The Zambezi Valley is formed by the Zambezi river which flows through Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique. The river with its many lagoons and channels covered in water hyacinths is a reliable source of water for the animals. The trees form an irresistible supply of dry-season browsing.

The current ecosystem in the Valley was formed after the building of the Kariba dam more than 65 years ago. The dam holds back the seasonal floods in Lake Kariba and has changed the course of the river and the former seasonal floodplains. Trees started to grow, which now form the famous winterthorn or albida forests.

The winterthorns have a so-called “reverse foliage cycle”, meaning that they shed their leaves in summer, and grow them again as winter approaches. They develop an abundance of highly nutritious pods, beloved by elephants in particular. They shake the trees and even stand on their hind legs to reach the pods. The forest creates a fairytale-like atmosphere, with golden light filtering through the canopy. The many fires in the nearby escarpment in combination with dust and moisture create the characteristic smokey blue haze in the forest. 

We have visited the two national parks on the opposite shores of the river before, but this was the first time that we visited Lower Zambezi in Zambia and Mana Pools in Zimbabwe in one trip. Although our camps were only 40 km apart it took us two days of international travel to hop across the Zambezi river.

Zoom out for animalscapes

The baroque forest with its blue haze, the arches, creepers and vines forms a magical setting for animalscape photography. The landscape surrounding the animals defines the story. The challenge is to capture the magic in a picture. You need to take a step back and zoom out, even though big lenses allow us to get close to an animal.

Animal kingdoms come and go

The boom and bust of animal kingdoms is part of nature. A few years back the wild dogs were ruling the forest of Lower Zambezi. A huge pack of more than 40 dogs was able to bring down buffalos. Since then the pack has split in three. Some are operating with a smaller group on the other side of the park, others are struggeling to reproduce or even survive. The lions and leopards are back in power, both trying to weaken each other whereever possible. Life is hard, even for the top A predators. The fittest surviver is king for as long as it lasts.

In May we visited the Okavango Delta in Botswana. This is one of the world’s largest inland deltas, where the Okavango River fans out into a network of channels, lagoons, and floodplains instead of emptying into the sea. Its formation goes back millions of years. Tectonic-plate movement and crustal adjustments of the earth created rivers flowing inland. These deposited the sand which forms the Kalahari Basin, a semi-arid region characterized by sandy soils and sparse vegetation.

The delta covers approximately 15,000 square kilometers during peak flooding, shrinking to around 6,000 square kilometers in the dry season. Its geographical setting, surrounded by desert, makes it a critical oasis for diverse wildlife. Nowadays the annual flood of the delta is caused by the rains in the catchment area along the Angola highlands and in the delta itself.

Water brings life to the delta as it fills the lagoons and spills over onto the river plains, creating a labyrinth of papyrus-fringed channels, lily-pad-dotted lagoons, and green termite islands. The animals take advantage of the abundance of plants and insects. The last area to be reached by the lakes is the Mababe depression, a wide open plain with marshy areas where huge herds of buffalo gather in the dry season starting in August.

Opportunity Hunters

For us it was unusual to watch lions hunt for hours during daytime. Usually you would find them sleeping in the shade, digesting the meal they had caught during the night before. Their time of plenty in this area is the dry season when the big buffalo herds come back to the marsh for water. In the green season there is more than enough food and water for the buffalo elsewhere and the remaining small herds are well fed and strong enough to defend themselves. Therefore the lions have to create opportunities or make do with the resident antelopes and warthogs. Burrows provide safety for the warthogs during the night, but during daytime they feed and suplete the menu of the lions. Meaning the lions have to work hard and stalk them in the high grass. Tough times for the resident lions.

Beautiful elusive leopards

Leopards are elusive, secretive cats. They decide to show themselves, or not. You can drive around for days, looking for them. You see their tracks, but not the cats. And suddenly they appear out of nowhere and pose. We were lucky to find a mum with two playful cubs, who decided to climb a beautiful leadwood tree. The following days were spent in frustration because they had vanished again.

