A classic Namibia roadtrip

[michael-ibk]

Afterwards Chantelle found a (baby) Horned Adder.

 

 

Not much is known about how dangerous their venom is - apparently bite incidents are very, very rare.

 

 

I have often seen this peculiar form of movement in desert nature documentaries - fascinating to see! And speaking of sidewinding Snakes ...

 

 

We had a really nice Sidewinder sighting. Peringuey's Desert Adder is the more exact name apparently. Only found in Namibia and Angola. A small snake. Its venom is slightly cytotoxic, causing swelling and pain, but is not considered dangerous to humans according to African Snake Bite Institute.

 

 

An ambush hunter - it buries itself just beneath the surface of the sand with only its eyes and the tip of its tail exposed. When prey (sand lizards, barking geckos) happens by, it is seized and envenomated.

 

It's no Soussuvlei, but there are some very nice dunes out here of Swakopmund too:

 

 

 

 

The last of Chantelle's friends - Haensel.

 

 

A Tractrac Chat, another specialist of Southern Africa's arid zones. Very, very tame, obviously a bird very much used to being fed by the nature guides coming out here.

 

[AKR1]

Another excellent report by @michael-ibkwith pictures included from @AndMic ( see I got the credits right). Enjoying Namibia through your eyes. Thanks for sharing - always enjoy your writing and photography!

Edited October 8 by AKR1

[michael-ibk]

1 minute ago, AKR1 said:

see I got the credits right

 

Good man!

 

Thanks!

[michael-ibk]

 

Our next stop was the very aptly named "Birder's Paradise", a freshwater haven for many interesting species.

 

 

My first sighting of a Black-necked (or Eared) Grebe in Africa.

 

 

 

 

African Swamphen

 

 

Three-banded Plover

 

Afterwards we enjoyed a quite late lunch at Walvis Bay pier.

 

 

 

In the afternoon we spent some time at the saltworks of Walvis Bay - a well-known hotspot for birders. Picked up a lot, but of course this place is far more packed in (our European) winter when all the waders are down there.

 

We still had one bird to see - I had booked the "Dune Lark tour" after all. What's so special about a Lark that they would name a tour after it you ask? Not that much in the looks department to be honest but it is widely regarded as the only true endemic bird of the country. Some sources say it can also be found in Northern South Africa but Namibian birders just spit on the people claiming that! And it really is quite a famous bird in Namibia - when we bought stamps for postcards we were delighted to see  they showcase this Lark! (See here).

 

Not an easy bird, again we had to drive inland quite a bit, and I was getting nervous since Andreas and me had a dinner appointment with two safari friends who happened to be in Swakopmund at the same time.

 

 

Perfect Dune Lark habitat. Slightly vegetated sand. The bird did really not like to pose for us, but ultimately we got a record shot at least.

 

 

Mission accomplished.

[pedro maia]

Well done on the Dune lark, I’m sure it was@AndMictop target for the whole trip.

[janzin]

Just catching up with this...fantastic report and photos as always! The dune shots and Dead Vlei are amazing, such colors! Like you, Namibia has sort of been low on my list as it seemed a bit short on a variety of wildlife but this brings it back into the forefront    I look forward to the continuation!

[TonyQ]

Still following and enjoying. More stunning landscapes and birds

[Biko]

beautiful pictures as always, the close up of the chameleon is special! we did more or less the same trip in 2011, such a relaxed and beautiful country. We added a couple of days in a SAN community. Your report brings back so many memories.

[KaliCA]

I appreciate the close-up Chameleon shots! Great macros. Never seen its tongue and with the grub on it. Amazing. 

[PeterHG]

More beautiful photos and enviable species! Love you action shots of the chameleon’s tongue.

[Miss Biscuit]

The chameleon! Wow just Wow!

[Scooter]

Love the chameleon!!    And your report is so very useful,   (as I try to convince others to go along with me on a road trip).    The landscapes look just stunning.

[Atravelynn]

Karla, her tongue, and her lunch upon her tongue are the bomb!

 

You got the Dune Lark!

