Savuti, Botswana

Savuti's Elephant-Eating Lions


a convenient caravan
Herd of impalas cross the yellowish landscape of the Savuti savannah, in permanent danger of life.
Shelter and camouflage
Gazela protects herself from various threats among the tallest grass of the savannah
elephant on the road
Elephant walks along a dirt road on a hot Savuti afternoon.
Avis struthius (large sparrow)
Large ostrich prepares to speed up on the run.
the great Kalahari
A road cuts through the semi-dry wilderness of the Kalahari Desert, one of the largest deserts in southern Africa.
Motorized Safari
Visitors roam the Savuti savanna in game drive mode.
in search of water
A small herd of wildebeest crosses the savanna in oppressive African heat.
Fred the brave ranger
Fred, a Savuti ranger scans the Savuti savannah for its most powerful predators.
king of scavengers
Hyena watches the landscape, looking for signs of vulnerable or dead animals.
Burger species II
Savuti rangers use and abuse the information that impalas, fast but fragile and plentiful, are the hamburgers of the savannah.
panthera leo
Leão advances portentously through the savanna, in hours of the afternoon not suitable for hunting.
End of the day
Sun sets west of the great Kalahari Desert.
Savannah Secretariat
Secretaries probe the ground for snakes and other small reptiles.
bad camouflage
A listing of a zebra, bad as a camouflage among the tall grass and against the green vegetation.
herd in conviviality
A flock of elephants gathered in a pool that has almost completely evaporated.
impala line
Impalas dispersed in the savanna, always attentive to the movements of predators in the vicinity
A patch of the Kalahari Desert dries up or is irrigated depending on the region's tectonic whims. In Savuti, lions have become used to depending on themselves and prey on the largest animals in the savannah.

We moved from the Namibian strip of Caprivi to the southwest of PN Chobe.

New day, new lodge, with the variant of taking the first Cessna journey over the Kalahari desert.

Savuti Safari Lodge awaits us, located 45 minutes away by flight, on the southwestern edge of the Chobe NP.

The choppy perspective of Africa allows us to glimpse, on a large scale, the semi-aridity of the Kalahari. Its tone changes and the patterns of land and vegetation, depending on the amount of water in the subsoil which increases drastically, to the south, with the spread out from the Okavango River in its vast delta.

The widespread devastation of low trees and bushes caused by the passage of elephant herds.

And the endless sandy roads, as precarious and straight as the African borders drawn at the Berlin Conference.

A road cuts through the semi-dry wilderness of the Kalahari Desert, one of the largest deserts in southern Africa.

Landing on a Lost Line in the Vast Kalahari Desert

We land on a small dirt runway lost in the vastness of Botswana. From there, they drive us in jeeps to the Savuti Safari Lodge.

We received a new briefing. And another warning that animals entered the lodge and that from sunset onwards, we could only move between buildings, accompanied by employees.

We collect to the rooms.

What is the surprise when I realize that we are lodged a few meters from a group of puddles occupied by elephants.

A flock of elephants gathered in a pool that has almost completely evaporated.

I find out that, in those same puddles, several scenes of Episode 2 of the series had been filmed. "Planet Earth", from the BBC, the documentary that made Savuti's elephant killer lions known to the world.

savuti, botswana, elephant-eating lions, sunset

Sun sets west of the great Kalahari Desert.

Night falls. Good art for guests is on duty on a terrace built so that they can follow the action with a drink.

We are not lucky. Elephants strictly fulfill the role of prey. Predators, those, miss the call.

The fatigue caused by the journey and the successive early risers take their toll.

Even if the lions had attacked later, we would no longer be there to follow.

Morning Safari in Savuti's Wild Africa

The next morning, we left in mode game drive.

In addition to countless savanna hamburgers - the impalas -, of zebras, wildebeest and giraffes, we find virtually all of the Savuti's most elusive species and even idle clans of lions with offspring.

Hunts, not even see them.

Fred, a Savuti ranger scans the Savuti savannah for its most powerful predators.

Perhaps to compensate, Fred, the driver and local guide who drives us, decides to approach three hyenas that cross our path. Stop the Land Rover. Go down. Kitty in your direction.

Arouses their curiosity with strange sounds. We, stayed in the jeep, incredulous.

At some point, he asks me if I want to go down too. All of a sudden, I find myself crawling behind him and taking pictures.

The situation has something funny but, at the same time, worrying. At each of Fred's advances, the hyenas move a few steps away. As soon as the guide stops, they threaten to invest but stop.

Hyena watches the landscape, looking for signs of vulnerable or dead animals.

The confrontation repeats itself, aggravated by Fred's grunts.

