AFRICAN SAFARI NEWS
September 2005

September has been another good month for game viewing; we have had loads of interesting and exciting experiences. The month started on a high note when we discovered that one of three lionesses that we knew were in the area had had three cubs and was seen at Scott's Pan one morning. We were so excited, as these are the first little cubs that have been recorded for this season! They seem to be doing very well and also looked very well looked after. We have had some wonderful experiences with them, spending many a game drive solely with them with a lot of good humour with their playfulness. We are sure that they have been sired by one of the four 'Ngamo Boys' as they had been seen mating on several occasions.

In general this month has been excellent all round and variety has been a highlight. Quality sightings have been very good as far as the cats go. We have had good sightings of almost all the cats: lion, leopard, cheetah and African wildcat. One of the most memorable sightings was when a leopard had been found that had killed a female ostrich that had 7 chicks. These were also the first ostrich chicks for the season and although we felt for the ostrich family, the nights belong to the cats and especially this time of the year survival is what counts. It got even more interesting when two other leopard arrived hoping to get some of the kill. It was also not long before some hyaena came along and with their laughing voices and shady looks, took over and the leopard looked on knowing it was best not to take on the hyaena which outnumbered them by then.

White rhino sightings were rare as usual but were seen on one occasion. There was also one sighting of a warthog that clearly had a run in with a porcupine as it had some quills stuck in its stomach and other places better not to mention! I think it is safe to say that they probably had the same burrow in mind for spending the night...

It is still elephants galore here at Linkwasha, large numbers still flocking to the waterholes and more than a hundred can still be seen at a time. It has been a good month and we have had so much fun with awesome sightings and all the guests that have visited here this month have once again experienced this wonderful part of the world at its best. On our best day we saw 24 different species.
This month we have had some of the summer visitors arrive such as the Yellow-billed Kites and we are expecting quite a few of the others to start coming in soon. We have had good sightings and this month has also been the first for the ostrich chicks (there were initially about 12 chicks seen then later had gone down to 7 and then later still unfortunately the mother was killed by a leopard and their numbers are currently down to 3). We have also had some keen birders here this month and as with most of our guests they develop a keen interest while on safari. Our total bird count for this month was 115 species.

GUEST COMMENTS
B & JS, U.S.A - 'This is a very special place! Big herds of animals in one place. Best food, excellent lodge and great people, great fun'.
B & PA, U.S.A - 'Beautiful lodge, setting, animals, birds, you have it all. Thank you so much for your kind hospitality'.
F & CD, U.S.A - 'Wonderful spot and fabulous animals, great hosts, attentive staff and memories for a lifetime'
JB, U.S.A - 'Fantastic memories to take home and share with my family. Thank you'!

Despite there not being a substantial amount of water available during the dry season months, it seems that a metamorphosis has occurred, almost overnight amongst the trees! Sprays of new green leaves have sprouted, giving a lush appearance to Zimbabwe Teak, Ordeal, Silver Terminalia, Ochna pulchra, Large False Mopane, Kudu-berry and Red Syringa trees. Ordeal trees hang languidly; their branches are heavy with thick, sweet-smelling cat-tail-like flowers. Silver Terminalia are also in bloom; their aroma of sweaty socks blossoms waft in on the evening breezes. Remnants of winter lie gathered at the feet of trees, like fallen heroes - the tousled, crackling leaves provide a canopy of protection to nurture the new generation in the hopes that they will emerge at the onset of the rainy season.

Waterholes are being pumped daily; our main aim is to try and keep up with the supply and demand for the thirsty array of wildlife. The present harsh and arid environment is taking its toll on the animals, and as a result, they are becoming more reliant on our pumped water resources. After a large elephant or buffalo herd calls in at a pan to drink, the waterhole can end up looking like nothing other than a recuperating mud bath.

This water has drawn an assortment of wildlife to drink together at a pan and it is not surprising to see different species congregated around a waterhole. This was the scenario at Ngweshla - elephant, buffalo, zebra, giraffe, sable, roan, kudu and baboon were all taking their turns at drinking, when a zebra happened to intercept a grouchy old buffalo from moving into a vacant "cocktail space". The angry buffalo flung the zebra, lifting if off the ground and for a moment, it appeared as though the zebra was riding on the buffalo's head! The zebra was then hurled into the air but landed safely on all four hooves with a thud!

