Three days in Namibia *

[Michele Nel]

I recently had the pleasure of spending 3 days at Erindi, Central Namibia. Of course it rained on my arrival but there is nothing new about that... is there ? The weather did clear though and I went on to have a very enjoyable 3 days. Here are some of my favourite photos.

Impala Ram



Red Hartebeest



Warthog



Gemsbok (eventually got one that did not run.



Zebra



Elephants seen at the waterhole in the evening.

[Michele Nel]

Thank you PRWIN, Lisbeth and Flutterby for all your lovely comments..much appreciated.
I am still here Flutterby ..life has just been hectic ...and still is. :)

And some birds that I saw in camp...

Grey-backed Camaroptera



White-tailed Shrike ( near-endemic....found in Namibia and along the Southern Border of Angola )



Groundscraper Thrush.



I was especially pleased with the Camaroptera and Shrike. Although I have seen them before I have not managed to get them on camera. They led me a merry dance over the three days but I got them both in the end. My travel partner thought I was crazy.....
I will add more pics as soon as I have processed some more.

[Michele Nel]

Thank you Toko....Erindi is one of the largest private reserves in Namibia..if not the largest. It is situated between Okahandja and Omaruru

Seehttp://www.erindi.com/

I stumbled across a FLY-IN special from Cape Town and off we went. It is really good value for money as far as private lodges go...
The food was out of this world but best of all the staff were so friendly and helpful..without exception. But I have always found Namibia to be the land of happy, friendly and smiling people. AND I am not just saying that because my husband is from Namibia...
It is fair size lodge but somehow or other you don't feel like you are with hordes of people. About 10 vehicles go out on the drives but they clearly plan it so they all go in different directions. No matter where you are in camp you have a view of a waterhole and the large one at the restaurant is just amazing. It is floodlit through the night. I think it used to be a hunting farm ( like many farms in Namibia) but was transformed into a Game farm about 10 yrs ago ( I think). Many of lions, cheetahs and leopards are collared but that does not bother me really. I noticed collars on a couple of ellies as well. But for whatever reason the collars are neccessary....
When we tour Namibia again we will definitely spend a night or two there....just to make a change from the rooftop...stock up on some awesome meals and have a soak in a hot bubble bath. One doesn't have to be tough all the time !!!! :)
Anyway will add some more pics soon !

[Michele Nel]

There are some creatures that I have not had the opportunity to photograph that often….these being the large critters that float in the water and give me shivers down my spine…the Crocodile.



But I have to mention that they are just as friendly and happy as the staff..or was this chap happy because he saw his supper standing in front of him...I beat a hasty retreat….



I recomposed myself and very soon I was bravely taking on this critter…single-handedly I might add !!!! I even went down on my knees to get this shot…



Nevermind how brave I was when I spotted this little Steenbok…at least this one did not turn and run..I have so many photos of Steenbokkies hindlegs’ in the air. I think this one thought that if she kept her ears down we would not notice her.



This Yellow-billed Hornbill was not going to budge for no game-vehicle either…



And there was just no time to relax…either I was watching the bokkies coming and going from my little verandah….



Or I was chasing the birds around the camp….and you all know how a Crimson–breasted Shrike can give you the run around.

.

[PRWIN]

lovely shots again, I see arid parks are busy with a new web site

http://www.aridexperiences.com/gallery.html#ad-image-t2 not sure if they going to have another comp

[Michele Nel]

My thanks again to Mel, Sprocky and Dewi....:)

And without much ado a few more pics..especially for Dewi.

Unfortunately the raptors were few and far between. I saw a few White-backed Vultures soaring in the sky and two Lappet-faced Vultures sitting atop a distant tree. I saw many Black-shouldered Kites perched on telephone poles on the trip up from Windhoek but only one in the park. A couple of Pale-chanted Goshawks were noted and I think I may have seen an African Harrier Hawk. All these sightings were just too far away for any kind of photos. I did however spot the following from the game vehicle. I spotted two tufts sticking up above the grass ...I just yelled at the guide to stop... my heart raced....I thought it was a Caracal lying down in the grass. Anyway nobody else could see it but I was adamant that there was something hiding in the grass. With a bit more reversing and a little detour off the road I eventually found the owner of the tufts...okay so it was not a Caracal but a Spotted Eagle Owl is just as rewarding. It was very well camouflaged indeed !!!



