H & I did our own walk this am. They offered us their radio but given there are no serious predators and a jackal is going to be more scared of me than me of him/her, I didn’t think it was necessary. We just walked on the road out of the camp and down to the helicopter pad and then on the road toward the staff village. We saw a few birds but nothing new for the trip. It was good to just walk by ourselves though.

After breakfast we headed back to our room and packed up and headed off to Swakopmund. It is basically a gravel road the whole way – about 375 kms. It started fine then got progressively worse. It was so bad at one stage that you really couldn’t go more than about 40 km/h. My hands took such a battering that I eventually had to stop driving and let H drive instead. She had a headache from the vibrations but she said it was slightly better for her to drive than be a passenger because she could at least anticipate what was coming.

The landscape was pretty bleak at times. There really was nothing to see at all. It was hard some times to distinguish the road from the rest of the landscape. If you don’t believe me – just look at the picture below.

H eventually said “This is the last time we are coming to Sossusvlei because I can’t handle the road to and from it”. I suspect she may be right. It was not a pleasant drive for much of the 4.5 hours. As we approached Walvis Bay the road became almost a tar road (it isn’t tar but felt as good as tar). The visibility also started to decline and so did the temperature. From a high of 36 C today, when we arrived in Walvis Bay it was down to 22 degrees.

We arrived in Swakopmund around 3pm and found our accommodation (though that wasn’t an easy task because we didn’t have data on our mobile phones). We are staying The Pier Apartments – they seem to be newly built and we have an apartment that has a balcony that can see the sea. Well equipped and everything is quite new still. Some design flaws (like the parking garage has the best sea views – not kidding!) but very comfortable. There is also a shopping mall right next door and basically connected to the apartments so very easy to do some shopping for food.

From our balcony we added a third lifer of the trip – Bank Cormorant. We didn’t really do much birding today as we were pretty shattered from the drive here but we did add 3 more to our trip list just from a short walk we did along the pier this evening.

As we are both tired we are heading to bed soon so until tomorrow …

P & H

Today has been a relatively relaxed and easy day. We woke up at around 6am when the sun was rising. Coffee, biscuits and some fruit and then we headed off to the dunes to do an hour of quad biking on the dunes. It is about a 30 minute drive to where the bikes are stored. It was just H & I and the guide (Denvil). They have definitely improved the Quad bikes since we were last year. They now have big, fancy ones. A quick lesson on how to use them and then we headed off on a quick practice on the flat and then hit the dunes. H was a bit concerned about the speed/handling so we took it quite easy.

We stopped a few times on the dunes. Firstly, to look for a dune lark. It is the only endemic bird in Namibia. We have seen it previously so it wouldn’t be a lifer but we did want to see it again on this trip. Denvil found multiple of them for us and we actually got really close to a few (like a few meters away only). Secondly, we stopped to admire the views. They really were incredible (I know I keep saying that). Thirdly, Denvil showed us some of the tracks from the animals in the desert including some of the bird tracks, lizards and spiders. What was fascinating was that he showed us spider tracks and then said, “Here is its nest”. He bent down blew the sand and a little mound appeared. He then took a stick and flapped back the door to the nest. The spider weaves silk as a door and it opens up like a trapdoor into the nest. Hopefully the photo does it justice! The nest goes down about 30cms.

We were back at the lodge just after 9am for breakfast and then H and I both had organised massages. Lunch at 2pm and the balance of the afternoon we have decided just to relax and enjoy the view. It is very hot here and even the littlest exercise seems to raise the heart rate. We set up my scope on our patio and have been watching a wake of vultures eating under a tree (not kidding about that collective noun – vultures have 3 different ones dependent on what they are doing – flying then it’s a kettle of vultures, sitting in a tree then it’s a committee of vultures, eating and it’s a wake of vultures). Not clear what they are eating but seems it might be a oryx (gemsbok). Our guide told us that a month or so ago, an oryx came to drink at the trough they have in front of the lodge and then walked back into the plain and sat down. They thought it was resting but it had actually died. Jackal, hyena and vultures then consumed it over a few days. He says the meat doesn’t rot because it is so dry, it just basically dries out and until it is too hard for any animals to eat and then they just leave it and it would stay like that forever thereafter.