Swimming pools at both Makalolo and Little Makalolo are being used by elephants as drinking troughs on a daily basis, resulting in our having to refill the pools everyday. Herds of buffalo and sable have been seen, their muzzles raised towards the elevated swimming pool, trying to catch a whiff of unseen water, knowing it is beyond their reach. This heart-sore sight encouraged staff to fill the empty fire pit below the swimming pool with buckets of water in the hopes that some of these animals could drink. The plan worked, but rather disappointingly for a troop of baboons! Since then, the baboons have been courageous enough to venture onto the steps of the swimming pool and help themselves!

In our Giraffe Springs concession, water is a limited resource and as a result, many of the animals have left that area. It just so happened that on a visit to the old camp, there was a young sable bull frequenting the dry waterhole in front of camp. On witnessing the sable's predicament, a clay flower pot was filled with bottled water and the attentive sable was summoned and actually came to drink after being called in by whistling and splashing!

Three large male lions have been making use of their newfound territory at Makalolo. On one particular morning, we witnessed a rather dismal scene that brought tears to our eyes. A sick elephant cow wandering alone with her +/- 2-year-old calf had been seen supporting herself against a tree. The lions had stumbled upon the elephant's misfortune and in so doing, attacked her calf. They ripped off the little elephant's trunk near the mouth and gouged out one of his eyes. His helpless mother fell to the ground and died on her side. After feeding on the young elephant's trunk, the lions rested in the shade of the Large False Mopane trees, whilst the frightened elephant calf circled around his mother's dead body, nudging at her with both his front and back feet in an attempt to wake her up. He managed to eventually escape from the lions and was seen the next day walking amongst a buffalo herd on his own. The following day, we found the young elephant drowned in Little Somavundla pan. His body was removed from the waterhole by our guides using ropes and a tractor; thus saving the animals' drinking water from contamination. We left the elephant carcass in an open area for the vultures to feed on.

On a happier note, leopard sightings have most definitely topped the charts this month! A dead duiker was seen hanging in a tree at Somavundla, but the shy leopard who'd intended to start breakfast moved off rather quickly and didn't allow onlookers much time to see him. The following day, three leopards were seen in the same area – two of the leopards who appeared to be a pair, were moving up and down a Leadwood tree, on which they were hanging two duikers that they had killed earlier - one of the leopards appeared to be very skittish indeed! The third leopard seen that very same night was sprawled out on a branch of a Leadwood tree, stretching and showing itself off to four game drive vehicles that were able to see it clearly. Two days later, the Makalolo concession boasted another four different leopard sightings: two were seen in the morning running across the plains, with a black-backed jackal in hot pursuit of them! That same evening, a leopard was seen at Little Mak Pan and within that same time period, another leopard was seen drinking at Madison Pan.

A total of 104 different bird species was seen in September. The change of seasons is most apparent amongst the birds, as colourful arrays of feathers flitter in bird baths and water sprays around the living area of camp - Kurrichane Thrush, Green Woodhoopoe, Greater Honeyguide, Fork-tailed Drongo, African Golden Oriole, Eastern Black-headed Oriole, Black-eyed Bulbul, Bleating Warbler, White Helmetshrike, Violet-backed Starling, Cape Glossy Starling, Amethyst Sunbird, Golden-breasted Bunting, Red-headed Weaver and the occasional Little Banded Goshawk are the most frequently seen birds in camp.

Some of our migratory birds have returned early - a pair of Hottentot Teals was seen in the pan at Little Somavundla and later on in the month, a White Stork was seen at Madison Pan.

The summery night sounds of White-faced Scops Owl, Pearl-spotted Owlets and Fiery-necked Nightjars give us a touch of African bush nostalgia. The waterholes have been inundated by Cape Turtle, Laughing, Namaqua and Emerald-spotted Wood Doves - all wetting their beaks with a fair share of sustenance!

A new entry on our bird sightings list this month was that of a Red-Necked Falcon. On a drive at Little Somavundla, a dove hit the front of a game drive vehicle and all of a sudden, a Red-Necked Falcon appeared from seemingly nowhere, landing about 2 metres away from the vehicle! The dove recovered and flew off, but the beady-eyed falcon pursued it and eventually caught the helpless little bird in flight! Whilst still in the air, the falcon carried its take-away, eating at the same time (nothing quite like good food on the go). The falcon landed in a tree, dropped the dove and flew off. Moments later, a Tawny Eagle flew in and ate the leftovers!

