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Where:
The
Abu Elephant Trail is located in the western most region of the Okavango Delta
in northern Botswana, below the bit of Namibia that looks like a skinny leg
and foot and pokes out towards Zambia.
The trail is run in the Abu concession. This concession is all about the permanent waterways of the Delta and is not reliant on the annual flooding. The camp for this walking safari has to be accessed by light aircraft and the trail starts almost from the time that you disembark the aircraft and start the 25 min drive to the lodge.
What:
The Abu Elephant Trail is an opportunity to experience the bush and a walking safari through the senses of an animal - in this case - the elephant. The camp is graced by seven "habituated" african elephants, four of which are old and strong enough to carry passengers. The daily walking safaris with the elephants from the lodge allow for participants both to walk next to or ride on the elephants and to enjoy the surroundings from an elephants perspective.
This
is a safari experience for those who want to get up close and personal with
these, the largest of the land mammals, and who also want to enjoy the bundles
of comfort and luxury that the lodge has to offer. This is truly a great safari holiday
for those with plenty of cash and a fascination of elephant.
The daily allocation of time that the visitor gets to spend with the elephants is quite limited. These animals need to feed for about 16 hours a day - so the elephant safaris tend to be quite short and limited to about two hours at a time, twice a day. For the rest of the day, safaris by vehicle, boat, mekoro (dug out canoe) and on foot are possible and the game viewing can be tremendous.
If you are wanting to spend all day with the elephants or will be offended by these animals responding to commands from human trainers and handlers - this is not the elephant safari holiday for you.
How long:
The
Abu Elephant Trail experience is best suited to three night or a six night
stay . It is not possible to arrange longer trips as the elephants all have
the day off on Friday. The six night trail starts on a Saturday and runs until
the following Friday morning. The three night trails start on either the Saturday
and run until Tuesday or start on Tuesday and run until Friday. Three nights/four
days is best suited if we have planned for you to go on to other safari camps
for more wildlife viewing. The six nights/seven days option is better suited
to those who have deep pockets and have a deep interest and fascination with
elephants.
The
daily schedule of the Abu elephant trail is fairly inflexible, principally
for safety reasons, however the lodge will make every effort to ensure that
the experience of the elephant safari is superb. The routine tends to work
out as follows. Dawn wake up call with coffee/tea - meet at the mess tent
for breakfast and then head off with the elephants at 07h30 for a two hour
safari. Meet up with vehicles, leave the elephants and go on a game drive
stopping for lunch either in camp or in the bush. The afternoon safari starts
after tea with a drive back to the elephants and the a walk with the elephants
back to camp for sunset. Dinner tends to be at about 8pm.
Who:
The elephant safari concept is the brainchild of Randal Moore who has rescued and rehabilitated many of the elephants that are part of the Abu herd as well as having re-introduced into the wild quite a number that have been part of the camp herd. Randal no longer spends all his time in camp and travels between Maun and the rest of Africa.
The
elephant safari camp is managed and run by Gara Gharagozlou and Luke Riggs.
Gara is of Persian decent, educated at Eton and is the face of the camp. It
is he who spends most of his time with guests, giving presentations, arranging
the daily routine, sorting out logistics like where and when to have lunch
and are the beers cold. Luke handles more of the lodge logistics. The elephant
safari camp has a staff of about 46 of which 16 are dedicated to the elephants.
The
elephant staff are headed up by the 3 main Mahouds - Big Joe, Sumanadasa and
Collett and these guys with the 13 other ellie staff - look after Cathy (45),
Mthondo Mbomvo (31), Shireni (21), Gika (19), Kitimetse (10), Pula (6) and
Naya (3) - after all it is the elephants who the camp is built around.
Camp:
Abu's
Elephant Safari Camp is a luxury hotel in the bush. The camp is build on stilts
with all the walkways, services and tents raised above the ground on decking.
The camp consists of six "tents" - large luxurious insect proofed
suites built of canvas - connected to the main restaurant and lounge area
by a series of raised walkways. The safari base camp caters to a maximum group
size of 12 guests.
The rooms/suites are enormous and well appointed with all the touches that
allow safari camps to play - "my decorator is better than yours".
