Nic Polenakis, selected by National Geographic Traveller as one of the “10 Great Tour Guides Who Can Transform Your Trip” in 2011, is a premier Southern African guide who we, at African Bush Camps, are proud to have guiding for us much of the year. Having been born in Zimbabwe and over 20 years of experience guiding all over Africa, Nic has been one of our prize possessions for 7 years now, being one of our head guides and a brand ambassador.
Nic has the pleasure of witnessing some of Africa’s most exciting encounters in the bush, not only with us, but on all trips he is fortunate enough to go on. He explains in detail the thrilling events that occur in front of his eyes which we wait in anticipation to hear and finally, share with everyone else. Nic has taken the time to inform us about his latest visit to the African Bush Camps.
African Bush Camps Ambassador and Head Guide at Somalisa Camp
“I recently returned from two incredible African Bush Camp safaris so thought I would send through the highlights. Besides the incredible wild life encounters I must say that the camps were all amazing. The warm atmosphere and family feeling experienced was palpable and is exactly what we at African Bush Camps are trying to showcase. This in fact was my guests highlight as they felt totally at home, welcomed and at ease in all our camps.
Khwai Tented Camp in Botswana was unbelievable where we saw 6 different leopard in 4 nights and witnessed one of the most exhilarating wild dog kills ever! After following the lead wild dog for a short distance we arrived just in time to watch the dog holding onto the rear end of an unfortunate impala ram! As the struggle ensued the impala managed to break free and turned to face off the wild dog. The dog desperate to drive home his attack dodged and weaved around the sharp impala horns and finally caught hold of the impala and dragged him down! It was tough to watch however it is nature and certainly exciting. Mana Pools: Kanga Camp is such a unique camp and certainly worth while visiting. On both my trips we decided to sit back and watch the drama unfold at Kanga’s pan and were not disappointed. Lion, leopard, buffalo and elephant all visited the pan as did a large variety of other wildlife. It is a lovely camp to relax and enjoy the amazing hospitality and of course the national geographic show right in front of camp.
Khwai Tented Camp, Botswana – Zambezi Expeditions – Kanga Camp, Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe
Zambezi Expeditions in Mana Pools is an amazing camp and with it being moved to a spectacular new permanent site next year promises to deliver on an even greater scale. The Mana Pools experience is hard to describe however where else in Africa can one comfortably walk with lion, elephant and dogs? This is exactly what we did on both safaris. My guests and I walked with ”Boswell” the beautiful elephant bull who expertly stood and then balanced on his back feet so as to reach high into the tree canopy. We crawled up to dogs on foot only a few meters from us and then tracked 2 male lion and 1 lioness on foot. Although these lion are very habituated to humans on foot they still don’t quite trust us upright creatures! As we approached the growls became louder and louder so I decided to sit tight around 40 yards from them. After about 30 minutes the large Male lion suddenly stood up and began to run, fortunately not at us, but rather towards the slightly smaller male and a huge fight erupted in front of us! The younger male had obviously ventured too close to the female and his jealous compatriot was unimpressed. The ferociousness of the attack was an eye opener and the speed at which they moved certainly got our attention. Unfortunately no one took photos as think everyone was engrossed in the spectacle in front of us!! (Actually I think everyone was terrified)!!
Finishing off ones safari at Somalisa Camp is spectacular in every sense as the new tents, warm and friendly staff and of course amazing close elephant encounters are legendary! Add the incredible Cecil‘s pride and then one feels complete. We were fortunate to locate Cecil’s magical pride at Chris pan and can only say watching 11 large lion going about their business as breath taking.”
Egyptian Vulture
This is an unbelievably rare sighting as Egyptian Vultures are only rarely found in our part of Africa, as vagrants. These Old World vultures are usually only located in North Africa and the Northern region of Kenya, hence, Nic and Clouds’ thrill and excitement when they came across this one and managed to get a few wonderful shots with the camera. This is massive news for Zimbabwe’s birding community. Nic and Cloud (Professional Guide at Zambezi Expeditions) feel very lucky to have seen something so unusual, and we feel privileged to have such knowledgeable and passionate guides with us at African Bush Camps.
We share this news with much joy, excitement and pride, as the African Bush Camps and the guides that make all of these wonderful experiences possible continue to blow not only our guests, but our entire team away. Thank you to Nic for this brilliant feedback, we look forward to receiving more from you soon.