And to end on another story of take-aways, a Martial Eagle was seen bursting out of the branches of a Large False Mopane Tree near Little Mak, clasping a springhare!

GUEST COMMENTS
"What a wonderful camp to be at for our very first African safari. The game was wonderful, the staff were kind and responsive, the experience was more than we had wished" - M & CP, CANADA

"This was not only our group's last camp, but the crowning glory of the whole trip for me. Thank you to the staff, cook and especially the guides" - ES, USA

"We had a wonderful, relaxing time. The staff were excellent, friendly and really made this place what it is. Our 5 year old, Audrey, was treated especially well. She enjoyed sitting on the edge of the pool watching the elephants drink from the other side" - G, M & A, USA

A new season is about to begin - and Makalolo awaits you
Until next month, take care!

In Africa, life and death are side by side. With the loss of one of the male cheetahs last month, everyone was a bit glum. However, this was offset by the arrival of a new female with the cubs. A little nervous at first, she and her charges have settled down and produced some excellent sightings.

Every year we say the leopard viewing just gets better and better – and 2005 is no exception. There are now four individuals giving us some excellent sightings. Amber remains our star performer and this month produced an unusual kill – a banded mongoose. Her mother and two males continue to be seen regularly.

The lion coalition of five males that featured in our reports last month seems to be well and truly "at home". Their claim on the vacant territory seems complete and we hope to hear their nightly roars for some time to come.

Large numbers of zebra are moving in from the south, as the water is drying up and the wildebeest are following behind. We witnessed one string of zebra of more than 500 crossing the plain in front of camp with a long dust trail hanging in the air. There are also two large herds of several hundred buffalo in the area accompanied by the ever-present Cattle Egrets.

There have been excellent sightings of the smaller carnivores such as caracal still stalking around in the early morning. This cat with its red coat resembles a lynx and is quite shy.

Another interesting occurrence was of a side-striped jackal hunting the large Spur-winged Geese that frequent the water's edge. Both are in the same weight class of about 10 kilograms. The jackal was seen feeding on a freshly killed goose early one morning; it must have ambushed the goose under the cover of darkness. The previous day a White-backed Vulture was seen sunning itself on the ground in exactly the same area. The jackal approached and then harassed the vulture for a long time, lunging at it from different directions. The vulture spread its wings every time to make itself look bigger and swatted at the jackal in return. It seemed as if the jackal was testing the endurance of the vulture but eventually gave up, as the powerful bird was more than a match for it.

The local representatives of the world’s largest bird, the Ostrich, have had chicks. A pair was seen recently with ten small chicks running along beside them. The chicks rely on camouflage and their parent's aggressive kicks for protection, but only a few will survive falling prey to smaller predators such as caracal or jackal.

Other bird sightings include a male Paradise Flycatcher in camp, a Pink- (Rosy-) throated Longclaw out on the northern floodplain, Carmine Bee-eaters and Wattled Cranes in good numbers. Guests witnessed a Pearl-spotted Owlet feeding a chick and we have been having regular sightings of a Scops Owl hiding in a hole in a tree trunk. Marsh Owl, Rufous-bellied Heron, Black Egret, Whiskered Tern, Squacco Heron, Pied Kingfisher and African Fish Eagle and thousands of Open-billed Storks featured prominently near the water.

We have had several good sightings of a female leopard near camp, she made a baboon kill and fed off it for two days. Her teats are swollen and she is lactating, we think for at least four to six weeks now. She did not bring the cubs to the kill, but they may yet be too young to eat meat. She has kept them well hidden but we look forward to catching a glimpse of these elusive kittens.

One of the Overland groups came across vultures one morning, feeding off what appeared to be the placenta from a new-born elephant. Their suspicions were confirmed the following morning by a brand-new tiny elephant seen feeding with its mother and family herd. The elephants were particularly relaxed especially with such a young charge and the guests were able to view the baby from a distance as it began to discover its new world.

We also look forward to having you folks here with us at Tubu.

