African Wildlife and Environment Issue 67

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& ENVIRONMENT WILDLIFE African ISSUE 67 (2017)

THE VOICE OF AFRICA Caring & Sharing for water

A journey of the mind: OKAVANGO

THE MAGAZINE OF THE WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA

Region, area office, branch & centre CONTACTS

CONTENTS

Editorial

Message to membership

Good reads

Conservation 6

Caring and Sharing for Water: The Voice of Africa

Destinations 10 A journey of the mind: Okavango Fauna, Flora & Wildlife

Page 10 A journey of the mind

Page 22 Game ranger stories

16 KwaZulu-Natal chameleons 19 Shepherding back biodiversity 22 Another day in the African Office 26 Gardening for wildlife: non-living elements 30 The Broom-cluster fig 34 Almost dry in 2016: Nyamithi Pan Environmental Education 36 Getting down to green business 39 Vertical farming technology for schools Friends & Clubs 40 Conservation-based citizenship in action Birding 46 The colourful Crested Barbet

Page 46 The Crested Barbet

Page 40 Citizenship in action

Published by:

Consulting Editor John Ledger Production Manager John Wesson jwesson@wessanorth.co.za Design & Layout Marlene McKay

Copyright ©AfricanWildlife & Environment.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by and means, electronic or mechanical without the prior written permission of the publisher. African Wildlife & Environment retains the right to make alterations to any material submitted. The publisher, while exercising due care, cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage to material submitted. The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of WESSA. Copyright on all content belongs to WESSA and the individual contributors.

editor@wessa.co.za Tel +27 31 201 3126 www.wessa.org.za

Cover photo : Okavango © Albert Froneman

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GENERAL

EDITORIAL

Dr John Ledger

The management of the environment and natural resources should be top of the agenda for every government in Africa, but of course it seldom is, as other agendas take precedence. The South African Water Caucus (SAWC) on 27 November 2017 launched a report which exposes the dysfunction and institutional paralysis in the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). The report is almost entirely based on publicly accessible information including Parliamentary Questions and Answers, Portfolio Committee meeting reports, information from access to information (PAIA) requests and media articles. However, importantly, it presents it in a single document which paints a particularly bleak picture for SA’s water institutions and hence water security. The SAWC The South African Water Caucus (SAWC) is a network of more than 20 community-based organisations, non-government organisations and trade unions active in promoting the wise, equitable and just use, protection and provision of water. It was formed in the lead up to the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. GET THE REPORT Visit this link to download the report: f i l e : / / / C : /Us e r s /Us e r /AppDa ta / Loca l / M i c r o s o f t /W i n d ow s / Temp o r a r y %2 0 Internet%20Fi les/Content.IE5/2KKT4T2H/ SAWC_State-of-DWS-Report.pdf We urge all WESSA members to download this report and to read what is happening in one of our most critical government departments. And let us stress that this is not simply a collection of NGO complaints and anti-government nit-picking! It is public knowledge that the Western Cape faces an unprecedented water crisis, and the City of Cape Town may run out of water at the height of its lucrative tourism season. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which provides future water security for the economic and business hub of South Africa, Gauteng Province, is running late. I read the report with a mixture of disbelief and rage. Here are shortened extracts from the report that should make you, as a citizen very concerned.

The report reveals deeply concerning institutional and governance challenges in the DWS. It lays bare a situation of institutional paralysis within the department and associated deterioration in financial management, service delivery, policy coherence and performance. In brief, the central challenges facing the department, outlined in the report, relate to the following: • Considerable human resource and organisational challenges including the suspension of senior managers, high staff turnover, vacancy rates and intensified capacity constraints; • Serious financial mismanagement related to over-expenditure, accruals and failure to pay contractors, corresponding escalation of debt, (overdraft of the Water Trading Entity and debt owed to the Reserve Bank), irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, poor revenue collection and corruption allegations; • Considerable policy and legislative uncertainty related to inter alia the proposed Water Master Plan, proposed Water and Sanitation Bill and the proposed National Water Resources and Services and Sanitation Strategy; • Highly worrying steps to undermine or destroy established water institutions, including plans to consolidate nine catchment management agencies into a single national agency and plans to discontinue key statutory bodies like the Water Tribunal and Water Boards; • Failure to publish Blue Drop (water quality) and Green Drop (wastewater treatment) reports since 2013. The Blue Drop-Green Drop reports are arguably the only comprehensive assessments available to the public and water service authorities on whether water and wastewater treatment plants are functioning and complying with water quality standards. • Deterioration in wastewater treatment works and infrastructure due to lack of maintenance and investment, with initial findings of the 2014 Green Drop report indicating that 212 wastewater treatment plants fall within a “Critical Risk” categorisation. • Significant deficiencies in compliance monitoring and enforcement. Notably, DWS only has 35 compliance and enforcement officials for the whole country, and has never published a specific water compliance and enforcement report.

