Ropes hanging from the heaven!

Ropes have been hanging from the heaven as the rains came down on us during our Lekoli River exploration with Kingsley and his team. This is a good exercise before the last trek to the geo-center of Africa on their Heart of Africa Expedition.

Ricus & Kingsley walking up to Lango Bai

Lekoli River in Odzala NP, Northen Congo

Kingsley Holgate and the Heart of Africa Expedition Team at Odzala

Kingsley Holgate and his Heart of Africa Expedition Team have arrived at Mboko, Odzala National Park in the North of the Congo. Its great catching up with an old friend in this special place!

and then we find them!

And then, as we crawl into a small clearing in the undergrowth we find them. The big old silverback and a young male are enjoying a breakfast of fresh roots that they're digging out as a mother with a baby sit and stare at us and a few youngsters play around, swinging and hanging from the Tarzan ropes. https://www.facebook.com/indigenousafrica

Fifty shades of green

Searching for the great apes in the Congo Basin is the highlight of our forest safari in Central Africa. Here we got some fresh spoor and the tracker and guide went into stealth mode as we slowly made our way through the thick green wall of marantasy, always on the lookout as you scan through fifty shades of green for any sign of the gorillas. www.indigenousafrica.com

Go on safari because tourism pays for conservation!

My favourite sighting in the Selous! Unfortunately with dramatic declining numbers of ellies in Africa we all need to get involved if we want to make a difference and save these gentle giants from the hands of the poachers and ivory traders. If you are not directly involved in a specific conservation fund or project then all you have to do is to go on safari and choose a respectable operator who do their share in conservation. Go on safari because tourism pays for conservation!

Hatari, dugga boy ahead!

Dugga is the bantu word for mud or cement and is used to describe old Cape Buffalo bulls, who have been kicked out of the herd and spend their days hanging around the African pans and rolling in the mud to protect themselves from insects and the sun. They are notorious for being very dirty but also being excessively dangerous and volatile so we are always on alert for these Selous loners.

Selous’s impala

We had a wonderfully wet season in the Selous so far with strong and healthy looking impala that are full of energy and a joy to observe as they graze and play in the camp.