Chitabe Lediba Camp, Botswana
August/September, 2015
The Okavango Delta – Chitabe Concession
Located in the southern area of the Okavango Delta, the Chitabe concession is bordered on the north by the Moremi Game Reserve, and on the east and west by the Santantadibe River and Gomoti Channel. The area is a large, flat landscape made up by homogenous Kalahari sand and is home to a variety of environments due to the grassy floodplains of the Okavango River and the gently undulating land. Landscapes range from stunted mopane and acacia woodland to lagoons and swamps, and this varied habitat makes for a diverse array of bird and animal species.
A More Intimate Camp
Chitabe Lediba Camp is the smaller sister to the main Chitabe Camp, and as such is a more intimate environment. It’s a high specification camp with only five Meru-style tents constructed on raised wooden decks overlooking a waterhole and grassy plain. Each tent has a full ensuite as well as a second outside shower.
Guest Accommodation
Each tent is enormous. The king size bed in the middle of the room has a good six feet on each side from the bed to the wall, and ten feet from the foot of the bed to the entry door. Behind the bed headboard is the bathroom area, and it’s very roomy indeed. Both the indoor and outdoor shower are large enough for several guests to shower at the same time. Probably an energy and water conservation policy along the lines of the “save resources, shower with a friend” philosophy.
Opportunistic visitors were always present. Guests always had to keep their doors closed.
Each tent was perhaps ten meters away from the next guest tent, and boasts a large deck out in front that has a view out over the lediba. Deck chairs and coffee tables were supplied for our comfort, not that we had much time to use them. We were far too busy on game drives every morning, afternoon and yes, even at night.
The main feature of our very large tent. A full kingsize bed with canopy and wrap around mosquito netting. Behind it is the bath area with separate rooms for the toilet and shower.
Camp Facilities
This thatched structure is the entry point to the camp. It provides shade for both the guests and the camp staff who wait for the guide trucks to return.
The camp also hosts a large dining and lounge area with bar, a swimming pool and nightly fire pit. All of the tents and common structures are connected by a raised wooden walkway. Most camps in the delta are like this in case the seasonal floods are extensive and cover the landscape with water. All facilities have a terrific view of the lediba, a lagoon that has naturally closed off from the main channel and become a small waterhole frequented by local wildlife. Of the three camps we visited in Botswana, this one had perhaps the greatest wealth and diversity of wildlife.
The centre of the camp activities is this open air building. It houses the dining room, lounge area and of course the fully stocked bar. It also connects with the fire pit area and the outdoor pool.
Chitabe Game Drives
Mornings started early with the wakeup call coming at around 5:30am. Like so many other of the camps we have stayed at, the idea was to be up in time for a 6:00am breakfast, and then out in the game viewing trucks by 6:30, before the sunrise.
Looking east from the deck of the main building. Too early even for the animals to be up.
Planning ahead as we did, we arranged for our own private guide vehicle at each of the camps. Being a group of four, we quite likely would have gotten our own truck anyway because they usually only seat six. But because of our love of photography, and a quest for certain goals, we didn’t want the inclusion of others who might not share our interests to impede our adventure. Considering the overall cost of a custom safari, the added expense for a private vehicle was not that much of an increase.
Our guide at Chitabe, Phinley, was a senior guide with over 20 years of experience.
Most often, the guide for each truck full of guests is assigned by the camp management. So it’s left pretty much to fate whether or not you get a good guide. Fortunately for us, the higher spec camps like the ones we were staying at usually employ only top notch guides and trackers, and all ten of the camps we stayed at on both of our safaris provided us with excellent guides.
A Target Rich Environment
Chitabe had a lot to offer the wildlife photographer. The diversity of species, and number of animals present in each specie was among the best we had seen anywhere in our Africa travels.
In this one image alone, there are thirty animals made up of elephant, wildebeest, impala and baboon. All within a few hundred metres of our camp.
Early morning starts are not something restricted solely to safari patrons. Many other inhabitants of the area are up early with a goal of finding a yummy breakfast as well. However, their breakfast service is not provided by hard working and friendly camp staff, but rather from their own primal efforts.
A great example of this was when we came across these two female lions sizing up a herd of cape buffalo only a few hundred yards from our camp. We sat and watched these gals for some time to see if they could figure out a way to grab breakfast without getting themselves badly injured from adult animals protecting their young. 1200 pounds of horn and hoof can make a nasty mess out of a 300 pound cat, despite their weapons of claws and teeth.
These two cats would gladly take down a young calf if they can get it away from the herd, but they would never risk going after an adult unless they had the resources of a large pride of lions to help. But despite their patience, none of the calves in the herd lagged behind the group so the lions could mount an attack. We followed the lions for some time as they moved around, but the rest of their morning turned out to be equally unsuccessful.
