Limpopo-Lipadi Trip report 7 - 14 November 2015

This blog post is a trip report on our visit to the 22 000ha Limpopo-Lipadi private Game Reserve in the Tuli block of Botswana.  We really love this place :-)

River Camp.  We sat hours at this pool photographing birds

This trip will be remembered for for 3 things.
1.  The hot and dry conditions (luckily there is a swimming pool, and air conditioners in the room)
2.  9 leopard sightings!
3.  logging 29 mammal species on 1 day (excluding mice and bats)

Giraffe at Mbusi Waterhole

Eland on the lovely Swarsloot 

Helmeted Guineafowl at Magerman's

Zebra at Old Man's

The week we spent at the reserve was really hot... The average daytime temperatures we experienced ranged between 42 - 45 degrees celsius. And it was bone dry, the driest I have seen the reserve.  The dry conditions had it advantages, as wildlife frequented the waterholes - with the predators never far behind.

Gemsbok close to Cabbage Dam

Elephant bull 3 minutes from River Camp!

Brown Hyena close to Southern Plains

Spotted Hyena at Zanzibar Dam

I remember a blog post by Walt Tingle a few years back, when they had 9 leopard sightings in their 30 days at the reserve. (hope I remember correctly).  That was amazing I thought, as leopards are so elusive.  Having leopard sightings everyday at famous reserves such as the Sabi Sands is not unusual - but, there is one big difference:  there are a lot of lodges, a lot of vehicles, and everybody is in radio contact with each other.  At Limpopo-Lipadi the policy is different.  There are only 4 vehicles traversing the whole >20 000ha!  You have to find the leopards (and everything else) yourself, and that is awesome, the thrill is in the unexpected and the chase!

Motsamai, a beast of a leopard with a kill south of Phofu Dam

Odirile, a 3 year old male close to Tholo dam

Olebile, an 18 month old female seen at shareholder gate waterhole 

Thabo, Olebile's brother, also at shareholder gate

Thabo at shareholder gate

Thabo drinking at shareholder gate waterhole

Thabo, on Southern Plains where we found him chasing after scrub hare!

We had 9 leopard sightings this week, and 8 of the sightings we found ourself!  And no it was not the same leopard 9 times...we saw 5 different individuals!

We keep a daily count of mammals seen (excluding mice and bats), and usually we end around 23 species per day at Limpopo-Lipadi.  This time saw us breaking our record!  We saw 29 species in one day.  Ironically, that was the only day we didn't see a leopard, and we also did't see lion or cheetah that day! Haha!  So, 30 is the target!

Brown Hyena 

African Wild Dog seen at the springs in Langope river

Pearl-spotted owlet

African Paradise Flycatcher

Namaqua Dove

The list was as follow:  Brown Hyena, African wild dog, Grey duiker, Impala, Baboon, Kudu, Plains Zebra, Blue wildebeest, Giraffe, Warthog, Steenbok, Tree squirrel, Banded mongoose, Gemsbok/Oryx, Waterbuck, Hippo, Vervet monkey, Bushbuck, Slender mongoose,Spotted hyena, Spring hare, Scrub hare, Elephant, Porcupine, Bat-eared fox, Eland, Lesser-spotted Genet, Black-backed jackal, Lesser bushbaby!

African Fish Eagle

Red-billed Firefinch

Pied Kingfisher

Retz's Helmetshrike! First time for me on the reserve

Our last morning saw us driving up the Mogorosi River to Mogorosi waterhole, where we came across 3 lions, where they were feeding on an eland kill.

Lions at Mogorosi waterhole

Due to the hot and dry conditions, there were only a few pools of water left in front of the lodge in the Limpopo River.  All kinds of animals came for a drink, but the stars of the show were the birds.  We had the following birds coming in for a drink, while we spent hours alongside the pool of water:  Greater honeyguide, African Hawk Eagle, Little Sparrowhawk, Shikra, Green Wood-Hoopoe, Ashy Flycatcher, Grey Tit-flycatcher, Black-headed Oriole, Pearl-spotted Owlet etc etc....  Other good birds in the reserve included Kori Bustard and Retz's Helmetshrike!

Pearl-spotted Owlet 

Rufous-cheeked Nightjar

Verraux's Eagle Owl

Little Sparrowhawk

Green Wood-hoopoe

We absolutely love this place...and can't wait for our next visit!

If you would like to become part of the Limpopo-Lipadi family, feel free to visit their website at www.lipopo-lipadi.org

Blessings
Anton and Renate

Kids on safari at Limpopo-Lipadi :-)

There is a Namibian proverb that says "Learning expands great souls", and that is exactly what happen when you take your kids on safari!

We were visiting Limpopo-Lipadi Private Game and Wilderness Reserve, in the Tuli Block of Botswana in September 2015, a family affair with a 5-year old, a 3-year old, and two 6-month old babies (all girls!!).

The trip started amazingly well, with a close-up leopard sighting after entering the gate.  The next excitement came in the form of a flat tyre close to the lodge entrance - luckily the girls saw it all as one big adventure!

Game drives were an absolute pleasure with the two toddlers, as they soaked up all the smells, sounds and sights of the African bush.  They touched elephant dung, picked up kudu horns and even showed interest in learning the difference between hyena and leopard tracks! Dad even bought them binoculars...