More curious than hyenas to know what kind of animal he was imitating, after all, I ask him. Fred explains to me eloquently and with the utmost tranquility: “It contains just any kind of dying animal. As you know, hyenas are scavengers, they're turned by all dying creatures".

Savuti rangers use and abuse the information that impalas, fast but fragile and plentiful, are the hamburgers of the savannah.

That's all I needed to hear. Before the next onslaught, I notify the guide that I am resigning. Return to Land Rover safety.

Cape Cross, Namíbia

The Most Turbulent of the African Colonies

Diogo Cão landed in this cape of Africa in 1486, installed a pattern and turned around. The immediate coastline to the north and south was German, South African, and finally Namibian. Indifferent to successive transfers of nationality, one of the largest seal colonies in the world has maintained its hold there and animates it with deafening marine barks and endless tantrums.
NP Gorongosa, Mozambique

The Heart of Mozambique's Wildlife Shows Signs of Life

Gorongosa was home to one of the most exuberant ecosystems in Africa, but from 1980 to 1992 it succumbed to the Civil War waged between FRELIMO and RENAMO. Greg Carr, Voice Mail's millionaire inventor received a message from the Mozambican ambassador to the UN challenging him to support Mozambique. For the good of the country and humanity, Carr pledged to resurrect the stunning national park that the Portuguese colonial government had created there.
PN Hwange, Zimbabwe

The Legacy of the Late Cecil Lion

On July 1, 2015, Walter Palmer, a dentist and trophy hunter from Minnesota killed Cecil, Zimbabwe's most famous lion. The slaughter generated a viral wave of outrage. As we saw in PN Hwange, nearly two years later, Cecil's descendants thrive.
Miranda, Brazil

Maria dos Jacarés: the Pantanal shelters such Creatures

Eurides Fátima de Barros was born in the interior of the Miranda region. 38 years ago, he settled in a small business on the side of BR262 that crosses the Pantanal and gained an affinity with the alligators that lived on his doorstep. Disgusted that once upon a time the creatures were being slaughtered there, she began to take care of them. Now known as Maria dos Jacarés, she named each of the animals after a soccer player or coach. It also makes sure they recognize your calls.
Saint Lucia, South Africa

An Africa as Wild as Zulu

On the eminence of the coast of Mozambique, the province of KwaZulu-Natal is home to an unexpected South Africa. Deserted beaches full of dunes, vast estuarine swamps and hills covered with fog fill this wild land also bathed by the Indian Ocean. It is shared by the subjects of the always proud Zulu nation and one of the most prolific and diverse fauna on the African continent.
Amboseli National Park, Kenya

A Gift from the Kilimanjaro

The first European to venture into these Masai haunts was stunned by what he found. And even today, large herds of elephants and other herbivores roam the pastures irrigated by the snow of Africa's biggest mountain.
Lake Manyara NP, Tanzania

Hemingway's Favorite Africa

Situated on the western edge of the Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park is one of the smallest but charming and richest in Europe. wild life of Tanzania. In 1933, between hunting and literary discussions, Ernest Hemingway dedicated a month of his troubled life to him. He narrated those adventurous safari days in “The Green Hills of Africa".
Iberá Wetlands, Argentina

The Pantanal of the Pampas

On the world map, south of the famous brazilian wetland, a little-known flooded region appears, but almost as vast and rich in biodiversity. the Guarani expression Y bera defines it as “shining waters”. The adjective fits more than its strong luminance.
Serengeti NP, Tanzania

The Great Migration of the Endless Savanna

In these prairies that the Masai people say syringet (run forever), millions of wildebeests and other herbivores chase the rains. For predators, their arrival and that of the monsoon are the same salvation.
Masai Mara, Kenya

A Journey Through the Masai Lands

The Mara savannah became famous for the confrontation between millions of herbivores and their predators. But, in a reckless communion with wildlife, it is the Masai humans who stand out there.
Okavango Delta, Botswana

Not all rivers reach the sea

Third longest river in southern Africa, the Okavango rises in the Angolan Bié plateau and runs 1600km to the southeast. It gets lost in the Kalahari Desert where it irrigates a dazzling wetland teeming with wildlife.
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwee

Livingstone's Thundering Gift

The explorer was looking for a route to the Indian Ocean when natives led him to a jump of the Zambezi River. The falls he found were so majestic that he decided to name them in honor of his queen
Chobe NP, Botswana

Chobe: A River on the Border of Life with Death

Chobe marks the divide between Botswana and three of its neighboring countries, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia. But its capricious bed has a far more crucial function than this political delimitation.
Residents walk along the trail that runs through plantations above the UP4
City
Gurué, Mozambique, Part 1