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GENERAL

MESSAGE TO MEMBERSHIP

The SAWC will shortly present the report to the Portfolio Committee on Water & Sanitation. As a first step, SAWC recently addressed a letter to the Minister to strongly object to the decision to consolidate the established and planned CMAs into a single national agency. The letter highlighted that this decision “would fly in face of existing national water policy that provide for the decentralisation of and public participation in water governance” and hence called for the Minister to “keep the nine CMAs intact”. SAWC has received no response to this call. For comment on the State of the Department of Water and Sanitation report, please contact: • Samson Mokoena, Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance, on samson.mokoena@gmail.com or 016 933 9079 / 084 291 8510 • Mariette Liefferink, Federation for a Sustainable Environment, on mariette@pea.org.za or ) 011 465 6910 / 073 231 4893 • Thabo Lusithi, Environmental Monitoring Group, on thabo@emg.org.za or 021 448 2881 • Saul Roux, Centre for Environmental Rights, on sroux@cer.org.za or 021 447 1647 / 082 777 9904 • Bryan Ashe, KZN Water Caucus, on earthbryan@ gmail.com or 031 261 6524 / 082 652 1533 • December Ndhlovu, Environmental Monitoring Group, on joseph@emg.org.za or 082 601 3664

Thommie Burger

I would like to congratulate all involved with the new African Wildlife & Environment Magazine for producing content that appears to be relevant and appreciated by most, if not all of the targeted readership. Well done! During 2017, the WESSA Board approved the new status of the WESSA regional representatives and ExCo committee, known as the RR/ExCo Committee, as a fully-fledged board committee. Jenny Gon is the Chairperson of this committee and the most important term of reference is to deliberate about the future of the WESSA membership, under the title: Membership 2020 Vision. I want to thank Jenny and all the Regional representatives and regional chairpersons for the amount of time they have invested to participate and planwith the ExCo teamaround the various challenges we are facing with the future of membership. I remain convinced that the WESSA membership at local level, or what has come to be known as LIFE (Local Initiatives for the Environment), is very important forWESSA. Looking at the various initiatives that the regions, branches and affiliated Friends Groups are engaged in, one can clearly see that there is still a passion for caring for the earth from all our geographic regions. I want to sincerely thank all our passionate volunteers, members, supporters and friends groups for your dedication and support. I am of the opinion that we will see progressive change and improvement during 2018, which will place our LIFE on a new trajectory of growth and participation we have not seen in a long time. I wish you a prosperous and exciting Caring for the Earth 2018.

The Editorial team wishes all our readers a happy and fulfilling New Year.

Dr John Ledger Consulting Editor john.ledger@wol.co.za

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GENERAL

GOOD READS

Book reviews by Dr John Ledger

Bird Stories Head, Vernon RL (Editor) (2017). Featherings. True Stories in Search of Birds. JacanaMedia, Auckland Park, South Africa. Hard cover, 22x15 , 183 pp, ISBN 978-1-4314-2579-2. R320 This is a collection of 26 short birding stories from the pens of 20 birders whose thumbnail biographies appear at the end of the book. Some of the birders take us all around the world in their quest for the ultimate bird sighting, while others find their pleasure and joy in the grasslands of the highveld, or the silence of the Kalahari. The stories range from the straight narrative to the cryptic and sometimes self-indulgent musings of the avian dreamers, whose thoughts blow on the wind like feathers in a breeze. But such is the nature of the book – it is supposed to be the highly personal expression of emotions, and the deep sense of wonderment that comes when we are touched by a wild creature that is not walled and shackled like the vast majority of humankind. Every individual bird on the planet has a unique look and character, and the rich cast of players that spring from the pages of this little book will keep you hooked for hours. An excellent stocking-filler for your special birding friend!

Geology of Namibia Detay, Anne-Marie & Michel (2017). Geological Wonders of Namibia. Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 25x21 cm, 144 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with photographs. ISBN 978-1-7758-4294-1. R200

The Garden Route Thomson, Graham & Julie Carlisle 2017). A Guide to the Garden Route. Jacana Media, Auckland Park, South Africa. Soft cover, 24x17, 230 pp, illustrated in colour throughout. ISBN 978-1-4314-2520-4. R260 This is the fifth and latest edition of a book that has been published in different formats since 1997.

This is a picture book depicting some of the spectacular geological features of Namibia. The photographs are superb, and the book is arranged chronologically in geological time, starting 13.8 billion years ago, right through to the twentieth century and Namibia’s heritage of diamonds and other mineral wealth that contributes to the economy of this wonderful southern African country. Namibia is rich in geological treasures, from meteorites, canyons, limestone caves, vast desert landscapes, salt-pan moonscapes, bizarrely shaped rocks, and underwater lakes and reservoirs. Among the latter is the Dragon’s Breath Lake, north-west of Grootfontein on privately-owned land. The lake measures 170 by 140 metres, and lies 100 metres below the arid surface of the land. An area around the Otavi mountains is called the ‘Golden Triangle’, where sufficient underground water can be pumped to sustain viable maize growing enterprises.

