Chobe Safari » General Park Information

Botswana Weather Predictioins for June, July, August 2010

P. B. Eleazer — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:52:06 +0000

Department of Metrological Services have predicted that generally, this winter season, minimum and maximum temperatures across the country will mostly be above average. However, the department warns that temperatures will occasionally drop to average or below average.

Sir Seretse Khama Airport, Gaborone, Ghanzi, Francistown, Mahalapye, Maun and Shakawe areas will have minimum temperatures of not more than 10 Degree Celsius in June and a maximum temperature of not more that 26 Degree Celsius.

In July, Gaborone, Ghanzi, Francistown, Sir Seretse Khama Airport and Mahalapye will have minimum temperatures of not more than 5 Degree Celsius, while Maun and Shakawe will be about 8 Degree Celsius. Still in July, maximum temperatures for most areas is expected to be not more than 23 Degree Celsius except for Maun and Shakawe which will have a maximum of about 26 Degree Celsius.

However, Kasane will be warmer with the highest temperatures throughout the season, recording a minimum of 10 Degree Celsius in June and 9.4 Degree Celsius in July. Maximum temperatures will be 26.2 Degree Celsius in June and 26.1 Degree Celsius in July.

Botswana’s photographic areas expand

P. B. Eleazer — Fri, 28 May 2010 08:08:37 +0000

The following is information supplied by Africa Geographic Magazine and specifically from their ‘man in Maun’, Grant Atkinson. I consider Africa Geographic to be one of the best wildlife magazines available, with stunning photography. Unfortunately, the print version of the magazine is quite expensive outside of South Africa. Luckily, they do have a nice .pdf magazine you can subscribe to for free…. and we recommend you do so. Further, we suggest you regularly visit Grant’s web site as he is more than a reporter. He is an experienced guide and quality photographer. We’ve shared discussions on camera settings and safari destinations in the past and find him to be a valuable contact.

Map, showing NG18 and NG20, courtesy of Wilderness Safaris

From Grant:

Lions photographed in NG18 a few weeks ago - photo © Grant Atkinson

Some of the most important wildlife areas in Northern Botswana are associated with two major river systems. In the very north of the country is the Linyanti River and its distributaries, the Savuti and Selinda. To the south of these rivers lies the Okavango Delta. Much of the land within these areas has been divided up into private concession areas. The concession areas are leased from either the government *or* the local communities. They can be utilized either for photographic safaris *or* for the purpose of controlled hunting.

Within the last year, all hunting operations came to an end in two concession areas named NG18 and NG20. As can be clearly seen from the map above, these two concession areas lie directly between the two major river systems mentioned above, the Linyanti and the Okavango. Both NG18 and NG20 are very large concessions and are home to good numbers of wildlife. NG20 was divided up between photographic camps and some hunting camps. Importantly, they are surrounded by Moremi Game Reserve, the Selinda and Linyanti private concessions, and Chobe National Park.

This is good news for the photographic safari industry. These two areas both have extensive riverfront areas that make ideal locations for low-volume photographic camps and NG20 is already home to some very well-known camps.

Most importantly though, it means that for wildlife there now exists a hunting-free zone which extends from the Moremi Game Reserve all the way to the country’s northern boundary, the Linyanti River. The changes in land-use in these concession areas will be of most benefit to animals like large bull elephants, buffalo and leopard – all species that may have been hunted in the past. Hunting in Botswana is strictly controlled but still has some impact on the wildlife that is targeted.

In these days of ever-increasing pressure upon wildlife refuges, especially from growing human populations, changes such as these are extremely valuable. The bigger and more effective the protected areas become, the greater their value in all respects.

Okavango River floods

P. B. Eleazer — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:28:32 +0000

The following press release was issued today by the Government of Botswana Press Agency, BOPA.

28 April, 2010

SHAKAWE – The Okavango River has begun flooding for the second time in a space of only two years after many years of relative calm.So far 59 people from Mohembo East have been evacuated as at Friday last week, according to Mr Edison Chaba of Metereology Services in Shakawe.

Eight other people were also evacuated at Kauxwi and Xakao, he said.

At Nxamasere, about 52 people from 16 households were also evacuated, Sunday night, according to Asistant District Officer, Mr Lenamile Montsho.

He said more people would need to be evacuated as flood were approaching the village.

Mr Montsho has appealed to residents to keep a safe distance from the raging river that left about 804 people homeless and helpless last year.

Although inundation has hit places on low lying grounds like Mohembo East, Kauxwi and Xakao first, Montsho cautioned residents of river bank villages such as Samochima, Sepopa and Ikoga, among others to be on alert.

He warned those who were not as yet affected to remain vigilant and ask for assistance well on time.

Area MP, Mr Bagalatia Arone has also appealed to farmers whose fields had been submerged to avoid going to their fields as they risked being mauled by crocodiles or bitten by venomous aqua snakes.

