What looks like a mighty roar, is actually just a relaxing yawn, from this sleepy young male lion. But look at those fangs!
The Okavango Delta has always seemed like a far off, almost mythical place. I grew up seeing books and photos of it. Lions among palm trees, elephants wading through deep water. There were stories of having to sit up on top of the seat of the safari vehicle because you drove through water so deep it came over the floorboards. Having to take small bush planes to access the interior of the floodwaters. It has always seemed a place where the feeling of wild Africa permeates every moment. This is what I wanted to share with Greg and Sue on our epic 'Best of Africa' trip around the continent. We have experienced the Great Migration in the Serengeti, trekking with gorillas in the Virunga Mountains, and tracking leopards in Sabi Sand, but I wanted to finish with the feeling and experience that only the Okavango Delta can provide.
AndBeyond's Sandibe Safari Lodge is our base of operations here in the Delta. From incredible guides, to trackers, to chefs, to butlers, this place is the ultimate comfort in the middle of the bush. Today we maximized our time in the Delta by balancing early morning and late afternoon game drives, with time to soak up the amazing lodge experience. The beauty is that the wildlife part of the safari doesn't stop when you are back at the lodge, we had monkeys and beautiful birds in the trees above us, an elephant just below our deck, bushbuck babies hiding under the dining platform, and noises everywhere. But no matter how amazing the lodge experience is, getting out on your safari landcruiser and spotting animals is a must. And today, the animals put on a show.
Sue's dream of baby animals was the theme of the day. We found our nearby pride of lions, in a different location, but still draped over each other in a lion cub cuddle puddle. And later we discovered a den full of hyena cubs. The babies were so little that they appeared charcoal in color, still too young for spotted coats. It turns out that hyenas are more closely related to big cats than dogs, so their babies are called cubs, not pups. One of the cubs got bold and came over to our vehicle to sniff and bite our tires.
We stopped for eagles in the trees, flocks of pelicans dancing in-sync as they flew above us, and the rare red lechwe doing incredible leaps across the swampy terrain. We stopped at a high bank along the river to watch hundred of cape buffalo crossing while LK made us the best bush cappuccinos ever. Different species of kingfishers, including the beautiful malachite kingfisher used the high bank as a lookout for prey down below. And hippos caused all kinds of commotion in the water, along with their typical calls that echo across the plains. LK, our tracker, spotted a leopard that was lazing up in a tree... bring our total leopard sightings to an incredible 13 different leopards. Never before and probably never again will I have such an amazing leopard-filled trip.
We made our own pizza and hamburgers back at the lodge. We continued our deep dive into the world of pinotage wine. And we shared safari stories with our guide, Rich, around the campfire. One of our favorites was Rich telling us about a guests of his that threw an apple out of the safari vehicle towards some lions to try and get them to move. And another, scarier time, when Rich had to face off again a mother lion, protecting her three cubs...in camp! Greg somehow avoided yet another birthday celebration (he's had three so far.)
Sandibe has very quickly become a home away from home. Maybe partly due to it being our last safari stop, it is a very hard place to leave. But alas, the beautiful Victoria Falls awaits, so we race our plane to the runway, only getting overtaken at the last second as it buzzed over our vehicle. Luckily the wildlife stayed off the runway. And the sight of Rich and LK racing along on foot, holding hands, as we took off, was the icing on the cake. The Okavango Delta may have seemed mythical before, but now it feels deeply person, forever a part of our own Africanstory.
I love the story that this photo can tell. Incredible luxury, seamlessly blending into the wilds of the Okavango Delta. Me, taking it all in one last time, before having to leave. Tracks of elephants and hippos down below me...memories of noises that awoke me in the middle of the night.
A tawny eagle sits atop his perch in the early morning. It is so fun seeing so many different species of eagles here in Africa.
A solitary steenbok watches and listens as we pass by.
A flock of pelicans put on an aerial display, circling around and flashing their beautiful markings.
