February to April

Wildlife tends to start a local migration in the Mombo concession with much game moving from the open floodplains to the areas between the woodlands and the floodplains and towards April, into the woodlands itself in search of the new shoots and sweet grass.

Many migrant species of birds gather gorging themselves on insects before their long flight North. This is also the time of year when the Pels Fishing Owl is breeding and starts to nurture the new born chicks.

The rainfall in Botswana continues throughout the country in localised downpours, petering our towards the end of April. The vegetation continues to grow with the rainfall creating a lush undergrowth that provides perfect ambush territory for the cats.

As the rains begin to end the land starts to look parched as grasses slowly turn brown and the overall lush of the landscape at Mombo starts to deteriorate. At the same time however the Okavangos flood water starts to flood the plains for the first time and a totally new look is brought to the concession.

Mombo Newsletter – February 2005

Dumela! Welcome to the latest update from Mombo Camp in Botswana's Okavango Delta. it is hard to believe that another month has flown by so quickly! Of course there is the old cliché that time flies when you're having fun, which would go a long way to explaining this phenomenon to those who have spent time here this month! But then there are always those special moments to linger over, too...

Summer is not quite behind us, but already we are seeing the first signs of the coming winter, and of the change of the seasons. The sun rises that little bit later in the mornings, and sets just a few minutes earlier. This slight shortening of the tropical day however merely serves to intensify the experience of being at Mombo, and the unique combination of luxury and unspoilt wilderness that exists here.

As we move away from midsummer, we have had a slight drop in temperatures, and a few fleeces have been spied in the mornings. Of course after a few minutes on the game drive, the first rays of the rising sun strike the Land Rovers and guests are soon peeling off those extra layers and enjoying warming up as the earth does.

Cloudy days have again reduced average temperatures, but we have still had some scorching days. However, we did not receive the rain we needed and which was so often promised by the cloud formations. In total we have had only 27mm (just over 1 inch) of rain at Mombo in February, only a third of what we had in January. Temperatures in February were more consistent, with less difference between minimum and maximum temperatures. The lowest minimum daily temperature we recorded was 18°C (64°F) and the highest minimum temperature was 20°C(68°F), with an average daily minimum of 19°C or 66°F. Daily maximum temperatures ranged from 30°C(86°F) to a warm 36°C(96°F). Often on the hottest days we had welcome cool breezes blowing in which took the edge off the heat.

It is hard to choose a favourite moment in the day when each day is so full of wonders and never-to-be-forgotten moments, but we have all really been enjoying the early mornings. Few things can match the exhilaration of being among the first people to see the African bush as it gracefully slips off the cloak of night, and to gaze in rapt admiration at the first pink glow on the horizon, as the sky blushes like a new bride. The cool breeze in your face and those wonderful shimmering moments when the vague form of an animal or a tree is lit up for the first time and reveals itself in the fresh morning light.

On many mornings during February we had spectral wreaths of mist lying across the floodplains, with the tsaro palm islands rising above them like the peaks of some unexplored mountain range. It was one such morning that provided us with one of the most spectacular sightings of the month: the intense drumming of bovine hooves across the plain signalled a buffalo herd in a panic, and they bunched up as they ran, a sure sign that lion had begun that deadly game of cat and mouse - or cat and cow as it should perhaps be called.

As the buffalo quite literally ran for their lives, the phantom shapes of two young male lion drifted through the fog, a perfect example of how lion can make even movements powered by the deadliest of intents seem effortless and graceful. As the mists swirled around the confused buffalo, the distressed bellow of one female announced that the lion tactic of using the mists as a fatal smokescreen to mask their attack had been successful.

At Mombo, lion generally hunt during the hours of darkness, but they are nothing if not opportunistic, and the mist proved too great a chance to pass up for these ever-resourceful felines.