Okavango Gallery

Kenya keeps amazing us. After numerous safaris we keep on discovering new things in this beautiful country. This time we started out looking for big tuskers. There are not many of these magnificent giants left. We were lucky to meet some of them near the Chyulu Hills and around Amboseli. After that we went towards Lake Natron. We took amazing pictures from several hides. During our last week we went to look for the Big Five in Laikipia for one of our nephews who had just turned eighteen.

Up close with Big Tuskers

Bull elephants live fairly solitary lives, away from their family groups. They might hang out in small bachelor groups. The really big tuskers often have askaris who stay close to them to learn from them and protect them. Sadly there are few really big tuskers left. Elephants in general are under pressure because they compete with humans for scarce resources as space, food and water. Therefore less elephants reach the age of 50. The remaining big tuskers die of old age. In some countries they are still hunted for their ivory.

Some of the old boys like to hang out near the Chyulu Hills where they are protected and monitored. This beautiful area with hills and open grasslands is too dry for the family groups, who need water in walking distance on a regular basis. They prefer the area around Amboseli National park at the base of Kilimanjaro. The big tuskers visit the area looking for females to reproduce.

We were able to photograph and observe these amazing creatures  not only from the safari vehicle but also from hides at artificial water holes which the big boys visit. These waterholes attract an abundance of wildlife, where the big boys are the dominant species. Zebras, giraffes, elands, they all drift in during the morning and wait their turn to drink. They then spend the afternoon in the shade of the vegetation. In the evening they move out again to the open planes to graze and to keep an eye on the ever present predators.

To hide or not to hide

Taking pictures of animals from an underground hide has a lot of advantages. You are on eye-level with them and can get very close because you are behind glass and they do not realize that you are watching them. It is even possible to take pictures of night time behavior. The pictures you get seem very dark, but once processed they appear to be real treasures.

We visited two hides along the Rift Valley, near Lake Magadi and Lake Natron with Shompole Mountain in the background. After short nights we went to explore the wildlife in these amazing landscapes.

Looking for the famous Big Five

The last week of our trip we spent on Loisaba, a private conservancy on the Laikipia Plateau. The aim was to find the Big Five for one or our nephews who had just turned 18. The landscape is stunning with its lush valleys and wide open plains set against the backdrop of Mount Kenya.

The abundance of wildlife made spotting the famous five, lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino possible. The rare black rhino has been reintroduced a few months ago. Besides that, rare species like Grevy’s zebra and reticulated giraffe seem to find precious refuge in the area. On this ranch wildlife successfully coexist with cattle and mixed herds of livestock.

Seasons come and go in the Kalahari. Scorching hot summers are followed by bitterly cold winters. Severe droughts by times of plenty. Animals thrive or struggle depending on foodavailability, diseases and competition. Everything is interrelated.

The special thing about Tswalu is that a lot of these changes are documented and studied. Throughout the years we have met several scientists who are researching parts of this amazing ecosystem. They are hoping to learn more about how to preserve it and how extreme climate conditions might effect wildlife worldwide.

The effect of climate change on this arid area is immense. Changes in rainfall and temperatures affect the survival of its inhabitants and the whole ecosystem. Therefore studies of snakes and rodents as integral part of the foodchain are good indicators for the bigger picture.

The balance of power among the main predators seems to shift constantly. On our last visit a coalition of two cheetah brothers was often seen. They have passed away sadly. But the younger generation is taking over succesfully. We were able to follow a  mother and her cubs around and even walk with them.

The wild dogs are back again. We saw a very successful pack being reduced to just a few individuals in 2022. Now they are doing well again because they managed to reproduce and have successfully raised a litter of pups. We witnessed them kill a young oryx. Not a sighting for the faint hearted. But “eat or be eaten” is the only way to survive in this unforgiving environment. 

