From the island to Camp Chobe

From the island to Camp Chobe

Day 9: 25 December

Our Christmas day started very early with breakfast at 6:00 and departure at 6:30. It was refreshing to get up when the morning mist still drifts over the water and various birds start calling. I was glad to capture the magical awakening of nature on my camera - a true dreamscape.

Dream sunrise

We left the island by boat, climbed onto the Jeeps and drove 45min through the park to our bus, and then drove onto the Mafwe living museum.

Mafwe woman

There we saw a display and live performance from the villagers depicting their life style, building of traps, hunting, jewellery making, food preparation. What a nice way to remember their culture and heritage, all under the huge baobab trees.
From there on we drove to Katima Mulilo to buy a quick lunch snack and continued southwards to Camp Chobe. 

Chobe tented camp

Camp Chobe is a tented camp with luxury tents on a timber stilt structure, directly on the banks of the Chobe River and looking straight into the hillside of Botswana. I could watch the elephants grazing leisurely, an open billed stork in the tree right in front of the tent entrance - ahh peace :-) this is a bird watchers & photographers heaven.

The lodges' guides took us on a game drive and again we were fortunate to see many elephants, giraffes, buffalo's, African fish eagles, egrets, storks, grey go-away birds.

Open-billed stork

Elephants from Chobe Park

For this special day the staff prepared a special Christmas dinner: upside-down tomato and onion quiche, turkey roast and pork roast, roasted salted potatoes, braised carrots and baby marrows, and to top it lemon meringue with red berries. Wow! (ok so Christmas is no time to diet, and I thoroughly enjoy being spoiled by the very competent chefs at every lodge)

View over the Chobe River

We retired early after this eventful day, and could hear the elephants grazing nearby (very nearby), and even distant lion roars intercepted the evening concert of bullfrogs, leapfrogs and cicads. Yes this is truly Africa:-)

Kilometres driven: 260km

Paradise itself

Paradise itself

Day 8: 24 December

If the previous lodge was on the edge of paradise. Then this one might as well be in paradise or  @ least very close.

Boat on the river

The program for today said: some coffee to start the day and a boat trip thereafter, followed by breakfast once returning from the boat trip.

View of the bungalows

Going downstream we admired the waterlilies and water birds and then around the bend, hidden behind the bamboo, on a little island, were shade umbrellas and a fully laden breakfast table, fresh juices, coffee & tea, bread, cereals, yogurt, and the lodge staff offering scrambled or fried eggs.

Breakfast table in nature

What a lovely lovely surprise and how very fitting to start the day of Christmas-eve.

Surprise under shade umbrellas

We enjoyed it so much and 
were peaceful and content and
very very grateful for this.
The beautiful nature, the
kind thought, the generous people,
the ample food.

The rest of our day we were left to spend at our own leisure: reading, relaxing in the pool, bird watching, hiking, resting. Whilst cooling down in the pool, I saw a little Kingfisher which had caught a fish, and settled right in front of me on the railing. There was enough time to fetch the camera and take many shots of this fascinating bird whilst it smashed the fish and ate it. Wow, what a sight!

Kingfisher with his prey

Young African fish-eagle

We met at 15:00 for muffins and coffee/tea. And then left for a game drive in the Bwabwata National Park. The scenery is lush and green.
Next to the lagoon were plenty of black nosed impala, and we saw some Giraffe, a leopard-tortoise, Hornbills, African fish eagle, Grey go-away bird, Egrets, Hamerkop to name a few and then to our delight (and surprise) a huge male lion, relaxing under some trees.

We stopped under huge trees for drinks and could watch the baboons climbing and feeding themselves, playing with their youngsters. All of a sudden, the guides packed up and mentioned that elephants had been spotted. I hoped, that we would still see them in time.

As the lagoon stretches in the shape of a horseshoe, we had to drive around to the other side and there was a herd of elephants of all sizes, standing & drinking in the water.

Herd of elephants

Elephant up close

How amazing, as they moved back from the riverside into the thicket, grazing leisurely and breaking branches as they went along, another group appeared and came down to the water.

I stopped counting at 60, but I guess there were close to 100 elephants. Superb photography opportunities. On our way back we saw a Hippo and its young one grazing on the riverside, and as it was sunset we left completely happy as to the days events and sightings to drive back to our island lodge.

African Christmas decorations

Christmas-eve dinner table

To top this amazing day, we were served with a wonderful Christmas-eve dinner starting with squash soup, continuing with pork crackling and roast accompanied with vegetables and ending with a rich Christmas pudding and custard sauce.

