Returning to Namibia

For someone who feasibly lives merely a day's hard drive from the glorious expanse that is Namibia, I visit very seldom. I suppose that's the way it is - life gets in the way, other destinations beckon...but that will change soon.

We will be embarking on a 24-day camping adventure, with families in tow, across a vast portion of Namibia. That's something we South Africans love to do - overland camping, lugging everything along from a freezer to a portable shower to a mini-kitchen, "spending a fortune to live like a hobo", as the meme goes.

We were originally only going to go to Etosha for 2 weeks, but then we got thinking - we will be there already, why not add another week? So here is a quick rundown of our trip:

• Etosha National Park
• Spitzkoppe
• Sossusvlei
• Namib Rand Reserve
• Quiver Tree Forest
• Fish River Canyon

As you can see, it's a veritable bucket list of destinations.

We hiked the Fish River Canyon in 2009, and visited Etosha last in 2013, but I haven't been to the Namib desert regions since 1995!

To say we are excited is an understatement...

Camping with those you love under the immense stars in the wide spaces of Namibia for 3 weeks, cut off from social media and the political turmoil and all the drama in the world...eating good food, drinking good wine, taking some photos, reflecting on how God has blessed us...what more could you want?

See you all on the flipside...

Morkel Erasmus

Sabi Sands: February 2010 (Part 4)

Let's carry on with this trip report, shall we? If you need to get up to speed, check out the previous chapters here:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

We were awoken in the early hours of the morning by the persistent (and close-by) roaring of male lions. I knew we were in the general territory of the infamous Mapogo male coalition, and a hope was ignited to perhaps see them on our morning drive. Our wake-up call came, and with a quick coffee in our bellies we set out and our tracker picked up the lion spoor just outside of the lodge. It wasn't long before we came around a bend in the road to be greeted by this sight...

They were being pretty useless, but it was awesome nonetheless to spend time with them.

Have you ever been THIS lazy?? Check out this badboy just peeing over himself, too lazy to get up and do it properly!

We drove around them for another view...but it was more of the same...

We decided to move on - and wisely so. First off we found a lone impala standing in the middle of a dam/waterhole of some sorts. Our first thought was that Painted Dogs or Spotted Hyaenas had chased it in there, but after sitting with it for more than 30 minutes with no pursuer appearing, we decided to go and search for leopards...which we found!

The leopardess Mambirri was moving along a drainage line with her yearling cub, and we headed to a suitable point to "intercept" (PS: Mambirri has since passed on, and you can read a lovely tribute with great images by my friend Rudi Hulshof on his blog HERE).

We found a great spot thanks to Marius Coetzee's knowledge of the leopard routines of the area...and we were able to enjoy a quality sighting on our last morning in the Sabi Sands.

The cub was curious and as they sauntered down the road into the drainage line she checked out some scents she picked up...

They moved into the drainage line and across some large riverine boulders...

They then disappeared into a thicket. We circled around, again based on Marius' knowledge/hunch of where they were headed...and after waiting a little while they popped up where he said they would.

We were hoping they would come and play on a very photogenic hardwood stump in front of us, but for some reason they turned around and headed back the same way they came...

We stayed with them until Mambirri left her cub in a thicket to go off and hunt...although we were primarily behind them for the rest of this sighting, so photographs are few and far between. We headed back to the lodge for our last lunch before departing - it was a wonderful time, and I am grateful for having had this experience. We latched a couple of days in the Kruger National Park on the back of this trip, but I will leave that for another report.

We are busy ironing out the details of a return visit to Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve - and I can't wait to see how the big cat dynamics have changed in the Western Sabi Sands in these 4 years!

Thanks for following along.

Morkel Erasmus

Kruger: December 2009 (Part 9)

We booked into Punda Maria for our one-night sojourn and eventually made it out for a late afternoon drive around the kopje. These are some of the sights we enjoyed on this last afternoon drive...


An ugly bugger (Marabou Stork):

 A big boy: 

Pumbaa and his friend:

A tender Impala moment:

Inquisitive Zebras:

Our last dinner under the Kruger stars was nice but also sad. It's always sad to be leaving the bush and going back to the rat-race. The next morning I decided to do something bold - with the gates opening at 04h30 already, I decided to drive south as far as we can get before the gates close at 18h00, and only then take the 4 hour drive home. Talk about maximising your time in the field, haha.

These are the sightings we enjoyed on this long, but rewarding drive from Punda Maria to the Paul Kruger Gate close to Skukuza.

Open-Billed Stork:

Yellow-Billed Kite:

Same raptor being harrassed by a Fork-Tailed Drongo:

The ever-present Glossy Starling (a Kruger stalwart):

Impalas locked in a fierce contest:

Cute warthog piglets:

The high level of the Olifants river this particular year:

 

Compare the 2 scenes I posted above with the same river, from the same viewpoint, 5 months earlier (July 2009)!

 

We had a long way to go still - so we carried on southwards...

Mud-bath:

Stork and Elephant:

The lovely Carmine Bee-Eater:

The lovely Lilac-Breasted Roller:

We reached the Paul Kruger gate around 5pm (and got home by about 9pm!). I am looking forward to possibly fitting in another trip to the northern reaches of the Kruger National Park in the next few months. I hope you enjoyed these trip reports...I've got a few to catch up on so there are more coming!

Have a blessed Christmas time with your families and loved ones!!
God bless you all.

Morkel Erasmus

Kruger: December 2009 (Part 8)

The next morning we headed off (read the previous episode HERE) early northwards, as our next stop was at the Punda Maria rest camp for the night. The plan was to drive up to Pafuri and enjoy the scenery there, before heading to the camp as our book-in time was only later in the day.

This was the sunrise that greeted us over the Shingwedzi river that morning.

 

The family of Ground Hornbills was there to see us off...

 

Close to the Babalala Picnic Spot I had some good photographic moments with this European Roller.
 

 

We pushed northwards, and I always love driving past this clump of trees on this road.

A herd of Cape Buffalo was grazing in the thickets, but this guy gave me a quick silly pose before we drove off.

There's always a good chance to spot some Tsessebe antelope in the northern reaches of Kruger, and this time we found a herd crossing the road in front of us. They do look a lot like East Africa's "Topi" and are related to them (part of the Hartebeest genus).

On the road up to Pafuri we came across a Yellow-billed Kite hunting/hovering right above our vehicle and the road.

We found a lovely herd of Nyala on the appropriately named "Nyala Loop". They are such graceful antelopes.

It was still very gloomy when we turned into the Pafuri main loop...

This remains one of the most beautiful spots in Southern Africa in my estimation. Seeing some wildlife wander through here is an added bonus.

We spotted a Woodlands Kingfisher who was catching food to feed his mate.

The local residents of the Levuvhu River were presiding as well...a large pod of Hippopotamus and some nasty-looking Nice Crocodiles were spotted.

We made it all the way to Crook's Corner - where the countries of Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique meet at the confluence of the Levuvhu and Limpopo rivers.

The spot derives its name from days gone by when the islands in the middle of the river were safe zones and no-man's land where wanted criminals could hide out from the law enforcement agencies of any of these 3 countries.

We slowly made our way towards Punda Maria to go and check into our chalet. We would only be spending one night there, and tomorrow would be our last day in the Park.

On the way to camp we came across a Hamerkop hunting in a shallow pool.

Stay tuned for the next and final episode which should be posted over the weekend!

Morkel Erasmus