I was quite sad to be leaving Shimuwini, on balance it was probably the best camp we had stayed in so far. It has it's disadvantages in as much as it's out on a limb but on the other hand you can be out of the park and stocking up in the shops in 90 minutes too. There are not too many camps you can say that about.
Another disadvantage we found was the shortage of kitchen equipment, and we were not alone it seemed. The SanPark web site states that there isn't an electric supply but in actual fact there is. They have now installed fridge freezers in every unit so you no longer have to rely on the communal deep freezers, if indeed they are still operational. You can disconnect the fridge /freezer for a while to recharge your batteries but not for too long of course. A power bank of sockets is an extremely useful bit of kit. A dual socket converter would solve that problem with ease and they sell them in the park shops too we later discovered. Our unit should have had the basics though, we didn't report it as we had our own anyway but there wasn't a can or bottle opener, and a new breadboard only appeared on the day we left. What was more of a concern would be the pathetic gas hobs we had in our unit. One small one, no tiny one, and one standard size one that didn't give off much heat. We had to resort to putting the casserole dish in the coals of the Braii again to get the water to boil. We had no electric kettle, microwave or toaster. None of these mattered to us because we had our braii but I would wonder what it would be like if it was raining for a prolonged period? The bigger units had a proper oven, shame the smaller ones don't.
Talking of rain I also wondered what it would be like when the water level of the rivers started to rise too. Not just here but through out the park. In exceptional times the water at Shimuwini has risen above the ground level of all the chalets, flooding them all, but that is the exception.
What would be interesting in a normal summer would be to see the level of the water as viewed from the bird hide. When the water is low the Hippos remain quite distant, they have little choice if they want to stay in a reasonable depth of water.
Imagine what it would be like if they were nearly on a level with you and much closer!
There would be some cracking photo opportunities.
I have already mentioned that Shimuwini had a more social aspect too. The layout is such that it's easy to communicate with your neighbours without intruding on their space. Usually whilst using your Braii! I think the fact we'd stayed for four nights also gave you a feeling of putting your roots down for a while. I might have been obsessed by finding the Leopard but there was plenty of other wildlife on the private road.
A large herd of Buffalo passed through over 2 days and a good number of Elephants were always a present, as were Impala, Waterbuck, and as seen by others, Leopard!
Did I try again? Silly you would doubt me!! Of course I did but only after trying for the Night Herons again.
This time though they landed on a more distant rock.
but they stayed put for a little longer than on the previous day. It was getting lighter still before they flew in to cover.
I would bet they will build a nest there as they appeared to perform a little courtship ritual which was nice to see.
Anyway, I took to the gravel road again after they disappeared and although I failed on the Leopard I was surprised to see a Hyena wander down towards me!
It appeared to be in a world of it's own stopping only when something caught it's attention.
After a brief pause it carried on, seemingly in a world of it's own!
I had to change camera and lenses as it got nearer and nearer. Then I thought better of the situation, it was going to almost brush past the car so I hurriedly withdrew the lens and wound up the window a bit. I have no idea how a Hyena would react but they are pretty big and have a row of teeth to match.
Better safe than sorry!
I have to admit I should have wound up the window fully. They also stink!!
Interestingly this was the only camp that wasn't offering any game drives and perhaps the answer was that they were in the process of installing a new camp manager. It was nice to meet her on my last morning when I went in to the hide when she was checking it out too. A delightful and very knowledgable young lady, I think she'll be a huge success and push Shimuwini on to even better things.
Back at our chalet Claire was getting ready to move. Mopani here we come!
It wasn't far so we took a diversion again en route checking out the Tsendze loop and Shipandani hide. It was notable how many Elephants were around the loop, enough to make you feel uncomfortable to be honest. You could easily find yourself trapped. Nice to see another Nyala though.
We'd soon discover the further north the more common they become.
The Shipandani Hide on the other hand was very disappointing with nothing much to see at all. There's a nice ford you cross the end of the small lake just before you get there and there were some Hippos in the water so there were possibilities of something good to photograph but not just at that moment. I made a mental note to return.
Instead we took the S49 and S50 routes to check out those two gravel roads. There was certainly a lot of open space.
It was very dry and very dusty.
Elephants were gathered around the water tank.
Not everything can make use of them though so alternative sources are need. Judging by the surrounding dried up mud, water was disappearing fast.
In the heat of the day, there was little shade on offer.
Sometimes it was offered by an adult to a child. Otherwise it was do the best you can.
Today's new animal was to be Tsessebe. Again, the further north the more we were to find them but for now it was another "lifer".
