Moremi

Southern Carmine Bee-Eater - Moremi, Botswana

After a night in the lodge outside Maun we were feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the second half of our trip. The journey into the Moremi reserve is not that long, although the metalled road soon gives way to a track. Indeed the lodge we had been in offers day safaris into Moremi. So although this was to be a transfer day, in reality most of it was spent game driving.

Arriving at the gate we were warned that it was very wet in the reserve and that certain tracks were impassable, one of which was the track into the Khwai reserve that we were due to take a few days later. Undaunted we set off and although we did encounter some very large and deep puddles our initial impression was that the situation wasn't too bad.

The drive was fairly uneventful as far as animals were concerned, apart from a first ever sighting of a Lesser Spotted Eagle and the first Red Lechwe of the trip. We stopped for a leisurely lunch, then pressed on and very soon we were treated to the sight of a Lilac-breasted Roller posing beautifully on a termite mound. It's known as the most photographed bird in Africa and for good reason. I have hundreds of shots of them, but can never resist getting more.

It wasn't long after this that things took an unexpected turn and required a change of plan. The radio crackled into life and it was the two guys in the support vehicle calling to let us know that not only was our booked campsite inaccessible due to flooding, but they were stuck in the mud. Our guide hastily got out the satellite 'phone and started to make arrangements for an alternative site, but all three of us were somewhat annoyed that this information hadn't been given to us at the gate.

With an alternative site secured, we set off to the same location as the support vehicle to assist them jacking out of the mud. Time was getting tight and with the added distance to the new site, it was going to be a challenge to get the camp set up before darkness fell. Luckily, it wasn't long before another message came over the radio to say the guys had managed to get out and were on their way to the new site, so we resumed game driving.

Heading to the new site, we found ourselves on familiar territory from our trip two years ago, but it was barely recognizable due to the amount of water lying there. In fact we could see the gatehouse from which we left the reserve on that occasion only about 400m away, but we couldn’t get to it. We were entertained for quite a while by a couple of Yellow-billed Storks expertly fishing and also by a Monitor Lizard basking in the late afternoon sun on a termite mound.

By now it was time for sundowners and then a short drive to the camp, where the guys had made a great effort to get the camp set up and the dinner underway. It seemed we had disturbed a troop of Baboons that lived there and they were very vocal in their disapproval for an hour or two until they realized if we were staying, they would have to go. They moved on and all was quiet by bedtime.

Our first full day in Moremi dawned dry and overcast after another night of rain and thunder. We followed the normal pattern of 5am alarm call, breakfast and a departure between 6am and 6:15am. Little did we realize how quickly a significant sighting would be made and within 5 minutes we were parked and watching a male Leopard in a tree. We spent almost two hours and shot many frames before he finally came down the tree and moved away.

We headed off to see what else was on offer, but very soon it became apparent that there was even more standing water after the overnight rain. This fact was later born out when we spotted a crocodile actually swimming in the flooded wheel tracks. OK, it was a young one, but even so, it’s not a very common sight. The day was mainly one of spotting and photographing birds, including a couple more to add to our all time list. We called time during the late afternoon as a thunderstorm that we had watched building finally reached us and we headed back to camp early.

Our second full day in Moremi was much the same as our first, although the weather was drier and there was no early surprise Leopard sighting. A couple more new bird species, but perhaps the highlight was our first encounter with a Rock Monitor Lizard. To say he was uncooperative is the understatement, but an impressive animal nonetheless. We witnessed a rather serious disagreement in a Baboon troop as an alpha-male chased an interloper round and around a lake at speed until he had been seen off and found another tree.

We moved on and stopped a little while later for coffee, where we appeared to annoy a Hippo quite seriously. He kept his eye on us all of the time we were there, continually submerging and resurfacing just a little closer each time. The remainder of the day was again mainly bird photography, punctuated by Wildebeest, Impala, Giraffe, Red Lechwe, Kudu and Leopard sightings.

Probably the highlight was the Southern Carmine Bee-eaters. We had spotted them the day before, but this time it appeared we were disturbing potential food sources for them as we drove along. We were being accompanied by up to four birds flying alongside us and the image with this post is of one of the birds. It really was a beautiful sight.

We finished the day with another visit to the Yellow-billed Storks fishing, sundowners and then back to camp for dinner. What greeted us when we got there was one of the best sunsets we were to witness during the whole trip.

All that remained in Moremi was the following day’s game drive to the gate and then the transfer into Khwai. The rain was back to haunt us at breakfast, but thankfully stopped before we left. Three memorable sightings were in store for us between the camp and the gate, which strangely happened at the same location. We were watching a large group of Red Lechwe, the most we had seen all trip, as overhead was flying a majestic African Marsh Harrier. As we were concentrating on these, there was a commotion behind and to our right hand side and what was probably the largest pod of Hippos we have ever seen were running down a track to a new flooded area. Magical to watch.

Next time I’ll conclude with a summary of our two full days in Khwai.