My great Namibian adventure

[The_Norwegian]

Erindi, the final part!

 

Wow, this Erindi-part turned out to be a big one, think about the Etosha-part ;-) The trip-report that never ended, and as you may have read in another thread, yesterday i signed up for next years Namibia-trip, so another year of waiting

 

Anyway, this final day in erindi, or the final morning, as we just had the morning game-drive left before we headed north, we had the wild-dogs as our goal. This time though, we were joined by another car, who brought along their tracker, so our chances of finding the dogs were better.

 

We headed into the wild-dog habitat and the search started. The tracker got some very very faint signals, so we were told in the amount of time we had, that it was 50/50 if we were to find them. We drove back and forth, left and right, saw a couple of hyenas on our way, no photos though. After a good hour and a half of searching and looking, we got the call from the tracker, he had found them, they were on a kill, newborn giraffe So we headed for them, and as we approached them, our guide/driver stopped to tell us to prepare for what could turn out to be pretty brutal scenes, and I must admit i had mixed feelings, i have of course seen wild dogs at work on tv and youtube etc. However, when we got there, they were well on their way eating the baby-giraffe, so at least it was dead by the time we got there. But pretty brutal to watch anyway, with the mother giraffe walking around in the background, watching her newborn being eaten.. But also fascinating to watch them, they are by all means effective hunters, and special animals indeed! And with all the blood licked away from their faces, good looking animals!

 

Here are some of the pictures from the spectacle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of tawny eagles waited for the dogs to finish their meal, to have their breakfast.

 

 

 

Next up, Etosha.

Edited December 11, 2016 by The_Norwegian

[Robjwilli]

Great report so far, I'm heading out to Namibia in Feb so this is getting me in the mood!

[The_Norwegian]

Great report so far, I'm heading out to Namibia in Feb so this is getting me in the mood!

 

Thank you very much! You will enjoy it! Where are you going in Namibia?

[wilddog]

What an incredible first safari!

 

It is a joy to share in your delight and the lovely images.

 

Lion kill, and wild dogs! Fantastic. Really enjoying this, thank you.

[Robjwilli]

 

Great report so far, I'm heading out to Namibia in Feb so this is getting me in the mood!

 

Thank you very much! You will enjoy it! Where are you going in Namibia?

We're in Cape Town for a few nights then flying into Windhoek. From there we'll stay at Erongo Wilderness Lodge, Grootberg Lodge (x2), Etosha Okaukuejo (x2), Etosha Aoba Onguma Reserve (3), Okonjima, Na'an ku see.

 

I've been to Namibia once before but looking forward to introducing my partner to this amazing country!

[The_Norwegian]

Thanks everyone, really nice to read your wonderful comments! I`ll start the Etosha-part sometime this week i hope.

[michael-ibk]

Some seriously awesome photography in here - some of the best lion pictures I have seen in a while, and the landscapes are simply stunning. Well done! I always had to smile when i read your planning comments and the obvious enthusiasm when you were planning and looking forward to this, and I´m very glad your expectations were met - and more than that. Some terrific sightings, a lion kill, and then the Dogs - fantastic. I really love that first picture of the bloody dog. Excellent report, thank you for sharing with us, and looking forward to seeing more. Sorry for not "liking" more, have reached me "quota of positive votes for the day" (as usually happens to me when I do catch-up here on ST after a while away.)

[The_Norwegian]

@@michael-ibk Wow, thank you! I`m so glad that my pictures and report so far is worth a look! Makes me happy! I`m very glad i found this website! Just stick around, more to come.. I have so many pictures from Etosha, hard to choose.. I`m working on it :-)

[Dave Williams]

Very interested to read your report as My wife Claire and I are on a self drive in February. It's our first visit and I'm still not sure I have planned the journey as I should have done. Not too much time left to change it so I'm keen to read about Etosha.

[The_Norwegian]

@@Dave Williams it`s coming :-) I`m sure you will have a great trip! It`s lots to choose from and ways to go down there, but no matter what you have planned, rest assured that the wildlife will not dissapoint you!

[The_Norwegian]

hey everyone, if you wonder if i have forgotten about the whole trip-report, don't worry, I haven`t.. I`m just having a l long work-week including weekend, so not much time to work with what i would like to most.. But next week is a little better, so i think there will be an update during next week! :-) have a good weekend everybody!

