We saw 51 species of mammal on our journey through Namibia, at least one new species every day. I got photos of 45 of them! It would be right to admit that at least 3 of those (sable antelope, waterbuck, blesbok) have been introduced at Erindi or Waterburg and are probably not living in their » » »
Archive for October, 2017
28 October 2017
Hyena farewell
Astonishingly, yesterday evening did actually end on a high note. In spite of the runs, we were determined to go on a night drive (otherwise our entire visit to Erindi was, basically, pointless). Although the aardvarks and porcupines were still in hiding and the otherwise perfect moonless night was bafflingly quiet, we did have the » » »
28 October 2017
Deluxe dead end
21 October Oh no! It’s our last full day already! That was sudden! And it’s been a bit of a weird one, certainly not the great climax or relaxing wind-down you’d want. We’re staying at Erindi, a deluxe safari lodge. And for certain our room is a country-mile more deluxe than anywhere else we’ve stayed! » » »
28 October 2017
Waterberg Resort
20 October That sounded quite nice to me: “Waterberg Resort”. I was imagining a posh resort where, okay, perhaps wildlife wasn’t their top priority, but where we’d be able to settle in comfort and then go for some long hikes on the Waterberg Plateau; we had read that there are “good walks” here. But no! » » »
28 October 2017
Cheetah without cheating
19 October The sightings book came up trumps again. The book at Namutoni camp (furthest east, and we didn’t stay there but stopped off to check the book and spot for banded mongooses) showed two or three sightings of cheetah in the past few weeks in an area north of the camp near Klein Okavi » » »
28 October 2017
The 17:30 leopard, right on time
18 October Turns out each of the camps in Etosha has a sightings book in the main office. In classic national park style, it is tucked away on a desk in the corner, with no sign up, and none of the staff bother telling visitors about it. So in spite of the hundreds of people » » »
28 October 2017
Lions everywhere!
17 October Today was definitely lion day. We found our first lions in the morning, just leaving the site of a kill to the jackals and hyenas. Actually, the jackals were the most impressive thing. Having got used to seeing one or two at a time, skulking around waterholes or padding over the road, it » » »
28 October 2017
Etosha
16 October Today we are in Etosha, the key wildlife destination of Namibia, and indeed counted by many as one of the best wildlife destinations in the world. If it’s quantity you’re after, I can see why! There are sooooo many game animals here. Oryx, zebras, springboks, wildebeest, giraffes. Giraffes are amazing animals. You can » » »
28 October 2017
Enforced relaxation
15 October So today was an enforced relaxation day (an EFD). What’s an EFD? Well, we are pathologically incapable of relaxing on holidays. Every day must be packed to the max, whether it’s a wildlife watching trip, a cultural break to a major city, or a tour around bucolic countryside. But now and again circumstances » » »
28 October 2017
Dik-dik
14 October Our early morning walk at Erongo was much better. First we bumped into a Damara dik-dik, which is the tiniest and most charming little antelope – its legs are like matchsticks, it has huge soulful eyes and a mohawk, it looks like its wearing Cossack trousers, and it just wants a big hug. » » »
28 October 2017
Erongo
13 October Into the interior! And it’s amazing how verdant the dry-grass and bare-tree savannah looks after the desert coast. We wended our way inland to Erongo Wilderness Lodge, hidden amongst a ring of granite koppies, beautiful rust coloured hills of rounded bare rock rising up from the savannah. The lodge is lovely, of the » » »
28 October 2017
The wasteland
12 October Today we left after an early breakfast for another long four hour dirt-road drive to Swakopmund on the coast. We soon spotted mountain zebras in the hills to the right of the road, which was a good start. After leaving the red dunes behind and winding down through the dramatic black hills, the » » »
28 October 2017
Red sands
11 October Ballooning in the early morning over the Namib desert turns out to be a beautiful thing to do, with fantastic views over the huge red dunes in stark light and shade. Gazing straight down at the tiny specks of oryx and ostrich below. Champagne breakfast by the dunes afterwards was a nice touch » » »
28 October 2017
Desert bound
10 October We made it to the airport in plenty of time, and by 8:30 we’re in Namibia. The transfer from the airport to the city included sightings of giraffe and baboons, instantly giving us the impression that our real mammal watching safari had begun! Not really, of course, as we then spent an hour » » »
28 October 2017
Chilled surfers
9 October South Africans are perhaps the hardiest people on earth. We’re out at 6am in all our layers watching for otters, and there are already a dozen surfers out a hundred metres offshore waiting to surf the big breakers. What’s more, as we’ve discovered at Otter’s Rest, they certainly don’t bother with home heating » » »
28 October 2017
Brief encounter
8 October We decided to set this day aside for otter spotting, especially after our morning walk when Janet found prints on the beach leading to a little stream surrounded by dense reed beds – the prints hadn’t been washed away by the high tide, so we were able to calculate that we had only » » »
28 October 2017
No otter yet
7 October Our hosts Janet and Charles took us out at 6am to look for otters along the beach, which really is dedication to your guests! Okay, it transpires that they always walk the dog fairly early, but still it’s a very kind gesture. So now we know what part of the beach the otters » » »
28 October 2017
Starting an otter hunt
5-6 October Having got to the airport in loads of time, we then had a bit of a scare as our flight was announced as being an hour late – and our transfer time in Frankfurt was only 1 hour 20 minutes. But we were collected off the plane by a vis jacketed assistant and » » »