We had a month full of “spots,” with all our guests seeing at least one leopard during their respective stays at Savuti. We started the month off with the resident Manchwe female and her 8-month-old cub on a warthog kill. This is a very large female and she has been an excellent mother to the little one, who is as curious and energetic as any young kitten. They were seen over a period of three or four days in or close to the tree in which the warthog was stashed. The female then moved off early one morning and was found later that afternoon trying to regain an impala kill that had been stolen by hyaena; unbelievable to think that she had just finished a warthog carcass and had hunted almost immediately.

Later on in the month we were fortunate enough to see four different leopards on a single afternoon drive. The first was a young female that has been frequenting the area of Chobe 1, while the second happened to be a large male that was drinking at the river close to the Kwando confluence. The third and fourth leopards were together in the same Leadwood tree, arguing over the remains of an impala carcass. A really incredible drive when you consider that we saw most of the territorial leopards in the area that we utilise for game drive.

The same evening one of the other game drives managed to find a large male leopard with two kills. One was a baboon, which is a normal prey species that we see leopards feeding on. The other animal cached in a tree was a lion cub! The cub was one of four that were born into the Savuti pride, who had been seen a day before in the same area. The cub must have been a straggler or had got separated from the pride and the leopard, not being a fussy eater, had taken the opportunity for an easy meal. It was unbelievable to watch one predator eat another.

The Savuti pride has been concentrating its movements along the river front with a lot of activity being centred around the Osprey Lagoon area, where one of the pride lionesses is denned up with two very new lion cubs. These little bundles of fur were found when they were approximately a week old! The pride is doing well and although they have sadly lost two of the older cubs, the remaining three are fat and healthy.

Elephant numbers are reaching a peak now and we at times are seeing 500 – 600 elephants of all sizes utilising the waterhole. Herds spend the entire day resting in the shade of the trees that surround the waterhole and move in “shifts” - one herd drinks while another moves away. The daily confrontations between elephant and other game species trying to drink is quite amusing with the elephants jealously guarding the water supply, chasing zebra, wildebeest, warthog and kudu whenever these animals venture to close to the waterhole.

We also have had some great cheetah viewing, with the a female cheetah and her two sub-adult cubs spending a long time in the Dish Pan area which is just west of Savuti Camp. These youngsters are at the stage where they are attempting to hunt and are continually learning from their mother. They have been seen chasing impala from over 500 metres! They do have a good teacher who has been very patient in her training of the youngsters in the special art of hunting.

The Chitabe lion pride, now numbering 18 (3 males, 6 females and 9 cubs), have been devouring buffalo at least once a week, as at this time of year they move through the concession in large numbers. One herd numbering at least 1000 came down from the Moremi, did a circuit of the area and headed north again, while several smaller herds came and went as well. The lion cubs are learning vital hunting skills from the adults, and we even saw one very precocious youngster attempting to stalk a buffalo bull on his own!

One day we were sitting at the brunch table when we saw the pride that had been resting in the shade across the channel leap up and ambush a herd of impala. They caught one, and quickly devoured it as we watched from the deck! A few days later they caught and killed a warthog right in front of Chitabe Trails, which has become their favourite hangout, much to the irritation of the many herds of elephant that come to drink from the channel. On several occasion the lions have had to make a run for it as angrily squealing and trumpeting breeding herds pursued them. "King of the jungle" indeed!

The wild dog pack has now left their den site for good and all 8 puppies are still going strong. The pups are still not old enough to join the hunt, but they are running with the pack now - the adults leave them in a safe place until they have killed before going back to fetch them. The last sighting we had of them was on the Gomoti Channel, 12km away from where they had denned. The Gomoti area is rich in game, particularly impala, their chief prey, and also a good distance away from where the Chitabe lions have been most active. Since their last run-in with the lions - where one of the dogs lost his ear - they have been careful to avoid their greatest enemies.

One evening on the way back to camp, Relax came across a honey badger furiously digging into a springhare burrow until he triumphantly emerged with the occupant in his jaws. Relax and his guests were again in the right place at the right time one morning to watch a female cheetah spot, stalk, run down and kill an impala - an event some people spend a lifetime waiting to see. The Valeks, two first-time visitors, were lucky enough to have been there, and we accredited their good fortune to beginner's luck!

The resident male leopard whose territory encompasses our island had a nice surprise in store for us - one night he killed a young impala ram and hoisted it into the Knobthorn tree right outside Tent no. 5. For several nights he must have returned to his meal, as by the time we noticed the carcass it was all but finished - just another example of the supreme stealth of this magnificent, secretive cat.