As I ran out of adjectives to describe this day, I must say, that this Christmas will be hard to top and I was completely content and grateful for this experience.

Note to remember: always take extra memory cards and batteries for the cameras.

A hearty thank you to all involved and a blessed Christmas.

Nunda through Mahangu National Park to Susuwe Island Lodge

Nunda through Mahangu National Park to Susuwe Island Lodge

Day 7: 23 December 

Black-nosed antelope with calf

The by now well known continental breakfast, with todays option of omelet saw us off from Nunda River lodge. What a beautiful sunrise over the Okavango River, even a rainbow stretched up from the horizon. We left at 7:30 and drove directly to and through the Bwabwata National Park. 

One-horned giraffe bull

Plenty of Giraffe graced the sides of the road, some black nosed Antelope, some warthog, monkeys, buffalos, kudus and a variety of birds.

Baobab tree in the park

After 2 hrs of relaxing sightseeing we drove back to the park entrance and then in the direction of Divundu, which took another 2 hrs, and continued 200km towards Susuwe.
Arriving at the Susuwe entrance, we climbed onto an open Jeep, and our luggage was transported on another Jeep.

A guide drove us through the jungle-like park, where we only saw a   few antelope. We arrived at a river crossing and an open boat took us to the island. We could unpack and then met for a light lunch of Fusili with vegetables and a lovely fruit salad with nuts.

Lunch @ Susuwe island lodge

Susuwe bungalows

Thereafter we had some leisure time which was well spent on the sun decks of the bungalows until 16h00 when we were spoilt with coffe & cake and left shortly thereafter for a sundowner cruise on the boat, down the Kumba river.
Hippos ogled us as we were caught in a sudden rain shower. The crew had provided snugly raincoats for this, and even snacks and drinks were served in the drizzle.

Kumba river in the rain

Stunning nature photography was the reward for the dark rainclouds with the setting sun as backdrop. 

The day waterlilies were closing and the night lilies opening.

Day water lilies

A delicious supper of poached egg on bruschetta, kudu fillet with vegetables, roast potatoes, and berry compote, welcomed us back. 
Thereafter we gathered around the fire pit and sang or told stories next to the glowing wood logs. 
I slept very well with the river and nature sounds next to me.

Ghaub to Nunda River lodge

Ghaub to Nunda River lodge

Day 6: 22 December

As the air was cool, we had a good nights sleep in fluffy duvets and woke early at 5:00, met for breakfast at 6:15, and left for our next destination: Nunda River lodge. 
First we passed Grootfontein, which houses one of the largest meteorites. Then entered the lush green Kavango region, speckled with kraals, huts, and the odd goat on the side of the road.
We halted in Rundu... and had our packed lunches whilst overlooking the Kavango river, seeing Angola on the other side.
To reach our destination, we still had 200km to drive, and reached the beautiful Nunda River lodge just after 14:00. 

Fishermen catching Tigerfish

View over Nunda River

The afternoon was left to our own leisure and an optional boat trip was offered, which all of us decided to go on. The scenery is amazing, I want to call this piece of land 'the edge of paradise' - being on the edge of the river. We saw plenty of Hippos, some fishermen on their canoes, many birds and a little (month old) crocodile; and then reached the Popa falls, which actually really are a row of rapids.

Nunda River lodge

Popa Falls

View from the deck

There were countless photo opportunities. Our spacious bungalows were right on the waters edge with panoramic views of the river and its inhabitants: hippos & crocodiles & tiger fish.

Rapids of Popa Falls

After the 2 hr boat trip, we met for supper, where there were delicious salads, celery soup, beef stroganoff or optional grilled chicken with rice and vegetables &  as dessert brown pudding with vanilla sauce.

Hippos @ play

Baby crocodile on the embankment

We fell asleep with the rumbling of distant water rapids, the chirping cicadas, the calling of the bullfrog, and inbetween sometimes the grunt of a hippo.

Total kilometres driven for the day: 550km; total time taken 6.5 hrs

Fisherman @ sunset

Day in Etosha National Park and beyond

Day in Etosha national Park and beyond

Day 4 & 5: 20 - 21 December

The 'pan' of Etosha

Right after breakfast we left for Etosha National Park. Just a short drive of about 20km. Right at the entrance to the Etosha National Park we saw a lion couple lazily lying under a tree. As we spent 2 days in Etosha - I have listed the many animals we saw (for both days) on day 2.
We returned at 17:00, and had just enough time for a walk at the lodge, freshening up and meeting again for dinner and talks about the sightings for the day at 19:00.
The chef outdid himself again and we were served with a vegetable quiche (starter), folllowed by Oryx steak, sweet beans, Springbok meatballs, grilled chicken, pepper sauce, penne, spiced rice, and a variety of salads.

