Yellow-billed Hornbill - Khwai, Botswana
The transfer from Moremi should have been quite straightforward and virtually a game drive all of the way. But again the sheer amount of water lying around was to change the plan. What should have been a West to East direct drive became probably double the distance as we had to go halfway back to Maun, before doubling back into Khwai. But at least we got in there.We arrived in the reserve in mid-afternoon and started to search for big cats. We knew there were Lion and Leopard about, but we couldn’t find them. I was having difficulty getting my bearings, as the landscape was so much different to how it looked two years ago, due to the rains. All too soon it was time for dinner as the light was lost for the day.Not for the first time this trip, we were entertained during the night by heavy rain and thunder. But amid all of that commotion we could also hear Lions calling, so our first full day dawned dry and full of hope. I use the word dry, but I should perhaps just say it wasn’t raining.We started out at our normal time just after 6am in search of the Lions that had been spotted near to camp the previous day. They were nowhere to be found, despite the calling during the night, so we decided to widen our search. After nearly two hours we were finally rewarded, but not with Lions. Instead we had a stunning encounter with a Leopard in a tree and remained with it for nearly an hour.Moving on, we had Bee-eater and Kingfisher sightings, together with a solitary Elephant, before we heard of a pride of Lions spotted some way from camp. Getting there involved a river crossing at a ford, where the water was deep enough to come halfway up the bodywork and then moving through an area where the track was extremely rutted and muddy. A quick stop for coffee and then we got into position and found a male and three females asleep under some bushes. We sat with them for a while, but decided to go back to camp for lunch and then come straight back out. The plan was to arrive before the cars from the lodges arrived after their siestas and high teas around 4pm. We were back in position before 3pm.They were still under the same bushes, but our guide had a good idea of where they would come out and positioned the car accordingly. He was right and one by one they slowly emerged, then lay down in the sun and started dozing once again. Every now and then one or more would stir and we witnessed some wonderful interaction. Some cars pitched up, but we stayed as long as we felt we wanted before heading back for sundowners and dinner.We certainly weren’t ready for what happened next though. Not more than a quarter of a mile from the four Lions was a solitary female with a cub that could only have been a few days old. We watched in awe as the youngster played, biting Mum and jumping on her before she would pick him up in her mouth and move him along. By now the light was fading fast and we were struggling to get good images, but also we had a distance to travel to be back in camp before 7pm when the reserve closes for the day.Our final full day was to be just as eventful, after another night of rain and Lions calling. Within a mile of leaving camp we rounded a bend in the track to be met by a male and a female Lion lying there. We spent the next two hours watching their antics as the female attempted unsuccessfully to seduce the male into mating with her. She tried everything, including the storming off trick, but all to no avail.We then headed back to the area where we had witnessed the Lions the previous day, even though the ford across the river was even more difficult after the night’s rain. On the way we spotted a pair of Fish Eagles in a tree, where they were devouring a catfish. Meeting up with a car from one of the lodges, we were told of a Leopard in a tree, with a kill (an Impala), so we made our way to it.We stayed with her for an hour until she decided to come down from the tree and find a shady spot under a bush to sleep it off. We left and the rest of the morning yielded mainly bird sightings. We decided that we would take the same approach as we had yesterday and return to the Leopard straight after lunch.
On our way back after lunch, we noticed a Python that had clearly devoured something quite large and was languishing in a tree. Speculation was it could be an antelope of some kind, probably an Impala.Arriving back at the Leopard sighting, our plan had worked like a dream again and we were the only car there. Again we were able to take up a prime position before the lodge cars arrived. It looked as though only the hind legs were left and the Leopard was again tucking into it, despite a vast amount of Maggots crawling all over it.We had been watching and photographing her for almost two hours when suddenly she became very alert, stood up and peered into the distance. Our guide thought it might be her son coming along to share the meal with his mother, as he has been seen to do so before. But it wasn’t long before the real reason emerged, as a Spotted Hyaena came out of the bushes and into view.The next thirty minutes was very interesting, watching the posturing of the two animals. Slowly the Hyaena, also a female, positioned herself under the tree and out of sight. At the same time the Leopard thought it a good idea to move the remains of the Impala further along the branch. At that point, it became obvious that there was more of it left than we thought, as suddenly one of the front legs fell out of the tree. The Hyaena pounced immediately as if shot from a gun and amid much crunching of bones, devoured that particular treat. But the fun wasn’t over and the whole scene was repeated as the other front leg fell down with the same result.At that point we decided to leave and head back to camp. It was getting late, we had a good way to travel and we thought our day was done. How wrong we were.The late afternoon light was now perfect as we got into the golden hour and there in front of use was a Yellow-billed Hornbill preening in a bush. It was beautifully lit and we were able to get very close, as you can see in the above image. Opportunities like this don’t happen often, but we weren’t finished yet.As we got to the area where we had seen the Lion cub the previous day, we witnessed a fight between the mother and a male Lion. The cub had been hidden away, but the Male would have killed it had he found it, so the mother was furious in her fight. What an end to the day.All that remained of the trip was a short morning game drive, before the transfer back to Maun and a night in Thamalakane River Lodge before our flights home. We weren’t to be disappointed though.We knew there had been Lions close to camp overnight, but weren’t prepared for what happened. Before we even left the camp, our guide called us to the car to see a male Lion walking down the track towards us. As he walked past the camp, no more than 30 – 40 yards from us he stopped, looked us up and down, then walked on. Fabulous.We climbed in the car and set off to follow him as he was searching for his females. He finally caught up with them on a track that ran behind the camp and the three of them just started snoozing on the track. WE watched for a while then gingerly drove around them and moved on.Our next encounter was with a pair of Elephants, who clearly didn’t care for our presence. We were mock charged several times and got some super images as a result.After a few more bird sightings, including another first, we found another pair of Lions, who mated not once, but twice while we were with them. This was to be our final sighting of the trip and a memorable one at that.Next time I’ll post up my conclusions on the two weeks and try to include some information for anyone interested in trying a similar trip.
