A jungle without a King is like an abandoned Palace and the throne is just devoid. This is a stead-fast belief in any community that deserves dignity, stability and continuity. The Bwabwata National Park was not an exception a few years back when human pressure had caused many wildlife species [...]]]> Peter Gava – Lodge Manager

A jungle without a King is like an abandoned Palace and the throne is just devoid. This is a stead-fast belief in any community that deserves dignity, stability and continuity. The Bwabwata National Park was not an exception a few years back when human pressure had caused many wildlife species to disappear. Truly, the King of the Jungle ‘The African lion’ is among the species that were forced to the margin without doubt. For 10 years the Bwabwata National Park lions have not been very visual except for some calls and a few tracks to mark their presence. This has changed overwhelmingly resulting in frequent sightings of different individuals and prides that have now become a common sight at Susuwe Island Lodge and the famous Horseshoe Bend. The King of the Jungle has finally come to claim back his Throne in full force, all confirmed by the observations that follow.

Kathy Rabkin our recent guest had a feast of lion sightings. Soon after picking her up from Kongola Check Point, we drove into the Park without any inclination on what surprise waited for us ahead. Of course this was Kathy’s first time in Bwabwata and a very rustic Conservation area compared to others she has visited before, and this she loved and confessed repeatedly.

The storm had just passed by and the wet sand made our tracks on the road like a high-way. Soon as we arrive at Old Fort Doppies we picked up fresh tracks of what we all agreed was 4 male lions and the fact that the storm had only passed some 15 minutes back, experience plus instinct told us that the animals were just around. We drove further up the embankment and as we reached up the peak, suddenly two lions walked away into the bushes. The other two had obviously walked ahead of the two we could see. We gave the lions time to settle down so that we could verify the numbers and gender. Four individuals came back to the road in turns but went back into the bushes when we started the vehicle. Suddenly all the lions started calling as a result selling out the presence of the fifth individual who was still behind us. We had to drive back to look for him but he hid and then came onto the road behind us. On our way back there he was, running towards the rest in a gentle trot. Alas! This proved to be the biggest of all the males, with his glistening mane shinning as if oiled from the saloon. He stood and looked back, walked, stopped and looked again before disappearing into the bushes. We stayed with the lions for the next 45 minutes as they walked on the road towards Susuwe Island Lodge. The sun was going down and soon it would be dark, meaning we had to leave and leave our dear friends until the next day. I was happy for Kathy since this was her first lions seen so close in the wild.

Kathy was warmly welcomed at the Lodge whilst she still could not believe how quickly the whole drama unveiled. The lions roared over the whole night while baboons and monkeys responded with highly pitched calls of fear for their lives.

During the following day we had to go on an Afternoon Game Drive. We switched our game-drive to birding, termites and bones of animals although we did not take off the thought about our magnificent male lions. We picked up tracks of a female lion and a cub at Nambwa and I told Kathy that the two will be at Horse-shoe. Yes but not quite right! Just on arrival at Horse-shoe we sighted a sub-adult male and sub-adult female who were ambushing impala but abandoned the mission and ran to the nearest bushes. Kathy had all the luck for the Susuwe Predators and made sure it also crossed a female cheetah who lazily relaxed at a termite mound under a sweet thorn acacia tree.

We came back to horse-shoe for a lovely sunset with the hippos, baboons, kudu, impala and Hadida Ibis. What a wonderful sunset!

On our way back to the lodge we took the back road from Horse-shoe in an attempt to look for leopard but unfortunately we got back to the main drive road without any signs of the elusive cat. As we enter the main drive road, we again picked up fresh tracks of 4 male lions that were heading towards to Horse-shoe having walked on top of our previous tracks. Even though it was getting dark, we were enticed to turn around and follow them. Just 3 minutes after that they were on the road. They stared at the vehicle and then just slowly walked into the bushes. We drove closer and had a full view of all the four. We realized the lions were marking and probably trying to catch up with the pride of females. This is a good indication that our Bwabwata National Park lions at Susuwe Island lodge now have a strengthened gene pool and have discovered this space for ever, ensuring high probability of our guests having a great experience and viewing of them. This will give a complete consortium of Africa’s Big Cats being sighted at Susuwe since leopard and cheetah now feature very well in the area.