The intense yellow-eyed stare of a brown snake eagle.
A red lechwe takes flight over a gap in the Delta.
Two lions, part of a rogue pride, tempting fate by overstepping boundaries into this part of the Delta. They were not very used to safari vehicles, and kept a wary eye on us as we watched from a distance. It is unusual to be able to photograph lions looking right at you in full sunlight.
A huge herd of buffalo crosses a riverine part of the Okavango Delta.
LK, our tracker, casually turned as said, "leopard", as he pointed forward to a tree. Once we got close, sure enough, there was a leopard up in the tree, cooling off in the shade.
From our vantage point we could watch hundreds of buffalo grazing, playing, and crossing the river. It was a great place to enjoy a bush espresso and a view.
This male baboon was taking care of this tiny baby, which, as a father myself, felt very satisfying and enjoyable to watch.
Some of these baobab trees can be over 1,000 years old. However the elephants are slowly picking away at them to get to the water rich inner bark layers. I hope some of these trees remain for future generations to enjoy.
I finally had a side-striped jackal turn to the side so I could snap a goood picture.
The shadow stripes on this Burchelle's zebra show the difference between zebra here in the Delta, and those we saw up in savannas of East Africa.
I wanted to take a super close up of this elephant while he ate just under my deck at the Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge.
Three zebra line up perfectly for this shot in the golden grass of the Delta.
During the hot, middle part of the day, the predators tend to take a siesta in the shade, like this leopard is doing.
We left the Delta on a small 12 seater bush plane with Mack Air. The airstrip was pretty rudamentary, and we had seen zebra on it the night before.
The view from up high was pretty majestic.
There were hundreds of cape buffalo in this herd, but after thirty minutes they had all disappeared into the bush.
A tiny baby hyena, wanders out from the den to sniff, and take some exploratory bites out of our tire. When they are very young (less than 3 months), hyena babies look charcoal colored.
Greg and Sue chat it up with LK and Rich during our morning coffee break on our game drive.
Watching wildlife from my private plunge pool. Yes please.
LK took a break to show us this 'elephant chewing gum.' It was fronds from the young palms that the elephants would chew to get the juices out of.
This is what you expect the Okavango Delta to look like.
We do love our baby animals on safari. This is a 2 month old baby hyena.
The crew at Sandibe Safari Lodge, wishing us a warm goodbye.
Taking it all in during our last morning at the Delta. We are going to miss this place, the animals, and the people that have made it all so special.
Greg and Sue get ready for an interactive dining experience at the Sandibe Lodge kitchen.
This is what happens when you let me make my own burger.
And if you let me make my own pizza. Really classing up my pizza game here.
LK really stepped up our bush coffee break time here by busting out the portable espresso maker and hot milk frother. Best bush cappuccino ever.
Baobob tree on our way to the bush airstrip.
LK and Rich, in a one-of-a-kind goodbye.
You can check out this post and your own profile on the map. Be part of the Worldmappin Community and join our Discord Channel to get in touch with other travelers, ask questions or just be updated on our latest features.
they are so cutee i really want to see them in person
I can tell you where to go!
Hiya, @ybanezkim26 here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Top 3 in Travel Digest #2717.
Your post has been manually curated by the @worldmappin team. If you like what we're doing, please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider supporting other authors like yourself and us so we can keep the project going!
Become part of our travel community:
Luxury in between the nature it's amazing by the way the lion is sleepy yes but scary I never visited Africa and I bet there are many places to visit I would like too to see wild animals one day.
The beautiful feeling of a lion yawning comfortably was really a joy to see after a long time. However, the sight of the amazing eagle with the baby hyena really made this forest more beautiful. However, the views are even more beautiful from a plane. Thank you for sharing this wonderful journey of nature and animals. Such an open environment really makes me happy. Thank you sir for sharing this special journey with all of us. However, the Delta is truly incredibly diverse.
Amazing photos as usual, it feels like I am watching the National Geographic channel! 😇