One Of Africa’s Top Safari Guides Spends Time At Linyanti

One of Africa’s top Safari guides; Benson Siyawareva rated by Conde’Nast as one of the top ten guides in Africa, also featured in Licensed to Guide by Susie Cazenove, spent some time guiding in the Linyanti in October and had a few things to share…

“…whilst guiding at Linyanti Bush Camp, I was with a couple from Holland and a group of friends from USA and we had the most magical experiences of sunsets with elephants and big herds of buffalo, dinners with leopard calling in the background, night filled with sounds of hyena and lion fighting, screeching owls and waking up to the booming sounds of ground horn bills and roaring lions every night. The days were splendid, especially with the majestic sounds of the African bush calls of birds such as the African fish eagle.

Major highlights of the trip were a pack of well fed cape hunting dogs resting not far from the airstrip, two spontaneous buffalo kills (a cow and calf) by 3 young male lions, who had vicious fights with hyena the second night only to attract the attention of the resident male and get chased away in steaming heat of the day, resident male fed for a few minutes and left the catch for up to 40 hyenas but before they could settle down the three musketeers were back in town on a mission.

The one major attraction is the abundance of aardvark in the area. On one of the night drives, we watched one for a long time digging a series of holes in pursuit of termites until he disappeared down a newly excavated hole. Waal what an experience!!!!. Honey badgers could be seen on most evenings and both black backed and side-striped jackals with young pups. We were lucky enough to see a martial eagle devour a Swanson’s francolin within meters of our vehicle.

With Linyanti’s big herds of buffalo, buffalo and lion tracking is a highlight for those seeking adventure. Hundreds of Zebra have been moving through the area on their way to the North in search of permanent water and grazing pastures.
This a guide ‘s paradise, with great birding and flora and one of the best walking areas in Africa.”