Ngoko Safaris starts on a high note…

The month of May 2005 started with Ngoko Safaris rubbing shoulders with the great champions, during our first appearance at the renowned Southern African travel market, Indaba.

It was a timely opportunity for the humble beetle to show its true nature and enabled us to raise the profile of our business considerably. Before the travel show was finished though I had to return to host our first guests for the season, Pirkko and Aake, Swedish friends from many years ago. Our rendezvous was the famous Savuti Bush Camp in Botswana and we were to spend three nights at this incredible paradise, where we had met twice before when I used to run this special camp.



Our meeting at the airstrip was a family reunion which left many onlookers stunned. We drove all the way to camp in roars of laughter as we recapped on our previous experiences and jokes. We had our own private vehicle giving us so much flexibility and control of our activities. As usual on safari a request came in from the couple, they wanted to see wild dogs; this is always the hardest part for a guide. The guests had been to other camps and had special sightings of leopard and lions making a kill, now their expectations were focussed on their favourite animal - wild dog. It would be the icing on the cake and the grand finale.



I refrained from over promising but focussed on delivery. That afternoon we went on our first bush drive. We wanted to get a feel for the area first and to enjoy the atmosphere. We had good general game on our way up the Savuti Channel; of special note were herds of rutting impala. Males intent on passing genes and taking no notice of everything happening around them. As we relaxed enjoying sundowners, impalas came bolting out of the bush and as per instructions the guests were in the car in seconds. We were thrilled to discover that in hot pursuit of the antelope were wild dogs. This was what we wanted and with wine glasses tinkling about we sped off after them. We had only three dogs to start with; then three became five, before we finally had a total of 14 individuals in a frenzy and running about whining. They were re-assembling and checking team members after missing the impala. This is a notably exciting action packed scenario. The cameras were going wild using the last light. Gradually the pack settled down for the night. We left them for a peaceful night and headed home contented.



The next day we set out earlier than the other teams in camp and found mating lions at Zibalianja Lagoon. Being the beginning of winter the hippos were sunning themselves on the banks of the Linyanti River, while in the dry channel the zebra and gnu herds were migrating in from the Savuti Marsh further east. The giraffes were also very abundant. On the evening drive we even had the opportunity to see a black-backed jackal fighting with an African wildcat. The cat was too ferocious for the jackal and was best left alone. Being such a small team we utilised every opportunity to be out and went on a night drive, enabling us to see hyena in their numbers, honey badgers, aardwolf and bat-eared foxes.



On our final morning we got up even earlier, forgoing any hot drinks since we had a packed breakfast basket. Within ten minutes of leaving camp, we caught a glimpse of three figures racing across the open channel. We sped after them and noticed it was dogs in top flight. As we got closer they disappeared into thick bush, disappointing us all as they were obviously hunting. Natural instinct had it that the dogs’ best hunting grounds would be the open area of the channel, so we made a u-turn and positioned ourselves at a place where we had the best view of both sides of the dry river bed. Anxiety got us. What next? A single male impala racing up the channel was a good enough indicator that the dogs were still about. When the impala was half a kilometre away a dog broke out of the bush in a fast chase. We drove after the two with no hope of any further action, taking into account the huge distance between predator and prey. In what was to be a fatal move though, the impala got to the far bank and stopped to catch a breath allowing the dog to catch up.

We got close to the action as the dog ripped the impala’s testicular bag off in one bite and, as if that was not enough, he came up to the front face of the antelope and started masticating his mouthful. I for one checked my groin in case this had happened to me. Fear of the unexpected had got the better of me. The impala was stunned and went into a state of shock with the heavy loss of blood, pain and exhaustion. He tried in vain to strike the dog with his horns but was too slow each time. Three times the dog ripped the impala’s behind; this commotion got the attention of the local hyenas who were obviously slowly trailing the speedy dogs. Two hyena pushed their way in and one grabbed the impala by the neck and dropped him to the ground with the dog still tagging at the rear end. At one point we had the two hyenas feeding on one end and the dog on the other. The dog was outnumbered and exhausted so being smart made a quick decision. He still had a few tricks up his sleeve. He shot off at top speed into the bush.

By now there were three hyenas having a party with one shy one drooling in a bush nearby. Half way into their main course, however, all the hyenas suddenly sped off from the kill. We looked around for lion but there were none; neither were there dogs or leopard. Some bad omen had hit the hyenas though as a few minutes later five dogs appeared from nowhere. They devoured the leftovers as fast as they came. The hyenas gathered some momentum and made several attempts to regain the kill but the dog squad was too sharp and cunning. Tug of war for the kill, biting hyenas on their backs and eating was the order of the day. Within a short space of time all evidence of the impala was gone except for the horns and a small piece of skin which the dogs used as a wrestling rag. By the time the other game drives arrived the main action was over and we were ready for a cup of tea after such an exhilarating experience of a lifetime. Our Ngoko friends left with great memories of Africa and even booked next year’s trip.