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Central Namibia Self-drive: beauty in a harsh land


Peter Connan

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Peter Connan

@@Dave Williams, i used to believe that about pretty much all wild animals, but recently i have heard of a few cases that have eroded that confidence somewhat.

 

I do still believe that it will only happen under exceptional circumstances, but those do happen too. In the light of day, i am not too worried, but there's nothing like a dark night to get one's imagination working overtime.

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Dave Williams

@@Dave Williams, i used to believe that about pretty much all wild animals, but recently i have heard of a few cases that have eroded that confidence somewhat.

 

I do still believe that it will only happen under exceptional circumstances, but those do happen too. In the light of day, i am not too worried, but there's nothing like a dark night to get one's imagination working overtime.

 

Never mind a dark night, I was out in daylight when the rustling bushes put the wind up me... that turned out to be a Zebra.

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Atravelynn

"One thing that kept astounding us about Namibia is how quickly the terrain can change radically."

You captured the variety day and night along with the aqua eye of the cormorant. What did you eat at the best restaurant ever?

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Those bird pictures at the salt works were stunning - no makeover needed!

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Peter Connan

Thank you @@Atravelynn

 

For the life of me I can't remember what I had for mains. I can remember that it was fish of some sort. For starters I had Litch Escrgot (brilliant), and for desert a Missisppi mud pie (even better).

 

Thank you very much @@Kitsafari

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michael-ibk

More beautiful photography Peter, really loving this report - especially your night shots (you are a true master at that) and the Flamingos. I´d say Greenshank or maybe even Marsh Sandpiper, not Stilts (legs should be longer). Also not really sure about your Grey Plover - looks more like a Broad-Billed Sandpiper to me?

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Towlersonsafari

really enjoying your report @@Peter Connan and laughed out loud at the ninja Bat eared Fox! and the night time quiver tree is one of my favourites. your rreport reminds me of our only trip so far to Namibia in a Honda Ballade and gettimng stuck in a river bed spending the night with apples water and pringles for company-i asked Jane to check for animal footprints!

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Dave Williams

i asked Jane to check for animal footprints!

 

Wise move!

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Atravelynn

Thank you @@Atravelynn

 

For the life of me I can't remember what I had for mains. I can remember that it was fish of some sort. For starters I had Litch Escrgot (brilliant), and for desert a Missisppi mud pie (even better). What an unlikely combination.

 

Thank you very much @@Kitsafari

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Peter Connan

@@Atravelynn, it does seem very unlikely, but in truth it is a heavenly combination.

 

The food was so good, our daughter (a pretty excellent amateur herself) wanted to marry the chef...

 

@@michael-ibk, thank you for the compliments and the assistance. I will go looking in the books again. I hate it that guide books generally only show a single photo of (usually) an adult male bird. It really makes it difficult.

 

@@Towlersonsafari, thank you. Yes, it was pretty funny. On a serious note, as I am sure you have learned, when travelling in remote areas, always make sure you have a few day's worth of extra food and water!

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Peter Connan

Day 15:

 

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The destination: Rostock Ritz Desert Lodge.

 

But first, a quick trip back to Klein Tinkas, this time with the family, to show them what they had missed the afternoon before.

 

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And on our way we go. It is with some sadness, because Blutkuppe was one of the two areas that I enjoyed the most on this trip (the other being the Khowarib river).

 

Shortly after leaving camp, I noticed a suspicious black dot on the horison. Scrabbling for the binoculars ander the seat lead to a scramble for the long lens, safely stowed in the drawers at the back of the car...

 

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Lapped-faced Vulture!

 

But he didn't like that much attention:

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The Kuiseb Canyon is another very picturesque area, where I wish I had spent a sunrise and sunset.

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However, there was a detour to be made, for an important meeting!

 

@@xelas's party (Alex, Zvezda and Tanja), having just started their own Namibian adventure (which you can read about here: http://safaritalk.net/topic/17422-namibia-2017-two-cats-on-a-hot-tin-roof/), were waiting for us, with apple crumble ready, at Solitaire!

 

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I had been looking forward to this for months, as I always enjoy the company of Alex and Zvezda, and also to meet and personally thank Tanja, who had converted @@Tom Kellie's calligraphy into a printable document for the trailer's proud name badge. And of course, the famous apple crumble.

 

The company, as always, was most enjoyable. The apple crumble, unfortunately, was very inferior to those made by my wife and daughter...

 

Aftet the meeting, and a re-fuel, we tackled the 40km back to Rostock Ritz.