Tswalu Gallery

The last time we visited this part of the Serengeti was during the calving season in February of 2012. I had just published Tata&Squack – The Big Journey, a childrens book about the big migration of the wildebeest. Back then the plains were full of wildebeest, zebra, eland and Thomson’s gazelles. In August of this year the vast plains were empty. The migration had moved on, leaving behind the residents animals. We were reluctant to visit the Serengeti during the school holidays, but Namiri Plains turned out to be a great choice. The big human crowds had followed the migration.

The wildebeest move towards the Masai Mara this time of the year and cross the big rivers. This results in spectacular crossings which attracts many spectators. Therefore we were able to enjoy the wide open empty plains and the kopjes. They are home to many big cats. We saw prides of lions with coalitions of big males and there were numerous cubs which had been born shortly after the times of plenty when the migration passed through a few months ago. Cheetahs love the high grasses to stalk their prey and use the many termite mounds as lookout points.

The Serengeti is known for its semi-arid savannah landscape with grasslands, plains, kopjes, marshes and woodlands. The migration follows the rains and comes to feed on the short grass plains around Namiri. With ample food available the wildebeest drop and suckle their calves. The big cats also fatten up during this time of plenty.

When we visited the area the dry season was approaching, the seasonal waterholes were drying up and the grass showed its famous golden color. The kopjes stand out on the vast plains. They are massive formations, which were formed from the cooling of magma deep beneath the earths surface. Over time, erosion by wind and rain has weathered away the softer rock, leaving behind the more resistant granite. The kopjes provide shelter and protection for a wide variety of plant and animal species.

Serengeti Gallery

We visited Zimbabwe in October, often known as suicide month, because it is extremely hot, dry and dusty. Everything slows down and animals rest in the shade most of the day. Even the predators seem to be taking it easy. Everything in the landscape appears to be waiting for the start of the rains, announced by the first flush of green leaves. The animals congregate around the last remaining sources of water.

In Hwange National Park the river network and most of the natural waterholes dry up during the dry season. Therefore the animals are dependent on water that is pumped into the salt pans, using solar power. Elephant families walk in for a drink and a mud bath. They know exactly when the sun stands high enough to power the pumps and come to get the fresh water.

In Mana Pools National Park the mighty Zambezi is a reliable source of water. The floodplains with winterthorn trees represent an irresistable supply of dry-season browsing. These trees have a so-called “reverse foliage cycle”, meaning that they shed their leaves in summer, and grow them again as winter approaches. They develop an abundance of highly nutritious pods, beloved by elephants in particular. The result is that during the late dry season, most of the herbivores are crammed into the Mana floodplain.

The hazy blue Mana woodlands with elephants reaching for the high-up pods are very photogenic, but they also represent a very stressful time of year for the animals. Especially now climate change seems to make the rains less predictable and tourism has an ever growing impact on the ecosystem.

Zimbabwe Gallery

Camera trapping enables you to get a glimpse behind the scenes. Especially at night when the veil of darkness covers wildlife for us humans and leaves us with sound-only. Our aim for the trip to Laikipia was to take pictures of the mysterious black leopard. Thanks to the experienced eye of our tracker and guide we were able to find a young female black leopard, while on a night drive, even without the camera traps. Have a look at our post on wildlife conservation in Laikipia for the pictures of this beautiful cat.

Nevertheless the results we got from the traps were amazing. Camera trapping is like putting up a treasure box to be filled with exciting pictures while you are away. But to allow that to happen it takes a lot of equipment, planning, knowledge, dedication and patience.

Preparation started early. Willem tested all the required equipment in our garden in Holland with nightly visitors like foxes, pine martens and hedgehogs. We ended up taking two fully kitted camera traps to Laikipia, meaning 25 kg of extra weight in cameras, flashes, protective boxes, tripods, light stands, triggers, PIR sensors and tons of batteries. Most of the critical equipment we used comes from Camtraptions.

With the aid of the local guides we set up the camera traps on wildlife paths and close to carcasses. Due to the persistent drought in the area a lot of cattle died attracting lots of scavengers. We would leave the traps at the same spots for several days, only checking for batteries now and then.