Given the heat and dryness, we haven’t expected to add too many birds here but we are actually up to 74 trip birds for me and 76 for H. We have added 8 birds today. We didn’t go out tonight and decided to just enjoy the view from the lodge. We only started eating dinner at 8pm – it was too hot to eat any earlier. They definitely serve too much food – both H and I couldn’t finish any of the meals. Tonight H had soup and then a veg pasta for main and I had prawns and then oryx (cooked on a salt block … some of you will be impressed … photo of salt block below) for main.

It was a relaxing day. Until tomorrow …

P & H

PS: H told me to make sure that everyone knows she didn’t eat polony for breakfast yesterday .. it was just a first for her seeing polony at breakfast. And she says the car went up 30mm (not 30cm). So there you have yesterday’s corrections.

Helen had another first/lifer today. Polony at the breakfast buffet (buffet a bit of a stretch actually) this morning. Breakfast was us and the Transport Inspectorate (5 of whom were also staying at the guesthouse). You might ask what/who the ‘Transport Inspectorate’ is … we would call them traffic cops/police. Seems in Namibia they have a much more important sounding name.

We left at just before 8am this morning and headed to Hardap Dam to do some birding. It is about 20 kms north of Mariental. It was well worth the entrance fee cost. It is the biggest dam in Namibia and dams the Fish River. At times H and I were both finding new birds and it was hard to keep up. We saw new species for the trip at the dam in about 90 minutes. Very rewarding and lovely views over the dam as well.

We then headed back south to Mariental and then west to Sossusvlei. The first 100 kms is on tar road and then you hit gravel roads for the balance of the 250 kms. The roads are generally good and you can easily do 80-100 km/h but sections are not great. The first poor section we hit was because of recent rains and large pools of water were on the road. That was when I wished I had the Toyota Landcruiser (otherwise known as The Beast) and not my SUV Mercedes for the trip. Felt my traction go entirely at one point and was actually concerned at another time of making it through the mud. That was when H got out the manual and we figured out how to change the setup of the car into off-road mode and that definitely improved the traction. It apparently raises the car by 30 cms as well so that you have better clearance.

The second bad section was on the last 50 kms as you approach the lodge we are staying at. It was very bumpy and rocky and definitely needs grading. Apparently it is usually done every 2 weeks but hasn’t been done for the last four or so weeks – they say they are catching up from the holiday period. The lodge manager called it “Africa’s massage”! My hands did feel fairly battered at the end.

The scenery is incredible though and hard to do justice with a photo (though we have tried). At one point we were at 1629 meters above sea level whereas we are now at 895 meters above sea level. We are staying for the next 2 nights at &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge. It is one of our favourite places to stay in the whole world (no I am not exaggerating). This place is a gem and we would highly recommend it. The rooms are incredible, the view is incredible and the stars are like nothing you have ever seen before. It is situated on the NamibRand Nature Reserve and is part of the International Dark Sky Reserve. Whatever way I try to describe it simply won’t do it justice. You just have to come and see for yourself (if you’re privileged to be able to do that – and it is a great privilege).

We did a late afternoon/early evening drive. They only go out at 6pm as it is too hot otherwise and you won’t see anything. We did see a few birds, a few jackal and of course a lot of springbok and oryx (gemsbok for Safricans). Only two new birds for our trip list since we have arrived here and both of them we actually saw from the lodge. I’m at 66 birds for trip and H is on 68 (though I think she should be on 69 actually – she is probably missing something off her list).

Until tomorrow

P & H

We woke in the middle of the night with someone leaving at around 2am in the morning. First thought that crossed my mind is what have they stolen from us and now running off. Then rationality kicked in and I thought surely I would have heard them come in to chalet. But then again I was pretty fast asleep. Some quick checking by the light of cellphone and everything seemed to be where I left it so relief set in. Then I started to wonder why someone would leave at 2am in the morning. About the same time the electricity came back on (it was loadshedding from 12-2:30am). Besides that interruption, we both slept well until 6am when the sun rose.

