SHALIMPO ~ Botswana Safari Holiday Wildlife and Birding in the Tuli Block - Limpopo Shashe Rivers

OUR WILDLIFE & BIRDING

Shalimpo is a true haven for animals and birds, with numerous mammal species present in the reserve (some being on the red data list). Game numbers in the reserve total approximately 20 000 animals; including elephant, 15 large herbivore species and all the large cat species which naturally occur in the area. Shalimpo is a must see for all tree lovers as there are some of the largest specimens of Leadwood (Combretum imberbe) and Apple-leaf (Lonchocarpus capassa) trees to be found.

There are as many as 1 000 elephants at any one time in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, with sightings of large herds on Shalimpo commonplace. There is a healthy and growing lion population in Tuli, but sightings on Shalimpo are fairly rare. Other predators found in the area in profusion include leopards, bat-eared foxes, black-backed jackals, cheetah, spotted hyenas, civets and genets. Antelope ranging from small dainty steenbok to the large eland make for interesting and enjoyable game viewing on Shalimpo.

Game species that once existed in the reserve but have vanished from this African landscape due to a number of reasons are being re-introduced by the Landowners and there are also a number of long term studies and initiatives that are under way in the area including the re-introduction of the Endangered African Wild dog. Birding at Shalimpo is top draw and there are no less than 350 different birds that have been identified in the area with a number of specials such as Pels Fishing owl and Egyptian Vulture. The region is home to the birder's "Big 6" - Pel's fishing owl, saddlebilled stork, martial eagle, kori bustard, ground hornbill and lappet-faced vulture. Shalimpo is considered an outstanding birding area, especially during the summer months.

Driving slowly, bumping and grinding, over the somewhat dusty two track path, with the sun in your back and the chorus of birdsong in your ears, to the place where kings lived and walked; where Cecil John Rhodes carved his name on a lone Baobab tree, a Bushman painted his masterpiece of the big hunt on the rock face capturing every detail as Courtney Selouse did in his dairies, the site of an old abandoned village where children sang and danced and woman sat weaving with Mcolwane from the local palm grove. Down to the Limpopo River which Kipling wrote about and where a small elephant got his nose. The excitement of watching 50 or more majestic elephant walking in a straight line past you to a waterhole after a hot day so as to quench their thirst in the late afternoon, once there milling around and kicking up the dust to create a mirage of elephant bodies against the dusty and heavy red setting sun chasing the Quelea to make them rise and fall like dark rain clouds in their flight across the horizon to roost for the night. A place so fitting and worthy in all its beauty, glory, harshness and mystique as could only be interpreted, described and told by a old and wise elder to his offspring … a folktale.

You will be taken even further back in time and allowed to walk where the Bushmen walked and lived as the area was once occupied and utilized extensively by the them. They hunted on the rich game filled plains and along the river banks, inspiring them to produce scores of their great art depicting the magnificence of the Limpopo River Valley, the majestic Eland and other animals for decades to come. The tree savannah create a splendid backdrop of rich earthy brown and yellow's at the beginning of the dryer and cooler months that puts to shame even the most creative and talented artist's mix and hues of colours and it is pure joy to take the time to sit and allow all your senses to soak up your surroundings. You will then notice the diversity of plants which are present in varying proportions, like the Bushman's Violate.