Suicidal Campers On Safari

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Sometimes people don’t stop to amaze me. Especially the ones in the below video.
The video was shot on the Xakanaxa public campsite in Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana and shows a bunch of happy campers playing with their lives.
A few things you should pay attention to while watching:

Nothing gets done to prevent the elephant from [...]

Commercial Poaching Gets Inventive

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The curse for Africa’s wildlife
On June 8th, an article was published in the South African newspaper “Mercury” detailing a few new aspects to rhino poaching. The reporter used the headline “It is Big Time Crime with Easy Money”, and mentions armed raids on taxidermist’s premises to run off with rhino horns, and similar raids on [...]

Eco Tourism And The Wide Span Of Contradiction

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Once upon a time not so long ago, five people came together to decide how to help each other. This is not uncommon, but the five decided that while they were going to help each other, and maybe some other friends as well, they would make it look to us as if they were actually [...]

Where There Is Smoke, There Is Fire…And No Water

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Being chased in the name of development
They make fire with sticks, have a great sense of humor, speak a very funny ‘click’-language and the diamond rich Kalahari Desert is their home. They are the oldest inhabitants of the African continent and need a stepladder to look you in the eye. Please meet the San People [...]

Strangling The Safari Industry In Botswana

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Environment should bring safari parties together
This morning I read an article about the tourism company &Beyond opening a semi-permanent camp in the Moremi Game Reserve. Big deal I hear you thinking. But hang on, there is a lot more to it than what meets the eye.
Moremi Game Reserve receives three different kind of guest: Those [...]

The Moment When You Want To Hug Your Pilot

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On Wednesday the 20th of January 2010, a Grand Caravan from a Botswana charter company got into trouble over the Okavango Delta. Apart from the pilot, there were two staff members and two tourists on board. Due to the rigorous training that the pilot had received, he managed to save everybody on board, although the [...]

Botswana’s Mobile Safaris Under Threat

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Being in Africa is great for someone that writes about safaris as much as I do. Early december 2009 when I visited Botswana I received more news than in the previous 2 months and the most disturbing message came from within the tourism industry itself. What is happening?
At the last AGM of the Hospitality and [...]

My Visit At Meno A Kwena: Eco Lodge Pur Sang

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During my stay in Botswana I happened to spend two nights at Meno A Kwena ( the teeth of the Crocodile), the lodge on the western side of the Makgadikgadi National Park. It was at least 5 years back that I had been here and my first impression was one of being pleasantly surprised.
The lodge [...]

Peace Park Initiative and The Elephant Corridor

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A little while back I mentioned a Dutch organisation called Pif-World. One of the projects that this fund-raising company supports is the Elephant Corridor that is going to link the northern part of Botswana with the southern part of Zambia. Last week friday I had a meeting with some of the staff and the owner [...]

I work In The Safari Industry, But Wildlife Is Annoying

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Two rather disturbing messages received me two days ago. One article was about the killing of an innocent snake and the other message was even worse and was about the relocation of two lions in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Unfortunately I have to admit that tourism does have it’s price for wildlife.
‘We killed the [...]

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park: A journey by Steve Bailey (1)

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Professional Photographer Steve Bailey made a photograpic trip to the Kgalagadi  Transfrontier National Park in November 2009. This park which is built on South African and Botswana soils is one of the so called Peace-parks that are mushrooming all over Africa. Consisting mainly of harsh Kalahari habitat, this part of Africa is still very remote [...]

Pifworld And The Elephant Corridor

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Pifworld
What do you think about fundraising? If you are a bit like me you probably think: ‘Oh no, not another one’! WAIT……not so fast.
I happened to stumble across the website of Pifworld.com that in my opinion is a great way of raising funds. Because the funds are raised online, the overheads of the company are [...]

Nxai Pan National Park in Botswana

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Where lions hunt springboks
Close to the horizonless saltpans of Botswana lies a small diamond of a national park called ‘Nxai Pan’. The ‘Nx’.. is one of the bushmen clicks which is created by moving the tip of your tongue from the pallet downwards. The sound you now hear ( yes, I know you are trying [...]

Safari Forum Idiocy

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I visit many safari related forums. What strikes me is the enormous amount of questions that  people ask each other. It is almost as if we want others to make a decision for us. Are many travelers not able to use a computer and punch something into Google? I can really not understand a question [...]

The Spring Hare

Spring Hares are the miniature kangaroos of Southern Africa.

Yoga On Safari

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Connect with your inner self and Africa!
Watching wildlife on a traditional safari is one thing, combining your safari trip with other activities can be huge fun. Whether you want to paint on a safari, be active in game capturing, visit eco-projects or get involved in supporting schooling projects, it is all on the market. Even [...]

Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana

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The beating heart of the Okavango Delta
The park
Moremi Game Reserve is definitely in the top five of most beautiful and interesting wildlife parks of Africa.
The scenery is spectacular, especially in those areas where land masses meet the Okavango Delta waters. Established in 1963 and named after a chief of the Batawana tribe, ‘Moremi III’, the [...]

Chobe National Park in Botswana

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An elephant lovers paradise!
The Park
Chobe National Park is situated in the extreme north-east  of Botswana. Being the third largest protected area after the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National (previously Gemsbok National Park), the park is world famous for its enormous elephant population.
The area was officially declared a national park in 1967 [...]

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