We bid Kathy Farewell and she obviously would have wanted to stay longer to share even more of the Susuwe magic. We had to drop her to Kongola Check-Point and drove back with the memories of her and the company she gave us over the past three days, and the lions.

Long live the King of the Jungle of the Bwabwata National Park at Susuwe wild Kingdom!

Hobatere Lodge is renowned for its fantastic big game sightings and this month has been no exception. Lions attacked and killed a zebra right in front of the main hide, stunning guests with a display of nature’s cruel magnificence, and providing some amazing photo opportunities. The elephant [...]]]> By Louise Braine - Lodge Manager | September 2009

Hobatere Lodge is renowned for its fantastic big game sightings and this month has been no exception. Lions attacked and killed a zebra right in front of the main hide, stunning guests with a display of nature’s cruel magnificence, and providing some amazing photo opportunities. The elephant breeding herds are another constant source of wonder and the elephants are happy to oblige the guests by having mud baths in a pool right below the Hobatere swimming pool! For big cat lovers, the night drives have yielded some exciting sightings of lions and cheetahs and for the twitchers, a bird watching walk with Steve is definitely not to be missed, with a likely addition of seven or eight endemic Namibian specials to be added to your list.

At Susuwe we have had a really fantastic winter as far as game experience and sightings are concerned. On every golden morning and diamond afternoon our excellent guides together with our deserving guests have had the opportunity to enjoy the Bwabwata [...]]]> By Peter and Anesu Gava – Susuwe Lodge Managers | Winter 2009

At Susuwe we have had a really fantastic winter as far as game experience and sightings are concerned. On every golden morning and diamond afternoon our excellent guides together with our deserving guests have had the opportunity to enjoy the Bwabwata National Park in all aspects, the moderate weather, clear skies, remarkable fresh African bush smells, exceptional landscapes and flora. Above all the bliss has been the consistently out of this world game sightings making Susuwe and the Park one of Africa’s major theatres.

Our guests have been blessed to have an average of 2 sightings of leopard per week, a good sign the population of this species is stable and probably on the increase in the area due to exponentially growing population of antelopes e.g. impala, Greater kudu, red lechwe and water buck. The dry season movement of hundreds of buffalo into the Bwabwata has had an influence with different nomadic lion prides flocking to the area. The local prides which had a wide home range are now frequently seen, a good sign their area of traverse is now subjected to limits because of other prides trying to extend their territories into the Bwabwata. Our lion sightings have improved by more than 50% over winter and they still remain good up to now, with a few females showing signs of denning. Three big male lions who possibly could be brothers/ cousins have been in the area for the past three months and seem to have declared themselves as being in charge of the territory. Among other cats sighted in the area are caracal, African wild cat and cheetah.

The canid population in the area is impressive, with hyena featuring through calls in the night. Due to lion presence, there have been good sightings of hyena in the mornings as they are kept busy while competing for meals. Wild dogs have been sighted a couple of times, whilst in transit, and the tracks have been seen many a time indicating that they are also around.

Huge herds of elephant have been a daily occasion with herds of between 20 and 200 elephant together. These majestic creatures of the wild have so much contribution in shaping the habitat for other species and seeing them live while interacting with the rest of the game and vegetation gives an amazing feeling.

The winter period at Bwabwata had so much to offer above the game sightings. The birdlife, insects, reptiles and the beautiful night skies have given the guest their lifetime memories of Susuwe. The boat cruises have been also beyond excellent, with beautiful sunsets and the sight of the numerous hippopotamus  and Crocodiles of the Kwando River.

The Lions had been spotted the previous day by Beavan who had initially seen the vultures hovering in the sky about 5km’s SW from Horseshoe. He decided to follow the vultures and sure enough – he was rewarded with three lionesses on a buffalo kill – [...]]]> By Nicci – Lodge Manager | 20 August 2009

The Lions had been spotted the previous day by Beavan who had initially seen the vultures hovering in the sky about 5km’s SW from Horseshoe. He decided to follow the vultures and sure enough – he was rewarded with three lionesses on a buffalo kill – about 60m from the road and with an unobstructed view. When I returned the next day with all our guests… the three lionesses were still there, although there was a young male who had joined the group. He must have been there the whole time but had not been seen the day before. What was amazing to see was that all the lions were in such fantastic condition. They were truly a sight to behold!