August 21 – Sept 1
Hi All,
I continue the Botswana Secluded Safari on Day 3, 8/23, after arriving at the Kings Pool airstrip and starting the game drive to the camp: We arrive ~3:30ish and do a short game drive to Kings Pool. Kathy was the hero as her keen eyes spotted another leopard by a water hole…whoa!!!
Days 3-5, Aug 23-26: Kings Pool: https://wilderness-safaris.com/our-camps/camps/kings-pool-camp
“King’s Pool’s home is Botswana’s 127,000-ha Linyanti Wildlife, bordering Chobe National Park and at the crux of the important wildlife corridor straddling Angola, Namibia, Zambia and Botswana. Such corridors are essential to promote viable, self-sustaining wildlife populations and reduce human-wildlife conflict. Refurbished in 2019, King’s Pool nestles under ebony and jackalberry trees and overlooks the Linyanti River and an oxbow lagoon, the ‘King’s Pool’ – honoring Swedish King Carl Gustav XVI, who reportedly honeymooned nearby in the seventies. Totally solar-powered, richly hued in copper and teal, the camp offers eight elegant thatch and canvas suites, each boasting a spacious bedroom and lounge leading to a veranda embracing views of the picturesque lagoon and surrounds. The sumptuous common areas are stylishly set on expansive raised decks close to the water’s edge, perfect for watching all the wildlife dramas unfold.”
I personally liked King’s Pool decor…it just reminded me of the old style safari lodges and you could see the rich and famous of the 1900’s here….pretty cool!!
Boma Dinner: “Boma dinners are a component of all southern Africa safari lodges. A boma is a livestock enclosure or corral. For example, if a wildlife reserve were accepting new animals onto its property, it would keep the new animals inside a boma until they became acclimated to their new surroundings and were ready to be released onto the reserve. At safari lodges, the boma is a gathering place where guests meet for candlelit dinners in an open air atmosphere. Unlike in the US where corrals are built of wood fences, the boma is enclosed with tall reed walls. The presence of bomas at safari lodges is mostly for show these days, but they make enchanting dinner spots, lit up by lanterns, candles and a fire pit.”
Before they served us dinner all the staff gathered and sang many local traditional songs, some dressed in traditional outfits. It was enchanting and reminded us of the singing villagers did in Fiji. Great singers/vocals and a real delight. Then dinner….many traditional dishes…oxtail was the main feast, but also creamed spinach, polenta, lentils, rice, tomato sauce and grilled chicken!!
Day 4: Another typical safari day….up early and out by 7am while it is still cool. We immediately briefly saw a hurt male lion cub, ~1-year old, separated from another cub and its mom. It was well hidden and we hoped it recovered enough to find its brother and mom. We then discovered another leopard Ona thinks was hunting impalas. It stayed well back in the bushes for quite a while. After that we saw a large herd of elephants, maybe 50-75+, coming out of the forest and going to the river for a drink/swim….amazing sighting and a treat to watch their display of behaviors!! We also saw a herd of 150-200 Cape Buffaloes….wow…are those guys big!!! The highlight for the afternoon game drive was a good size troop of baboons, playful and very active!!
Day 5: Another typical safari day….slept pretty well but had some hippos squawking through the night…ugh:)))) Out by 7:00am….Ona immediately started tracking some lions and 3 dogs….which we might have got close to but never saw. For lunch Ona surprised us with a boat ride along the Delta for lunch….what a treat….we saw many hippos and lots of different birds. After lunch, rest and tea/cakes we had a delightful afternoon game drive….we found another leopard hiding in some tall grass who came out and gave us a great showing. It then went behind the truck and as I and others turned to see it, the noise and movement spooked it and it ran off into some new bushes. It was a good reminder to be extra still and quiet when observing these big cats!! We had another beautiful sunset and cocktails out on the delta followed by a scrumptious dinner back at camp….trout and pork!!
Day 6: Moving day to Jacana Camp. We were out by 7:30am all packed up. Ona tracked some more lions but no joy. We did see many elephants again and one somewhat sickly juvenile put on quite a show eating dirt. Elephants eat dirt to provide the minerals, salt, and calcium they lack in their diet. It helps them digest their food by breaking the material they eat into smaller pieces which ultimately leads to more refined digestion and absorption of nutrients. We made it to the airport at 10:40am but the plane was on bush time….about 30 minutes late. We made it to the Jacana Camp airstrip about noon.
We saw 3 different leopards in King’s Pool which Ona indicated was a record for him…wow!!
The plan: I’ll stop the blog here and pick it up at Jacana Camp, Days 6-8. I have posted two photo galleries for King’s Pool, ~600 photos. I have now been through about 4500 pictures out of the 7500 we took.
Kathy and I will also be traveling next week….first to Dallas to see her parents and then onto New Orleans for our 45th Tulane and Sigma Nu fraternity reunion….we cannot possibly that old….arghhhhhh!!! After that we have the granddaughters for a long w/e and then it’s Thanksgiving already. I hope to be able to finish the rest of Botswana and then Cape Town in early December!!
Hope all is well!
John
Mystic Moon
Pictures at:
http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/botswana-okavango-delta-kings-pool-camp-part-3
http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/botswana-okavango-delta-kings-pool-camp-part-4
Staff at Kings Pool singing and dancing during the Boma dinner
Elephants coming out of the forest going to the river for a drink & swim
Playful baboons
Leopard near a water hole
Family of elephants, Mom a bit aggressive!!
Wild Dogs mainly resting before their night hunt
Herd of Cape Buffalo
Big Bull elephant carefully eating grass