Sightings weren't to bad either, as they had 3 leopard sightings, numerous elephants, African Wild Cat, Brown and Spotted Hyena to name just a few.  A baby giraffe was on the little one's wish list - and Limpopo-Lipadi delivered as usual.  After each game drive we would reflect on the game drive and the two girls would name their favourite sighting, and then ticked of all their sightings in the field guide.  To get a complete trip report regarding our sightings, look at my previous blog post or follow the link:
 http://renatonwildlife.blogspot.co.za/2015/10/limpopo-lipadi-trip-report-september.html

One of the highlights of the week was spending time at Hippo Pools close to camp, where there is a huge sand bank in the Limpopo River at the moment because of the low water level.  Because of the vast open space and the sandy riverbed, the kids enjoyed freedom in one of the most beautiful spots on the reserve, and we took the opportunity to take some family photos as well.

This visit was special to say the least.  To watch the kids soak up every piece of information is so special, and I am sure this experience will expand their souls, and make them better persons in the long run.

Oh, and if you thought that there is nothing to do for the kids between game drives, you are making a big mistake! After finishing the muesli box, we transformed it into a bird feeder (although no bird made use of it, the anticipation of a bird feeding in our own home made feeder was exciting enough).
Another activity was playing in the mud, and spending hours at the swimming pool!

If you would like to find out more about Limpopo-Lipadi, feel free to visit their  website www.limpopo-lipadi.org
It is certainly one of my favourite places in the world!

Blessings
Anton and Renate

Limpopo-Lipadi Trip report - September 2015: Week of the cats!

We visited Limpopo-Lipadi Private Game Reserve the week of 18 - 26 September 2015.  This must be my favourite place in the world, and it did not disappoint. 

The mighty Limpopo River close to River Camp

Limpopo-Lipadi is not your typical game lodge.  There are no schedules, the area is huge (>20 000ha), and most amazing of all, there are never more than 4 gamedrive vehicles on drive!  You must work hard for your sightings (you don't chase sighting after sighting through 2-way radio's) - the thrill is in the chase, and there is so much to see.  Total freedom....

This is a short account of our sightings for the week.

Young male lion at Cabbage Dam

This week we were treated with numerous elephant sightings, especially close to River Camp and up the Mogorosi river in the west of the reserve, where we encountered lone bulls, as well as a breeding herd.  Because of the dry season, the big bulls are pushing over a lot of trees for some much needed nutrition in the roots and the leaves higher up.  It made for some interesting driving when an upturned tree block the road...

Limpopo-Lipadi must be the best place in the world to see the elusive and extremely secretive Brown Hyena.  We spent some time with 3 youngsters at their den, and had 3 other sightings of adults as well.

We also had 2 spotted hyena sightings.  One sighting on Black Rock early one morning, and one sighting at Mogorosi waterhole at night.

3 young Brown Hyena at their den

Spotted Hyena at Mogorosi waterhole

General game were abundant, and the highlight for me was encountering a huge herd of eland, probably >60 strong close to the Northern Plains.  

Giraffe at Mogorosi waterhole

Huge kudu bull at Southern Plains

In February this year 3 lions, 2 males and 1 female made Limpopo-Lipadi their home.  They are totally wild and arrived from the east, breaking through the fence after a storm.  You can imagine that it is quite a challenge to find 3 lions, in 20 000+ha, with only 4 vehicles tracking...but we made it our mission to find them.  

The one morning we left camp before sunrise, with the plan to stop at every waterhole looking for tracks, heading north towards Mac's waterhole.  Their tracks were seen a few days ago in that vicinity.

One of the waterholes we visited was Cabbage dam, a beautiful spot.  I stopped at the dam, scanned around, and took a walk around the water's edge, looking for lion tracks... None was found...

Then 30 minutes later, one of the other guides (Actor) radioed me that he is at Cabbage Dam, and the lions are on the dam wall!!!  They must have been sleeping behind the dam wall while I was taking my walk around the dam!  I rushed back to Cabbage dam and spent the next hour with them, until they decided to move on, heading south in the drainage line.

Young male lion at Cabbage dam

My average amount of leopard sighting per night spent at Limpopo-Lipadi since 2009 is 1 leopard sighting for every 2 nights spent at the reserve.  We stayed 8 nights on this visit, and had 4 leopard sightings, keeping with our average.  

Our first sighting came only 5 minutes after entering the reserve, when we found a big male leopard sleeping alongside the main road!  Unfortunately all my cameras were still packed away...

Our other sightings were a male between Southern plains and River Camp, another close to Zanzibar Dam and our last sighting at at the waterhole at the office!

Leopard between Southern Plains and River Camp

Leopard track at Cabbage dam 

We also encountered 2 male cheetahs at Mac's waterhole.  

It was a real treat to see all 3 big cats in one week.  

A very relaxed African Wild Cat was also seen close to Zanzibar Dam on our last evening, and posed nicely for some photos.

Cheetah at Mac's waterhole

African Wild Cat close to Zanzibar dam

The birding highlight was definitely a family of Southern Ground Hornbill seen resting in Hollow Baobab early one morning!  They are listed as vulnerable in Southern Africa, and it was a privilege to spend some time with this family of 4.

Southern Ground Hornbill at Hollow Baobab

Familiar Chat at River Camp

Otherwise the sightings included a Little Sparrowhawk trying to catch a Southern White-crowned Shrike, a nesting pair of African Hawk-Eagle on Swartsloot, Gabar Goshawk posing for the camera, 2x Black Stork, numerous White-backed Vultures, Burnt-necked Eremomela's all over, Ashy Flycather in camp etc etc... Looking forward to our November visit, when the birding will be awesome!

African Hawk Eagle at Old Man's Dam

Ashy Flycatcher at River Camp

Gabar Goshawk at Mogorosi waterhole

Redbilled Firefinch at River Camp

Rufous-cheeked Nightjar

My dad enjoying the sunset at River Camp

If you are interested to become part of the Limpopo-Lipadi family, visit their website at www.limpopo-lipadi.org

Blessings

Anton and Renate