Meanwhile, Okavango Sub District Disaster Management Committee is working around the clock to further appeal to residents to keep away from the marauding river to avoid any loss of life or property.

North West District Council (NWDC) has also made strides to reduce the effects of a looming flood disaster and among other things, embankments have been erected along some roads while some culverts which were destroyed by the previous floods, have also been restored.

NWDC has also pledged tipper trucks and craters to disaster committee, as well as building permanent structures for some victims of the previous floods, under Ipelegeng projects.

Since the Okavango Delta floods are fed from Angolan rains via Namibia, Gumare Water Affairs, Station manager, Mr Baemedi Letsholathebe, said they were collaborating with their Namibian counterparts to monitor water levels at Rundu, which is also their main indicator of the inflows and water level fluctuations on the Namibian side.

Nonetheless, he said water levels at Mohembo receded Sunday, but warned that for areas downstream such Jao, Xaxaba and Xishira the situation might turn otherwise.BOPA

If any of our readers has additional information about the flooding and it’s impact on safari travelers, please forward to buddy@ChobeSafari.com or leave comments with this article. Specific information and/or photos are appreciated.

For those who have not studied northern Botswana, Okavango Delta is the world’s largest inland delta. The delta is irrigated by the Okavango River which originates from Angola, where it is known as the Cubango River. The river has no outlet to the sea but empties into the Kalahari Desert and irrigating the desert in the process. The delta is flooded for about 3 months every year between June and August, curiously during Botswana’s dry winter months. The reason is that the river water comes from summer rains in Angola that takes about 5 months to reach the Okavango Delta. When the delta is flooded, it swells to at least 3 times its permanent size. During this time, the delta is a magnet for animals, creating one of Africa’s greatest concentrations of wildlife. Islands, the majority of which began as termite mounds, can disappear completely, being consumed by the flood. However, the water would disappear relatively quickly through evaporation and transpiration from the leaves of plants as a result of the high temperature in the desert. A major means of transport during the flood is by poling a mokoro, a traditional dug-out canoe made from an ebony or sausage tree log, like that in the photo. Since both the ebony and sausage trees are now protected, mokoros are now made from fibreglass.

Video: A Drive Through Chobe National Park

P. B. Eleazer — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 09:16:09 +0000

“DavesWebSiteVideo” uploaded this on YouTube. It gives a great overview of the variety of animals spotted in a day and will also give you a feel for water levels of the Chobe River and how green/grown the bush is at this time of year.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Pula converter

P. B. Eleazer — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:25:14 +0000

Puzzle of the Week – December 8, 2009

P. B. Eleazer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:08:53 +0000

Elephant by the Water Hole

This 77 piece puzzle is of one of my favorite shots.

Chili Peppers puts elephants at bay

P. B. Eleazer — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:14:23 +0000

One of the things that allows Chobe NP to be special is the lack of fencing. Unfortunately, this creates huge problems for Botswana farmers. This article, from the government newspaper, hints that some natural solutions may be available. If you love free roaming wildlife, you have to love this article!

Translations from the government paper: Botswana Daily News Online:
GUMARE – The use of chili pepper to repel elephants from fields in northern Botswana has reduced crop damage cases by 50 per cent since last year.

Ngamiland Senior Biologist, Dr Gaseitsiwe Masunga said in an interview that elephants are sensitive to smell and the hot smell from the chili-pepper of the tobacco variety is enough to cause irritation and repulsive effect on elephants.

He said, because of the persistent elephant-human conflict in the region, they have benchmarked with their counterparts in Zambia where local officers were drilled on different techniques of using pepper to ward off elephants.

One of the techniques, is planting pepper alongside the inside perimeter of a farm to act as a buffer when ripe, or it can be crushed and mixed with dung then molded into bricks to be ignited when dry to chase elephants away.

He said crushed chili-pepper can also be mixed with oil and mutton cloth used to suck the mixture and pieces of the soaked mutton cloth are then hung on the fence line along the boundary of the farm fence.

The move has also borne fruits as human elephant cases are going down and money paid to farmers as compensation has also decreased from P153 191.25 in October 2008 to P83 128.30 in January 2009.

Dr. Masunga said since 2007, 69 farmers have been trained on the use of pepper and so far over 224 farmers within Ngamiland have also been given chilli-pepper and the number is increasing on a daily basis as more farmers come to wildlife offices to ask for chilli-pepper seeds, which is an indication that it is effective.

Dr. Masunga stated that there are 30 farms in Seronga, Sepopa, Etsha, and Gumare that were selected for conducting chili pepper trials based on their vulnerability to elephant attacks. He said measures taken to address this problem include use of the chilli- pepper in addition to other measures such as use of metal bangers and stopping of crop cultivation within river-beds and other known elephant’s movement corridors.