The close of each day has also been beautiful, especially with the last clouds of this year's rainy season still lingering over us, providing a perfect screen for the sun to project every colour in Nature's infinite paint box onto. And in between these two solar shows, there were of course many hours of quite breathtaking game viewing. Not that sightings were necessarily restricted to daylight - towards the end of the month, Mombo slumbered peacefully in the silver light of a full moon (which has to be seen to be believed) lighting up the floodplains and a rich tableaux of buffalo and zebra, with elephant, porcupine and genet moving through the Camp. Each night the nocturnal animals emerge to reclaim Mombo as their own - as if to remind us that we are merely visitors here, and that we musty tread lightly as we explore the natural riches of the Okavango.

After all the rain we had in January, we had high hopes for more in February, but these went unfulfilled - at least until the end of the month when we again had a few showers, mostly during the hotter part of the afternoon. The sun has taken its toll on the grasses which sprang up in response to last month's rains, but there is still ample food for all the grazing and browsing animals, which in turn ensures a steady supply of food for the predators.

Already the first waters of this year's flood - flowing towards the Delta from the Benguela highlands in Angola - have begun to enter Botswana. Early indications are that this year's flood will be on a par with 2003's inundation, that is, an "average" annual flood - if anything here can ever be described as average! Last year's flood was greater than this, but much of the water was captured by river systems in the western part of the Delta, and this could easily change this year as channels are blocked and opened in the upper reaches of the Okavango, and in the Panhandle. There is still a great deal of water available here in rain-filled pans and we can be assured that as the last of it dries up in March and April, the floodwaters will begin arriving at Mombo to replenish the channels and lagoons.

The arrival of the floodwaters is perhaps the most spectacular of the changes that take place here each year, but everywhere we look, growth and change continue apace, on every scale: from the tiny, fluffy red velvet mites which emerge from the sand after rains, to the growth of the huge (and delicious!) white "maboa" mushrooms which grow from within the termite mounds with enough force to punch holes right through the walls of these citadels - to the evident delight of the baboons that feast on them.

After anxiously following the movements of one of our resident female leopards who was pregnant (known as the Tortillis female after the distinctive "umbrella thorn" trees in her territory) we now believe that she has given birth. We have yet to see the tiny scrap of spotted fur that a leopard cub is during its first few days of life, but it appears from our most recent sightings that she is now lactating, a sure sign that there is a small mouth out there hungry for milk. This female leopard succeeded in raising her previous cub - the female we call Logadima (or Lightning) after losing several previous cubs, so we hope that this success will be the first of many.

Perhaps the most momentous birth of the month however was that of the fourth white rhino calf to be born at Mombo since the start of our rhino re-introduction project began in late 2001. The mother had detached herself from her usual social group and appeared very heavy - good indicators that she was going to hide herself away to give birth. Rhino mothers are incredibly secretive at first, and when we caught up with the mother and baby - happily playing together in a mud wallow - the calf was approximately ten days old. In fact this was the youngest age for a first sighting of any of the calves born here. We now have over thirty white rhino wild in Botswana; there were none before we started this project in conjunction with the Botswana government. And watch this space, as we are expecting more births in the next few months. [Ed: In fact, a fifth calf was spotted a few days after receiving this newsletter!]

Being born is of course only the first of the "trials of life" and each new baby at Mombo finds itself in a world teeming with opportunities, but also stalked by dangers. As I write this, we are anxiously waiting to see what becomes of a litter of lion cubs who we have seen alone several times now, and who are in real need of a good feed. We are very much hoping of course that they have not been abandoned - if they have, their chances of survival are slim. This is one of those difficult occasions when it is impossible not to become emotionally involved in the lives of the animals around us.

The process of renewal and change continues in the Camp, too... February is one of the quieter months in the safari year, and provides an opportunity for us to polish the family silver as it were - that is, to overhaul and maintain every aspect of the Camp so that it is at its most beautiful right throughout the year... All of the guest tents have had work done to their canvas, to ensure that they continue to blend in perfectly with the ancient mangosteen and jackalberry trees on the island, and the woodwork has been given particular attention to heal the ravages of the hot African sun.

