Limpopo-Lipadi Trip report 7 - 14 November 2015

This blog post is a trip report on our visit to the 22 000ha Limpopo-Lipadi private Game Reserve in the Tuli block of Botswana.  We really love this place :-)

This trip will be remembered for for 3 things.
1.  The hot and dry conditions (luckily there is a swimming pool, and air conditioners in the room
2.  9 leopard sightings!
3.  logging 29 mammal species on 1 day (excluding mice and bats)

The week we spent at the reserve was really hot... The average daytime temperatures we experienced ranged between 42 - 45 degrees celsius. And it was bone dry, the driest I have seen the reserve.  The dry conditions had it advantages, as wildlife frequented the waterholes - with the predators never far behind.

I remember a blog post by Walt Tingle a few years back, when they had 9 leopard sightings in their 30 days at the reserve. (hope I remember correctly).  That was amazing I thought, as leopards are so elusive.  Having leopard sightings everyday at famous reserves such as the Sabi Sands is not unusual - but, there is one big difference:  there are a lot of lodges, a lot of vehicles, and everybody is in radio contact with each other.  At Limpopo-Lipadi the policy is different.  There are only 4 vehicles traversing the whole >20 000ha!  You have to find the leopards (and everything else) yourself, and that is awesome, the thrill is in the unexpected and the chase!

​We had 9 leopard sightings this week, and 8 of the sightings we found ourself!  And no it was not the same leopard 9 times...we saw 5 different individuals!
We keep a daily count of mammals seen (excluding mice and bats), and usually we end around 23 species per day at Limpopo-Lipadi.  This time saw us breaking our record!  We saw 29 species in one day.  Ironically, that was the only day we didn't see a leopard, and we also did't see lion or cheetah that day! Haha!  So, 30 is the target!

The list was as follow:  Brown Hyena, African wild dog, Grey duiker, Impala, Baboon, Kudu, Plains Zebra, Blue wildebeest, Giraffe, Warthog, Steenbok, Tree squirrel, Banded mongoose, Gemsbok/Oryx, Waterbuck, Hippo, Vervet monkey, Bushbuck, Slender mongoose,Spotted hyena, Spring hare, Scrub hare, Elephant, Porcupine, Bat-eared fox, Eland, Lesser-spotted Genet, Black-backed jackal, Lesser bushbaby!

Our last morning saw us driving up the Mogorosi River to Mogorosi waterhole, where we came across 3 lions, where they were feeding on an eland kill.
Due to the hot and dry conditions, there were only a few pools of water left in front of the lodge in the Limpopo River.  All kinds of animals came for a drink, but the stars of the show were the birds.  We had the following birds coming in for a drink, while we spent hours alongside the pool of water:  Greater honeyguide, African Hawk Eagle, Little Sparrowhawk, Shikra, Green Wood-Hoopoe, Ashy Flycatcher, Grey Tit-flycatcher, Black-headed Oriole, Pearl-spotted Owlet etc etc....  Other good birds in the reserve included Kori Bustard and Retz's Helmetshrike!

Rufous-cheeked Nightjar

Retz's Helmetshrike

Pied Kingfisher

Red-billed Firefinch

Pearl-spotted Owlet

African Paradise Flycatcher

African Fish Eagle

Namaqua Dove

Pearl-spotted Owlet

We absolutely love this place...and can't wait for our next visit!

If you would like to become part of the Limpopo-Lipadi family, feel free to visit their website at www.limpopo-lipadi.org

​Blessings
Anton and Renate