Lion couple

For our second day in Etosha we got up at 4:30, packed our suitcases, packed the bus, had breakfast at 6:00, and left the Etosha Safari lodge at 6:30. 
We entered Etosha at the same gate as the day before and around the next corner the lion couple from the previous day had headed to the nearest watering hole 'Ombika' where 3 more lions joined, and we spent plenty of time just observing & photographing. 

Springbok @ the watering hole

We continued to Okaukuejo and drove along the dry pans to Namutoni where we bought some snacks for lunch. 

At the next watering hole 'Klein Namutoni' we had a picnic lunch in the vehicle whilst watching a herd of giraffe, an African fish eagle, red billed ducks and some jackal. From there on we continued to and exited at the 'von Lindquist' gate.

Blackbacked jackal tacking a sip

The animals we saw along the way through our Etosha drive were: 5x lions at Ombika, Burchell's zebras, Springbok, Blackfaced impala, Steenbok, Blue wildebeest, Red hartebeest, Giraffe, Ground squirrel, Spotted hyena, Warthog, Banded mongoose, Blackbacked jackal, Ostrich, Kori bustard, Northern black korhaan, Grey hornbill, Southern yellow billed hornbill, Burchell's sandgrouse, Pied crow, Cape crow, Grey go-away-bird, Secretary bird, African fish eagle, Tawny eagle, Greater flamingo, Red billed teal, Southern pale chanting goshawk, Lilac breasted roller, Southern masked weaver. 
The full list of birds viewed is on www.birdscontour.blogspot.com

African fish eagle

Tawny eagle

Greater flamingo 

Leaving Etosha we then passed Tsumeb, a mining town, and Grootfontein and reached a wonderfully green pasture and inviting guest & cattle & agricultural farm Ghaub. They have lovely little chalets in the green pasture, huge shade trees, horses grazing in the field, absolute calm and peace.

Panoramic view from the Ghaub mountain

On Ghaub we did a hike up the mountain, what a beautiful view! We saw the clouds move in, but weren't aware, that they were so close and inevitably got cought in the rain. Actually it was really refreshing, but I was concerned about my camera and could only hide it under my T-shirt, as we sought shelter under a tree, to safeguard us against the worst of the shower, and waited until the rain subsided. Fortunately the shower did not last longer than 10 minutes.
Immediately nature seemed to have revived and all birds started to sing, chirp, call. Little warthogs grazed in the thicket. A Red-billed hornbill posed for me - sitting on the branch after the rain.

Red-billed hornbill after the rain

Playful Tree squirrel

Returning to the chalets I took a hot shower, warming me from my raindrenched clothes. We met for dinner and had butternut soup, Kudu roulades, green bean fritters, roast potatoes in pepper sauce, and for dessert light pear cake with custard sauce.

After dinner it started to rain again, and we returned after a very eventful day for a good nights rest.

Going West: Sossusvlei to Swakopmund

Going West: Sossusvlei to Swakopmund

Day 2: 18 December

At 'A little Sossus lodge' we had a strengthening breakfast. From our bungalows towards the dining room of the lodge we saw tracks of Springbok and Kudu. Some guests reported seeing a Kudu in the night, feeding on the bushes next to the bungalows. As the tracks were next to the lodges pool as well, I suspect, that the animals came to drink there too.
Fresh fruit salad and little crumpets were the highlights of this well rounded breakfast buffet.

We left at 7:00 on the dusty and very corrugated road, passing through the Namib Naukluft Park. There were plenty of oryx, springbok, ostriches as well as a small jackal and pale chanting goshawk.
The landscape is savannah with soft yellows changing into light greens and the soft grey mountain ridges at the back. Then it changes to interesting rock formations. Some Mountain Zebra posed calmly for all the tourists to have enough time for pictures. 
We had a quick tanking stop in Solitaire and bought some of the world renowned apple pie.
Further on we passed the Kuiseb Canyon. 

Dry riverbed: Kuiseb canyon

And admired the landscape of the Dorob National Park, with its winding rock formations and arid soil. A highlight was the Martial eagle perched on a dry tree.