[The_Norwegian]

Hello everyone! Everyone having a good start of the new year so far? Sorry for the "slight" delay in this thread, but time has been running away from me, but i hope you can forgive me for this! I think i it`s time to continue the jorney!

 

It`s worth mentioning, although i think i have mentioned it in another thread, I will be going back to Namibia in november again, I simply couldn`t resist when the trip was being arranged again this year. And now i know what to expect, sort of, and where I am going, so i can plan ahead a little bit more!

 

Regarding the next installments, wich will be the Etosha-part, I have to admit that I didn`t take any notes as to what different wateringholes we where at, rookie mistake i guess, but this result in that I have no chance of linking pictures to the wateringholes, very sorry for this! I will however make it three parts for the various camps we stayed at, and what pictures belongs to each of the camps, that`s as close as i can get to location.

 

Well, with that info out of the way, i think we jump right in, our next stop, the Namutoni camp!

 

After a long drive from Erindi, with a lunch-stop in Tsumeb we arrived in the afternoon of the 15.th november at the Namutoni camp. A rather large camp and spacious with lots of vegetation and lots of birds to photograph. I did not get around to taking much bird-photos, but i will make sure to make time for that this year! The chalets was roomy enough not to feel cramped, and i found them to be clean and tidy upon arrival. The old fort surely worth a couple of pictures by itself, it`s really something else. I snapped a couple of pictures of the fort, and from top of it, as well as in front of the chalets and in front of the dining area :

 

I know, i`m a sucker for useless effects apps on my phone Sometimes even I have to freak out a bit and just let my hear loose

 

Well, over to some free roaming animals. My first meeting of Etosha, and I was very excited! Dry and arid was my first impressions, but that was kind of expected, so no big surprise there.. We had lotes of encounters, no big predators the first drive, but plenty of what you expect to see!

And my personal favourite from that evening, the zebra in sunset!

 

 

The next morning after a little food and a coffee, we headed right out, and went for the fischer`s pan route, hoping to maybe see a cheetah, however no luck. But we did however, have these two beautis for ourselves, no other cars around, just us! I think that was a great birtday-gift since the 16th was my birthday! Not to shabby for a first encounter the first morning in Etosha!

 

 

They look quite young? what do you think? A young excluded male with a sister or a excluded female? They were lovely nontheless, and where very photogenice, and i think they knew it themselves ;-)

 

My first Kori, and a couple of bat eared foxes! Not the best picture, but it was cool sighting in the morninglight!

 

 

 

Lots of birds in in this installment in fact, but Etosha is a birding heaven and then some! More to come tomrrow! Hope you enjoyed the start of the Etosha-part!

 

 

 

 

[xelas]

For a moment, I was shocked you camera went south ; rest of the photos puts my mind at rest . So, you are another Namibia addict?! No better cure than to visit it over and over again .

Edited February 8, 2017 by xelas

[The_Norwegian]

I have more pictures for you! It`s kind of hard picking out a few to put in this thread, I am spoilt for choise. We are still on the 16th nov and on the fischers pan route in the Namutoni-area, lots and lots of animals, plenty of giraffes around in particular! Xelas : that would surely be a disaster, but i always travel with two cameras, so i hope i will never experience a total camera failure..

 

That heat haze is indeed annoying, but what can you do :-) Hot hot days in Etosha! More to come!

[Robjwilli]

Great shots, especially the wider landscapes!

[Dave Williams]

Just having a read of your account again whilst sat in our lodge waiting for the light to get better before heading out to Etosha East. It looks a lot different to the photos you have posted after quite a lot of rain in the last 10 days ! The waterholes are largely deserted and the scarcer animals more difficult to find but it's an enjoyable challenge!

[The_Norwegian]

Just having a read of your account again whilst sat in our lodge waiting for the light to get better before heading out to Etosha East. It looks a lot different to the photos you have posted after quite a lot of rain in the last 10 days ! The waterholes are largely deserted and the scarcer animals more difficult to find but it's an enjoyable challenge!

Finally some rain? That`s good to hear, but i`m sure it`s more of a challenge finding animals as you say. Enjoy your trip! More pictures coming soon!

[buddy4344]

On 2/23/2017 at 1:42 PM, The_Norwegian said:

Finally some rain? That`s good to hear, but i`m sure it`s more of a challenge finding animals as you say. Enjoy your trip! More pictures coming soon!

I am also pleased the region finally got good rain. I hope it was also further south (Erindi area) as well as west (Hoanib riverbed area).