Namibia photo safari day 11

Day 11

Above: It was so close. The truck just missed him!

Above: The gemsbok on the hillside had a peculiar crooked horn.

Above: The black korhaan. They were immensely vocal, possible due to a number of young ladies in the vicinity.

Above: Our unfenced, solitary camp for the night. Situated only about 54 km’s (about 32 miles) from our previous camp, it took the better part of almost 5 hours to get there due to the condition of the road. It was 4-wheel driving most of the way and we only got slightly stuck twice. What a drive. I slept with the cabin door open and at about 1:30 am my eye caught movement right outside the cabin area. I got up quickly and in the moonlight with the binocular saw the lioness walking to the water. In daylight I saw her tracks about 6 yards from where I was in bed. She must have thought I was old and tough meat. Well she was partly correct.

 Above: Sunset in the Kalahari Desert with some promising sign of rain.

Above: Earlier during the evening the camp manager called to come and see the brown hyena drinking at the waterhole at his house. I snuck up to about 10 yards from him and took a few pictures of him. The manager then went on to tell us that 3 days prior, this old boy walked right into a pride of lions. The lions took exception and managed to rough up the hyena to the extent that we could clearly see he was not doing well at all. Is another slow, painful death in the wild still better than a well-placed shot?

We are nearing the end of our Kgalagadi trip. Is there still something else to see? What a great next day

Day 10

Above: A view from one of the hides set up at the rest camps. Early morning and we were rewarded by a lioness and her male companion visiting the water hole. The previous evening we were roared out of our tents by a lion, not 40 yards from the fence. Nothing a Scotch on the rocks could not heal.

Above: When the lion and lioness left the water, most of the other game was eager not to be close to where the lions were. However, these two lovebirds were not interested in eating. Seen here must be the Fast Food Menu of the day!

Above: So many jackal and so no rifles. I still fell guilty not trying to eliminate at least one.

Above: Some unruly wildebeest came in for an early drink soon after the lions left.

Above: Last one to leave was in a hurry.

Above: Then we saw why the wildebeest was feeling uneasy. The lions returned for a second round of drinks.

Above: Springbok (and other animals) can and will go down on their front legs to reach the water.

 Above: A lone blue headed lizard soaking up the early morning sun.

 Above: The sociable weaver that is responsible for those huge nests. When fully erect it’s no taller than a Castle can.

 Above: The white faced owl was more than I could resist. I had to take his picture. He was trying harder to look at me than I was trying to focus on him.

We are still spending a couple nights in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park and have quite a bit to see. Read in tomorrow’s posting about the lioness walking past my unfenced hut, and the great stalk on a brown hyena.

Day 9

 Above: A Cape turtle dove awaiting daylight so he can find some food.

Above: The fence separating the camping area from the wilderness area. The wildebeest was rather intrigued by the spectator; or is it the other way round?

 Above: This fellow came walking down the road as if he did not even notice us. He walked right past my open window about 4 yards from the camera. What a great picture taking moment.

Above: Spending 3 – 4 hours driving where you may not get out of your vehicle, visiting a lone restroom facility is a highlight on the daily calender. However, nobody was feeling the urge to use the restroom. See the following picture also.

Above: She was one of three looking for a cool place and was of no mind to allow anyone to enter the facility.

Above: The ever present vulture. Perhaps he was waiting for someone to use the restroom?

Above: One of a number of Kori Bustad we came across. This is our largest flying bird and can weigh up to 50 lbs.

Who knows what tomorrow has in store for us? Please revisit and experience what we saw!

Day 8

Above: Still inside Namibia but on our way to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park. The park is jointly run by South Africa and Botswana. Either way, you need to have your passport stamped if you wish to go to the Botswana side legally.

 Above: Entering back into South Africa directly into the park at the Mata Mata border post.

Above: One of the first animals we saw on the first game drive. There were at least 8 lions spread out over a couple acres resting up in whatever shade that was available. They were feeding on a giraffe close to a water hole and had to frequently visit the water hole. They were uncomfortably full and had turns according to seniority feeding again and again.

 Above: This lion was extremely thin. Obviously in ill health and way down the hirarchy it managed a few bites to eat. Is it OK to leave him to die a slow natural death, most likely being ripped apart by spotted hyenas, or can we euthanase him? I hope some bunny hugger reads this and responds.

Above: A very nervous secretary bird visited the water. If a lion was as close to me as it was to the bird, I would also be very nervous indeed.

 Above: The sick lion walked right from the water towards us (we were in the available shade) and lay down not 10 yards from our truck. I cannot publish some of the pictures I took of him as it somehow makes me feel uneasy to intrude on his bad luck.

 Above: This is not sunrise: this is a picture of the full moon rising over our enclosed camp.

Please return for some really great nature pictures over the next few days

Day 7

 Above: Sunrise from the camping venue. A sunrise like this never fails to impress.

Above: A yellow mongoose came running past my bed. Fortunately the camera was close at hand and even more fortunate, my bed was not on top of its burrow.

Above: In the remote and desolate areas you NEVER pass a stranded person. The owner of the vehicle has never had a flat with his truck so was not amused when the tire lever did not match the nuts on the wheel. From our toolbox we were able to find the correct size wrench to loosen the wheel nuts. Well, they mostly watched and seeing that the tracker was not there I had to assume responsibility for changing the wheel. Also, the jack the old man had was not in a working condition!

Above: Getting ready to remove the flat.

Above: Our vehicle.