Shortly thereafter we entered Walvisbay and drove to admire the pelican at the lagoon. There we also saw the endangered rock swift, gulls, and seals.

From Walvisbay to Swakopmund we saw plenty of anglers and holiday makers. 

Swakopmund lighthouse

Grey-headed gull @ Swakopmund

After a short round in this picturesque town we came to our lovely guest house accommodation. We settled in and then went to town to have some lunch, a stroll, a shopping spree, take pictures and enjoy the ocean breeze. Others took a short nap. In the evening we met at the seafront restaurant 'The Tug', which offers a wide variety of delicious seafood, but also other dishes. Driving back to the accommodation we admired the Christmas lights lining the streets.

Inquisitive giraffe in the bushes

On 19. December we left Sea-breeze guest house after a hearty breakfast, at 7:30. Travelled through the little towns of Usakos, Karibib, Omaruru, visited an orphanage at Kalkveld, passed Otjiwarongo and stopped for lunch in Outjo, at a little bakery.
At 35º outside temperature, it was wonderful to see big white fluffy clouds gather together....

Our accommodation for the night was the Etosha Safari lodge. 
Shortly after arrival we took a guided walk through the lodge park, seeing several giraffe, a bush baby and leopard tortoise.
Dinner was at 19:00 in the restaurant which is styled as local shebeen. 

Background music @ the shebeen

Dinner started with a tuna cocktail, the main course consisted of a buffet of kudu roulade, eland medallions, beetroot & green salads, baked garlic potatoes and basmati rice. With live african guitar music and singing in the background we thoroughly enjoyed the good food and warm summer evening.

A heavy storm brewed close to us and we heard thunder and saw the lightning in the distance, and I even heard some rain in the night.

Starting the new trip through Namibia

On the road again - new trip through Namibia

Day 1: 17 December

Having planned to do a northern trip through Namibia, but being a bit overwhelmed by the long distances to be covered and finding the right time to do it, I was very excited when I heard, from a tour operator, that a tour group from Europe wanted to do a similar trip. There was a bus and a tour guide and still a space available, which I quickly booked.

The foreign tourists arrived on Monday (16 Dec 2013) and did a tour through our lovely capital city. The day was concluded with dinner at a local restaurant.
Early on Tuesday morning, 7:00, we packed the bus and left for the South of Namibia. Yes, not straight away to the North, but taking a detour southwards and then towards the coast, before exploring the North; to see the best of what Namibia has to offer. 
The first part of the journey was tarred road and shortly after Rehoboth (89km South of Windhoek) we went on to gravel road. (as for namibian gravel roads: any powerplate machine fades in comparison) 
We reached the Namib Naukluft Park at lunch time, after  several pitstops to refuel (ourselves and the car:-)

View from top of dune 45

Shortly after entering we stopped at 'dune 45' and had the opportunity to climb up. Going up higher, the wind became stronger and I felt slightly sandblasted. But the view from the top is stunning.

Important things to remember: wear sunscreen, a hat, take water, protect camera equipment with a dustproof bag.
The scenery is stunning, ochre dunes, caramel flat sand plateaus, dark silhouettes of dead trees, an Oryx lying in the shade of a tree with still some greenery, the wind blowing over our heads, and on the other side mountain ridges in various geological layers.

Leaving the dune we drove to the dead vlei and heard the fascinating history of this nature phenomenon. Amazingly fish are in hibernation in this dry 'dead' riverbed, and can survive there for up to 6(!) years, until the next rainy season. We had to go by 4x4 to the vlei.

Deadvlei surrounded by dunes

The dead vlei is surrounded by dunes and its white sand and black tree stumps are in contrast to the red dunes 
surrounding it. 

On the way were Springbok and Oryx, hiding from the scorching sun, under some trees (which sprout green leaves, from some underground water)

Important to remember: high up closed shoes with socks, as the dune sand easily runs into the shoes and is burning hot.

A little lizard accepted our offer of
water from a bottle cap,
who knows where he'll get his next drink.

Very satisfied with the ample photo opportunities we started our return journey. From the Jeep we moved back into the bus and travelled to our accommodation for the night: ,A little Sossus lodge'.

Little stone bungalows with view onto a watering hole welcomed us. After the opportunity to freshen up, (wonderful hot shower) we discussed the day over a delicious dinner of a homegrown mixed salad, prunes wrapped in bacon, very tender beef fillet, with crisp baked potatoes, and malva pudding in vanilla sauce.

The night was very warm, but the beds very cosy. The many impressions of the day carried me into dreamland.