My only other decent raptor sighting was that of a Tawny Eagle. As we pulled up to a waterhole I noticed the bird sitting alongside it...of course before we could decide which would be the better side to take photos from the bird did what birds can do extremely well....it flew off !!!






On our way out of the park we had a really awesome sighting of a Martial Eagle....and where was my camera ??? Packed up in my camera bag in the boot of the car....oh well ..some you win and some you lose !!!!

[Michele Nel]

I seem to start each reply of with the same words...thank you ! But I do mean it...thank you everybody for the lovely comments.
I wish I had more raptor pics for you, Dewi..I will bear it mind next time I am in the bush...
@ Mel...yes I know how you feel about owls . By the way the owls up at Kirstenbosch have been busy...Mommy owl is sitting on a nest. I will keep you posted but in the meantime
here is a picture of Mommy ...:)

[Michele Nel]

And a back to Erindi.

I must admit spending three days in private lodge is quite relaxing. All I had to think about was taking photos..my food was put in front of me , my sherry glass was filled when it was empty and my game drives were organised. As I said before a little bit of luxury never did anybody any harm… .
BUT there were a few incidents that woke me up with a serious jolt.
I had a rude wake up call on the way to lunch……thank goodness that for once I had my eyes on the pathway and not up in the trees. This snake slithered out of the bushes and gave me a huge “skrik” I know it is only a Kalahari Sand Snake and not venomous but a snake is a snake…regardless. I am surprised that I actually managed to get it on camera.



The next “little” incident happened on the afternoon game drive
From skulking behind a bush…



To this



In a matter of seconds.
The Black Rhino came crashing out of the bushes and straight for the vehicle…..and I was first on the menu. In my mind I was imagining that horn slicing through the vehicle….and through my leg. (Okay so I have a bit of a vivid imagination.) Luckily Rhino decided to stop a few meters short of the vehicle….grumpy fellow. Luckily I lived to tell the tale…and I have a photo to prove it !!!!
I may add that the sherry I had when we stopped for sundowners went down extremely well !!!!

[Michele Nel]

Apologies the uploading of more photos did not happen last night..but I will amends tonight. Although I have hordes of photgraphs to share with you on my trip to Erindi I will make this my last posting on this thread. Time has now to spent packing up for our trip to Richtersveld.....
So to end with I will share a few more of my special bird sightings....

I was extremely happy with this sighting of a Monteiro's Hornbill...it is the first time ( after a few visits to Namibia) that I have seen this bird out in the open. Mostly when I have seen it it is skulking around in the top of the highest tree possible or ithas been scratching around in the undergrowths ..patience is the name of the game. Okay it would have been nice if this bird was perched in the sun....are we ever happy...:)



Next up a photo of a Golden-tailed Woodpecker. I think I can count the number of woodpeckers that I have seen on one hand so when I saw this one I immediately chased after it. Unfortunately this shot taken straight into the light was all the bird was going to allow me...oh well..a proof pic if nothing else.




I have also seen a few Short-toed Rock-Thrushes during my visits to Namibia but this one certainly put on a show for me....by far my best pic of a Rock-Thrush ever...



My last special bird sighting was on my last little walk around the camp. There comes a time when one has to detach one's camera from one's hip and pack it away.....so I had told my travelling partner that I was going to do one more little walkaround but packing up. She sighed and reminded me that we did not have much more time before our lift left for the airport. Well I caught a fleeting glimpse of this bird and I knew it was something different....but it just would not show itself. I was really stressing..I desperately needed to get an ID photo if nothing else. The bird was having a wonderful time cavorting at the top of the highest possible palm tree in camp. My neck was breaking but eventually I got a shot ....well a shot of half a bird. I went flying back to the chalet to find Wendy tapping her foot.... We are going to miss our lift !!! Who cared..I had just bagged myself one more lifer.....

Brown-crowned Tchagra.



Before I end I will share one more photo with you ..although I did not take it on this trip but on the previous one when I went with my hubby...

Erindi's Strange Critters....



BTW the above effect is known as light-painting and it is a really fun thing to do ..especially if you have kids to help you.

Anyway thanks for reading this haphazard sort of a report...but as I said I need to do some packing.