Safarichatter.com

Strong feelings bubble up when a conversation turns to poaching, and recently that would involve the poaching of rhino horn. The blatant slaying of rhino’s – be they pregnant cows or single bulls – the desperate will take anything. Southern Africa seems to be gaining a reputation amongst syndicates for the easy pickings, experiencing the [...]

What can I say…a truly remarkable land filled with such diversity and adaptations, it begs one to return again and again. The group of students and their two teachers were a real treat to work with. Eager to learn and willing to play their part in the daily camp duties.
I’m sure some of them will [...]

Two weeks of adventure and exploration await me, along with a large group of eager students. This should be a wonderful opportunity to discuss this land and its many secrets of survival.
Both plants and animals have learnt to adapt to this very old landscape. 100 million years ago the genus Ficus (fig tree) began a [...]

Of the numerous mutualistic relationships found in Africa’s wild places, the honeyguide bird has surely got to be one of the more recognised ones. Many stories abound in folktales about considering this birds guidance to places of honey. Misfortune would surely follow the one who did not leave a piece of honey comb or honey [...]

All too often I’ve seen people rushing through the Park to get a glimpse of the Lions at a kill, or a herd of Elephant at a waterhole. Sure those are great sightings, but they’re not the only things ‘out there’. I really enjoy taking a simple walk through the areas near the bush camp, [...]

All around is quiet, except for the occasional call of a night bird or distant lion. The stars are bright and the moon is half full. A faint warm breeze touches your face as you stare into the glowing embers of a camp fire. You feel at peace in this place. Sounds like something out [...]

Nothing in the Kalahari goes unnoticed, least of all by its inhabitants. And as the young Camelthorn tree  (Acacia erioloba) begins to make headway, filling out its branches and trunk, all manner of creature decends upon its vicinity, eager to take up a piece of its prized real estate. Out here the Camelthorn tree could [...]

One could be forgiven for assuming that most plants, and indeed trees are only pollinated by a handful of insects. But dare I say, this is not so. For even where there is no insect, a plant could potentially still reproduce and be pollinated. In todays world where farmers rely heavily on bees for setting [...]

In a land far removed from our ideas of being in Africa on a safari, is a place that lies quietly hidden in the extreme western half of southern Africa. This is a land of dry mountains and rocky plains, with no tar roads or well maintained gravel tracks. It is a place for the [...]

Almost every organism shares an acute ability to perceive its surroundings through the application of sensory organs. We as the human species, are endowed with an ability which goes beyond the instinctive and sub-conscious perception. And it is this ability which gives us the edge in much of our dealings with the world around us. [...]