Dr. Masunga said environmental risks especially in the Okavango delta are minimal since the seeds and elephants are sensitive to water-lodging. Meanwhile, he said, chili-peppers that were planted in 2005 and 2006 are still growing well, adding that farmers are now selling them in the local market or sharing the surplus yield with other farmers. He said they monitoring the use of chili-peppers to guard against dispersal to sensitive natural habitats.

Article copyright and source: BOPA

Early rains of October Bring Early Activity – Northern Botswana

P. B. Eleazer — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:47:51 +0000

Early rains bring early rutting for Impala as seen in this Earth-Touch video on YouTube

Click here to view the embedded video.

Botswana: Protecting Wildlife and Wilderness

P. B. Eleazer — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:32:00 +0000

Article copyright: Commonwealth News and Information Service (London)

A guidelines manual and certificate system is in place to encourage tourism companies to comply with recognized environmental standards

During the dry season in Chobe National Park, the third largest in Botswana, as many as 120,000 elephants migrate over 200 kilometers in search of rain and water.

This spectacle is one of a number of attractions luring tourists to this national park, which is divided into four eco systems and is home to a wide variety of other animals from predators such as lions, hyenas and jackals to other species including wildebeests, waterbucks and warthogs.

Due West of this Park is the Okavango Delta – the world’s biggest inland delta – which empties into the vast Kalahari Desert. Every year the delta empties about 15,000 square kilometers of water into this otherwise arid desert.

These attractions, alongside an abundance of other wildlife and wilderness, entice an increasing number of travelers to Botswana.

Detective provokes interest

The international success of Alexander McCall Smith’s novel, ‘The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency’ set in the country’s capital Gaborone, has also added to the international interest in this sub-Saharan country.

Whilst growth in tourism is providing an important contribution to its economy – exporting diamonds remains the dominant sector – the Botswana Tourism Board and Ministry of Tourism also want sufficient efforts to be made that ensure the environment is sustained in the long-term.

The Tourism Board consequently implemented a national strategy in 2002 focusing on what needs to be done to make certain that Botswana’s tourism continues to be environmentally driven.

“We wanted an accepted and consistent understanding of what we mean by eco-tourism. Otherwise there is a danger that companies will all start calling themselves ‘environmentally friendly’ when in fact none of them are complying to the same standards,” says Myra Sekgororoane, Chief Executive Officer of the Tourism Board.

Subscribing to recognized standards

With this in mind, the Ministry of Tourism requested assistance from the Commonwealth Secretariat to create a guidelines manual and a certificate system for companies. This manual, which acts as a reference for all tourism companies working in Botswana, looks at areas like water and energy management.

Botswana is home to the majority of mammal species from Southern Africa because the Okavango Delta and Chobe River provide a year-round water supply.

If companies comply with these ‘best practices’ laid out in the manual they will be given a certificate – similar to the star rating used by hotels – so that tourists can recognize that they are subscribing to recognized standards.

“What has been quite evident in the last couple of years is that the international community is more and more interested in looking at whether certain environmental standards are being met,” explains Ms Sekgororoane.

Long-haul tourist

One traveling trend the Tourism Board is particularly aware of is that many long-haul tourists tend to visit two or three countries during one trip. While Botswana has a significant amount to offer visitors, as a land locked country it recognizes that it cannot provide the option of a beach, sea or ocean.

This has led to discussions with neighboring countries about establishing a regional body which could help sub-Saharan countries conform to the same eco-tourism standards laid out in the guidelines manual.

“It is easier to penetrate different tourism markets if we have regional policies and opposed to national ones. By working together, countries in sub-Saharan Africa will appeal more of these long haul travelers if they can be seen to be working together and subscribing to the same set of environmental principles,” says Tshenolo Mopako, Environment & Safety Officer at the Tourism Board.

This has already been achieved with a memorandum concerning the Kalahari Transfrontier Park which covers Botswana and South Africa. An obstructive boarder fence was taken down so that proceeds and environmental management responsibilities are now shared between these neighboring countries. This allows both to benefit and causes less stress for the tourist visiting the Park, who will no longer need to concern themselves with boarder restrictions.

The manuals and certificate system – which were also funded by the Commonwealth Secretariat – have recently been completed, leaving the Tourism Board in a position to advocate their uses to companies across the country and even the region.

“We are currently going out telling businesses about the benefits of the manual and the certificate,” says Mr. Mopako. “Ultimately when these businesses have taken advantage of this, we can then back away.”

Chobe River Booze Cruise Video

P. B. Eleazer — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:36:32 +0000

A video from 2006 of a river cruise on the Chobe River. We think this 2 min. 30 sec. video gives one a good feel for the diversity of wildlife and the scale of the hers one will see on a typical afternoon ‘booze cruise” in Chobe National Park. Nice captures of elephants and hippos. Video copyright: Valpard Films

Click here to view the embedded video.