Opening up a camera trap is always exciting. You never know what happened while you were away. It is often hit and miss. Misses mean that nothing was written to the memory card, the picture was wrongly exposed, the batteries were drained or part of the animal is missing from the picture. This can all be a bit frustrating but if it all comes together you end up with stunning  pictures. In the end the patience and the dedication of the whole team paid off.

The pictures in the gallery below were all taken using our camera traps. A true glimpse behind the scenes with a variety of night time encounters with our camera traps.

The Laikipia Plateau is set against the backdrop of Mount Kenya. Vast open arid plains are interrupted by basalt outcrops and lush, forested slopes. The Ewaso rivers cut through the plateau via spectacular rock gorges. As a wildlife area it is made up of farms, cattle ranches and conservancies. Over the years it has become a safe haven for animals that are under pressure elsewhere.

Here, elephants follow centuries-old migration corridors while rare species like Grevy’s zebra and reticulated giraffe find precious refuge. Back in the days farmers did not much care for wildlife and all the predators were killed to protect their cattle. Nowadays lions, leopards and wild dogs coexist with Boran cattle and mixed herds of livestock. During the day herders drive the cattle to the water filled dams. At night the precious livestock goes into protective bomas. Predators thrive on the abundance of prey animals, like gazelles and leave the livestock alone most of the time.

Droughts have always afflicted the region, but due to climate-change they have doubled in frequency. Good land management helps to endure normal dry seasons, but consecutive poor rainy seasons are now threatening wildlife and livestock alike. Sadly a lot of cows had died and the carcasses were left to decay. Predators do not mind an easy meal as we witnessed through our camera traps.

When we first visited Laikipia around ten years ago leopards were seldom seen. We saw their tracks, but the cats were still elusive. Now the sightings are frequent and even the mysterious black leopards can be spotted now and then. It took us more than a week to catch a glimpse of one, but it was worth the effort.

Laikipia Gallery

Lions are at the top of the food chain and occur throughout Africa. The lions that inhabit the Kalahari practice exceptional life skills, making them all the more iconic. They are adapted to the extreme climate where the temperatures can fluctuate from sub zero to scorching heat.

The male Kalahari lions are famous for their black manes, have longer legs and large feet. The females have lean physiques designed for endurance. Kalahari lions prey on anything from birds to enormous eland but are sometimes forced to scavenge due to the severity of their living conditions.

Like all lions they depend on the pride for protection and food. Hunting skills are copied from the adults and practiced on siblings. It is great to watch them play-fighting, chasing each other and wrestling as they practice their skills and develop physical strength. Tswalu has two lion prides, who seem to be doing very well. During our previous visits their cubs were still small, now most of them are subadults and some are on the verge of starting a pride of their own.

Having been in Tswalu during the drought we were amazed to see how green it is now. There is a bountiful abundance of green grasses, Kalahari sunflowers and butterflies. Nature seems to be catching up. After more than eight years of drought the area seems to be getting its third year of above average rainfall. Dormant seeds started to grow again and plants which had not been seen for many years reappear. Plants, insects, rodents, birds, all animals seem to have gone into reproduction.

Obviously the often man high grasses result in a totally different game viewing experience. Without the amazing trackers and guides it would be near to impossible to find animals in this vast area. They know the animals, their habitats and behavior very well and are able to search for animals off road if necessary. This is quite an accomplishment in a reserve of more than 100.000 hectares. Without the armada of cars you see in other parks, some of the areas here are not frequently visited. Roads start to overgrow, especially with the grasses growing so fast. All this makes game viewing into the adventure we love.

For more than 25 years the owners of Tswalu have been working on their mission to preserve part of the Kalahari and to restore it to its original state. This has meant removing human disturbances like fences, buildings and roads. The scars take a long time to disappear in this unforgiving environment. Even in this time of plenty nature takes its time to come back. Hopefully the findings which are well researched and documented here will help us to understand how to help our planet survive human disturbances.

Kalahari Gallery