By mid-morning we took a break from tracking lions and stopped for “coffee break”. While sitting alongside a large marsh, our guide set up the coffee service and spent some time educating us about the invasive plant species that had taken over the marsh. While there we were witness to a number of animals that came to the marsh for a cool drink.
More Predators Than Just Lions
Wherever there is an abundance of prey, there is likely to be an abundance of predators. So it was in the Chitabe concession of the Okavango Delta. Spending four days in Chitabe as we did, we were treated to numerous sitings of cheetah, leopard and even a few hyena.
Leopard
Not having seen many leopards in previous concessions, it was really something to see so many in the different areas throughout Chitabe.
Leopards are generally solitary animals, only being seen with others when there is a mother with cubs, or a mating pair of adults. Although we didn’t see any of these examples here in Chitabe, we did see a number of leopards in relative close proximity to each other. Since leopards can be rather territorial, their close proximity further emphasizes the prey rich environment which eliminates high competition for food between cats.
Leopards are without a doubt one of the most beautiful cats in the world. Let’s hope they’ll still be around for future generations to see and enjoy.
Although leopards are strong predators, often seen hauling gazelle or antelope high up into the trees and away from competitors, there are things that they fear. One is the lion, a much larger predator with the strength in numbers from the pride. The other is the baboon. Although an adult leopard can easily dispatch a single baboon, the entire troop of baboons is another thing entirely. Baboons consider the leopard a sworn enemy, and when emboldened by the resources of a large troop, the baboons will try and overpower and kill a leopard whenever possible. In these situations, the leopard will either flee well before the baboons get too close, or as a last resort will climb the highest tree in the area to escape. We had the opportunity to see this up close.
This leopard was surprised by a troop of baboons and took refuge in this tree. Three of the baboons sit at the bottom of the tree looking up. They won’t dare climb the tree, as it would put them at a disadvantage having to essentially fight the leopard one on one instead of as a group.
Cheetah
Along with lion and leopard, cheetah were also present in Chitabe, although not to the same degree as leopard. Aside from a lone cheetah spotted quite close to the camp, all we saw was a mother and two grown cubs that had just taken down a gazelle and were feeding on the carcass.
The mother of these cubs must have been a part of a study, as she had a tracking collar around her neck. From the looks of it, the collar was a recent addition as it was still clean and unmarked.
A Strong Showing of Wild Dogs
We had already seen several different packs of wild dogs in the Linyanti area of northern Botswana, but it was nice to see another pack of healthy endangered African wild hunting dogs.
It was difficult to determine the size of this pack, as they were spread out over an area of heavy bush and scrub. We saw at least five adults, and perhaps a half dozen pups playing around the underground den. But there could be many more dogs as these adults might be the “nannies” for the pups, and the rest of the pack could be out on a hunting party. Some packs can have upwards of twenty members.
Non-Predatory Chitabe Wildlife
The large quantity of predators in Chitabe was only possible because of the abundance of herbivores. Zebra, topi, impala, wildebeest, elephant, giraffe, reedbuck, warthog, kudu and cape buffalo all inhabited the rich ecosystems found throughout Chitabe.
A Party of Pachyderms
Chitabe concession appeared to have a very healthy population of elephants. Pretty much anywhere we went in the concession we saw family units of all different ages of elephant, and even examples of individual bull elephants plodding along while munching on various trees and vegetation.
None of the bull elephants that we crossed paths with were in musk (elevated hormonal state for breeding), so they were all very docile. One enormous male we came across, upon finishing his munching, walked by our open truck so close he almost bumped into it.
Early mornings are cold and moist. So the usual early morning game viewing is done in a ground mist, with all the foliage covered heavily in dew. Warmth and dryness comes about an hour after sunrise.
The Abundance of Prey
Zebra are often seen resting their heads on the backs of their buddies. In this shot we have a perfect square where four zebras have each got their head on the back of another. With each one swishing it’s tail, flies are kept away from the faces of all four animals.
As previously mentioned, Chitabe is rich in prey species. From the very small banded mongoose, to the very large cape buffalo, there was a menu choice for every predators.
Although we never saw an actual hunt take place during our four day say in Chitabe, we did see the three cheetah feasting on the impala they brought down only a half hour before we caught up with them.
Beautiful scenes such as this in Chitabe were present all over the Okavango Delta.
Chitabe Bird Life
A beautiful yellow-billed hornbill.
One of the amazing things while viewing the animals in Chitabe was listening to the constant birdcalls that were all around us. We had no idea what call came from what bird, but it was wonderful to hear all the activity.
Most other areas we have been to in Africa also had a robust bird life, but for some reason the sounds emitted there didn’t seem quite as boisterous. Perhaps it was just the idea of finally being in the world renowned Okavango Delta that made it seem so much more alive.
This is the lilac breasted roller. One of the most colourful birds in Botswana, indeed in Africa.
Our Final Chitabe Sunset
A beautiful sunset through a thorn bush. Just about every plant in Africa has long thorns.