It comes shortly after a series of devastating fires that wreaked havoc on the environment and property of this most scenic and diverse corner of South Africa. The silver lining arrived in June 2017 when the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve was proclaimed by UNESCO. This provides international recognition to the area due to its unique natural, historical and cultural attributes. Innovative research, learning, responsible tourism development and project implementation are all part of a biosphere reserve’s activities. The book is a treasure trove of information about the places, plants, tourist attractions and every possible detail about the area and its biodiversity. WESSA is very active in the Garden Route, and this fine publication should introduce many more people to the charms of the coasts and forests of this jewel. Highly recommended, and a great gift!

Invertebrates Guttteridge, Lee (2017). Invertebrates of Southern Africa & their Tracks and Signs. Jacana Media, Auckland Park, South Africa. Soft cover, 21x14 2, 406 pp, illustrated with colour photographs throughout. ISBN 978-1-4314-2157-2. R320 Clive Walker’s iconic book called Signs of the Wild was published in 1981, and has been revised and updated many times in the sixteen years since then. For the first time, it provided the means to identify southern African mammals from the signs they left by their footprints and dung. Now this new book by Lee Gutteridge reveals the signs left behind by a much smaller cohort of creatures, the invertebrates. The book has useful introductory chapters, while the bulk of the content is contained in thirteen chapters that deal with the actual signs left by the activities of the invertebrates themselves. Some examples: Tracks and Trails in Sand and Soil; Tunnels, Burrows and other Excavations; Mud, Stone and Sand Structures; Invertebrate Exoskeletons Found in the Bush; Eggs and Egg Cases; Chrysalises and Cocoons; Commonly Seen Remains of Invertebrates; Signs on Plants and Fungi; Signs Associated with Vertebrates; Wax and Other Protective Structures; Droppings and Frass of Invertebrates; Webs and other Silken Constructions. There is a surprise on every page. Outstanding, and highly recommended!

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GENERAL

GOOD READS

Book reviews by Dr John Ledger

Rhino Walker, Conita, with Sally Smith(2017). A Rhino in my Garden. Love. Life & the African Bush. Jacana Media, Auckland Park, South Africa. Soft cover, 24x15, 282 pp, illustrated with a centre colour section. ISBN 978-1-4314-2595-2. R240 Conita is the wife of Clive Walker, pioneer conservationist, author and co-founder of the Endangered Wildlife Trust. Her life begins on a remote missionary station, she survives the WW II bombing of Berlin, witnesses the defeat of repressive political systems in both Europe and South Africa, and ends up in the bush where she successfully rescued and hand reared a number of black and white rhino orphans. In her 50 year marriage to Clive, she has shared the trials and tribulations of trying to conserve parts of wild Africa. She was intimately involved in the establishment of the Lapalala Wilderness School, which has seen more than 80,000 children, teachers and university students pass through its doors. This is a thoughtful and moving story and well worth reading by anyone interested in the challenges of biodiversity conservation in the fast-changing and sometimes depressing world we find ourselves in. Highly recommended as a special Christmas gift.

Fish River Canyon Map Slingsby Maps (2017). Slingsby Maps AH05 Fish River Canyon. Slingsby Maps, Muizenberg, South Africa. A1+ full colour, double-sided map. Scale 1:40 000 (2.5cm = 1km); 10m contours; relief shading; 10” Long/Lat grid; Coords in DDMMSS format at all recognised path junctions; Contact numbers and detailed safety information; Waterproof and tear resistant in plastic

Bird Collectors Dean, WRJ (2016). Warriors, Dilettantes & Businessmen. Bird Collectors during the mid-19th to mid-20th Centuries in Southern Africa. The John Voelker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town. Hardcover, 25x17 cm, 196 pp, colour and B/W illustrations, photos and maps. ISBN 978-1 92060 -204-8. R280 . Printed and Distributed by Jacana Media. This deals with individuals who collected bird specimens in southern Africa in the period

wallet. ISBN 978-1-920377-33-5. Order online at https://slingsby-maps.myshopify.com/products/ants of-southern-africa. R190 Slingsby hiking and touring maps are the gold standard for hikers and adventurers in southern Africa. This latest addition to the extensive collection is the first to cover Namibia’s Fish River Canyon. The double sided A1 sized map covers the entire iconic canyon hike; on the reverse the complete and fascinating geological map of the oldest canyon on Planet Earth matches the hiking map exactly. The map is printed on Duraflex waterproof material and is packaged in a plastic pocket. Data collected over four years has informed the content of this first-ever detailed topographic map of the world famous canyon. The map shows the suggested sides of the river to hike on, all the short-cuts, the usually perennial pools, suggested overnight spots, and more. The map includes distances both down the river and along the recommended route, as well as GPS coordinates, altitudes, and other useful information. allocated to each species. Highly recommended.