I think I was going to enjoy the surrounding area but for now it was time to check in to our new camp and get the stores refrigerated as soon as possible.
TBC
Another disadvantage we found was the shortage of kitchen equipment, and we were not alone it seemed. The SanPark web site states that there isn't an electric supply but in actual fact there is. They have now installed fridge freezers in every unit so you no longer have to rely on the communal deep freezers, if indeed they are still operational. You can disconnect the fridge /freezer for a while to recharge your batteries but not for too long of course. A power bank of sockets is an extremely useful bit of kit. A dual socket converter would solve that problem with ease and they sell them in the park shops too we later discovered. Our unit should have had the basics though, we didn't report it as we had our own anyway but there wasn't a can or bottle opener, and a new breadboard only appeared on the day we left. What was more of a concern would be the pathetic gas hobs we had in our unit. One small one, no tiny one, and one standard size one that didn't give off much heat. We had to resort to putting the casserole dish in the coals of the Braii again to get the water to boil. We had no electric kettle, microwave or toaster. None of these mattered to us because we had our braii but I would wonder what it would be like if it was raining for a prolonged period? The bigger units had a proper oven, shame the smaller ones don't.
Talking of rain I also wondered what it would be like when the water level of the rivers started to rise too. Not just here but through out the park. In exceptional times the water at Shimuwini has risen above the ground level of all the chalets, flooding them all, but that is the exception.
What would be interesting in a normal summer would be to see the level of the water as viewed from the bird hide. When the water is low the Hippos remain quite distant, they have little choice if they want to stay in a reasonable depth of water.
Imagine what it would be like if they were nearly on a level with you and much closer!
There would be some cracking photo opportunities.
I have already mentioned that Shimuwini had a more social aspect too. The layout is such that it's easy to communicate with your neighbours without intruding on their space. Usually whilst using your Braii! I think the fact we'd stayed for four nights also gave you a feeling of putting your roots down for a while. I might have been obsessed by finding the Leopard but there was plenty of other wildlife on the private road.
A large herd of Buffalo passed through over 2 days and a good number of Elephants were always a present, as were Impala, Waterbuck, and as seen by others, Leopard!
Did I try again? Silly you would doubt me!! Of course I did but only after trying for the Night Herons again.
This time though they landed on a more distant rock.
but they stayed put for a little longer than on the previous day. It was getting lighter still before they flew in to cover.
I would bet they will build a nest there as they appeared to perform a little courtship ritual which was nice to see.
Anyway, I took to the gravel road again after they disappeared and although I failed on the Leopard I was surprised to see a Hyena wander down towards me!
It appeared to be in a world of it's own stopping only when something caught it's attention.
After a brief pause it carried on, seemingly in a world of it's own!
I had to change camera and lenses as it got nearer and nearer. Then I thought better of the situation, it was going to almost brush past the car so I hurriedly withdrew the lens and wound up the window a bit. I have no idea how a Hyena would react but they are pretty big and have a row of teeth to match.
Better safe than sorry!
I have to admit I should have wound up the window fully. They also stink!!
Interestingly this was the only camp that wasn't offering any game drives and perhaps the answer was that they were in the process of installing a new camp manager. It was nice to meet her on my last morning when I went in to the hide when she was checking it out too. A delightful and very knowledgable young lady, I think she'll be a huge success and push Shimuwini on to even better things.
Back at our chalet Claire was getting ready to move. Mopani here we come!
It wasn't far so we took a diversion again en route checking out the Tsendze loop and Shipandani hide. It was notable how many Elephants were around the loop, enough to make you feel uncomfortable to be honest. You could easily find yourself trapped. Nice to see another Nyala though.
We'd soon discover the further north the more common they become.
The Shipandani Hide on the other hand was very disappointing with nothing much to see at all. There's a nice ford you cross the end of the small lake just before you get there and there were some Hippos in the water so there were possibilities of something good to photograph but not just at that moment. I made a mental note to return.
Instead we took the S49 and S50 routes to check out those two gravel roads. There was certainly a lot of open space.
It was very dry and very dusty.
Elephants were gathered around the water tank.
Not everything can make use of them though so alternative sources are need. Judging by the surrounding dried up mud, water was disappearing fast.
In the heat of the day, there was little shade on offer.
Sometimes it was offered by an adult to a child. Otherwise it was do the best you can.
Today's new animal was to be Tsessebe. Again, the further north the more we were to find them but for now it was another "lifer".
I think I was going to enjoy the surrounding area but for now it was time to check in to our new camp and get the stores refrigerated as soon as possible.
TBC
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