Through the Mozambican Lands of Tea

The Portuguese founded Gurué in the 1930th century and, from XNUMX onwards, flooded it with camellia sinensis the foothills of the Namuli Mountains. Later, they renamed it Vila Junqueiro, in honor of its main promoter. With the independence of Mozambique and the civil war, the town regressed. It continues to stand out for the lush green imposing mountains and teak landscapes.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beach
Cobue; Nkwichi Lodge, Mozambique

The Hidden Mozambique of the Creaking Sands

During a tour from the bottom to the top of Lake Malawi, we find ourselves on the island of Likoma, an hour by boat from Nkwichi Lodge, the solitary base of this inland coast of Mozambique. On the Mozambican side, the lake is known as Niassa. Whatever its name, there we discover some of the most stunning and unspoilt scenery in south-east Africa.
Hippopotamus displays tusks, among others
safari
PN Mana Pools, Zimbabwe

The Zambezi at the Top of Zimbabwe

After the rainy season, the dwindling of the great river on the border with Zambia leaves behind a series of lagoons that provide water for the fauna during the dry season. The Mana Pools National Park is the name given to a vast, lush river-lake region that is disputed by countless wild species.
Prayer flags in Ghyaru, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 4th – Upper Banana to Ngawal, Nepal

From Nightmare to Dazzle

Unbeknownst to us, we are faced with an ascent that leads us to despair. We pulled our strength as far as possible and reached Ghyaru where we felt closer than ever to the Annapurnas. The rest of the way to Ngawal felt like a kind of extension of the reward.
Architecture & Design
Castles and Fortresses

A Defending World: Castles and Fortresses that Resist

Under threat from enemies from the end of time, the leaders of villages and nations built castles and fortresses. All over the place, military monuments like these continue to resist.
Full Dog Mushing
Aventura
Seward, Alaska

The Alaskan Dog Mushing Summer

It's almost 30 degrees and the glaciers are melting. In Alaska, entrepreneurs have little time to get rich. Until the end of August, dog mushing cannot stop.
Ceremonies and Festivities
Military

Defenders of Their Homelands

Even in times of peace, we detect military personnel everywhere. On duty, in cities, they fulfill routine missions that require rigor and patience.
scarlet summer
Cities

Valencia to Xativa, Spain

Across Iberia

Leaving aside the modernity of Valencia, we explore the natural and historical settings that the "community" shares with the Mediterranean. The more we travel, the more its bright life seduces us.

Lunch time
Markets

A Market Economy

The law of supply and demand dictates their proliferation. Generic or specific, covered or open air, these spaces dedicated to buying, selling and exchanging are expressions of life and financial health.
Kente Festival Agotime, Ghana, gold
Culture
Kumasi to Kpetoe, Ghana

A Celebration-Trip of the Ghanian Fashion

After some time in the great Ghanaian capital ashanti we crossed the country to the border with Togo. The reasons for this long journey were the kente, a fabric so revered in Ghana that several tribal chiefs dedicate a sumptuous festival to it every year.
Spectator, Melbourne Cricket Ground-Rules footbal, Melbourne, Australia
Sport
Melbourne, Australia

The Football the Australians Rule

Although played since 1841, Australian Football has only conquered part of the big island. Internationalization has never gone beyond paper, held back by competition from rugby and classical football.
Cambodia, Angkor, Ta Phrom
Traveling
Ho Chi Minh a of Angkor, Cambodia

The Crooked Path to Angkor

From Vietnam onwards, Cambodia's crumbling roads and minefields take us back to the years of Khmer Rouge terror. We survive and are rewarded with the vision of the greatest religious temple
Colonial Church of San Francisco de Assis, Taos, New Mexico, USA
Ethnic
Taos, USA

North America Ancestor of Taos

Traveling through New Mexico, we were dazzled by the two versions of Taos, that of the indigenous adobe hamlet of Taos Pueblo, one of the towns of the USA inhabited for longer and continuously. And that of Taos city that the Spanish conquerors bequeathed to the Mexico, Mexico gave in to United States and that a creative community of native descendants and migrated artists enhance and continue to praise.
Rainbow in the Grand Canyon, an example of prodigious photographic light
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Natural Light (Part 1)

And Light was made on Earth. Know how to use it.