between 1850 and 1950, and their contribution to the science of southern African ornithology. It also covers some of the history and the development of ornithology as a science in the region, which has an exceptionally rich bird fauna of some 900 species. It is often difficult to identify closely related species in the field, making it important to build up extensive collections of preserved bird skins and eggs in museums. These collections were used by several authors to provide material for books on birds during the period – Layard, Stark and Sclater, FitzSimons and Gill, to name a few. Austin Roberts, who compiled the first edition of the Birds of South Africa in 1940, extracted much of the original information from bird material that he had personally collected for the Transvaal Museum collection. A scholarly and interesting publication that will be of great value to anyone interested in the history of ornithology.

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CONSERVATION

Caring and sharing for water: The voice of Africa A GLOBAL CONFERENCE in partnership with the 2017 WESSA AGM

In 2015, at a prestigious ceremony in New York, WESSA was the recipient of the United Nations ‘Water is Life’ award for best practices in water education. In particular, our joint environmental education project with the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), was the highlighted project for which the award was given. Through this WESSA/DWS water education project, young people from all over South Africa are encouraged to build their understanding of water issues including water quality, quantity and access issues. A short foreword by Dr Jim Taylor

WESSA 2017 Award recipients

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CONSERVATION

To this end many projects have been done and young people are learning how to conserve water. Most notable about the project is the participatory manner in which young people are engaged and this is often done through citizen science practices. To this end a wide array of citizen science tools are available to help people of all ages understand water processes (see www.minisass.org as an example of such a tool). In 2016 the GLOBAL PARTICIPATORY WATER MANAGEMENT NETWORK (GPWMN) was formed. The GPWMN is a reference community for the participatory management of water and environmental care. The founding members of the GPWMN are the companies and organisations that have projects of good practices, and who have also received awards from the Office of the Decade of Water of the United Nations. As an award winner

Her Worship the Mayor of eThekwini, representatives of the Global Participatory Water Management Network, ladies and gentlemen. “Tinariwen, a band of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali, named their 2007 album Aman Iman , which means ‘water is life’ in their language Tamashek. It is hardly surprising that a group of nomads from the hottest and largest non polar desert would regard water as so important, but it is trite that Aman iman is true for everybody, not just desert-dwellers. The link between water and life is the basis of the defining question for exploration of Mars, for if there is evidence of liquid water, past or present, on Mars, then there exists the possibility of life. I wrote this as the beginning of an introduction to a book I co-edited entitled Water and the Law: Towards Sustainability , published in 2014. The focus of my address this evening is not law, but the introduction is equally apposite to what I intend to cover here. It highlights the fact that, when we speak of management of water, we are not managing it for its own sake but for all life on the planet, including, of course, human life. But why does water need management? It is an obvious answer but needs to be said. Human activity has created such pressure on our global water resources that we have now – and not just recently – entered a situation that can be referred to, without any exaggeration, as a water crisis. There aremany interventions that can andmust be made in order to address the causes and symptoms of the water crisis, but very few if any of these will have much success without the participation of people who rely on water: civil society. Increasingly, environmental management, which includes management of water, is seen as an objective that cannot be achieved satisfactorily by top-down command and control processes. The evidence that this approach has not worked is all around us. WESSA, an environmental non-governmental organisation that is more than 90 years old, is a member of the Global Participatory Water Management Network (GPWN) and has as its overarching objective the aim to initiate and support high impact environmental and conservation projects to promote participation in caring for the Earth. It is clear, therefore, that WESSA’s aims correspond with those of the GPWMN. What I aim to do in this short speech is to highlight those aspects of WESSA’s work that are directly related to participatory water management. WESSA focuses its work, broadly, in seven areas: • Ecological infrastructure and sustainability • Ecotourism, which includes the Blue Flag programme aimed at healthy beaches • Work Skills

WESSA is thus a founding partner of the GPWMN. It is notable that in 1949 WESSA was a founding partner of the IUCN, now the largest grouping of environmental organisations in the world! Is the GPWMN likely to do for water what the IUCN is doing for holistic, wise and sustainable environmental management? From 14 to 16 of September 2017 the S haring and Caring for Water: The Voice of Africa conference was hosted in Durban and this conference was co-hosted by eThekwini, WESSA and the GPWMN. Pieter Burger, the WESSA KZN Chairman, convened the Local Organising Committee (LOC) that managed the conference processes. This meant that the mutual synergies of these three organisations could be developed and best-practice concepts could be shared and engaged with. The longer term vision is to convey the ‘Voice of Africa’ to the 2018 Water Summit in Brazil. The key note presentation at the Sharing and Caring for Water conference was presented by Professor Michael Kidd, the Chairman of the Board of WESSA. His address was highly relevant to the work of WESSA and it is our privilege to share it with our African Wildlife and Environment readers. The speech by Prof Michael Kidd follows.