Above: In the late afternoon we managed to sneak a game viewing session in the hope of seeing some newly introduced black rhino’s. Closest we came to seeing the rhino’s was some really old dung.

Tomorrow we head out for the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park, jointly run by South Africa and Botswana, spanning both countries. Please revisit to see what we saw!

Day 6

 Above: Sunrise in the Namib desert. What a sight it was. The hot air balloon and the gemsbok in the center made it picture perfect. Of course I forgot to recharge the camera battery the night before so my pictures for the day were extremely limited. That was an important lesson learned.

Above: We had to be at the sand dunes early ensure it was not too hot before we reached the summit of the dune we were aiming to conquer. We decided to head for the one on the left. It was halfway up that I had to engage 4-wheel drive in my shoes.

Above: Just about there.

Above: Looking back at some of the really big dunes in the vicinity. Of course I was unhappy about us having to scale a mole hill when the big one was there to climb….. (Yeah right).

Above: Follow the tracks and off to the left. One of the team can be seen for scale. Majestic is all I can say.

Above: Just a panoramic view.

Above: The biggest dune in the area. Contrary to popular belief I was immensely pleased at not having to have seen the top of that dune.

Tomorrow we start our way to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park. Only a couple more days to go before we start seeing wildlife in large quantities.

Day 5

Above: Another long straight road. One measured 17 km’s or just more than 10 miles.

Above: In the intense heat almost all the animals sought refuge in any shade available. Being as hot as it was, I’m convinced that all the springbok would have moved over slightly to create space for a lion and nobody would have been in danger.

Above: Sociable weaver nests are to be seen at regular intervals. This one is about half the size of our truck and houses thousands of these small birds, including a number of snakes that feed on the young birds.

Above: A quiver tree from closer.

Above: I caught these two in the act of stalking the hotel guests. They were issued with a verbal threat and where after I finished my Castle in peace.

Above: A view of our hotel on the edge of the Namib Desert. Air conditioning is not an option in these regions, it’s a must.

Stay tuned: tomorrow we head into the Namib desert. There are a number of fantastic pictures!

Day 4 and getting the hang of things.

Above: Overlooking the Oranje River. What a sight to see the river in the semi-desert conditions.

 Above: The Richtersveld. A dry arid area favored by goats and other 4-wheel drive vehicles.

 Above: A lone Namibian Police trailer camper. There was no-one home so we headed out. The sign indicates the Sendelingsdrif / South African border. Sendelingsdrif loosly translated means “ the missionaries’ drift”. Drift being a place in a river where one can cross safely. Here you can only cross the Orange on a pontoon when the river is not in flood.

Above: A map of Namibia with the Atlantic on the left.

 Above: A road sign warning against sand?

Above: A road sign warning against wind?

Above: That’s why! The wind picked up on our way to the lodge and deposited large quantities of sand in the road. First time I experienced driving forward at about 60 mph while the wind pushed the two-way radio aerial to the side. It was almost like driving through a sand blasting machine.

Above: Warnings to be mindful of the local brown hyena population when driving. Unfortunately we had not seen a brown hyena…yet.

Please come back tomorrow for the excitement is brewing! 

Day 3 in Namibia

Above: Many of the roads in Namibia are as straight as a ramrod. The good thing is it allows the driver to admire the scenery and not worry about bends in the road. Most of the dirt roads in Namibia are in a better condition than many of the black top roads in South Africa.

 Above: At several places we found the remains of motor vehicles of earlier days. These were left there most likely due to a lack of spare parts and a severe lack of passersby.

 Above: If you look carefully at the center of the picture you will see a small herd of mountain zebra. The first wild herd of mountain zebra I had ever seen. I thought it to be a real treat but unfortunately they were rather wild and decided to move off when we approached.

Above: I showed the guests a few off-road 4-wheel drive maneuvers. I enjoyed the vehicle’s capabilities and the guests were happy to be on terra firma watching the vehicle do it’s magic.

Above: Full moon in the making. We had to get out of that area before darkness to avoid getting stuck off the main road.

Above: That night we had some really super boere wors on the braai. And perhaps a Windhoek draught or two.

Above: Our accommodation between somewhere and nowhere.

Please come back tomorrow for some more interesting stories and pictures!

Day 2

 Above: An early rise meant I could capture this little fella on film. The dassie (aka: rock rabbit or hyrax) is very inquisitive an posed for a number of shots. Soon as all the tourists arrive they maintain a low profile in the rocky areas keeping a constant lookout for raptors.

 Above: En route to Namibia we came across the quiver tree. The quiver tree is so named as the early Bushman (San) people used the porous branches as a quiver for their arrows.

Above: The sign board indicating we have to take a right to South West Africa (Afrikaans: Suidwes-Afrika). A name that has not been used in more than 18 years. Well I appreciate the effort to keep Afrikaans on the road signs!

 Above: We finally make it to Namibia. The crossing to Namibia was considerably smoother than crossing to Zimbabwe. In fact, the staff at the Namibian side was extremely helpful and courteous.

 Above: A welcome roadside stop in the middle of nowhere. It was here that we experienced the hottest temperature on the whole trip: a massive 46 deg C, or 115 deg F.

 Above: Overlooking the Fish River Canyon in Namibia. This is the second largest canyon after the Grand Canyon.

 Above: The canyon that made me feel small and humble.

 Above: Our vehicle and mobile home for the following few days. The tents were erected for the occupants to climb up the ladder. I still smile trying to picture myself getting up there! I had a normal tent thank goodness.