The theme of light in photography is inexhaustible. In this article, we give you some basic notions about your behavior, to start with, just and only in terms of geolocation, the time of day and the time of year.
Figure at Praia do Curral, Ilhabela, Brazil
History
Ilhabela, Brazil

Ilhabela: After Horror, the Atlantic Beauty

Ninety percent of the preserved Atlantic Forest, idyllic waterfalls and gentle, wild beaches live up to the name. But, if we go back in time, we also reveal the horrific historical facet of Ilhabela.
La Digue, Seychelles, Anse d'Argent
Islands
La Digue, Seychelles

Monumental Tropical Granite

Beaches hidden by lush jungle, made of coral sand washed by a turquoise-emerald sea are anything but rare in the Indian Ocean. La Digue recreated itself. Around its coastline, massive boulders sprout that erosion has carved as an eccentric and solid tribute of time to the Nature.
Era Susi towed by dog, Oulanka, Finland
Winter White
PN Oulanka, Finland

A Slightly Lonesome Wolf

Jukka “Era-Susi” Nordman has created one of the largest packs of sled dogs in the world. He became one of Finland's most iconic characters but remains faithful to his nickname: Wilderness Wolf.
View from the top of Mount Vaea and the tomb, Vailima village, Robert Louis Stevenson, Upolu, Samoa
Literature
Upolu, Samoa

Stevenson's Treasure Island

At age 30, the Scottish writer began looking for a place to save him from his cursed body. In Upolu and the Samoans, he found a welcoming refuge to which he gave his heart and soul.
Serra Dourada, Cerrado, Goiás, Brazil
Nature
Serra Dourada, Goiás, Brazil

Where the Cerrado Waves Golden

One of the types of South America savannah, the Cerrado extends over more than a fifth of the Brazilian territory, which supplies much of its fresh water. Located in the heart of the Central Plateau and the state of Goiás, the Serra Dourada State Park shines double.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Visitors in one of the chambers of the Quadiriki cave
Natural Parks
PN Arikok, Aruba

The Monumental Aruba that Welcomed Arie Kok

In colonial times, a Dutch farmer developed a farm in the northeast of Aruba. As tourism boomed, authorities designated a large protected area around the old farm and named it in his honor. Today, Arikok National Park is home to some of the island’s most iconic natural and historical sites.
Cilaos, Reunion Island, Casario Piton des Neiges
UNESCO World Heritage
Cilaos, Reunion Island

Refuge under the roof of the Indian Ocean

Cilaos appears in one of the old green boilers on the island of Réunion. It was initially inhabited by outlaw slaves who believed they were safe at that end of the world. Once made accessible, nor did the remote location of the crater prevent the shelter of a village that is now peculiar and flattered.
female and cub, grizzly footsteps, katmai national park, alaska
Characters
PN Katmai, Alaska

In the Footsteps of the Grizzly Man

Timothy Treadwell spent summers on end with the bears of Katmai. Traveling through Alaska, we followed some of its trails, but unlike the species' crazy protector, we never went too far.
Lifou, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, Mme Moline popinée
Beaches
LifouLoyalty Islands

The Greatest of the Loyalties

Lifou is the island in the middle of the three that make up the semi-francophone archipelago off New Caledonia. In time, the Kanak natives will decide if they want their paradise independent of the distant metropolis.
Balinese Hinduism, Lombok, Indonesia, Batu Bolong temple, Agung volcano in background
Religion
Lombok, Indonesia

Lombok: Balinese Hinduism on an Island of Islam

The foundation of Indonesia was based on the belief in one God. This ambiguous principle has always generated controversy between nationalists and Islamists, but in Lombok, the Balinese take freedom of worship to heart
Train Fianarantsoa to Manakara, Malagasy TGV, locomotive
On Rails
Fianarantsoa-Manakara, Madagascar

On board the Malagasy TGV

We depart Fianarantsoa at 7a.m. It wasn't until 3am the following morning that we completed the 170km to Manakara. The natives call this almost secular train Train Great Vibrations. During the long journey, we felt, very strongly, those of the heart of Madagascar.
Street Bar, Fremont Street, Las Vegas, United States
Society
Las Vegas, USA

The Sin City Cradle

The famous Strip has not always focused the attention of Las Vegas. Many of its hotels and casinos replicated the neon glamor of the street that once stood out, Fremont Street.
Young twin women, weavers
Daily life

Margilan, Uzbequistan

A Tour of Uzbekistan's Handicraft Fabrics

Located in the far east of Uzbekistan, in the Fergana Valley, Margilan was one of the essential stops on the Silk Road. Since the 10th century, the silk products produced there have made it stand out on maps; today, haute couture brands compete for its fabrics. More than just a prodigious center of artisanal creation, Margilan values ​​and cherishes an ancient Uzbek way of life.
Unaccustomed gorilla, a short distance from Bon Coin, Bomassa
Wildlife
Ducret Expedition 2st:  PN Lobeke, Cameroon - Wali Bai, Congo Rep.

Hyacinth and the Gorilla of Bon Coin: Peculiar Primate Encounters

Camped on an island in the Sangha River, we set out to discover the Lobéké and Wali Bai national parks, Nouabalé-Ndoki, in Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. There we are surprised by stunning but disparate creatures.  
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.