Articles written by Justin Bell
Most people who come on safari hope to see some of the big cats – lion, leopard and cheetah. Nearly everyone will see a lion, and more likely several. Depending on where you are on safari, there is a good chance of seeing one of the other two large felines. ...
As we arrived at the exclusive Kiba Point Lodge in the Selous Game Reserve (Tanzania), waiters greeted us with fresh towels and a frosty glass of passion juice. The lodge emanates space, even though it is tucked in the shady trees of a riverine forest. All the structures are built ...
The last great wilderness areas in warm climes are in Africa. Most of these areas have only been dramatically effected by man in the last 100 years. As a result we are lucky today to be able to see an astounding number of animals while on safari. Some species do ...
We had left the lush green swamps of the Okavango Delta a day before. One of the last activities we did there was riding in a mokoro alongside a family of African elephants. We were poled through the channel, gliding an arm’s length from the elephants, as they sloshed their ...
So, Wild Dogs hunting on Day One at Vumbura. Could Day Two possibly come close to that? The following afternoon we had planned a mokoro (dugout canoe) ride in the Delta. We set off from the camp after tea, heading in the direction of the place in one of the ...
The African Wild Dog is one of Africa’s rarest large predators. Although they may look a little thin and sometimes mangy, I have a great deal of respect for these much maligned animals. I hoped to see them in March when I was on safari on the Serengeti Plains (Tanzania), ...
I catch the daily morning flight on KLM from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The airport terminal disappears from view within a few minutes of leaving the gate as we taxi through the mist and line up for take off. There is not much to see through the window but ...
We were on safari to witness the wildebeest migration in the green season, when they tend to disperse on the Plains, and we did. Wildebeest were everywhere – around us, behind us, and spread out far into the distance. Sometimes we could see lighter-colored bands of animals, which were herds ...
A contrast to the scenario from my previous post was to happen a few days later when we found two hungry sub-adult cheetah attempting to hunt in an area further west of the Serengeti Plains, where the migratory herds are unlikely to arrive until June. They were young siblings about ...
Throughout the morning we had driven across the Plains through herds of wildebeest and zebra. Day and week old wildebeest calves were everywhere. Prey was so abundant and widespread that it was hard to imagine any predator going hungry. We came across a mother cheetah and her four large cubs ...
Watching hippos bask in a pool of water, wheeze-honking every now and then and snorting when they come up for air, would make you think their lives are peaceful. However hippos depend on water to keep their bodies cool, and have a harem breeding system, so the males compete intensely ...
We left Mombo Camp with a plan to find roaring lions we had heard from the camp at dawn, with Callum, our Mombo Camp guide. However soon after leaving camp we encountered a couple of breeding herd of elephants. They were moving quite quickly, eager to get somewhere. There was ...
