision to try to get to Khumaga. Some 7 km from the village I encountered 2 DWNP vehicles going in opposite directions. I flagged them down. One of the drivers was Jabu, a senior Khumaga official. I explained the situation to him and he immediately dispatched his second vehicle with 2 game scouts to scene but he himself started proceeding to Khumaga.

This was last light. I proceeded to camp as we had guests. The next morning I heard that one of the three lions had been shot. The lioness between the fences had escaped. The other lioness outside the fences had escaped. Nothing further has been heard about them. We patrolled the fence between camp and Moreomaoto and repaired numerous holes. We also noted a faulty gate (GB1) and barricaded it with thorn branches. The fence maintenance team was repairing GB2 (our gate) so I reported to them that GB1 must be repaired.”

The whole affair was cloaked in mystery and so we cannot confirm how many lions were shot. I can say that we have not seen the lioness with the three very young cubs since. I do guess that the reason for the incident was related to the cubs. I reckon they crossed the fence with the mother as the zebra migration was far away in the saltpans, and the pride acted on instinct to hunt livestock as they have done so for generations during the wet season. We have seen the rest of the pride since and so hope they have learned that despite the habituation to us does not mean we humans are all safe to be in the vicinity of.

OKAVANGO RIVER FLOOD

Despite the poor local rains we are experiencing a fantastic Okavango River flood from Angola. The graph below says it all - watch the yellow line…these readings are taken soon after the river enters Botswana from Namibia. They do give us some indication of what the delta waters are going to do, to a point. There are so many dynamics involved with the Okavango waters that we can never really pin point what will happen in the lower reaches of the delta. So much is involved in the flow of water – seismic activity, vegetation blockages, hippo and elephant activity, the local rains and evaporation, human influence is minimal but increasing. It is still a great mystery that we all surmise until we are all convinced we have the right prediction and nobody else does.

The poor local rain has put a lot of pressure on the Makgadikgadi migration and so we are pumping water 24 hours a day with three pumps. Not sure if the delta will push that wonderful water as far as Meno A Kwena but as always we live in hope. If it does come that far we only expect it after August.

The zebra and wildebeest migration returned earlier than normal to Boteti and so a lot of stress was put on the new born foals that just could not make the long trek between the pans and Boteti so young. The erratic rains had them travel the 100kms or so more than once during the summer.

LEARNING THE TWISTED ROPES OF FUNDRAISING

I am indebted to all the people who have helped in whatever way to create a paradise from hell here at Boteti. We are experiencing a far more positive environment than we have seen the last decade. A positive environment of peace is emerging from a conflict zone. The wildlife is surviving against all odds, the rural people are learning to come to terms with wildlife once considered a negative impact on their development.

It did come as a surprise to be faced with the concept of concealed motives behind conservation. But I suppose this is commonplace. Still, it is part of the nature of the economic climate we live in right now, perhaps. Anyway, there is a reason for everything, no matter what it is. I was approached by a potential supposedly compassionate contributor to our Water For Life Project. To cut a long story short, we were under the impression this individual was desperately concerned for the environment, particularly the lack of water situation along the Boteti.

Francis offered to provide us with solar powered water pumps and so we researched the best possible system for the unique requirements of the area and its wildlife. After much research and consideration we came up with the ideal plans and equipment specs and made these available to Francis. Having agreed with our recommendations we placed the necessary order with Peter for the very expensive water pumping equipment. To our dismay Francis declined to finance the solar equipment and asked if we would send him the specs for a less expensive diesel powered system. We were given the go ahead to order the necessary diesel pump equipment.

To cut a short story shorter, we had the two pumps in place pumping many thousands of litres of water for a very thirsty many thousands of zebra, and other wild animals. They had not been paid for yet and we were faced with further stalls by Francis despite the constant requests from Peter the supplier to pay up. Bugger. We certainly did not plan on this happening. Days turned to weeks and still the stalling from the contributor, still the requests for payment from the supplier, still the demands for water from the wildlife.

THE ZEBRA FOAL & THE GENTLE GIANT

The bull elephant, reluctantly at first, moved back a few feet as the desperately thirsty zebra foal limped to what little water was left in the waterhole at Meno A Kwena.

The bull brooded as he watched the foal drink for a minute or two. The bleeding lion wound on the zebra’s leg got the bull’s attention, he seemed quite concerned about that and blew dust onto the deep gashes. The very young, not yet weaned, foal had escaped the lions but was starving to death weak.