Dr Jim Taylor Director: Environmental Education WESSA jt@wessa.co.za

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infrastructure and sustainability initiative are the contribution to improved water quality and quantity; and the achievement of water neutrality targets through removal and rehabilitation projects. Much of the work WESSA does currently in relation to the conservation and promotion of ecological infrastructure is the removal of alien and invasive plant species that are a major threat to water sustainability in the country. Our flagship programme in this regard is, appropriately for where this conference is being CONSERVATION

• • • •

Schools Programme Youth Development

Environmental governance

Education centres We have various programmes and projects that fall within these areas. All of these involve, at least to some degree, aspects relating to participatory water management, but I would like, in the interests of time, to highlight only a few of them. Among the primary aims of our ecological

Prof Michael Kidd with delegates at the GPWMN conference

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CONSERVATION

held, the Working for Ecosystems Project with the eThekwini Municipality. This particular project, involving alien removal, has cleared more than 2 200 ha and created close to 400 jobs. Through the Capacity for Catchments uMngeni Ecological Infrastructure project, WESSA is working in the uMngeni and Upper uMvoti catchments in KwaZulu-Natal to secure the ecological infrastructure in the area. This is being achieved through building the capacity of the key role players- including traditional

Prof Michael Kidd Director of the Institute of Environmental Law at UKZN Principal editor of the South African Journal of Environmental Law and Policy kidd@ukzn.ac.za. As I mentioned earlier, these are just a few highlights relevant to the theme of this conference that demonstrate WESSA’s activities in promoting public participation in caring for the Earth. WESSA is perfectly equipped to contribute both to the objectives of the Network, but also to the intended outcomes of this conference. On behalf of WESSA, I wish you well in your deliberations over the next few days and in the future.” leaders, municipal officials and members of other key organisations – to become responsible custodians of the uMngeni freshwater ecological infrastructure. This capacity-building involves the promotion of citizen science in relation to water management. WESSA has been closely involved in either the creation or promotion (or both) of various initiatives such as the miniSASS tool, which is a simple tool that can be used by anyone – not just experts – to measure water quality and general river health by collecting macroinvertebrates (small animals) from the river as indicators of water quality. This can be done anywhere in the world – in countries such as Brazil and South Africa in sub-tropical heat to Thunder Bay in Canada in sub-zero temperatures. This form of research and water measurement is called bio monitoring or life-monitoring. Isn’t that a wonderful term? Life assessing and life-giving research from desert areas to high rainfall areas! Citizen science in relation to water is also a component in our various educational initiatives, such as our Eco-Schools project, which is an international initiative aimed at supporting environmental learning intheclassroom. Since2003,more than10229schools across all nine provinces have participated in this WESSA programme, reaching 400 000 learners and 16 000 teachers. Also under the Schools programme, the Water Explorer Programme, an initiative of Global Action Plan UK and implemented in South Africa by WESSA, is a fun, inspiring and educational online programme that empowers schools and youth groups all over the world to lead joint action on water issues for their schools and communities. It would be remiss of me not to mention, too, that WESSA is a membership-based organisation, and members of WESSA throughout the country are involved in various local conservation initiatives, including water conservation activities. WESSA acknowledges the establishment of ‘Friends Groups’, also local environment conservationists, members of which are often not WESSA members when they start out.

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A journey OF THE MIND

We launched our mekoro (dug-out canoes) at Mohembo, where the Okavango River enters Botswana from neighbouring Namibia. Our aim was to traverse the length of this pristine wetland in order to witness and document it in all its variety and beauty. Our guide, Sarefo Kamanakao, assured us that he was familiar with the whole route, from the ‘Panhandle’ through the permanent swamp to the seasonally inundated floodplains and thence on to Maun, our final destination.

Peter Hancock

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Photographs: Albert Froneman

