Elephants in Madikwe, South Africa.

“Growing up on a farm in Africa in the sixties, poaching was a big part of farm life.

Our farm was one of the closest farms to the major city of Lusaka, capital of Zambia. We raised Angoni cattle, hardy local cattle, with immunity to many common cattle diseases, they were coveted by the local people to whom cows represented wealth.

They were also desirable to the locals, housed in villages close to the farm, as a food source.

And so every weekend we would mount our anti-poaching patrols, knowing that was the time that poachers would break through our fences to reach the angoni cattle.

The poachers would come in the dead of night, armed with old muzzle loaders that fired a single round and could be heard from afar, the sort of gun associated in romantic books with pirate stories.

Our job as the anti-poaching unit, was to listen for the gun shot and then close in on the poachers, as they skinned and cut up the animal, before they made their get-away with the meat.

Often they would flee with some of the meat to get away quickly, hiding the rest of the meat under bushes, with the intention of returning the next night to haul away what they had left.

If we found hidden meat we would set an ambush, keeping quiet and lying low through the day, waiting for the poachers to return.

The sad part of all this is when we did catch a poacher, he invariably turned out to be a poor subsistence farmer, trying to supplement his food supply. We would turn the poacher over to the police who would impose a small fine or a short prison sentence.

That was then! Today poaching is big business. Especially when it comes to elephants and rhinos.

An ounce of  ground rhino horn sells for more today than an ounce of gold!

The local subsistence farmer has become part of the poaching syndicate’s front line troops, armed with the latest armory and anti-detection devices. He earns more for his labor in poaching one elephant than his predecessor did in a lifetime of poaching.

And similarly, the modern day anti-poaching unit bears no resemblance to our amateur efforts to combat poaching on the farm; infinitely more sophisticated with infra-red surveillance, radios and drones.

And then there’s tourism. Now the world’s largest single economic sector, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, tourism is also helping to contain poaching.

Simply by tourists visiting wildlife areas, their presence serves as a deterrent to poachers, who prefer to remain unseen and go to places which are sparsely populated, but where there are elephants and rhinos.

Anyone taking a safari can therefore feel that they are doing their small part in helping to combat poaching.

The ultimate weapon to reduce poaching is education of those buying ivory, some of whom don’t realize the elephant is killed to get its tusk, while to others, ivory is a status symbol.

And here again, tourism plays its part, helping educate others when tourists see elephants in the wild for themselves and marvel at their complex family structures, so similar to the way our own families are organized.

So to those of us in the safari business, it is a rich reward to know that every time we send someone on safari, we are helping to conserve Africa’s wildlife in our small way.

Safari Jim “Musings on Africa”

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Is it possible that the world’s largest land animal, with skin as tough as wrinkly leather, can actually be afraid of honey bees?

Despite the two-inch thick skin of a pachyderm, elephants are vulnerable in the sensitive, soft fleshy areas of their eyes, mouth, and trunk. Just the sight and sound of a swarming beehive, drives them crazy.

“Of course, a bee’s stinger can’t penetrate the thick hide of an elephant. But when bees swarm – and African bees swarm aggressively – hundreds of bees might sting an elephant in its most sensitive areas, the trunk, mouth and eyes. And they hurt.”  Independent UK news.

The Elephants and Bees Project run by Save the Elephants, a nonprofit conservationist group, has proven extremely successful at protecting African elephants while helping the local human community for more than a decade. So why are elephants a threat to the local communities? The main reason is they love to raid the corn fields during the night, and farmers confronting elephants in the dark are often left with no choice but to throw stones and fire crackers or shoot bullets into the air to try to scare them away. This confrontation leads to heightened aggression and some elephants will charge and attack. These negative incidents often lead to terrible injuries or deaths of both people and elephants.

Dr. Lucy King heads a team of conservationists working on The Elephants and Bees Project; a project to alleviate the human-elephant conflict in Kenya. Conservationists from Save the Elephants, the Disney Conservation Fund, and local Samburu tribesmen in northern Kenya noticed a patch of trees destroyed by elephants; all except for one. That single tree had a bee hive in it. So in order to be certain that elephants are scared of bees, the conservationists placed sound recordings of bees close to the elephants, and microphones to record the rumbling sounds of the elephants. They wanted to check if elephants actually communicate with one another when they hear bees. Almost immediately, the elephants started shaking their heads and making a unique rumbling sound to ward off other elephants.

“Thanks to this discovery, Save the Elephants, now builds wire and beehive fences at a cost of about $975 for a one-acre farm – roughly one-fifth the cost of an electrified fence,” King says. Over a course of three years, beehive fences have stopped 80% of elephants from entering farms. Not only does the farm get protection against elephants, but they also get a modest new source of income from a twice-a-year honey harvest. This honey is sold in Kenya, and you can help support Save the Elephants, by going on a Safari in Kenya.

