Final update from Bill as he was sitting in an airport in South Africa. Bill is now back in the U.S. - but I wanted to share his last emails as he left Johannesburg.

On a Mapula Lodge Hunt, Cape Buffalo Were Able to Evade Hungry Lions. This Time.
Photo © Bill Given

Mapula Lodge

At Mapula Lodge, we followed a coalition of 3 lion for quite some time on an unsuccessful (for them) nighttime buffalo hunt. Lots of unusual stories, met bushmen elders and discussed my research - was invited to live in their village and was actually in the village when a friend of one of my guide's won reelection as district councilman.

I was honored to know that the guides at Mapula Lodge had named one of the lions in the Mapula concession Bill! I have great pics and video of Bill and look forward to sharing all of it on my blog upon my return.

A very interesting wildlife experience happened on the grounds of Mapula Lodge. I was able to catch and remove a Python as he was heading towards the Mapula Lodge Kitchen. Extricating the Python was tough as he was climbing a wall in a tight spot and the head was more than a foot behind me when I yanked him out. I had some nerves but took him out Croc hunter style and controlled him by tail before pinning the head to move him safely. I earned a bit of respect from the guides on this one.

Also interesting while at Mapula - I was photographed and interviewed by a Swedish newspaper whiled in the Mapula pool. Should be interesting to see if we can find this article online - and if we can translate it :).

Sandibe

At Sandibe I saw a dog pack with 14 pups, and many other great wildlife observations.

Savute Under Canvas

This morning on my last drive at Savuti all hell broke loose with impala running straight at us with flying leaps and then came an 8 dog pack in mad pursuit. I had camera in hand with some great action shots, really wish I could video and photo at same time! Did shoot some social behavior vid after hunt failed then followed another hunt but they lost us.

• Leg 1: Arrival in Johannesburg, South Africa (Oct 4th)


• Leg 2: Mfuwe Lodge, Zambia(Oct 5th)


• Leg 3: Bilimungwe Bush Camp (Oct 6th - 7th )


• Leg 4: Chindeni Bush Camp (Oct 8th - 9th)
  
  • Walking Safari Details


• Leg 5: Chamilandu Bush Camp (Oct 10th - 11th)


• Leg 6: Mfuwe Lodge, Zambia (Oct 12th)


• Leg 7: Sindabezi Island, Zambia (Victoria Falls Area - Oct 13th - 14th)


• Leg 8: Mapula Lodge, Botswana (Oct 15th - 18th)


• Leg 9: Sandibe Safari Lodge, Botswana (Oct 19th)


• Leg 10: Savute Under Canvas, Botswana (Oct 20th)
  
  • Walk on the Wild Side Safari Wrap-Up