The foal finished drinking and too weak to move started to doze off, head hanging over the meagre muddy water. The bull lost his patience, swinging his dripping mud trunk gently at the foal. Not a flinch. The bull swung his trunk again, and again, until he took a big step forward towering over the shaking foal. The bull once more got distracted by the lion saliva scented bloodied leg, examining it carefully with deep sucking breaths.

Another bull elephant arrived at the waterhole and so it was time for the first bull to assert his dominance of the water, he moved the little zebra away from harm’s way, a little nudge of his trunk, in case a fight breaks out over the water. The bull’s gentleness and compassion was incredible to watch. Especially in such a harsh and stressful environment as we are experiencing at the waterholes now in this dry season.

I found the intact body of the baby zebra the next morning, lying close to where it had its last drink the day before. I was surprised nothing had killed the foal during the night as we have a lot of predator activity in close proximity to the waterholes at night. Three bull elephants were feeding close by watching my every move as I got out of the car to inspect the foal’s lion wounds. I saw that the whole area around the zebra’s body was covered with elephant footprints…they were the gentle giant guardians feeding over there…

WATER FOR LIFE PROJECT BOTSWANA

Two steps forward, one step back…or is it the other way round??? Either way it is incredibly frustrating at times to do the right thing. At least we are still pumping water pretty much all day every day. We are getting a lot more interest in the project as we get more and more guests staying at the camp.

The trust fund ought to be up and running very soon as we submit the final documents to our lawyers. This will make it a lot more beneficial for us to utilise funds for where it is needed most. More about this another time.

Our Roots & Shoots project has been on hold this term at Moreomaoto Village since they have a new curriculum and were too busy to provide an afternoon for our environmental education projects. Courtney Jones, she spent a lot of time with the kids at the school end of last year, has produced a musical play we are going to use to tell the story of environmental awareness from the perspective of a confused boy from the village. He tries to understand what life is about, in a world of massive contrasts and conflicts, and in doing so finds the answer in nature. The wildlife of the past was dangerous and to be rid of, the wildlife of the future brings development, other benefits, and so must be nurtured…

NEW GOVERNMENT BOTETI WATER PROJECT STARTS

When the decision was made to construct the new Makgadikgadi Pans National Park fence to stop conflicts between wildlife and cattle farmers along the Boteti, it was necessary to implement a major park management plan. This included fire management and water provision to the wildlife.

Two and a half years since fence construction was completed the development of ten new waterholes along the length of the dry Boteti Riverbed has now started. The only two areas of the Boteti where wildlife has access to water have struggled to maintain the huge demands on water since 2003. These new waterholes are going to make conditions so much better for the wildlife and the environment, and a hell of a lot easier for us who are supplying water artificially.

The Kalahari Conservation Society has been commissioned by the Botswana Government to manage the development of these new water sources and the waterholes. I met with Neil Fitt of KCS at Meno A Kwena recently. He is coordinating the project and explained the systems they have designed, mostly utilising the systems we have developed over the years, as we learned from our mistakes, within the constraints of our environment.

I am absolutely thrilled at these developments finally coming to fruition, conditions for the wildlife have been dire for too long. And we are exhausted in our attempts to keep up with the demands from thousands of water dependant wildlife. I am thrilled as I expect see an end of the decade’s long decline of the water dependant wildlife of the Kalahari. We can now look forward to the populations increasing over the next years to maximise the new food resources within reach of the new waterholes, taking pressure off the two present areas.

LACOM

The LACOM meeting at Meno A Kwena Tented Camp early in 2007 was a positive step in the thinking process of developments to the region’s wildlife areas. Village elders in old black pin stripe suits wafted hats to cool their sweaty faces. National Parks officers in tailored, or not, green uniforms twiddled Government Issue pens between sweaty fingers. Unshaven safari operators in self conscious safari gear. Pale skinned UK environmentalists with sticky thick sun bloc. This was the scene under the living area tent earlier in the year in the heat of summer for the second LACOM meeting for the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pan National Parks development.