DESTINATION

For the first 100 kilometres, the river meanders between two parallel fault lines that run northwest to southeast, and the channel is lined with tall banks of Papyrus, the ‘paper-reed’. Occasional islands, clad in tropical wild date palms, provide basking and nesting grounds for some of the largest crocodiles I’ve ever seen, and we are constantly on the lookout for them and pods of mokoro-capsizing hippos. However it is the birds that are the highlight of this part of the journey. We are fortunate to see a ‘barbel run’ where packs of voracious catfish hunt smaller fish species which in turn are preyed upon by every kind of piscivorous bird in the Okavango. Reed cormorant and African darters swim among the thronging fish, while Rufous-bellied and Squacco herons, Great, Intermediate and Little ggrets clamber about the Papyrus waiting for unsuspecting fish. Goliath and Purple herons are stand-and-wait fishers too, but they don’t have to wait for long! African fish eagles swoop spectacularly with outstretched talons to catch predatory Tigerfish right in front of our eyes! The Panhandle is also the haunt of Pel’s fishing-owl and, at the right time of year, nesting African skimmers and large vibrant breeding colonies of Southern Carmine and White-fronted bee-eaters. At the end of the Panhandle, the water spreads out, freed from the constraints of the fault lines, and now we have to put our trust in Sarefo since there is no longer a single, distinct channel. As we make our way through a sparse Phagmites reedbed, all thoughts are on the swamp-dwelling Sitatunga which prefers this habitat – it has long splayed hooves and is able to walk across reed mats and small floating islands.

Twice we hear their hoarse alarm barks followed by splashing and crashing, but frustratingly are unable to catch even a glimpse of one. Visibility is severely limited by the reeds, but Sarefo heads unerringly towards a small island where he knows we can camp. Amid the hum of a million mosquitos we set up our bedrolls and nets, and spend another night under the stars listening to the grunting of hippos and the tremulous whistle of the Swamp nightjar. For several days now we have experienced the ‘wet aspect’ of the Okavango, seeing how the annual flood-pulse rejuvenates the system. Gradually, the scenery changes from predominantly water with little dry land to larger islands separated by lily-covered channels. Here the open floodplains teem with aquatic life, as what were previously dry grasslands are now shallowly inundated with life-giving water. Fish and frogs are clearly visible in the crystal clear water, and dragonflies and other invertebrates fill the air. Red lechwe graze the fresh green shoots and, if disturbed, sprint effortlessly through the shallows in a spray of water droplets. The mokoro is equally at home in this habitat type – it is a craft designed for effortless poling across shallow floodplains. I can see from my GPS that Sarefo is taking us across the Jao Flats and southwards following the Boro distributary which eventually leads to Maun. Now we begin to see the other face of the Delta, for which it is equally famous – the Okavango as a big game paradise. Every day we encounter elephants – breeding herds and small groups of bulls – and enjoy watching them frolic in the cool, clear water. Their enjoyment is palpable as they push and shove

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DESTINATION

one another, spray water through their trunks, and submerge like leviathans. Largeherds of Africanbuffalohave alsomovedonto the floodplains, timing their arrival to coincide with a green flush of grass in an otherwise dry landscape. It is a simple fact that the water from the summer rains in Angola only arrive at the lower reaches of the Okavango late in the dry season, but this has profound implications for all the mega-herbivores which need high quality grazing at this time of the year. The recently reintroduced White rhinos have already adopted the same pattern of movements as the buffalo, Plains zebra, Tsessebe and other grazers, and confine their ranges to the productive, drying floodplains at the end of the dry season. Following the herds are of course, the predators. In addition to lions, leopards and cheetahs (all globally vulnerable), the Delta is renowned for its healthy population of Endangered African wild dogs, and they are regularly seen by visitors to Moremi Game Reserve in the heart of the Okavango, and the surrounding concession areas through which we pass by mokoro en route to Maun. Sightings of these predators in the Okavango can be memorable experiences; follow a hunting cheetah, view wild dog pups at the den, watch Lions mating, and observe a Leopard hoist its prey into a tree. We did not see many of these predators during our trans-Okavango mokoro trip, for the simple reason that the mokoro is confined to the wetland proper, which is only used by these predators in passing; however, sightings of hippos, crocodiles, elephants and buffalo were commonplace.

In the lower reaches of the Delta, birdlife is prolific, and many of the ‘Okavango specials’ are easily seen from the mokoro. The near-endemic (globally vulnerable) Slaty Egret is a floodplain specialist, as is the Wattled crane (also vulnerable), and sightings of these two species are virtually guaranteed. The Delta is the best place in southern Africa to see Lesser jacana, Long-toed lapwing, Chirping and Luapula cisticola, Coppery-tailed and Black coucal, Swamp boubou, Hartlaub’s babbler and many others. After skirting past the western side of Chief’s Island, a huge dryland area covered in Mopane and Acacia woodlands, we head south across the Xo Flats and reach the Boro Channel. Here the mekoro glide on water so clear that it feels as though we are suspended in mid-air! At Tchau Island, we flush a Pel’s fishing owl from its diurnal roost – a huge ginger giant of a bird – and decide that this is good enough reason to camp here overnight. However during the night we are kept awake by the powerful roars of lions nearby, and the sound of elephants breaking branches and feeding within 100 metres of our campsite. From Tchau, the game-viewing is superb and we all agree that this is the best part of our excursion; however the sight of a motorised boat heading upstream – our first contact with other people for two weeks – reminds us that the end is nigh. We savour our last few days in paradise, and it is with a sense of intense disappointment that we reach the Buffalo fence that marks the boundary between the wilderness and civilisation. Within hours we are in dry, dusty Maun, and all that remains are indelible memories.

