SPECIALTY SAFARIS
Wildlife
Mombo April 2009 — wanted a week in Africa's best wildlife destination. One of the ladies had been on an Eco Logical Africa flying safari with her family a few years ago.
They had a tight schedule in early April 2009.
I suggested Mombo Camp in Botswana's Okavango Delta. Wilderness Safaris have a booking restriction on Mombo in that as a destination Mombo has to be booked in conjunction with another Wilderness Safaris camp. This restriction worked out because for two of the nights that were requested at Mombo, there was no availability. I chose Chitabe Lediba for the two nights because of the abundant wildlife in the Chitabe concession.
Air Botswana from Johannesburg to Maun
Sefofane transfer from Maun to Chitabe
2 nights Chitabe Lediba Camp
Sefofane transfer from Chitabe to Mombo
5 nights Mombo Main Camp
Sefofane transfer from Mombo to Maun
Air Botswana from Maun to Johannesburg
Geology
Nambia July 2008 — , on his third African safari with Eco Logical Africa, asked me to fit together a geological safari in Namibia with specific destinations for July 2008. The adventure started in the Namib Desert and we visited Sossousvlei. We continued over the desert and down the Kuiseb River to a misty Swakopmund. Swakopmund houses the world's largest quartz crystal and you can book a fascinating day trip to the Rossing Uranium mine at Arandis.
The next stop was Cape Cross for the Messum crater experience and then to Etendeka for the wonderful flat top basalt scenery. Flying round the Brandberg Mountain was fun and we spent a night at The White Lady lodge next to the abandoned Ais tin mine. Our last stop was in the Hartmann Valley on the Cunene River.
SAA from Johannesburg to Windhoek International
1 night Little Kulala - Sossousvlei
2 nights Wolwedans Dunes Lodge - Namib Desert
2 nights Hansa Hotel - Swakopmund
2 nights Cape Cross Lodge
1 night The White Lady Lodge
2 nights Serra Cafema
1 night Huab Lodge
SAA from Windhoek International to Johannesburg
Tsumkwe bushman
Tsumkwe June 2008 — through our Eco Logical Africa website. He was looking for a window on rural San society in the Kalahari. He wanted to walk on hunting and gathering field trips and participate in a shaman trance dance. This was all possible at Tsumkwe in the heart of Namibia's bushman land Kalahari.
I suggested a week in Arno Oosthuizen's bush camp located in the dunes near a san community. Through Arno, I arranged for a gemsbuck and steinbuck hunting expedition, a stingless bee honey search, a springhare excavation, fire making with sticks, eland and giraffe trance dances and an exercise in water sustainability in the Kalahari.
This fitted perfectly with his summer vacation time and we hosted him in June 2008.
BA Comair from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls
Fly from Victoria Falls to Katima Mulilo and onwards to Tsumkwe
7 nights camping with rural san
Fly from Tsumkwe to Katima Mulilo onwards to Victoria Falls
1 night Victoria Falls Hotel
BA Comair from Victoria Falls to Johannesburg
Photography
Southern Africa October 2006 — (with two older teenage children) contacted Eco Logical Africa for a two-week luxury safari. The mother indicated that she was a professional photographer and was looking for interesting African angles for her photography. They had never been to Africa and were expecting abundant wildlife. To maximise the dry premium wildlife viewing window, I suggested that they travel in September or October. I sent then two privately guided itineraries and a Namibia Botswana combination package. They decided on a privately guided package that started in Namibia's desert and ended at the Victoria Falls. They opted for the Zambian side of the Victoria Falls.
The photographer said that the whole safari was a serious photographer's dream world. There was one disappointment. During the dry season, the falls are better viewed from the Zimbabwean side than the Zambian side. Strangely, the teenagers indicated that their highlight was flying over the Kalahari from Windhoek to Maun.