New creations are being brought to life in the kitchen too - from our new improved early morning rusks (made following Sharon's mum's recipe - perfect with that first pre-dawn cup of coffee!) to Craig's latest masterpieces... If pea and chickpea risotto or white chocolate parfait with coffee chocolate praline, wild figs and Kahlua sauce don't tempt you, then you really cannot be hungry at all!

All around us, life continues in a profusion that can only really be appreciated by standing on the deck at Mombo, and looking out over the endless floodplains, dotted with zebra, wildebeest, and buffalo, or by sitting quietly in the hide at the hippo pool and soaking up the atmosphere in the company of dozens of species of waterfowl.

Mombo & Little Mombo Newsletter - Mar 05

Dumela! Here's all the latest news from Mombo and Little Mombo for March 2005. Yet another month has flown by, with so much beauty and wonder to see, and so much going on, that sometimes we have to remind ourselves to draw breath! The rhythm of life here is almost audible, and the constant drumbeat of life keeps us all on the dance floor.

A very odd month in terms of weather - the rainy season started late this year, and is now trying very hard to catch up. We received almost three inches (69mm) of very welcome rain in March, much more than in February. Normally by mid-March we have seen the last of the rain here, but we have had several impressive downpours here in the second half of the month. Average temperatures are starting to decline now, as we have passed the solstice and are heading step by step into winter. We have though had some very hot days, with temperatures every bit as high as they were in January and February. The general trend though is towards cooler weather.

Daytime temperatures ranged from 25°C to a very hot 36°C, with the average being 30.8°C. Night time temperatures went as low as 16°C and up to 21°C, with the average being 18.7°C. On many days, clouds and the breeze took the edge off some of the more extreme temperatures.

Towards the end of February, much of this area was beginning to dry out, with golden grass the colour of lion waving in the occasional breezes. Now, however, with all the recent rain we have had, the whole of Mombo has exploded in a wealth of greenery. Some areas are actually hard to recognise, as new growth as transformed them. Small pans and puddles have filled with water again, and the animals are all clearly enjoying this profusion of food and water.

There is life everywhere - even muddy puddles in the road are full of small terrapins, and often our game drives are held up by warthogs enjoying a mud bath. They seem to be having so much fun that none of us has the heart to interrupt them! A lot of rain has fallen to the north of us, and much of this water has found its way into the streams and channels which flow towards Mombo. New streams are clearly visible as emerald veins in the landscape.

Our rainfall here is typically in the form of heavy downpours in the late afternoon. Throughout the day we watch the towering clouds building up above us, and hear the first rumbles of thunder. The sense of anticipation becomes almost unbearable and finally the first heavy spots of rain begin to fall. Usually these storms last half an hour or less, and the clean, clear light after the rain is simply beautiful.

Cooler, damp days are fantastic for game viewing, as grazing animals take advantage of the lower temperatures to continue feeding later into the day, and to start again earlier in the afternoon. The sun's rays filtering through clouds creates spectacular lighting effects across the landscape, and seeing the fantastic game here against such remarkable backdrops only serves to underline the delicate balance between animals and their environment.

The easy availability of water has brought many more elephants into this area, as the matriarchs of breeding herds lead their families along timeworn and time-honoured paths towards the best feeding and drinking areas. Watching elephants approach water, trunks raised as they smell the water, and accelerating as they get close to their destination, it is impossible not to see their excitement and happiness.

As elephants move from island to island, we watch them emerge from the tsaro palms, a dignified procession of grey pachyderms with their youngsters playing around them, and trying to keep out of the way of the huge feet of the adults.

The weather has been a real influence on every aspect of life here this month, whether it be the gloriously-coloured male Paradise Whydah birds blown about by the wind as they fly from one acacia bush to another, their spectacularly non-aerodynamic tail feathers streaming out behind them, to the immense herds of buffalo moving slowly along the floodplains which fringe Chief's Island, heads down in the face of the rain squalls.