The bathrooms are en suite with huge copper baths and hot and cold running
water. This is not my style of bush at all, but then again this can be fun
for a day or three.
| Facilities | Description |
| Safaris | 2 Daily elephant safaris for 2 hours each |
| Other safari options - drive or boat for 4 or 5 hours per day | |
| Evening and night game drives |
| Tents | 6 Raised luxury suites built of canvas |
| Tents are insect proofed with mosquito netting | |
| Tents contain 2 x 3/4 beds with mattress, linen, pillow and duvet | |
| Insect repellent is supplied | |
| Torch is supplied |
| Bathrooms | En suite bathrooms |
| Hot and Cold running water in camp | |
| Toilet is flush style toilet | |
| Showers conventional but open air, bathtubs are copper | |
| Hot water is heated by gas |
| Meals and drink | 3 main meals a day - breakfast, lunch and dinner |
| 2 light meals a day - morning tea and afternoon tea | |
| Meals are prepared from fresh and cooked in camp kitchen | |
| Bottled water is supplied | |
| All local branded drinks are included in the price |
| Power | Generator and solar hybrid system for 220V power |
| Gas to cook and heat water | |
| Battery inverter system to light camp and tents |
| General | Malarial area - we recommend prophylactics be taken |
| Closest doctor is in Maun 45min flight away | |
| Closest big hospital - in Johannesburg 3 hours flying |
Meals and drinks:
KK,
KD and Winnie are the stars of the show in the kitchen of the elephant safari
base camp, producing outstanding food at each meal - the highlight for me
being - poached eggs and fresh Kalahari truffle shavings, just outstanding
- after the rains.
Gara does like to show his knowledge of wines in the evening and he can open a few bottles of top stuff, give them all a go - after all they are included in the price.
Safaris:
This African walking safari is very much about focusing on the elephants and having a luxurious and relaxing walking safari experience with the option of being able to see plenty of "big game" - if you are a bush purist and feel that riding elephants is demeaning to the animals - this is not the trail for you!!
The
elephant safari camp operates on a very strict routine of an early morning elephant safari
that is about two hours in duration and leaves promptly at 07h30 every morning
- if visitors are not ready to go at 07h30 they will be left behind. The reason
for this is simply safety - the elephants have a routine and routine breeds
trust and discipline - the safari camp and elephant staff will not disrupt the routine,
so don't be late. The direction and emphasis of the safari will be decided
at breakfast just after sunrise by Gara and the handlers. The guides will
outline the animal noises that have been heard during the night and then discuss
the best way to proceed to either track or find the animals that have been
heard. This is a great time to walk, it is cool and fresh and the ground is
covered with wildlife footprints from the nights excursions. There is also
a great sense of excitement especially if the walk finds fresh tracks of some
animal that would be interesting to find.
After
two hours of walking or riding the elephants are halted and desaddled (the
saddles that are used are very comfortable, they are basically padded boxes
that are strapped onto the elephants back.) for the day, the guides then load
everyone into vehicles and you head off for a game drive for a couple of hours.
Often Gara has arranged for a picnic style lunch to be brought out into the
bush and meet the safari.
The
afternoon safaris can vary from a walk to meet up with the elephants or an
afternoon game drive to meet them. Generally the safari will set off at about
3.30 pm and last for about three hours. One hour of walking/driving and two
hours of walking/riding elephants. It is not possible or safe to walk after
dark, generally this is the time that the elephants want to be back in camp
having their dinner - so a good time to be around the bar having a drink.
Most days follow this routine with small differences in direction of the morning
walk, lunch spots and the other safaris that are possible.
A
game drive after sunset is fantastic, the vehicle is equipped with a powerful
spotlight that enables you to view wildlife - particularly nocturnal animals
- as they interact with their surroundings.
Riding
elephants and walking in an environment where the chances of interacting with
dangerous wildlife is high does require that you acknowledge the risks involved
and listen to the experts - your guides and the elephant handlers. Some of
the guides will be armed when out on safari. The senior guide will be carrying
a rifle and the assistant guide will usually carry a large spear. These guides
and handlers have extensive bush and elephant experience and know how to deal
with potentially dangerous situations, it is very important that they can
trust you to obey an instruction in a pressure situation - keep this in mind
when you consider booking an elephant safari trip.
Equipment:
Footwear - With this being a walking safari trail you are going to need a good pair of walking shoes, I would suggest that you get a pair of light boots that do offer some ankle support. I would recommend that you look to get a pair of boots with a "Vibram" sole. If you do have a set of gaiters these will also be useful as some of the grass seeds and thorns can be a challenge. At least 4 pairs of good walking socks are essential.
