AFRICA NATURE DIARY from @shumbahills – Blog#1, Hundreds and thousands elephants & zebras in front of you in Makgadikgadi, Botswana in January 2018!

 There is a major rule in any safari-planning and perfect experience to ensure while you’re being in Africa wild parks. It’s to be in the right place in the right time. In short it means that you should choose thoroughly the place and season when you’re going on safari. But the fact is that Africa and Mother Nature are both unpredictable mostly and these very words of some perfect guide from South Lungwa Park in Zambia would be the best the best advice to follow: "First, don’t base your expectations on what you see on TV. Come with an open mind, patience and proper equipment. Decent binoculars make the safari much more rewarding. Although iPhones and pocket cameras can get good photos, a decent SLR and lens will get you closer to the action. A good guide will approach animals with the welfare of both the animals and his guests in mind, and harassing animals or scaring guests is not good etiquette”   

I highly evaluated the efficiency of such advice when have came in Makgadikgadi Pans Park in Botswana on this January 2018. This park is of great value in high season months i.e. you should arrive here from June till November in order to enjoy spectacular game-viewing. And you may enjoy this all not even leaving your room actually. All that you need to do is just relax and enjoy the view from your room terrace. Magnificent wildlife show is right in front of you! I stayed in very rustic and meanwhile perfectly located and managed Meno-A-Kwena camp (“Meno-A-Kwena” means “Tooth of crocodile” in local language). It is a hidden gem of a camp perched on a rocky clifftop above the Boteti River in Botswana. With a glittering roster of activities, including day trips to the Makgadikgadi Pans, guided walks with the San Bushmen, and wildlife-watching boat trips, there’s plenty to get your teeth into. 

Makgadikgadi Park airveiw - January 2018

From Mena camp nice position, you look down on a menagerie of animals at the water below, from herds of majestic elephant, to dazzles of nomadic zebra – all you need to do is sit back, and take it all in. Please do not forget that ALL of this you may expect to see only in DRY SEASON as mentioned before.  

Please look at photo behind these beautiful girls. It was Boleti River bank with lots of zebras, view right from the camp! pic made in July

and 

Here is how it looked in January 2018

But in my case the climate changing gave me a chance to enjoy the greatest zebra migration (secondly counted in Africa after Serengeti places) and huge numbers of elephants coming here in mid JANUARY. But to watch it we should have left our camp and get inside the park down the river. Makgadikgadi Pans Park is in very dry area and there is just one permanent water source inside the park. It’s Boteti River. And all of animals should regularly come down to Boteti to drink in drier months. In wet season (usually December-March) most animals may keep in the central parts of the park where local pans are full of water. But during this very year the lack of rains in South Africa in general in in Botswana particular made our park visit hugely rewarding as thousands of zebras, elephants and even predators should have come down to Boteti river to survive. 

Boleti River view in the afternoon, January 2018

Herd of kudu antelopes by the river in Makgadikgadi Park, January 2018

Vultures by the river feeding on baby gnu remnants - January 2018

Zebras of Makgadikgadi, January 2018

Our guide Mpapi was one of the most competent guides I’ve ever met in Africa whole. For example he told us about one special thing regarding elephant population in Makgadikgadi Park. This park is unique in subject of elephants behavior. Most of elephants you may see there are males. And all these males try to keep together and even do not confront each other! They are normally allowed to approach elephant females just during breeding season only. But it’s hardly you’ll have a chance to see females. They usually stay deeply inside the park in some forest and bush areas. All the animals in park are not skittish at all and you may take amazing pictures! But be prepared for high temperature climate and tough experience in case you would like to get more inside the park. This will make sense if you’d wish to see more predators and meerkats, and also to enjoy a stunning and magical view of a desert and salt pans. Most of camps do organize some 2 or 3 nights fly-camping tours to get inside Makgadikgadi and be sure you’ll never forget about it! And it’s actually nothing to compare with.    

And one more thing to notice. I should say that regardless to be mainly animal-lover I always enjoy all ethnic experience and meeting with Africans in any of the places I visit. I met Bushmen of Kalahari before in Namibia, and in Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana. But meeting with bushmen family here, in Makgadikgadi area was the mostly memorable issue in my personal list of journeys. They appeared to be so friendly and exciting individuals, expressed lots of fun, told us stories and showed us plenty interesting things than we’ve been absolutely happy to meet them. I’m sure that after such local community interaction you will be aware much more about how we all may live in piece and harmony with each other and Nature.   

Bushmen community in Makgadikgadi - January 2018

In other words Makgadikgadi park is strongly recommended for everyone who wish to get in some less-visited and wonderful park, rich of game and who is interested to watch animals in it’s special behavior which you will see nowhere else.   

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Fireplace in Meno-A-Kwena - January 2018