We have seen significant movements from some of our re-introduced rhino this month, as they too exploit cooler days to move to new areas. One of our best sightings of them this month was a group of four white rhino, standing staring back at us from amidst stands of aromatic wild sage plants, festooned with oxpeckers and cattle egrets. One of our large territorial males accompanied by three females, which he had clearly rounded up to keep them in his territory. This of course is a prelude to mating, so we are hopeful of yet more calves to add to the five that have already been born as a result of this major conservation initiative. The fifth of these calves was found at the beginning of this month, a little way further south along Chief's Island. Unusually, we found another rhino with the mother and new calf - the father. Normally, female rhino are very intolerant of others approaching their calves when they are still very young.

The weather conditions have also affected how we observe the natural world around us - the spectacular sunsets with clouds lit up in flaming metallic colours causing the wildebeest on the floodplains in front of Mombo to glow in the last moments of each day, and the mysterious shapes of unidentified animals moving through wreaths of mist at dawn.

Still nights have made the nocturnal roaring of lion reverberate even more loudly around Mombo, not least on the nights when they pass through Camp. Mombo sits squarely on the shared boundary of several male lion territories, and we are often thrilled by their very vocal warnings to males in adjacent territories as we sit around the fire after dinner.

Early mornings are perhaps the most amazing time of day at present, especially on the day when a lion awoke, shook the dew off his mane, and stalked out from under the star deck - right beneath the feet of our astonished guests as they sipped their first coffees of the day. The lion of course was oblivious to our surprise, and with typically majestic indifference, walked away into the mist. Later, on the game drives, we saw his huge tracks in the damp sand, heading towards Mombo.

The floodplains in front of Mombo, just a few hundred metres from Camp, have provided some of the most incredible game-viewing moments this month. The two legendary male cheetah we know as the Steroid Boys were in action again, this time bringing down a female lechwe which turned the wrong way as she and the rest of the herd jinked left and right to avoid the deadly attentions of the quicksilver cats. Over the years we have come to know the favoured hunting techniques of these amazing brothers, and so our guides were able to position the Land Rovers in such a way that the guests had ringside seats for the chase and the kill, without in any way compromising either the cheetah or their prey.

And that is perhaps the most amazing thing about exploring the paradise that is Mombo - how close we are able to get to the animals here, even notoriously shy and elusive species like cheetah. The ecosystems here and all the life they contain have been protected for many years now as part of the Moremi Game Reserve, and as such have had no negative encounters with humans. This means that today we can enjoy many wonderful moments with them, including witnessing the start of whole new cycles of life as when we were privileged enough to see wild dogs mating.

Simply to see wild dogs here (in an area so dominated by lions at present) is a wonderful sign that they may be staging a comeback at Mombo, but to see them mating gives us hope that they may den in this area for the first time in several years. Wild dogs are true itinerants, very much nomadic, effortlessly rocking across the endless plains of northern Botswana, cotton-bud tails aloft. It is only when they have puppies that they will temporarily cease their restless wandering.

March began with a new rhino calf being found, and ended with a real highlight - the first sighting of new cheetah cubs. So the Steroid Boys have not only been busy with hunting lechwe! Their mother is still very shy, so we have not been able to identify her yet, but she could be the adult female we used to see in this area, but not for some months now. However well we get to know this area, and the wildlife it shelters and nourishes, there are always surprises in store. But that is what makes this such a wonderful place to visit time and again, as so many of our guests do.

Mombo is constantly evolving, changing. As raindrops fall on the elephantine grey bark of the mighty baobab tree on the Simbira Channel, making dark splashes on the trunk, it is not hard to be struck by the unique blend of the timeless and the ephemeral with which we are surrounded, and to be reminded of how fleeting our presence here is, and how much damage we can do with just a few thoughtless actions. At the same time, we can be cheered by thinking of how much we can do to save this wilderness for future generations to marvel at, simply by trying to know and understand it, and through understanding to fall in love again and again with
Mombo...

Perhaps living in this wonderful place we have a tendency to become philosophical, but then that is one of the most precious gifts of the wild, the time to think and reflect, and to know ourselves... to have our lives changed.