Live the Mashatu Magic

Take a moment and picture this…

Following in the footsteps of the largest herd of free roaming elephant on private land, picking up the spoor of lions, leopards, brown hyenas, bat eared foxes, aardwolves, cheetahs, and at night with the help of a spotlight scouring the plains for a glimpse of dwellers like porcupines, aardvarks, genets and civets.

EcoTraining’s wilderness camp in Mashatu, Botswana truly embodies all that defines Africa. Located in the Northern Tuli Reserve, where the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers meet, this Land of Giants offers vast open spaces, with an array of wildlife from the minuscule to those big grey gentle giants. These wander through the dynamic landscape of sand stone ridges and fossilized sand dunes, secret valleys, preserved springs and rolling basal plaints.

The unfenced camp is situated under shady apple leaf trees on the banks of the Motloutse River.  Outside the camp there are big rocky outcrops that can be climbed to provide spectacular views of wide open plains, dotted by thorn bushes, dense thickets of fever berry crotons and huge Mashatu trees lining the river bed. All of these areas are saturated with wildlife.

The vastness of the landscape and the abundance of wildlife combine for an unforgettable experience. Like this one…

“Creeping forward a few paces at a time, stalking from one fresh paw print to the next, straining to hear the alarm calls, rustling bushes, low growls, anything to alert us that we were getting closer to our quarry.

As it was, even though the vegetation opened up slightly to allow us to see more than a few metres in front of us, we didn’t actually see the male lion we were following until we were only 15 metres away – at about the same time that he saw us. As we hurriedly tried to focus on our training at this moment – don’t run, stand still, stay behind the leader – the massive lion stood up, growled low and charged us, twice.

I may forget many things over the course of my life, but these images will forever remain etched upon my memory – the sight of the lion rushing towards us, our instructor Chantelle leaping forward and screaming to scare him off, crashing through the branches to get out of the lion’s sight, the retreat we made through the fever berries (cautious at first, then rapidly picking up pace), back to the river bank, laughing and shaking in equal measures as we emerge from the lingering effect of a massive adrenaline rush in the shade of the only tree we could see.”

Dare to cross the Limpopo River, the view from the other side is spectacular and let the Mashatu Magic take you on a wild ride!

28 DAY SAFARI GUIDE COURSE: PUT THIS ONE IN YOUR CHRISTMAS STOCKING – MASHATU, KARONGWE, SELATI

So many things to do, so little time… Therefore the EcoTraining 28 Day Safari Guide course from 26 November-23 December is just the right way to make 2013 a year to remember.

From three of our wilderness camps – Mashatu (Botswana), Karongwe, Selati (South Africa) – you will experience an unrivalled bush holiday whilst learning about the environment in a unique and exciting way. It is for those that are passionate about nature, who would like a more in-depth experience and understanding of it. The knowledge you gain on this course will take your safaris and bush holidays to the next level and give them a whole new meaning.

You will also get to immerse yourself in the unique animal and plant life of three different reserves on this specific course – each with its own sense of allure.

And experiences like this, described by a course participant, won’t be out of the ordinary…

“We were about to sit down for dinner when we heard a lion roaring just outside of camp. We hopped into the Land Rover… It was a lone lioness and she called several more times while walking past the camp, attracting the attention of several spotted hyenas. 

Continuing a feud as old as time, three hyenas came looking for her and found her, while five more circled around behind.  She held her ground until the hyenas attacked, and then she let out a ferocious snarl and swiped at one of them before running for the nearest nyala tree. The hyenas followed in pursuit and stalked around the tree. 

The next morning, tracks showed that two male lions eventually joined the fray, probably dispersing the hyenas, allowing the lioness to come down.”

Here’s a diary snippet from another fortunate participant to whet the appetite…

“Lions were spotted just across camp! We followed the tracks and found five lions after one hour of walking. What a great experience! The cubs were playing around but at the same time also very alert. The female started growling at us, swishing her tail. Eventually they all started growling at us. We had an awesome sighting and had to back out because of the alertness, growls and warning signs. We continued the walk away from them. And then, to top it all, we also saw a bat eared fox! Not to mention the many kudu and impala in the riverbed and the vultures in the sky. It was a lovely walk in the cool breeze.”

And if that wasn’t enough…

“The sun was setting rapidly, and as darkness descended the radio call came in: ‘There are lions in camp! They are close to Tent 13!’ We raced off back to camp after I instructed all the guys in camp to gather in the main lecture area or to stay in their tents. As we approached the camp, we decided to go and see exactly where the lions were, and how many there were so that we could make a judgement call as to what the next plan of action would be.

As we came around the corner, there they were; 3 of them, sprawled out in the middle of the pathway leading from the instructor’s tent to tent 13. It was a lioness and her sub-adult nephew and niece. They were quite relaxed before the young male got up and walked to tent 12. As he disappeared out of view we kept on looking at the older lioness who was very relaxed with in our company.”

So come on, what are you waiting for? Get in touch and book your place – 26 November-23 December – Mashatu, Karongwe, Selati – Email enquiries@ecotraining.co.za.

(Thank you Agnes van der Heijde for the photos!)