Chief's Camp

Lions abound with many sightings occurring - some of the Mombo boys, along with their concubines and even one or two offspring. Leopard have been scarce but one or two have been spotted. The best sighting being one picked up by Zane and Steve whilst awaiting the arrival of a guest at the airstrip. The leopard assumed the title and soon became our focus. Quite a few cheetah have been spotted here and there with some great photographic opportunities. The wild dogs have been making a regular appearance. The female was heavily pregnant when last spotted so, with a bit of luck, and lots of telepathic persuasion they will den in the camp vicinity. The ele's have been moving back into the area and regular sightings occur, along with the usual rhino sightings for the very fortunate guests.

“Excellent stay, friendly staff. Would love to return.”
Brian and Sandra Kane

“Thank you for a superb stay at your lovely camp.”
Mr and Mrs Barton

“Variety, quality and flavours of food were superb! We think a cook book of your recipes would be a big seller. We don't want to overuse superlatives, but Stan was Sensational. He conveyed not only his knowledge, but his love of Africa.”
Sorenson

“The camp staff so helpful, friendly, kind. We have really enjoyed ourselves. My husbands diet was attended to. You are all fantastic. Thank you very much.”
Mark Ankel & Janet Audley

“July was excellent and made the whole experience first rate.”
Mr Jon & Mrs Hellen Cowley

Chobe Chilwero

The lowest recorded temperature was 3 degrees celsius on a mid-month morning although the weather warmed up quite considerably during the day. There have been very good sightings this month with lions and leopards being spotted regularly. Early morning drives proved to be best despite the chilly weather. The elephants and buffalo herds have also returned to the Chobe River flood plains much to the delight of our guests.  The carcass of an old elephant bull attracted a pride of lions, who in turn had to constantly wade off some hungry hyenas. This sighting was a true spectacle for our guests.

One member of staff who has really made a difference in both guest interaction as well as dealing with other staff members is Gilbert Shamukuni, who works as a guide. Feed back from guests on his drives has been tremendous.

“The staff were excellent! Food was delicious, a little too much so we are going to be huge!!!“
Mr Amos Clarkson

“Excellent- all personnel very professional and took their job seriously, especially enjoyed Gilbert, very knowledgeable and professional.”
Mr and Mrs Saterbak

“Fabulous setting overlooking the river, a great way to start our first vacation in your beautiful country. We shall return. The food was so good I would have loved to have a cooking class or two with your chef.”
Mr and Mrs Singh

“The lodge will remain in our memory as a dream hotel in splendid site with a high level of professionalism of the staff and management.”
Mr and Mrs Bouvet

“Very professionally run camp. Staff very friendly, standard of bedrooms and meal s r ate higher than expected. Great start to our honeymoon especially on first evening after game drive to have bubble filled warm bath, flowers and champagne.”
Mr O'Rourke and Ms Browne

“This is an absolutely phenomenal place. The staff was amicable, professional and most hospitable. I am already planning to encourage my friends who travel to come out here!“
Ms Emmerich

“T he Chobe River cruises much better than Victoria Falls cruises.”
Chuck and Carol Foster

Stanley's Camp

Game sightings have been varied. The elephants are making their way back to the Delta and seem to be particularly enamored with what Stanley 's has to offer! There have also been a few good sightings of the Africa Wild Cat, which is always good as these fleet-footed cats can be very hard to find. The wild dogs are still in the area and providing the occasional spectacular sighting – no kill witnessed as yet but some guests did manage to arrive at the scene just in time to see the remnants of an impala being feasted upon. There have been a few leopard sightings with our female leopard allowing some guests a glimpse of her cubs!

We appear to have a rather ferocious lion in the area, who has been leaving evidence of his feasts all over the concession. The first indication of his presence was the carcass of a dead hyena. After our guide, TT, discovered the body, he spotted lion tracks leading away from the scene. In his vehicle, he followed the tracks, leading his guests to a small pride of lions. The evidence that the hyena had been killed by a lion was confirmed when one of the lion's was sporting an injured leg.

Later that week, one of our guides came across an elephant carcass and, not far away, the body of a dead leopard. It seemed as though the elephant may have been killed by a pride of lions, although it was difficult to tell. It definitely seems as though the leopard had come into conflict with some larger predators and not been the victor in the battle of the cats!

With the peculiar proving to be the norm this month, guests on one game drive were treated to the sight of a hyena chasing impala. While not unheard of, this is quite an unusual event – certainly in broad daylight!