Edited Friday at 11:00 PM by Atravelynn

[michael-ibk]

Thanks @pedro maia, @janzin, @TonyQ, @Biko, @KaliCA, @PeterHG, @Miss Biscuitand @Atravelynn!

 

The Chameleon was cool to watch indeed. I was a bit disappointed we did not get to see a Palmato Gecko. But those are apparently only really possible when it's reasonably cool. Since it had become a very hot day very quickly we would have needed to look for it first thing in the morning. Had I known I would probably have said forget about those stupid birds (shocking I know) and let's go get a Gecko!

 

On 10/9/2024 at 12:43 AM, pedro maia said:

Dune lark, I’m sure it was@AndMictop target for the whole trip

 

He was nervous all day if we would manage to find it!

[michael-ibk]

For the next morning I had arranged a four-hour Pelagic trip with Catamaran Charters in Walvis Bay. About USD 200,-- per person. Given how famous pelagic trips out of Cape Town are for seabirds, I had had high hopes we would find Albatross after Petrel after Skua after Whale after Orca after Dolphin.

 

 

Walvis Bay Harbour, only a short drive (about 35 minutes) from Swakopumund.

 

 

The Silverstar here was our boat. Spacious and comfortable, with a staff of three aboard.

 

 

 

It was a nice sunny morning.

 

 

Some of the Seals (four apparently) have become so bold that they hop aboard once they see the fish bucket. I'm not wild about stuff like this, but still, hard not to smile when you have a (surprisingly huge) Seal one metre next to you trustingly gulping down his breakfast.

 

 

Great Crested Tern

 

 

Cape Gannet

 

While we did enjoy the boat tour just for being out on the open ocean the seabird part unfortunately did never really happen. We got quite a lot of White-Chinned Petrels.

 

 

 

Other than that, we only got one Sooty Shearwater and (probably) an Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross. No photos worth showing of these species. All three lifers, so not a total failure, but certainly not a result I had hoped for. The skipper said it was unusual to see so little, the weather might have played a role indeed. But while staff were nice, it was also quite clear that none of them really were knowledgeful about seabirds. Chum of any kind (see here to understand what I am talking about) also was not used. So who knows, we might have seen more with a really dedicated and professional birding operator (which I could not find here), but it might also be that this area simply is not very productive this time of year. We also saw a few Humpbacks (no breaching), but no Dolphins surprisingly.

 

All those cruise things mostly hover around the harbout for Seals, Pelicans and Dolphins. So their clientele is more the standard tourist, not necessarily dedicated wildlife people or birders. I suppose (but really don't know) that the company started including offering these Pelagic trips because some birders (like us) would have asked about going further out.

 

 

And then there's the food part of course. Really delicious stuff, especially the Oysters (and I'm not too much into them normally).

 

 

Cheers! (You can see the Champagne's effect here, even the horizon is tilted!)

 

In the afternoon we explored Swakopmund a bit.

 

 

Around 70,000 people live here, it is the 4th largest settlement in Namiba. The 19th century German colonial architecture gives it a very unique flaire for a town in Africa.

This is the "Hohenzollernhaus", built between 1904 - 1906. Used to be a hotel but is now an appartment house.

 

 

The "Woermannhaus", built in 1894 for a trading company. Today it is home to a library, souvenir shops and tourism information.

 

 

Still a lot of German used for shops and other institutions like this pharmacy here.

 

 

The Marine Memorial. Very controversial, like many other remnants of colonial rule. It depicts a German soldier standing tall, rifle in hand, and another German soldier fallen below. The statue commemorates Germany’s brutal suppression of an uprising by Namibia’s native Herero and Nama people against colonial rule, beginning in 1904. By 1907, German troops had killed up to 80 percent of the Herero community and an estimated 50 percent of the Nama community, in what many historians regard as the twentieth century’s first genocide. The Marine Denkmal was erected only a year later, in 1908.

 

 

Swakopmund is very tidy and pretty, a really nice beach town. Unfortunately one also has to fend off an uncomfortably high number of hawkers trying to sell stuff. I know they are all just trying to make a living, but their (somewhat borderline aggressie) persistence can become irritating.