Special honey made from the “Elephant and Bees Project” in Kenya.

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Makhosi Ncube-Guide in Zimbabwe

On my recent site inspection trip to Zambia and Zimbabwe with Jim Holden, President of Holden Safaris, I had the pleasure of experiencing, first-hand, how an expert guide, makes all the difference in your safari experience.

Jim Holden and I were on our way to inspect Somalisa Camp, a small luxury camp in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. We flew in from Mana Pools on a nine-passenger, Cessna Caravan, and landed on the hardened-dirt, Manga 3 runway.

A young man dressed in classic safari, stone-colored shirt and shorts, greeted us at the bottom of the small ladder as we exited the plane.

“You must be Jim and Sonia,” he said with his charming smile. “I’m Mak, your guide, from Somalisa Camp.”

Mak hoisted our bags onto his shoulders, and as we reached his jeep, he handed us a much-appreciated, bottle of ice cold water. Leaning over the edge of his vehicle, he asked if he would you like to go straight to Somalisa Camp to rest after our three-hour flight, or if we would prefer to go on an afternoon game drive on our way back to the camp.

“We want to go on a game drive,” Jim said.

I gulped down the water and asked Mak, “What’s that horrible loud noise?”

“It’s the Heartbeat of Hwange” he said.

Sensing my confusion, Mak continued. “We have only one diesel water pump left in the park, and it’s right there.” He pointed towards the waterhole. “All the rest of our 50 boreholes are now solar powered. The elephants are used to the sound of the diesel pump and know that it means water; that’s why they come here in the hundreds, to drink and bathe. Shall we wait to see them?”

“Of course,” Jim said. I worried that we might sit in the jeep for several hours before they appeared, but Mak was right. It only took 5-minutes, and sure enough, hundreds of elephants approached the water-hole for their sundowner.

Elephants drinking in the “noisy” water hole

We watched in awe, as the elephants, and the babies drank, and then strolled over to cover themselves with mud, in the second, nearby waterhole. It was a daily ritual, and Mak explained that we were only 40 kilometers from Botswana, and that the elephants traipse back and forth between Zimbabwe and Botswana, in search of water.

After this unique experience, Mak drove us along the sandy road, and pointed out every bird, even the ones my eyes had a hard time finding. He was interesting, sharp and entertaining, and knew the answers to each and every question Jim and I had.

“What’s that tree?” I asked.

“That’s the lead tree,” Mak said. “It sinks and looks dead. When you burn it, you get a white ash which can be made into a paste to relieve tooth ache. The white ash can also be turned into white paint which the villagers use to paint their houses.

Now I was impressed, and felt a rapport with our guide. He was professional and informative, and I soon realized how special it was to have our own private guide who had gone through the rigorous training required to become an expert on nature and wildlife.  I started quizzing Mak on everything.

“What’s that bird?” I asked.

“It’s the red-crested Korhaan, or the “suicide” bird as it’s commonly called.” Mak proceeds to pull out his book and points to the page with photos of this bird.

Mak told us that during the mating season. the male will fly up high, and at full throttle, dive straight towards the ground in suicide mode. The female picks her potential mate based on how impressive she perceives his close call to death.

Here is an eleven-second video demonstrating a suicide fall.

Equally crazy is the way the red-crested Korhaan dances and clicks during the mating season to catch the interest of a female.

Mak then drove us to Somalisa Camp, where we arrived just in time to see eleven wild-dogs drinking from the waterhole next to the lodge.  It was a long and exciting day, and I looked forward to freshening up before our evening sundowner and dinner.

Wild dogs in front of Somalisa Camp

At the entrance to Somalisa Camp, we were greeted by three super-friendly staff members, including Yvonne, whom I shall never forget. She was a burst of energy and her enthusiasm was contagious.

The staff greeting us at Somalisa Camp in Hwange, Zimbabwe

This was just the start of our safari in Hwange National Park, and having Mak as our guide, exemplified Jim Holden’s definition of the: “luxury of experience.” Most of our travelers at Holden Safaris are looking for the superior safari experience, and one of the key components to an outstanding safari, is a well-qualified, professional guide. I’m so happy I had that experience with Mak. Don’t miss next week’s blog post where I interview Mak about his daily life as a guide.

Next weeks’s blog post: An Interview with Mak. “A Day in the Life of a Safari Guide.”