Our last sighting of the month goes to prove that the human element isn't always a distraction – but can sometimes be of assistance! On one night drive, our guide spotted a leopard after hearing a commotion behind the game drive vehicle. He stopped the vehicle and was watching the leopard, following it with the spotlight. He then lost sight of the leopard and instead shone the spotlight on a spring hare that was passing in front of the vehicle. In a flash, the leopard reappeared and pounced on the spring hare which had been illuminated for him!

Quirky Story

Stanley the elephant has been providing plenty of in-camp entertainment over the past month, pulling branches down and positioning himself conveniently in the middle of camp at the busiest times of day. One guest was treated to a moonlit spectacle as he ambled past the front of her tent, appearing to eclipse the full moon that has lighting his evening meal. One evening, he even decided to join us for pre-dinner drinks at the fire! We were all happy, though, when Stanley decided to munch along with us, situating himself just meters from the dinner table! It is great to have such close encounters with a wild elephant and he does seem to be very well-mannered towards both guests and staff!

The honeymoon season continues and we have hosted five honeymoon couples in two weeks. It is always a pleasure making their trip really memorable and going the extra mile to ensure their memories of Stanley's will be special and stay with them forever.

“We were very pleased and impressed with the professionalism of the staff and the services offered. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Stanley's Camp.”
Robert & Celia Saterbak

“This is an experience wholly unlike the boutique lodges. Here it is possible to get a real sense of what the bush is like. Senior staff – John, Nicky & Colin – are great. Hospitable, accommodating, they are excellent at their jobs.”
Lisa Emmerich

“We have just returned to UK  from our honeymoon which included 2 nights stay in Stanley's camp. We would like to express our thanks to your team at the camp who looked after us so well - especially John, Colin, Nicky and TT. We dreamed of something special for our honeymoon and we certainly found that at Stanley's camp.”
Phil & Kathryn Tucker

EAST AFRICA

Olonana

Jambo from the Mara! It has been cold in the mornings but hot during the day and the rains have come to a halt. Toward the end of the month, we had one evening where the heavens opened up slightly. The marsh is drying up and there are only a few pools left for animals to enjoy. This however has helped with access into the marshes especially to view elephants that have been gathering in huge herds to take advantage of the delicious green grass. Herds of up to 50 and 60 elephants are very common in the marsh at the moment - guests absolutely love it!

There are many beautiful flowers and butterflies that have emerged over the past month like the Flame Lily and a Citrus Monarch butterfly pictured above. The beautiful birds like the Crowned Crane pictured right, have also been very active and easy to photograph – even with the long grass.

We have had so many wonderful sightings over the past month - a cheetah killed a small impala in front of amazed guests just 5 minutes after arriving. Nine lions made a kill next to one of our vehicles – although small (a warthog) – a kill nevertheless. There was also a cheetah that took a fancy to the closed Olonana vehicles. The opened roof cover seems to provide a very comfortable spot for it to fall asleep. This happened three times in one week – much to the delight of our guests.

The Out of Africa pride has finally been found after many game drives. The long grass hampers their hunting efforts and in response, the lions have taken to climbing trees to obtain a good vantage point – such as the cheetah on termite mounds and leopard in trees. Even the impala have been seen to emulate the Topi by climbing onto termite mounds.

We had an unexpected visitor on our pathway one evening – a huge python! Richard, our head of security, alerted the guests that he was escorting to their tent of it's presence. One receptive female hippo is drawing much attention from the male hippos with pushing and shoving as well as territory marking a main occurrence in front of the lodge.

In the past month we have welcomed five new staff members: Samuel Nganga - Stores Clerk, Samson Mbatia – Field Guide, Jackson Keiwua – Assistant Chef, Tom Lesarge – Assistant Manager and Eric Koech - Mechanic. We wish them a long association with Olonana!

The vehicles in the Olonana fleet are undergoing upgrades and repairs before the busy season is upon us. New tent faces are being installed and all the boiler divisions are being renovated. Much grass cutting has been taking place due to all the rain. The main pathway to the tents are also undergoing renovation.

DISH OF THE MONTH

Braised Oxtail

 (courtesy of Baines' Camp)

Ingredients

Oxtail 1.2 kg
Oil 15 ml
Butter 30 g
Onions, peeled and quartered 2 each
Carrots, peeled and sliced 6 each
Celery, chopped 1 bunch
Leeks, chopped 1 bunch
Button mushrooms, cleaned 1 punnet
Balsamic vinegar 60 ml
Beef stock 3 tsp in 2 cups water
Tinned tomatoes 410 g
Red wine 500 ml
Port 250 ml
Orange zest of halt an orange 0.5 each
Garlic cloves, crushed 3 cloves
Bay leaves 4 each
Worchestershire sauce 15 ml
Water 500 ml
Black pepper 5 g

Method