Kings Pool Camp – June 2014
Climate and Landscape
April was a very interesting month weather-wise, and signs of winter are fast approaching with a definite chill in the early morning. Our minimum temperature for April was 11° Celsius with a high of 34°, and we may well have seen the last of our rains, having only received 22 mm – mind you, most of that came in a rather unexpected storm, and here is the photo to prove it!
Kings Pool had a very good month of game viewing, with wild dogs coming right into camp and the discovery of two new male lions in the area that we think have come over from Namibia. I’m not sure if they have been asked for their passports, but they have certainly let our guides know they are not used to seeing vehicles. The good news about these new boys is that they have already found some love in the Linyanti, so hopefully in the next few months we will see their babies!
Our much-loved great grey giants are coming back into the Linyanti, with herds seen by guests while they were enjoying a boat cruise on the Queen Sylvia; the elephant seem to be moving from Namibia to Botswana and vice versa.
Reptiles and amphibians have been the flavour of the month, with sightings of swamp snakes, tiger snakes, and spitting cobras as well as the resident spotted bush snake (who is rather fond of very good whiskey)! We have also seen our resident crocodile, fondly known as Submarine, a number of times in front of camp. The curio shop has become a popular spot for Muller’s platanna and I shared my shower with a bubbling kassina, so rather a slippery month was had by all!
Birds and Birding
Birding has also being very good lately, with the odd sighting of a woodland kingfisher in camp still. We have also seen saddle-billed storks flying over camp, and many Egyptian geese around the pans in the area. Our guests saw a large lock of pelicans during the month as well.
All in all, another wonderful month at Kings Pool!