SAA Johannesburg to Windhoek
2 nights Wolwedans Boulders Camp - Namib Rand Namibia
1 night Little Kulala - Sossousvlei Namibia
2 nights Jack's Camp - Makgadigadi Pans Botswana
3 nights Mombo Camp - Okavango Delta Botswana
2 nights Vumbura Plains - Okavango Delta Botswana
2 nights Zibadianja - Linyanti Flood plain Botswana
1 night Ntwala Lodge - Impalila Island Namibia
1 night Tongabezi - Zambezi River Zambia
BA Comair Livingstone to Johannesburg
Birding
Southern Africa November 2005 — in their early fifties emailed Eco Logical Africa for a safari bent on birding. One couple had been on two previous safaris with Eco logical Africa. They were keen on ten days in early November. November can be hot and rainy so I started the trip in Jacana Camp for a mixture of water birds and recently arrived summer migratory birds. The Duba Plains support a fascinating diversity of larks, cisticolas and longclaws. One of the activities at Ntwala Lodge is birding by boat down the Chobe and Zambezi Rivers.
I found interesting birds at all the destinations. Courting Kori Bustards, Rosy Breasted Longclaws, Collared Palm Thrushes and Taita Falcons were the highlights of the checklist which stretched to nearly four hundred birds.
Air Botswana from Johannesburg to Maun
2 nights Jacana Camp - Okavango Delta Botswana
2 nights Duba Plains - Okavango Delta Botswana
2 nights Ntwala Lodge - Impalila Island Namibia
2 nights The Hide - Hwange National Park Zimbabwe
1 night Victoria Falls Hotel - Victoria Falls Zimbabwe
SAA from Victoria Falls to Johannesburg
Birding
Zambia June 2004 — website, four doctors from the U.S. emailed me for a possible safari to Zambia. Disposable time was limited to eight nights and they had very specific dates in June. One individual expressed a very keen interest in birds and he was the only member that had been to Africa before.
I designed my itinerary around four interesting and contrasting two night stops. I booked a lunch on Livingstone Island above the Victoria Falls for the second day but the Zambezi waters were too high and this adventure was cancelled. To compensate for the cancelled lunch I booked a light lunch at the Victoria Falls Hotel in Zimbabwe. The doctors were very happy with this arrangement.
Return tickets (Johannesburg - Livingstone - Johannesburg) on BA Comair after Nationwide airline went into liquidation.
The doctors are all planning on bringing their families to Africa for adventure safaris. The only comment on the itinerary was that the Kafue was a once off and would not feature on any of their future plans.
2 nights Sindabezi Island - Zambezi River above the Victoria Falls
2 nights Lunga River Lodge - Kafue
2 nights Tafika - Luangwa National Park
2 nights Old Mhondoro - Lower Zambezi National Park
Cultural Music
South Africa — , attending one of our marketing "roadshows", asked me if it was possible to fit together a trip focussing on rural African cultural music. I said yes and started her adventure in Namibia's Namib Desert where we experienced ancient Nama vocals. June proved a perfect time to visit this desert landscape filled with lyrics. We flew north to Kaokaland and studied traditional Himba instruments: cow horn, palm string bows and metal clappers. Our journey continued east to Bushmanland where we stayed in a remote bushman village. The bushman displayed a variety of instruments and readily played a variety of tunes at every opportunity.
From the Kalahari Desert we flew to Victoria Falls and on to Binga where we participated in a variety of musical shows in a small village. The Tonga tribe have amazing drums.
I finished our musical adventure with the Venda tribe in South Africa. We attended a "python dance" on the forested shores of Lake Fundudzi . The Venda's have a variety of traditional instruments ranging from kudu horns to mouth harps.
My music fanatic is planning to produce a book on her traditional African music experience.
SAA from Johannesburg to Windhoek
1 night Zebra Lodge
1 night Wolwedans Dunes Lodge
1 night Opuwo
2 nights Epupa Falls Lodge
1 night Victoria Falls
2 nights Binga
3 nights Thoho ya Ndou sun
SA Airlink from Polokwane to Johannesburg