We did a morning birding walk and the owners 3 dogs joined us for the 2.5 kms. It seems they were delighted someone was walking. We added a few more birds to our trip list. We were on road by 8am and at the border by 9:15am. Border formalities went smoothly and after filling up the car we headed north towards Keetmanshoop and Mariental. Already two positives of Namibia are clear – diesel is about 10% cheaper than SA and there is no loadshedding (despite them getting the majority of their electricity from SA). H told me when we crossed the border: “Now don’t drive fast like you usually do on this road as I want to watch my granddaughter grow up”. Needless to say, so do I!

We stopped at Keetmanshoop to eat lunch (we had brought our own) and then headed on to Mariental. Thunder clouds were gathering and we had a smattering of rain for a few kms but nothing substantial. It dropped the temperature from 33.5 degrees down to 29 degrees. The air is very dry so it feels much hotter actually. There were numerous swifts flying above us and we realised that it was worth stopping to see if we could positively identify them. We did and the result was that we added another lifer as they were Bradfield’s Swifts. I am on 43 birds for the trip and H is on 46 birds – see keeps seeing stuff and not telling me it seems #notcompetitive.

We arrived in Mariental at about 3:30pm. We are staying at Boutique Guesthouse. Nice rooms and a bit of a garden in front of the house which was good for adding 6 more birds to our list this afternoon while we were just relaxing. Dinner was at the only open restaurant in Mariental – Padlangs Padstal. It is a meat and potato type of place. H had a cheeseburger and I had pork schnitzel (with chips obviously). Another realization is that I need to brush up on Afrikaans again if we are going to get through the next 2 weeks. Everyone speaks Afrikaans to you even if you answer them back in English. Not sure what you would do if you didn’t understand Afrikaans (#mykids).

After dinner we drove around Mariental to see what it is like. H concluded “Remind me to never retire to Mariental”. Not sure why she ever thought we would retire here but the drive around town definitely sealed it for her. The best buildings by far was the Swapo Regional Office (it seems politics is same everywhere) and Hollard Insurance. H kept of saying “This place is so sad”. It is pretty run down and ‘sad’ is not a bad description.

It is just an overnight stop for us!

Until tomorrow (WiFi dependent)

P & H

This morning at 9am we left for a 2-week road trip to Namibia. It was a pretty uneventful first drive today covering just over 500 km as we headed north out of Cape Town on the Cape Namibia route. Once we had cleared the city limits the traffic was very light and the drive was really easy.

We stopped at the Engen One-Stop on the N7 for two reasons – to refuel and to do some birding. It is the 75th anniversary of the Cape Bird Club (https://www.capebirdclub.org.za/) and they are running a challenge this year to see how many birds you can see in the Cape Town metropole. The Engen is almost at the border and some people had seen some birds there previously which we haven’t seen yet as part of the challenge so we took the opportunity and did manage to add 1 more to our tally for the challenge.

Our next stop was for biltong & droewors at Trawal. If you have followed any of our previous trips to Namibia then you would know that we always stop at this store. They really do have good biltong and droewors. A quick lunch stop further north and then straight through to where we are staying tonight just outside Springbok. We are staying at Sperrgebiet Lodge (https://sperrgebietlodge.co.za/). It really does feel like in the middle of nowhere. Biggest problem being it is currently 32 degrees (4pm) and while the chalet does have air-conditioning – it isn’t very powerful and now has just gone off because of loadshedding. The lady on check in told us they are in the middle of a heatwave. H wanted to say “you live in Springbok, isn’t 30+ degrees in summer fairly standard?!” but she held back. You can hear the wind it is so quiet here.

24 birds so far including 1 lifer this afternoon which we saw at the place we are staying. The majority we just spotted while driving. Aiming for at least 200 in the next two weeks and hoping we get more.

Until tomorrow …

P & H