 

 

 

Orange River White-Eyes

 

 

Very nice sunset seen from the Tiger Reef Bar.

 

How safe is Swakopmund? The answer used to be "Absolutey, don't worry about a thing." Unfortunately this is no longer the case. The town has been having a problem with a serios of robberies. Apparently only one or two gangs of young men, but that is of course enough. There have been several incidents where tourists were robbed right on the promenade just before sunset. Afterwards it gets quiet again for weeks, and the locals start to hope these gangsters have moved on, but then it happens again. The general advice we were given by our accommodation (and also the guide we had had the day before) is not to walk with valuables and better take a taxi after sunset to get to dinner.

 

Talking about dinner, Swakopmund is also an enjoyable place for foodies. We went to three restaurants.

 

Old Steamer Restaurant, just next to our place, and we just went there first evening because it was so convenient (and ratings were good on Google).

 

A buffet style place, but one of the very best I've ever been to. Delicious, and very good value. Very much to be recommended.

 

 

 

 

 

The two best-known restaurants are The Tug and The Jetty. Both are a bit more fancy (and pricey). Very busy, so reservation vital. Food is excellent in both. We enjoyed The Tug a bit more simply because we had a more comfortable and less noisy table. The Jetty is basically a glass cube, and because it was quite cold all windows were closed. Nowhere for sound to escape. You had to shout at the waiter, shout at each other to understand anything at all. Spoilt this evening I have to say.

 

 

 

Klippfish and desert in the Tug. Here Andreas and me met with two Safari friends who happened to be in town at the same time. Always great to catch up, had a very nice time together.

 

 

 

 

Bakes Oysters, Seared Tuna and lava cake in the Jetty.

Edited Saturday at 12:00 PM by michael-ibk

[xelas]

Disclaimer: Zvezda would never see the interior of The Tug if not for a very generous invitation by Andreas and Michael. Thank You again, boys! The food was excellent … yet I am still firmly in the burger & chips clan 😄.

 

The highlight of the pelagic trip was the fact no one has been catapulted into the ocean. Oysters? Check my remark above.

[michael-ibk]

17 hours ago, xelas said:

Oysters? Check my remark above.

 

Appreciated your view on them, all the more for us!

[michael-ibk]

 

This was our next stop, farther inland in the Erongo region, a leisurely 5 hours drive from Swakopmund.

 

 

Spitzkoppe Mountain in the background

 

 

Ground Squirrels are always fun to watch.

 

 

 

Rock Painting Lodge is a very nice place! Quite big (about 20 rooms), and it was pretty busy, but it never felt like it. Attentive staff, good management, excellent food and beautiful landscape, thoroughly enjoyed our time here.

 

 

 

 

 

Really liked their breakfast idea - big basket with fresh bread, jam, honey, butter and eggs to order.

 

 

 

The Warthogs loved the green lawn!

 

 

 

A Namibian Rock Agama

 

 

Great pool, very refreshing but not too cold.

 

 

 

Lots of Pale-winged Starlings around.

 

 

Heard Freckled Nightjar the first evening, and found them relatively easily the next one on the way to the room. Rocky terrain like this is their favourite habitat:

 

Edited Sunday at 12:51 PM by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

We did two afternoon walks here and one morning drive in an open safari car. We lucked out and had a private vehicle with a really good birding guide. No dangerous animals here, it's more of of a landscape and birding place. But there was enough around to always keep us entertained.

 

 

The (surprisingly) only Yellow Mongoose of the trip.

 

 

Monteiro's Hornbill, a lifer for me. Has the distinction of occupying the driest habitats of any hornbill in the world. Only found in Namibia and Angola. Since its habitat often lacks suitably sized trees for nesting cavities, it typically breeds in rock crevices but will nest in tree cavities or nest boxes when available. Named after Joachim John Monteiro (1833–1878), a Portuguese mining engineer and ornithologist who collected bird specimens in Angola from 1860 to 1878.

 

 

Mountain Wheatear, a very variable bird. Common and quite tame in Namibia.