As part of the developments of the new wildlife safari frontiers of Botswana, the Kalahari region around the Okavango Delta, a local advisory committee (LACOM) has been initiated by the Department of Wildlife & National Parks to coordinate developments, and benefits to the country from tourism. The committee involves all the stakeholders – government, the people living in proximity to the national parks, and the safari operators. This is vital to the process of wildlife utilisation for maximised involvement and benefits to the people of this rapidly developing country. Vital for the preservation of Africa’s wildlife.

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) was instrumental in motivating the development of the LACOM for Makgadikgadi. It’s necessary for people and organisations to sometimes, with perseverance, motivate change, motivate policy, motivate development and consideration, motivate and educate the not so motivated and educated. To coordinate the uncoordinated. Government has a lot on their plate. Us, the safari stakeholders are busy too. The communities are too busy just surviving in these harsh lands. And so I do respect the energy and vision of environmentalists who deal with the frustrations of world progress and exploitation in our limited environment. We ought to ask Al Gore if he would consider a place in our LACOM!!!

GOOGLE EARTH

Zoom into Meno A Kwena waterholes…

Latitude 20°19′19.16″S

Longitude 24°19′30.49″E

Operating safaris in the rain is quite a challenge.  That’s why once upon a time safaris only operated in the dry season, and because not so long ago there were only hunting safaris in operation.  And the summer months are the wildlife breeding season, for most of them. Now with non hunting safaris operating throughout the year into the summer rains, we are faced with having to deal with muddy roads, sitting in open safari cars, impressive tropical storms dropping buckets of water on us.  Leaking tents, flooded camps, no fires for cooking, wet toilet paper!  Whinging tourists!  “Came to the Kalahari to get away from this bloody awful weather!”  We love it.  We need as much rain as we can get.

Summer rains this season have been interestingly different to last summer when Botswana experienced wet, very ‘European’ weather for months, and bumper rains they were.  Day after day of overcast and drizzle weather swept over the Okavango Delta filling it enough to flood 40kms into the Boteti River.  It hasn’t flowed that far down Boteti in almost a decade.  The Okavango River inflow from Angola last year was not great and so most of the water the Okavango received last year was from local rains.  Had the Angolan rains been as high as in Botswana then I reckon Meno A Kwena would be the proud owner of an Aliboat!

The Okavango flood graph below will put the Okavango River floods into context so you may compare the 2007 flood, with those since 1984.  I am ever hopeful we get an inflow like in 1984 then we will see water in the Boteti at camp for sure.  But then most of the camps and lodges in the delta will be under water!!!  Look at the yellow line showing 2007 inflow.

THE MYSTERY MIGRATION

Twenty thousand zebra vanished in 24 hours after the first rain storm of the season last November.  On the Monday we had thousands of animals kicking up dust along the dry Boteti Riverbed as they came to drink from the remaining few pools of water.  By the same time on Tuesday there was no dust, and there was not a single zebra to be seen.  The pools of water were full again.  No thirsty zebra to drink it.  Ironic situation.  Uncontrollable instincts.  The water puddles were not enough to sustain them where it had rained.  The ground, dry after many months of no rain, sucking the moisture deep into the Kalahari sands.  The herds kept moving east and north, away from the permanent Boteti waterholes towards the saltpans up to a hundred kilometres away.  Cruel irony.

A strange quietness hung over the Boteti, where just a day ago it was Piccadilly Circus on a beautiful summer Saturday.  Now it was Sunday morning in Bloemfontein!  Vultures picked drying flesh from the bones several days old, the luxury of fresh meat feasting had ended.  A lone zebra yearling limped from the bushes.  It stopped for a long while scanning the open empty riverbed.  Lame and alone.  The zebra slowly limped to the suddenly excessive water for a drink.  No jostling with hundreds of other animals, no possessive elephants.  (They all went to church on Sunday in Bloemfontein!).  The yearling finished its drink and then it seemed to panic.  Vulnerable.  Alone.  Very alone and very lame.  Tally ho!  Off to the friendly bushes it limped as fast as possible.  Zebra rely on their gregarious nature to protect themselves from the lions.

I suppose once upon a time when the Kalahari grazing wildlife herds were in their hundreds of thousands, not that long ago in the last century, unreliable rain was important to keep the numbers down.  So it was okay, and natural for many wildlife mortalities resulting from the stresses of covering great distances in search of water and grazing.  Not so nowadays as each mortality has a bigger effect on the percentages.