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My wife, two friends and I just returned from a magical African safari that exceeded our expectations, and then some!  On this wildlife adventure, we visited Zimbabwe and Namibia in southern Africa.  The trip was arranged for us by Holden Safaris of Newport Beach, and was customized to our specific timing, our desires, and our budget.  First of all, we are not novices at African safaris, as this was our 11^th trip to the “dark continent!”  But this would be our first venture into Namibia.

Our trip started as we flew from LA to London, spent a night to catch our breath, then headed down to Johannesburg, South Africa.  We then flew to Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe to start our adventure, where we were met by a representative from Wilderness Safaris, in whose camps we would be staying.   We were transferred by air to our first stop at Mana Pools National Park, located in the northern part of the country, nearby Zambia.

Friendly staff at Ruckomechi preparing our meal in the bush

We stayed two nights at the “Ruckomechi Camp,” located on the banks of the Zambezi River.  While there, we were out for early morning and late afternoon game drives to explore the area and to photograph the amazing African wildlife.

See how close we got to the elephants at Ruckomechi, Zimbabwe

We saw elephants, giraffe, hippos, baboons, lion, impala, zebra, kudu, jackals, and a wide array of birds.   Each morning we awakened to loud grunts and noise from the hippos in the nearby Zambesi River!   The tent accommodations at the camp were terrific and the staff was gracious and helpful in all ways.  Our ranger/driver for the game drives was superb and added an extra dimension with his knowledge of the land and animals.

Next, we were flown to the western part of Zimbabwe, to Hwange (Wan-gay) National Park, to stay three nights at “Linkwasha Camp.” 

Lion pair at Linkwasha, Zimbabwe

This was another luxury tent camp experience, along with great wildlife viewing, including a close-up time watching four cheetahs!  What a sight!  After this stay at Linkwasha, we were off to see Namibia, flying to the capital of Windhoek (Vind-hook).  Flying on Wilderness Air, we headed to our first camp – “Hoanib (Wah-nib) Skeleton Coast Camp” – located in the desert area of northwest Namibia.

Angry Elephant Bull at Skeleton Coast, Namibia

This was a totally different wildlife experience from Zimbabwe, although many of the animals were the same.  One difference is that this wildlife is “desert-adapted,” used to living in the often-harsh conditions, with limited water.

Giraffes at Skeleton Coast have adapted to the desert landscape

While there for three nights, we had a chance to spend a day on the Skeleton Coast, so named for the numerous skeletons of wrecked ships that have occurred over the years.  We also viewed many huge colonies of Cape Fur Seals, lounging on the beach and swimming in the surf.  Nearby, we hiked on the massive sand dunes, and some of us braved sliding down the steep sand slopes, which was a fantastic experience!

Dried Clay at Skeleton Coast

The next area that we flew to was the “Damaraland Camp.” This huge area is untamed and ruggedly beautiful, with exceptional scenic landscapes of open plains and spectacular rock formations.  We drove and hiked around this beautiful desert environment, and enjoyed the brilliant nighttime sky, which we felt like we could almost touch the Milky Way, the Southern Cross and the blaze of planets and stars.

Rhinos at Ongava Game Reserve, Namibia

Next, we flew to the “Ongava Game Reserve,” which is adjacent to the huge Etosha National Park.  Here we encountered some rare white rhino, and were able to get close to them on foot, with our armed tracker.  Another amazing African experience!

We next flew to “Okanjima Private Game Reserve” for one night (not enough).

Leopard cub at Okonjima, Namibia

This is the home of the “AfriCat Foundation.”   There we had an up close and personal encounter with a mother leopard that was hunting, and by chance we also saw one of her beautiful young cubs.  What a thrill!  The next day our guide tracked two cheetah, and we followed them on foot through the bush, which was an exciting and fantastic experience! This was Africa on a wholly different level than on past trips!

Red sand dunes at Sossusvlei, Namibia

Our last camp in Namibia was the “Sossusvlei (So-sus-flay) Desert Lodge.”  This is where we found the iconic red sand dunes of the Namib Desert.  The clear blue skies contrast with the giant red sand dunes to make this one of the natural wonders of Africa and a photographer’s heaven!  We were up early to be at the dunes before sunrise to catch the spectacular colors as the morning sun lit up the dunes. WOW!  We hiked through the dunes and had a marvelous time – one of life’s great experiences!

Then it was time to fly home – back to reality!  We flew from Windhoek back to Johannesburg, then north to London.  We played tourist in London for two days, then made our way back to LA, ending a memorable and fantastic African safari experience.  We thank Jim Holden of Holden Safaris, and his staff, for arranging such a fantastic adventure, for thoroughly briefing us and ensuring that all aspects of our safari were considered and arranged.  From start to finish it was an amazing travel experience!  If you haven’t been to Africa, you need to go!

Paul Alwine- Traveler with Holden Safaris, July 2017

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