 

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This acclaimed venue was also a bit of a dissapointment. Probably the lodge itself is excellent, but the camping area is not particularly inspiring, the little plots are laid out right next to each other, divided by sparse reed fences and the ablutions are communal (not in itself a problem) and have a great view. The problem here is that the showers have only the bottom halves of stable doors. Not really a problem for the men's shower, but a real problem for the ladies, as the primary approach to the men's side of the ablutions is by walking right past the front of the ladie's section. Somebody wasn't focussing here...

 

The campsite does however have a great view, and some pretty birds.

 

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Juvenile Pale-winged Starling.

 

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Edited by Peter Connan
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Peter, meeting you and your family and your friends was one of the highlights of our trip! It looks like we both have forgotten about photography while enjoying the company, the conversation ... and the apple crumble :D !

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Peter Connan

Day 16:

 

The destination for today was the Red Dune Camp, near Gochas.

 

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We expected a trip time of around 7 hours, so there was not too much time to waste, but in one of the bushes next to our campsite I had seen a Dusky Sunbird, which was a new bird for me, and I had to try for a shot before leaving.

 

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Then, a pair of Rock Kestrel came winging over:

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And, a few minutes later, a juvenile Lanner falcon gave me a nice show:

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Sunbird again. I was struggling to get close enough.

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Somewhere, it was raining again. As mentioned before, the view is Rostock's best feature:

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The drive, with a stop for lunch in Mariental, was fairly uneventful, until we reached Gochas. This would be our last opportunity to buy fuel in Namibia, and since it is considerably cheaper than in SA, we brimmed our tanks. We also managed to swop all the N$ we had accumulated for Rands. As we left town, a Cape Cobra crossed the road right in front of my car.

 

From then on we were basically following the Aub river, and would be doing so until we reached our final destination.

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At Red Dune Camp, I had tried to book the bush camp, but had never received comfirmation of that. Turns out I hadn't got it, and we were camping in the normal camp. While this is very well appointed, with excellent ablutions and even a cooking area with a stove and oven, it is stuck right in the middle of the farmyard, right next to the holding pens of the goats and the bird cages. They had quite a variety of birds too, chickens, turkeys, geese, Gouldian finches and peafowl. Which proved to be a blessing in disguise.

 

To the delight of my daughter, they also had a couple of tame Suricates

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On the way in, I had seen a number of Communal Weaver's nests, which gave me an idea for another night shot. I asked if there was one on the farm which I could access after dark. It turned out, the one they had had recently partially self-destructed (these nests often get so heavy that the trees they are built in break), but there was still a portion left. Unfortunately, it was on a part of the farm where tourists aren't allowed. However, she would detail the foreman to take me there at 21h00.

 

At about 21h30, just as I had given up hope, the foreman arrived. I grabbed my camera, tripod and cable release and jumped in his Land Cruiser. On the way to the nest, we saw a couple of Bat-eared foxes and a springhare, but there was no spotlight, and in any event I only had my star lens, a 15-30mm zoom.

 

Where I usually spend at least an hour, trying various things, this time I didn't want to waste the foreman's time, and thus I took just a few photos.

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Returning, he nearly got stuck in the sand, and we saw the Bat-eared foxes again, as well as a scrub hare.

 

My wife has for a while been wanting to get some chickens. The cocks here started crowing at around 03h00, and never stopped until after sunrise, which has thankfully disavowed Sonja of her desire to own a few...

 

Shortly afte feeding time, some lovebirds arrived on a raid.

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And, just because the light was so nice, I couldn't resist

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Another great night sky photo! So, next stop is Kgalagadi ?!

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Peter Connan

Thanks @@xelas.

 

Indeed, next stop is Twee Rivieren.

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Peter Connan

Day 17:

 

The destination for today was Twee Rivieren (this was the only camp with space for us when we booked. In fact, there was a night in the middle where we had only been able to book one stand...

 

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Distance was only 270km, but it would take at least 5 hours, if we saw nothing at all. So we got going fairly early.

 

At Mata Mata there was a long delay as the booking was sorted out (that one night coming back to haunt us. Also, they confiscated all our firewood. Fortunately, we still had some charcoal as well (note to self-drivers: Despite many guys seeing it as somehow un-manly, charcoal is a much safer option. It packs more easily, burns more easily, your fire is ready more quickly and it is generally not confiscated at borders).

 

But soon, we were on our way. First sighting of note for me were Swallow-Tailed Bee-eaters

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Not long after that, a couple of lumps in a shadow:

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Lion on a kill within an hour of entering the Kgalagadi! What a place this is.

 

Next up, we found a huge herd of Giraffe. We counted 31, with possibly some more behind the dunes.

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At the picnick spot, we stopped for brunch. A Black Crow wasn't sure if he wanted his photo taken.

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A little further along, a new one for me: Common Scimitarbill

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Then some of the many Gemsbok posed beautifully.

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Tractrac Chat?