 

 

White-browed Sparrow-Weaver, a familiar species.

 

 

Grey Go-away-Bird. Its nasal "Goawayyyy" is considered an alarm call, and even other birds and mammals seem to react to these calls by freezing or fleeing. Consequently, Go-away-birds have acquired a reputation for thwarting the stalking efforts of hunters and photographers.

 

 

Dusky Sunbird. Not exactly the most striking representative of the Sunbird family.

 

 

Pririt Batis. "Pririt" stems from the French name "pri ree", given by Levaillant, in reference ot the call, or possibly to the sounds of "wing-fripping".

 

 

 

Of course the rocky surroundings here are perfect habitat for Hyrax (or Dassies). This animal spends roughly 95% of its time resting - I am a bit jealous!

 

 

 

 

Spot the Klippspringer!

 

 

White-browed Robin-Chat. Its song is beautiful.

 

 

This was an important target bird for me, and I was happy to get a good sighting. White-tailed Shrike, an odd-looking bird closer related to the Batis than the Shrike family actually. Another Namibia-Angola specialty.

 

 

 

A Dassie Rat. Restricted to rocky outcrops in Namibia, parts of Angola, and northwest South Africa. They are famous for being able to squeeze into extremely narrow crevices.

 

 

Really stunning views just a short walk up from the lodge.

 

 

 

A male Namibian Rock Agama. They have lots of enemies, up to 30 % of all adults have broken tails.

 

 

One of their main predators - a Black Mongoose. Now considered a subspecies of Angolan Slender Mongoose which is again a different animal from the Slender Mongoose often seen on safari in many parts of Africa. Pretty much a highly specialised "inselberg" Mongoose.

 

 

Some distant Baboons enjoying the evening sun.

 

 

 

 

Our guide Kules. Really good guy!

 

 

Probably never would have found this one without him. Rockrunner, another target bird for me. As the name suggests, rather runs in preference to flying. Rich warbling song, best way to find it.

Edited Sunday at 01:24 PM by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

Similarly to our walks the "nature drive" (interspersed with a few short walks) was very enjoyable.

 

 

 

Black-backed Jackal. Plenty of them in Namibia - they seem to be doing very well.

 

 

 

Warthog & friends.

 

 

Abundant as they are I find it's actually not that easy to get a decent Guineafowl photo.

 

 

The land is dry to the bone.

 

 

Herero Chat, another bird that made me happy. Almost a Namibia endemic, just about reaching Angola.

 

 

 

Some male Springboks were holding on to their territories.

 

 

 

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

 

 

Since we were at the Rock Paitings Lodge we of course looked at a lot of rock paintings.

 

 

 

 

The first Giraffe of the trip.

 

 

The most exciting sighting was a family of Bat-eared Foxes but they were unfortunately deep within the shrubbery and ran off.

 

 

We ended the drive at a waterhole very productive for birding.

 

 

Ashy Tit

 

 

Pied Barbet

 

 

Rock Martin

 

 

Bulbuls and Red-headed Finches

[xelas]

@michael-ibkis also a forgiving and kind writer. He did not mentioned that our initial plan was to visit Spitzkoppe on the way to  Ai Aiba. I as a driver and frequent visitor should know the route but was distracted by talking too much 😁 and by maps.me navigation who thought to know backdoor approach. Once we exhausted all option, we moved the visit of a truly spectacular location for when returning toward Cape Cross.

Edited Sunday at 04:46 PM by xelas

[TonyQ]

This continues to be a very enjoyable report! Excellent photos.

One should never criticise the driver/navigator - even if they were talking too much 

[xelas]

10 hours ago, TonyQ said:

One should never criticise the driver/navigator - even if they were talking too much 

@TonyQ, a good approach … but you have not been in the same vehicle with this driver 😆. And with his Hulk moments … 😤🤯🤬

[Atravelynn]

I always love the rock art, really captures the imagination.  While bird shots are your forté, the food pics are looking mighty tasty.  Cute hyrax family portrait.  Snake eye has taken on new meaning with your Peringuey's Desert Adder.