A Spectacular Day at Little Kwara……

We recently returned from a couple of weeks in Botswana and are keen to share our unique and amazing game viewing experiences at Little Kwara Camp in the Okavango Delta.

We stayed at Little Kwara for just two nights and it immediately became one of my favourite camps. The team Lizzie, Keya, Janet, Steve and Hobbs give this camp a superb atmosphere and I totally adored it. During our short stay we also had the most remarkable game viewing. Here follows the story of our one full day at Little Kwara:

On our morning game drive we set off to find three cheetah brothers who had made a kill the previous day. They had already left the kill site so we weren’t feeling too confident that we would spot them but our wonderful guide, Hobbs, knew their behaviour well and finally tracked them down. The brothers were sleepy and rather full so weren’t at their most photogenic but nevertheless we felt elated after our sighting and started heading back to camp feeling rather pleased with ourselves.

A few minutes had passed before one of the guests in the vehicle said “what was that?”. Only her husband caught the question and happily ignored it until she persisted, asking again. He looked over and realised we had just driven past a pack of six wild dogs! The dogs were on the move and we were very fortunate to be with them as they passed through a large open area before settling down under a shady tree to sleep through the heat of the day. We had a chat and agreed the dogs wouldn’t do much for a few hours so we should return to the lodge for our “eating safari”, have a short rest and head out much earlier than normal in the afternoon (with a packed high tea, so that we wouldn’t miss out on further food!). We would then be back with the dogs when it became cool enough for them to start hunting.



Almost missed them...if we had then the day would have been very different!

All went to plan – apart from the dogs, which had disappeared by the time we returned. The disappointment was palpable but we made the best of it by setting up the table for our high tea! Just as we were munching away a call came through on the radio that one of the other vehicles – arriving late for the dogs – had spotted a female cheetah with her five cubs. They were just about to tuck into a freshly killed impala. Our disappointment was immediately forgotten as we jumped into the vehicle and headed for the cheetah, where we enjoyed a wonderful hour watching the youngsters valiantly trying to break through the thick hide of the impala before finally getting some help from mum. A wonderful sighting and more than enough to keep all of the guests happy. However…this was just to be the start of an amazing series of events…

As we were watching the cheetah family there was a sudden commotion a short distance away as two young kudu went tearing past us followed by one of the wild dogs from earlier. Anyone who has followed wild dogs hunting knows that you just hold on for dear life when your guide starts the vehicle as there is no time for careful driving. Hobbs certainly did us proud with his tremendous driving that day. We arrived at the “Killing Fields” just as the dog had one of the kudu by its ear; playing a rather viscous version of tug of war. Dogs kill by literally ripping their prey apart, which sounds horrible but is generally almost instantaneous. However with just one dog doing the ripping we discovered to our horror just how long and gruesome the kill can be. The kudu still had its head up and was bleating even after the dog had ripped its stomach open and started devouring the contents. Nature can certainly be cruel!

After the lone dog had (finally) killed the kudu and eaten all of the best bits it was time for him to fetch the other five pack members. There was huge excitement as the six of them tore the kudu apart and had their fill. We watched until nothing but scraps remained and then decided to head back the 200 metres or so to the cheetah family for some final photos before the sun set on our exciting day. They were still there and we just had time for a couple more photos of the cubs looking cute before another almighty commotion broke out...



The start of a gruesome few minutes...

A pack of 15 wild dogs had arrived to confront the six who must have strayed onto the larger pack’s territory. It appears that all six dogs from the smaller pack fled but sadly one of the dogs wasn’t quick enough. We arrived just as he had been caught and the larger pack set upon him in a cloud of dust. I can still hear the yelping! The kudu kill had been gruesome but this seemed so much worse as they set upon one of their own kind. It took a while to register that this was not a case of teaching him a lesson and then letting him go – this was setting an example that the others would remember. Interestingly once the dog had been killed the pack moved on. There was no attempt to feed on the dog, despite it having a very full belly – even the vultures and hyenas left it untouched.

Was this the end of the emotional rollercoaster? Not quite! The large pack of dogs had by now psyched themselves up into a frenzy and were on a mission to kill. We suddenly realised that they had caught the scent of the cheetah kill a short distance away and were heading in that direction. Hobbs drove like a Formula 1 driver to get back to where we had just left the cheetah family. We arrived at exactly the same moment as the first dog. Thankfully the wise cheetah mother had heard the commotion and taken her cubs a safe distance away. I think it was only then that I started breathing again!

All of us were emotionally drained and the 4 vehicles (3 from Little Kwara and 1 from main Kwara) gathered together for a belated sundowner back at the dog/kudu killing field. Guides and guests alike were all in shock at the events we had witnessed. This was not a normal game drive! Some of the guests were in fact on their first safari and I hope it hasn’t spoilt them for future safaris. The irony hit me when a hyena approached our vehicles during our sundowners and one of the guests asked what type of animal it was. They had seen a wild dog kill a kudu and a pack of wild dog kill one of their own, but hadn’t yet seen a hyena!

Our amazing day wasn’t quite finished as heading back to camp we came across another pack of four wild dogs crossing the track in front of us. Oh, and a wild cat. It felt a bit like we were on a “Hollywood does Safari” film set.



A harsh and sad lesson!

After such an amazing experience we wanted time to digest all that we had seen, so chose to go out on the boat the following morning rather than a game drive. This was a wise choice as apparently a male lion spent over an hour searching for the cheetah cubs and I don’t think I could have handled this additional stress. The cheetah mother only managed to get the cubs to safety when the lion got distracted by the still untouched carcass of the dog. So perhaps this can be viewed as a happy ending?!

This was a very unique day and one I’m sure I will always remember. The Kwara Concession is normally excellent for game viewing but this really was once in a lifetime. So whilst I would highly recommend visiting the concession and in particular would really encourage guests to stay at Little Kwara, please don’t expect quite the same level of action!

If you would like any further information about a safari in Botswana please email me at fiona@ngoko.com. We stayed at twelve Botswana camps during our recent trip and visited a further seven, so we have loads of current information to share with our guests.

One Crazy Game Drive...