Days 22 to 24 May 3rd – 5th 2018 Pangolin Bush Camp
Departure day – we had a restful morning in the Lodge before meeting our soon to be Pangolin Guide Extra-ordinaire Sara. As we were briefed on our week we discovered we would have cameras provided and tuition throughout our time. Not just any cameras, lovely cameras – Canon 7 D, DSLR cameras with 400mm lens.
We also met our guide and driver Killer – no nickname this is his given name. We were to discover Killer is an exceptional guide, respected by others and with 28 years of experience.
Our afternoon drive to the Pangolin Mobile Camp also served as the first of our wildlife experiences as we meandered through Chobe learning about the wildlife and our cameras. Wildlife spotting, learning about cameras, and “Sundowners” (drinks at a spot to see the beautiful African sunsets and practice dusk shots) were the afternoon pattern on land and water. For mornings Sundowners was replaced with coffee and rusk.
The trucks were fitted with a padded camera stand for each seat. My initial comment “I will just watch the wildlife I won’t need a camera”. This quickly changed.
Once at camp deep into the park we found tents for two with beds! Each tent had a back flap with a camp shower and bush toilet enclosed by a tarp for privacy. Beds and en-suites – what a treat. The next morning we discovered the morning wake up call at 5.30am came with a basin of hot water followed by coffee and light breakfast in the dining tent.
The Camp team were wonderful lead by Hossein our very helpful leader and Jack the camp chef who produced delicious and varied meals – my favourite was a tender, mouth-watering slow cooked lamb with Pap – a local maize meal dish. The last night was a Braai with a large range of meats and sausage. Breads, cakes, deserts even Gluten free for one of us was all cooked over the fire.
On our twice daily safaris the highlights included seeing:
Very cute baby elephants. Our friend Alec whose birthday was the reason for the trip could hardly contain his delight.
Sara our photography tutor providing us with the information that got us great photos!
A pride of 13 lions moving along the track not even acknowledging our close presence as they moved past us their giant paws swinging slowly through as they moved. The year old cubs had whitish spots along their flanks, the older lions were sleek and muscled.
Two male giraffes, thought to be brothers, play fighting by twisting their necks around each other in what looked like a dance but easy to imagine how frightening this would be if the fight was real.
A black backed Jackal
Rare spottings such as an African Wildcat spotted as we focussed on a nearby Jackal – even Killer was excited to see the cat which most of us thought initially was a feral domestic cat!
The stunning bird life – hard to keep up with the number of varieties. One particular bird took our fancy -the Lilac-breasted Roller. So called because it flies in a wave shape. It is really cute as it sits on the tree eating grubs but it’s true beauty is when it flies.It is then that you are able to see the beautiful tourquoise underneath his wings .It had become the mission of the group to get an in-flight photo. Some got close. Chris was lucky got a shot he was really happy with.
After three nights it was time to transfer to the water and while the camp was very comfortable we all looked forward to the treat of running water, washing body and clothes!
Our Photos from the Safari Camp
Chris’s Photos