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DESTINATION

One-stop shop for self-drive visitors Due to the slightly complicated arrangement where there is no centralised reservations office covering all public and community campsites, it is sometimes better to contact a booking agent such as McKenzie 4x4 for park bookings. They also hire out 4x4s, and have a very useful vehicle recovery service (for breakdowns). Contact details as follows: • McKenzie 4x4 Tel: +267 6861875 info@botswanaselfdrive4x4.com www.mckenzie4x4.com Other options The Okavango Panhandle is a prime birding area where many ‘Okavango specials’ can be seen. The following places are recommended: • Drotsky’s Cabins Tel: +267 6875035 E-mail: drotsky@botsnet.bw • Lawdon’s Tel: +267 6875035 E-mail: drotskys@info.bw • Xaro Lodge Tel: +267 72610064 E-mail: xarolodge@info.bw For boat trips to the heronries in Moremi, contact: • Okavango Boating/Ngami Marine Tel: +267 6860364 E-mail: nm@info.bw Game-viewing flights • Mack Air Tel: +267 6860675 E-mail: reservations@mackair.co.bw Accommodation in Maun en-route to/from the Delta • Artists and Birders Retreat Tel: +267 71675175 or 74731553 E-mail: okavangoceramics@gmail.com • River Nest Luxury Cottages Tel: +267 6840400

Travel Advisory Treat yourself to a flight over the Delta and you will be enthralled at its immensity and near-pristine beauty; follow hunting lions or African wild dogs while on a game drive and experience the thrill of the chase; take an intimate mokoro ride across floodplains strewn with water lilies and decorated with Pygmy geese and jewel like reed frogs. Up-market safari companies There are many reputable safari companies operating up-market lodges in the Okavango, including &Beyond, Desert and Delta Safaris (Chobe Holdings), Ngamiland Adventure Safaris, Okavango Wilderness Safaris and Sanctuary Lodges, among others. There are also numerous mobile safari operators such as Birding Botswana, Bona Safari Services, Kalahari Skies, Royale Wilderness Safaris and Elephant Trails, among others. For more information, visit the Botswana Tourism Organisation website www.botswanatourism.co.bw. Public campsites in Moremi Game Reserve Visits to public campsites in Moremi can be booked through the Parks and Reserves Reservations Offices (PARRO) run by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, although many campsites have been privatised. The details are as follows: • PARRO Gaborone Tel: +267 3180774 E-mail: dwnp@gov.bw • PARRO Maun Tel: +267 6861265 The two above-mentioned Reservations Offices are pay points for entrance and camping fees, since payments are no longer accepted at the entrance gates. In addition, there are pay points at the Department of Wildlife and National Parks offices in major towns throughout the country, as follows: Tshabong, Kang, Ghanzi, Kasane, Letlhakane and Francistown. Bookings for privatized campsites in Moremi are as follows: • Kwalate Safaris Tel: +267 6861448 E-mail: kwalatesafari@gmail.com This company manages campsites and does bookings for Maxwee (South Gate) and Xakanaxa in Moremi and Tel: +267 6865365/6 and +267 6250113 E-mail: reservations@sklcamps.co.bw sklcamps@botsnet.bw This company manages and does bookings for campsites at Khwai (North Gate) in Moremi. • Xomae Group Tel: +267 6862221 E-mail: xomaesites@botsnet.bw Community campsites • Mogotho campsite, Khwai Development Trust Tel: +267 6801211 E-mail: khwai@botsnet.bw • Kaziikini campsite, Sankuyo Trust Tel: +267 75662865 E-mail: santawanistmt@botsnet.bw Ihaha in Chobe. • SKL Camps

E-mail: rivernestmaun@gmail.com reservations@rivernestcottages.com

• The Kraal Lodgings Tel: +267 72320090

E-mail: liversedge@info.bw • Thamalakane River Lodge

Tel: +267 6800217 or +267 6864313 E-mail: reservations@thamalakane.com General Travel Services • Endurance Travel Tel: 6863643 E-mail: endurancetravel@gmail.com reservations@endurancesafaris.com

• Tete Travel

Tel: +267 6863239 Cell: +267 71471908 and + 267 72648132 E-mail: tetetravel@botsnet.bw

Peter Hancock Wildlife Ecologist who has worked on ecosystem management in the Okavango Delta for the past 20 years birdlifemaun@gmail.com

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15 | African Wildlife & Environment | 67 (2017)

FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE

Photograph: Albert Froneman

One easy way for people to help these chameleons is to plant indigenous species. A friend of mine has turned his garden into an indigenous forest, and he is reaping the rewards. He now has a healthy population of Dwarf Chameleons, and counting over ten sleeping individuals in his garden, in one night, is not a rare occurrence. The other chameleon species that we see around Durban is the Flap-neck chameleon Chamaeleo dilepis . This is the most common and widespread species in the province. They are typically found in grassland and savannah areas, but they too are found in suburban gardens It is a large chameleon, which including their tail length, can almost reach thirty centimetres in length Unlike the cwarf chameleon species, the Flap-neck lays eggs. I once picked up a large, gravid (pregnant) female on a gravel road in an informal settlement. Some horrible humans had kicked it around, mortally wounding the poor thing. We took her to a vet to euthanaze her, and attempted to cut the eggs out and hatch them. We didn’t want to see all these lives go to waste. We cut out fifty-two eggs, an impressive number. Sadly though, they never hatched. Surprisingly, the chameleon does cause fear in some cultures. Alas, there is absolutely nothing to fear from this animal, as it can in no way harm you. Chameleons are gentle souls! Hatching season, in Durban, is usually around late January to early February. One night, we counted one

KwaZulu-Natal is the most diverse province in South Africa, rich in herpetofauna. There are eight species of chameleon found in the province, six of which are endemic to KZN, plus a species which is yet to be fully described. A group of friends and I, being based in the province, went on a mission to find and photograph all of the province’s chameleon species. It was lots of fun, and we got to explore some beautiful areas! In Durban, where we live, we have the KwaZulu dwarf chameleon Bradypodion melanocephalum living around us, and so we’ve always found them over the years. In fact, I’ve been lucky enough to find them in friends’ and families’ gardens, as well as my own. Naturally, they occur in forest areas, and in long grass on forest fringes. Of all the other species in the province, this is probably the most dull-coloured species. Still, it is cute! Unfortunately for this species, and as many Durbanites would tell you this, their numbers have been in great decline over the years. This is mostly due to domestic and feral cats, as well as habitat destruction. The decline of this species made it one of the focus species for our survey project, ‘Save Our Suburban Lizards’, focused on threatened lizard species in the Greater Durban Area. We encourage members of the public to send in photos of these chameleons in their gardens, to give us a better understanding of their current distributions and population densities.

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FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE

South Africa is home to nineteen described species of chameleons, seventeen of which fall into the ‘Dwarf chameleon’ genus Bradypodion. Fifteen of those seventeen species are endemic to South Africa. The remaining two species fall into the genus Chamaeleo, which are much larger and more widespread species. KwaZulu-Natal CHAMELEONS

Nick Evans

it all about their appearance. They are an exquisite shade of turquoise blue. Physically, it does resemble the Midlands dwarf chameleon. Genetic DNA sampling should hopefully clear up its classification soon enough. We spent one night looking for this species, and we were rewarded with sightings of more than ten individuals! I couldn’t believe their colours. They’re simply gorgeous! Definitely one of my favourite species At high altitudes of the Drakensberg, there is yet another species of chameleon, the Drakensberg dwarf chameleon Bradypodion dracomontanum . It’s listed as Near Threatened, but fortunately for this chameleon, it mostly occurs in protected reserves in the Drakensberg Mountain Range. When our first specimen was found, we weren’t actually looking for it. It often happens that way, doesn’t it? We were in fact looking for Berg Adders Bitis atropos , a snake species which still eludes me. We were walking back down one of themountains we had searched, when all of a sudden, my friend spotted a chameleon crawling across the pathway. There was great excitement! It was such an unexpected treat! Later that night, we found nine more individuals, including babies. So, apart from its breath-taking natural beauty, the Drakensberg has some special, endemic creature to find.

hundred and forty-four in a reserve! Not a bad night out. The Midlands and northern parts of the province are where the other species occur. In areas such as Howick, Nottingham Road and Mooi River, one can see the Midland’s dwarf chameleon Bradypodion thamnobates . This must be one of the most spectacular species of chameleons in South Africa, with bright and vibrant colours! They’re quite large too, as far as dwarf chameleons go. They really look like little dragons, with the spines under throat and on their back. I have made a few trips to go and photograph this species, and I never tire of seeing them. On these trips, I have also seen some amazing frog species near where I find the chameleons, such as the endangered Long toed tree frog Leptopelis xenodactylus and the recently described Rythmic Caco Cacosternum rhythmum . This species is listed as vulnerable, mostly due to habitat destruction (agriculture and plantations). What’s sadder, in my opinion, is that this species is popular in the pet trade, particularly overseas. Their beautiful appearance means they’re wanted by many people, local and abroad. They are often illegally taken out of the wild and sold. This unethical deed is not just a threat to this species, but to most chameleon species as well. At higher altitudes, in the southern Drakensberg, a yet to be described species of chameleon occurs here, the Emerald dwarf chameleon. The name says

17 | African Wildlife & Environment | 67 (2017)

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