Author Topic: My African Dream (Read 121698 times)

MegaPix · « **Reply #80 on:** April 08, 2015, 02:51:52 pm »

Get your shutter much slower when you take shots of the plane in flight. Will make the propellor spin more.
Nice pics

Sardine · « **Reply #81 on:** May 02, 2015, 01:13:01 pm »

Busy sorting through over 500 photos from the last couple of night stops. Eish.

I can't resist sharing this one now.

A female leopard takes a break in the shade, near Shinde Camp.

Carrots · « **Reply #82 on:** May 03, 2015, 10:36:46 am »

Great pic. Van al die "katte" is hulle my favourites.

cheesy · « **Reply #83 on:** May 03, 2015, 08:39:18 pm »

Phew at long last, I was in the throws of depression for lack of activity. This is my favourite post please keep it alive with reports and photos of cats and elephants

Sardine · « **Reply #84 on:** May 04, 2015, 08:32:35 am »

Ag dankie.

Leopards are beautiful.

A quick report...
Yesterday I decided to do a good deed and help out a colleague who was feeling sick. I took over his flying, which included a nightstop in Selinda. Not realising he had 0630 take off the next day (today). Eish.

To get to Selinda camp from the airfield, it's a 15min drive followed by a 10min boat trip, in the Selinda Spillway, which I like to call "Hippo Country". Unfortunately, since I had to leave camp at 0500 (which meant waking up at 0400

) to be at the airfield in time to preflight before my guests arrived, we couldn't take the boat as it was too dark and not safe.

So we took the long way around in the car. Well, not as long as I thought because the guide decided to take a short cut. Through a river. In the dark. With hippos around. The Land Cruiser was floating!

I preflighted in the dark, and was treated to a beautiful sunrise.

Later I'm off to Vic Falls!

mtbbiker · « **Reply #85 on:** May 04, 2015, 11:28:57 am »

Quote from: Sardine on May 04, 2015, 08:32:35 am

Ag dankie.

Leopards are beautiful.

A quick report...
Yesterday I decided to do a good deed and help out a colleague who was feeling sick. I took over his flying, which included a nightstop in Selinda. Not realising he had 0630 take off the next day (today). Eish.

To get to Selinda camp from the airfield, it's a 15min drive followed by a 10min boat trip, in the Selinda Spillway, which I like to call "Hippo Country". Unfortunately, since I had to leave camp at 0500 (which meant waking up at 0400 ) to be at the airfield in time to preflight before my guests arrived, we couldn't take the boat as it was too dark and not safe.

So we took the long way around in the car. Well, not as long as I thought because the guide decided to take a short cut. Through a river. In the dark. With hippos around. The Land Cruiser was floating!

I preflighted in the dark, and was treated to a beautiful sunrise.

Later I'm off to Vic Falls!

If there is no Photos it didn't happen

Xpat · « **Reply #86 on:** May 04, 2015, 08:42:44 pm »

Sardine - one question if you don't mind. One of the tracks high on my to-do list is circumventing Okavango delta from the north (Maun to North Gate to Seronga and up to Nam border for the ferry crossing). I've tracked on Goole Earth cutlines from the Moremi North Gate all the way to to Seronga, passing the Selinda camp (I think). The only problem is crossing Selinda river (on the bike). Seeing you travel there, could you please ask around when is the river at it's lowest and if it would be passable on the bike?

I know that the area are private concessions, but my understanding is that cutline is a public road in Botswana and as long as I stay on one I'm not trespassing.

Thanks a mil.

Sardine · « **Reply #87 on:** May 05, 2015, 08:13:26 am »

Mtbbiker, it was dark!

Xpat, my guess would be the change from winter to summer, but I will find out.
Looking at those cutlines from the air, they look rough; very very thick sand.

mtbbiker · « **Reply #88 on:** May 05, 2015, 06:37:57 pm »

Quote from: Sardine on May 05, 2015, 08:13:26 am

Mtbbiker, it was dark!