Clothing - You will need to have clothing that is bush coloured - greens, browns and khakis. Try to avoid white, red, yellow and orange as these will not help you blend in. We suggest that you wear long trousers for the walking as these offer extra protection for your legs from bites and scratches. Long sleeved shirts with collars are also useful to keep the sun off during the day and insects in the evening. A good hat is very important on these walking safaris, especially if you are challenged - in the hair follicle department like Iain is. We suggest a broad brimmed 'cricket style' hat (again a muted colour is important). A baseball cap is also useful when you are in the vehicle as it does not get in the way. A good pair of sunglasses is very useful for both glare and dust - we suggest that you use polarised lenses if you can.
We always take our "Leatherman tools" - a sort of tough Swiss Officer's knife - on elephant safaris and walks with us. These tools are fantastic and really handy - from popping a blister or repairing a boot to opening a cold beer - we try not to leave home without one.
Binoculars and Cameras - One of the most important pieces of equipment you can have on one of these elephant walking safaris is a top quality pair of binoculars. The best makes are Leica, Nikon, Swarovski and Zeiss. These makes have top quality lens and the products are tough enough to be knocked around a bit without falling to pieces. The magnification you are looking for in a good pair of binos is about 10x40. This allows enough light into the lens for the amount of magnification - giving the user a clear image.
Without getting into the digital vs film debate for SLR's, I would suggest one of the top brands of camera body - Canon, Leica, Nikon or Pentax. I use a Nikon or Canon body. More important than the camera bodies are the lenses - these are what light has to pass to get to the film or memory chip in the camera body - if you have poor lenses it is far more difficult to take top pictures. I suggest that you look to take 3 basic lenses on safari. A short lens - 35mm, a medium zoom lens -70 to 210mm zoom and a longer fixed lens, say about 300mm. The F-stop of these lens is quite important if you are planning to be serious about your photography - the lower the F-stop, the greater use the lens will have. I usually take a small digital for people and location photographs and the SLR's for the juicy stuff.
For all your equipment I do recommend that you store it in dust/splash proof bags when not in use. Water and dust do not mix well with film or lenses. Ziplocs do work rather well in a squeeze.
Chat to Iain if you have any further questions about equipment you should use on the elephant walking safaris.
Prices and season:
Botswana is an expensive destination and Abu Elephant Safari Trail is the pinnacle of this. The high season tends to be the dry months when the flood waters get to the Okavango Delta - July, August, September and October. It does seem strange that this period is the northern hemisphere summer holidays - maybe I am just a cynic! This walking safari trail is open year round.
Details |
Prices
in USD |
| Flights to Abu Elephant Trail |
| Flight Maun/Abu | $ 210 per seat |
| Flight Kasane/Abu | $ 340 per seat |
| Flight Okavango camp/Abu | $ 210 per seat |
| Flight Linyanti camp/Abu | $ 250 per seat |
| Luggage Limit in light aircraft | 12,5kg per passenger |
| Excess luggage can be stored securely in Maun | At own risk |
| Suggest walkers wear their boots for the flight |
| Abu Elephant Trail 3 night packages: including flights to and from Maun |
| Abu Elephant Trail 01 January to 31 March 2008 - all inclusive | $7430 per person sharing |
| Abu Elephant Trail 01 April to 30 November 2008 - all inclusive | $7560 per person sharing |
| Single supp 01 January to 30 November 2008 | $3180 per person |
| Abu Elephant Trail 6 night packages: including flights to and from Maun |
| Abu Elephant Trail 01 January to 31 March 2008 - all inclusive | $ 13,050 / person sharing |
| Abu Elephant Trail 01 April to 30 November 2008 - all inclusive | $ 13,300 / person sharing |
| Single supp 01 January to 30 November 2008 | $5000 per person |
| Abu Elephant Trail Child policy |
| No Children under the age of 16 years | over 16's charged full price |
Booking:
| Booking information |
| abutrail@walkingwithwildlife.com | |
| Telephone UK | +44 (0)781 889 1847 |
| Payment | Full payment required in advance |
| Credit cards, cheque and bank transfers accepted | |
| Any extras are settled in cash on departure | |
| US$, GB£, Euros and Botswana Pula are accepted | |
| Travelers cheque's are accepted |