The, still very impressive migration on the move, is quite a spectacle to see as they group together in long files of family groups, joining to form herds of many thousands of animals.  The desperation to get to the saltpans is not just about the rain filled waterholes, nor the grasslands, the urgency of the migration is driven by the need to cover the great distances from their dry season range of the Boteti to their breeding grounds before they give birth, and they can’t hold on forever!  Newly born foals would not survive the long trek through the Kalahari sands.

Norman No Mates, the limping yearling left behind in the Boteti, does not realise how lucky it is to have been lame enough to not be able to leave.  The zebra herds reached a point on the edge of the pans many kilometres away and two days away from Boteti.  They were dry!  Zebra have an uncanny sense of memory and knowledge of their vast range, particularly driven by water and grazing, right down to a particular point, a waterhole, or a seep.  A bit like a couple guys I know who spend most of their time migrating round Maun from one bar to the next bar.  How they manage to find their way is a mystery too.

The migration returned to the Boteti. Norman No Mates still there, and very happy to see long lost mates.  The exhausted herds were not so happy, the long trek had taken its toll on the heavily pregnant mothers who were aborting and dropping foals, too weak to last the distance back to Boteti.  Some were born in the riverbed, most did not survive, and those that did died on the next trip back to the pans when more rain fell a few days later.  Norman No Mates having rested and recovered from the injured leg was able to migrate with the rest.  Thankfully substantial rain fell in the pans and they stayed there, hopefully for a good long wet season due to end by May.

THREE LITTLE HIDE AND SEEK LION CUBS

All they know in the first few months of life is where to seek Mum’s teats, and hide from everything except Mum and her teats.  Lion cubs are extremely vulnerable in their first months of life.  Other lions, starvation, snakes, hyaenas, cattle farmers are their threats at Meno A Kwena.  Its instinct that tells them this from watching their mother’s behaviour, and lion mothers are weary, everything else is scary.  The cubs react to their mother’s sensitivity and so are very aware of anything dangerous despite never experiencing these dangers themselves.

One moonlit night I watched the mother lioness and her cubs coming to drink at the waterhole, the four dark against white sand shapes moved towards the waterhole.  I think the reflection of one of the cubs in the bright moonlit water gave it a fright!  It bolted fast as its huge paws could carry it, the rest of the family as quick as can be bolting for the cover of nearby bushes.  None of them really aware of any danger, except the sudden reaction of the cub and its reflection in the water.  No time to think.  Just bolt.  I can’t remember the first time I saw my first reflection in a mirror!  Was it scary???  I’ll ask my mother…  Anyhow, it is really good to know they are all still okay, Mama is being a very good Mama looking after her precious babas.

MENO A KWENA WATER FOR LIFE FUND BOTSWANA

As we have made it our conservation mission statement to assist the people and wildlife of Botswana through maximised benefits from tourism, we are setting up the Meno A Kwena Water For Life Trust Fund.  The fund will promote and generate awareness and funding for our projects, that to date have primarily been the responsibility of Meno A Kwena Tented Camp & Safaris, and some very kind and generous people who have supported our cause.

The momentum of our projects has taken off in a great positive way that we cannot maintain as we have in the past, on a minimalist scale.  We are now faced with growing demands and increased costs, growing potential that should not be just the responsibility of our small business.  Meno A Kwena Tented Camp has initiated an idea that is showing we are on the right track but cannot maintain it alone.

We are thinking ahead too, and so working on bigger and better projects that will stop the steady decline of the zebra and wildebeest migratory population, and to accommodate the increased elephant population.  One may gasp at the thought of increased elephant population but we are talking about zero resident elephants four years ago to up to 40 bull elephants now.  This is good as these bulls came from the overcrowded north and are relieving the pressure on overpopulated areas.  It’s also good as it helps disperse the tourism potential of Botswana, relieving the pressure of too many tourists, as is experienced in the north - some parts of Chobe and Moremi.

The bottom line in Botswana is not just financial, it’s also employment for her people.  And so our wildlife conservation policy is maximum employment opportunities.  Tourism is proving to be the most logical source of that desperately needed requirement that relies on the country’s incredible wildlife resources in their wild places.  But this very young country needs all the education it can get to make it all easier to comprehend.