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Arriving at camp, it was indeed pretty full. But since tomorrow was the end of an SA long weekend, we were sure a lot of people would be leaving, and thus we just made a temporary camp, with the intention of moving in the morning.

 

So, soon I was ready to set out for an afternoon drive.

 

At Samevloeing, an immature Pale Chanting Goshawk was being badgered by Drongos

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A (very) Yellow Canary next caught my attention, but he stayed just a little too far away

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This Capped Wheatear was more forthcoming.

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An adult Pale Chanting Goshawk

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And some Ostrich chicks

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Drongos were plentiful

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And it seems wherever you go, a Starling is not too far away.

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Some young Gemsbok

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And finally, in the last light of day, I found the Barn owl's nest:

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It is almost magical how Kgalagadi is delivering its treasures to every visitor any time of the year! Only problem is ... getting a booking.

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Dave Williams

More excellent shots, love the Scimitarbill as I have struggled to get close in The Gambia.

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Peter Connan

Day 18:

 

The drawback of the concept of moving camp in the morniong is that that put paid to my morning drive But fortunately, there is some life right in camp too!

 

This one is for @@xelas, who needs to negotiate the delivery of one of these to his front door as a retirement gift. I am sure Zvezda would be quite happy to camp like this, as it even has satellite TV and air conditioning!

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Scaly-feathered Finch:

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(When my dad and I were here in 2014, we never even noticed a single Scaly-feathered Finch. Probably we thought they were Communal Weavers...)

 

Red-headed Finch:

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White-browed Sparrow-weaver:

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White-backed Mousebird:

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Meerkat:

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There was no way I was missing an afternoon drive as well, so with camp all sorted, I set off.

 

My first significant sighting was a Pygmy Falcon (another lifer which we should have seen before, although he wasn't being too co-operative):

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Then, another stop at the owl's nest.

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A couple of Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters kept me entertained for a ten minutes or so, but I failed to get a nice in-flight shot.

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A fairly laid-back Crowned Lapwing:

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And then, lo and behold, another Pygmy Falcon:

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Some more Gemsbok looking pretty:

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This poor guy had lost both his horns!

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By this time I was getting very close to Rooiputs, and as I turned the corner I noticed a lot of cars at the viewing point, so we dashed over. Alas, I was just in time to be too late. The centre of attention was leaving.

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By now, it was time to start heading back.

 

Another young Goshawk (I am still not 100% sure whether these are Gabar or Pale Chanting, but on balance of probability they are eprobably Pale Chanting)

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A secretary bird with a skink:

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Some dust-bathing Ostriches:

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Kori Bustard:

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A Pale Chanting Goshawk with a mouse or rat:

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A juvenile Swallow-tailed Bee-eater:

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A communal weaver dropping out of the nest:

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And a last Gemsbok rounded off the day:

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Edited by Peter Connan
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Thank You, @@Peter Connan , for the idea! I will forward it, together with your photo, to Sergio Marchione, my top boss :) . Somehow I had a feeling that if I would like to have this retirement gift, I need to start saving now (4 years, 7 months, 23 days left; not that I am counting ^_^ ).

 

The rear-end scratching and its friends, well, that caption must be a test to check-out who is reading the text and who is too mesmerised by your photos and skip it! Cause those are no meerkats, not even surikats :lol::lol: ! But they look funny for sure :D .

 

Were the light conditions inside Kgalagadi better then in Etosha, for birds? Or they were just closer??

Edited by xelas
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Peter Connan

@@xelas, they are Meerkat.

 

In Afrikaans, there are two types.of Meerkat. The Suricate is is a Stokstertmeerkat (stick-tailed), and the Cape Ground Squirel is the Waaierstertmeerkat (fan-tailed).

 

And yes, there was little taxonomical justification to the original Afrikaans naming of animals and birds.

 

I am not sure if the conditions were better, or whether i was just getting some form back.

Edited by Peter Connan
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Darn, better start learning Afrikaans quickly :wacko: otherwise I might have problems next time visiting South Africa :o !

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@@xelas, they are Meerkat.

 

In Afrikaans, there are two types.of Meerkat. The Suricate is is a Stokstertmeerkat (stick-tailed), and the Cape Ground Squirel is the Waaierstertmeerkat (fan-tailed).

 

And yes, there was little taxonomical justification to the original Afrikaans naming of animals and birds.

 

I am not sure if the conditions were better, or whether i was just getting some form back.

Interesting info but really confusing for ignorant like me. I had always thought meerkat = suricate. I saw a number of these cape ground squirrels in the Solitaire car park, extremely inquisitive and fearless, looking for a slice of the apple pie all the time.. Didn't know that they were also called meerkat.

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offshorebirder

Wonderful birds and mammals in the latest post @@Peter Connan!

 

How lucky you were to catch up with the Leopard.

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