Xpat, my guess would be the change from winter to summer, but I will find out.
Looking at those cutlines from the air, they look rough; very very thick sand.

Sardine, good excuse

XPat, if I understand you correctly from North Gate going North on the cut line, you will have to cross Chobe NP - I am not sure they will allow a bike, (its Lion and Elephant country) But I agree it will be a fantastic Adventure

Xpat · « **Reply #89 on:** May 05, 2015, 07:17:46 pm »

Thank you Sardine, please let me know if you find out more about the Selinda river crossing. It is a bit of a balancing act - I need to get there when the river is as low as possible (and still not sure I would be able to make it on the bike, especially with all the crocs and hippos there), so the end of the dry season is probably best - however the sand will be much more brutal, than in the wet season (as you probably know I have done cutlines south and east of Chobe two years ago in the wet, and they were manageable).

@mtbbiker: they would not let me go to the parks on the bike there. What I'm looking at is going north from the North Gate on a cutline to the west of the western border of Chobe and turn and head west for about 100 km or more to Seronga, which is on the northern shore of Okavango. If you lookup the Christmas Safari RR in my sigline (the first one from December 2013, not the one I did on Namibia this year), I describe the planned route in the introduction.

And yes, I expect to see some elephants and lions - obviously from the safe distance. In that first Christmas Safari trip I've mentioned above I have done the cutlines from Mababe village east to the main tar road between Nata and Kasane about 200 km away and then some more along the eastern Chobe boundary from Pandamatenga to Kasane. And yes I have bumped into quite a few elephants and even flushed out two lionesses - luckily they ran away from me (you can see them running away in low quality in one of the videos in that RR).

Sardine · « **Reply #90 on:** May 15, 2015, 05:00:16 pm »

Hi Xpat,

Apparently the cut line (teste fly control line) crosses the Selinda Spillway, and there's a little bridge or something there.

Xpat · « **Reply #91 on:** May 15, 2015, 06:20:58 pm »

Thank you very much Sardine, much appreciated!

Sardine · « **Reply #92 on:** May 20, 2015, 09:03:55 am »

Today I was awake at 0445, and in the office long before I had to be. Quite fortunate, because this is the view that awaited me on my walk to the aircraft...

Sardine · « **Reply #93 on:** May 29, 2015, 11:54:00 am »

I know, I know, my lack of updates is astonishing.

New blog posts are up...

http://the-flying-fish.blogspot.com/

>>Thump°C · « **Reply #94 on:** May 29, 2015, 12:30:48 pm »

Awesome pics

Thanks

mtbbiker · « **Reply #95 on:** May 31, 2015, 09:18:51 am »

Quote from: Sardine on May 29, 2015, 11:54:00 am

I know, I know, my lack of updates is astonishing.

New blog posts are up...

http://the-flying-fish.blogspot.com/

Wow, Just looked at your blog, I have no words...

Sardine · « **Reply #96 on:** June 02, 2015, 01:07:20 pm »

Thank you.

Scenic flight, the Mack Air way. 46 people, 9 aircraft. It was fun!

Sardine · « **Reply #97 on:** June 02, 2015, 05:01:46 pm »

Khwai River Lodge, 2 June 2015

It's always great to be able to go on a game drive. But sometimes sitting in camp is just as good.

Once the guests leave on their drive, the generators are switched off and calm descends over the camp. Squirrels flit around and elephant drink from the river while the staff begin their daily routine of setting up for dinner. Once they finish, the only sounds are that of nature.

As the sun descends the temperature drops and the hippos start to wake, their laugh-like calls echoing over the water as a fish eagle calls from the nearby treeline.

It's impossible not to fall in love with Africa.

Mev Vis Arend · « **Reply #98 on:** June 02, 2015, 08:12:38 pm »

I love your pics.

I&horse · « **Reply #99 on:** June 02, 2015, 08:58:31 pm »