ROOTS & SHOOTS MOREOMAOTO VILLAGE

I do believe Jane Goodall figured it out right, from a wide understanding of the problems our environments face.  She was as understanding of the people in poor struggling developing countries as she was of the beautiful apes she spent so much time with.  And to prove this …she was not murdered by a pissed off villager, confused employee, ruthless poacher, or disgruntled government official.  Our Roots & Shoots project was inspired out of an understanding of the problems and struggles all of us face at Meno A Kwena, and can be directly related to anywhere in Africa, and the rest of the planet for that matter.  New York City!  London!  Beijing!  Yeah Beijing, I hope there are Roots & Shoots projects on every block in that Yuppie City!!!  Otherwise we are on thin ice …over deep, very deep shit…

LA TAVOLA MAGAZINE

You will know this magazine should you fly on Swiss Air, or is it Air Swisse now.  Can’t keep up with corporate takeover names anymore.  Smith Kline Beecham?  Sony Warner CNN?  Like changing African country names DRC, Congo …blah blah.

Anyway, without further ado, this very glossy La Tavola magazine did a spread on Botswana for their winter edition, featuring Meno A Kwena Tented Camp & Safaris.  They were particularly interested in our village school projects, and very kindly published the story with a view to raising funds through their readers to purchase musical instruments for the school.  We are working on producing a musical play to tell the story about Meno A Kwena.  The emphasis is to educate the villagers about tourism, wildlife, and the effects it has on the people of Botswana.  Traditional music instruments will play a big part in the production.  La Tavola and their readers did brilliantly, raising more than we will need for the musical instruments.  And so we are now proceeding with generating funding for a 14 seat mini bus.

The Moreomaoto School Roots & Shoots Project ‘Boteti Bus’ will be operated by us to transport the children to other areas of the country as part of our environmental programme.  It can also be used to transport the kids to sports matches, and their inter-school traditional dancing competitions.  Transport has been our biggest constraint to date as we have been using our safari vehicles which are mostly tied up with safaris these days.  La Tavola magazine has been very kind to offer help promoting the project with further fundraising in their spring edition due on Air Swisse, or is it Air Suisse soon.

It is my reasonable wish to be able to eventually take these young land locked Kalahari kids to see the sea along Namibia’s coastline.  There cannot be any greater contrast within reasonable driving distance for them to experience such a dramatic, environmental difference in their world.

STUART

Stuart is one of those guys who loves to tinker with anything that he can tinker with!  He is an artist of photography and uses his tinker fascination to create mind blowing photographs.  His Apple Mac computer equipment could probably fly him to the moon should he decide he needed images of it.  But then his studio upstairs at the Power Station in Maun doesn’t look like Mission Control, rather more like a second hand electronics pawn shop in a back street back room somewhere in the back of Central Johannesburg.

The end result of his creative work is stunning, a few of his images on the studio wall illustrate his talent.  Black and white posters of African musicians, a topless African woman modelling a chunky necklace, blurred stripes of zebra running in another image, a beautiful colour photograph of a vulture frozen just before diving into a zebra carcass.  The scope of Stuart’s creativity is infinite.

Stuart came to Botswana from the UK about a decade ago as a telephone technician.  From telephone to telephoto.  Stuart has helped us at Meno A Kwena in many ways, from good deals on promotional material for the camp and safaris, to infra red CCTV at the waterhole to record wildlife activity day and night.  His passion for film and photography extends to conservation.  He realises the importance for us to preserve such wonderful, beautiful wildlife subjects, not just for great photography but for the energy they give us to appreciate our own lives.  Stuart has spent many hours working on our Water for Life portfolio.  This will help us to raise the awareness and contributions we need to assist us make a difference at Meno A Kwena and the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park.

THE WORLD TODAY

The bizarre notion of dealing with safari plans, bookings and admin in my Maun office while the television is on next to my laptop is quite a disparity, but then perhaps not.  Listening to the news on BBC SKY or CNN, with all the current issues that are going on, makes me happy to be where I am, doing what I’m doing so much the more.  And it surely all must be the reason the tourism industry is one of the biggest on the planet.

The more BS going on out there, the more people need to get away from it, go away on holiday.  To come on an African safari in Botswana!  To distance oneself from the day to day brain washing news of negativity, of wars, terror, bombs, price hikes, oil shortages, job losses, over-the-top legal battles.  Wal-Mart!  What a joke.  Surely western employees must realise that every time they whinge, they are in fact increasing the pace of growth in other economies - China!  How’s your Chinese?  You like Chinese food?