We have also begun to receive our first summer migrants – Yellow-billed Kites were the first to arrive, followed by Carmine Bee-eaters and Paradise Flycatchers. The Red-headed Weaver that nests near the kitchen every year is sporting his breeding plumage, and we will know that summer has truly arrived when we hear the trilling call of the Woodland Kingfisher.

On a more dramatic note, we had a very large bush fire, which came to within a mile of the camp before we managed to put it out with the assistance of a team we flew in from Maun. For two days it was all hands on deck as we fought the flames - luck was on our side as the wind was blowing against the direction of the fire, but due to its magnitude we had quite a battle. At its greatest size, the fire was about 5km wide as it bore down on the camp. Luckily, no animals were killed by the slow-moving fire - the burrowing species were unharmed, and others were able to move away in time. The flames also provided a rich bounty for birds that swooped through the smoke to snatch insects escaping the fire. Already the grasses have begun to regenerate in the burnt areas, which will provide nutrient-rich grazing in the coming months.

The temperatures have started to climb with the advent of summer - the average daytime maximum was 34°C, dipping to an average low of 15°C at night. October is going to be a long, sweltering month as we await the advent of the rain.

The resident female leopard was at it again with the baboons that roost in the Mangosteen trees in camp. Almost every night she would come into camp and hunt baboons and nine times out of ten prove to be very successful. Later on during the month a male leopard joined her, so hopefully we should be seeing leopard cubs in the next few months.

The arrival of two new lion cubs was one of the highlights of the month. A lioness gave birth to two cubs and hid them away under a large Feverberry tree near Osprey Lagoon, giving guests hours of good viewing before she decided to move them to a new site. There was probably a lot of disturbance from passing elephants as she was on an "elephant highway."

The five lion cubs born a few months back have had a tough time. Only three cubs remain. One morning on drive the guides spotted a leopard up a tree and on closer inspection found that the male leopard had killed one of the lion cubs. We hope that the remaining three stay out of harm’s way and make it through to adulthood.

DumaTau continues to live up to its name with lions roaring around camp on most nights. Two females chose to seek shade next to the staff village for a few days giving us great sightings.

The female cheetah and her two sub-adult cubs have been doing very well. They were seen for the most part of the month and on most occasions seen hunting impala and proving to be very successful. The two cheetah brothers spent most of the month in the Selinda area and were seen toward the end of the month in the Savuti Channel.

The wild dogs were seen very briefly near Rock Pan with eleven puppies, which was very exciting for all as we had not seen them for a very long time. They had denned in the Selinda area and then moved across into the Linyanti. Tracks have been seen on the airstrip road so we think that they have found a new den in the area and obviously we are holding thumbs, hoping to see them again soon.

We have had elephants in camp every day of the month and they have kept us busy repairing walkways and fixing water pipes. One elephant in particular takes great pleasure in pulling up a water pipe and then running off with his tail in the air, waving his trunk around as if to say, “See what I can do!” We have left a section of the hand rails off the walkway as the elephants have taken to climbing over the walkway to feed on the Feverberries. They have given us much entertainment during most meal times around the dining room area, much to the delight of our guests.

September has been a great month and we are looking forward to October – here’s hoping for a bit of rain to see us through this very hot and dry time of the year.

This time of year spoils us with a mixture of winter visitors that are still here and summer visitors that are starting to arrive.
The humpback whales are on their way home to the Antarctic and we have been blessed with many wonderful sightings throughout the month. There are mothers with babies and last season’s teenagers, and they seem to be travelling in close proximity to one another. There have been many days where we see three or four groups like this travelling behind one another and on occasion circling while waiting for other groups to catch up. The babies are wonderful to watch as they play, slapping their tails on the water and performing little head slaps as they try to jump forward. It is wonderful to see the babies that have perfected breaching and some perform ‘little’ 360 degree turns before crashing down again. Of course the mothers perform spectacular leaps out of the water as they show the little ones how it’s done!Summer brings the return of big rays and sharks. The smaller rays such as the blue spotted ray and the marbled electric ray are found here year round but the huge honeycomb, black ribbontail and sharpnose begin to arrive now. Elusive is traditionally one of the first reefs for early season shark spotting and it is living up to its reputation. Leza lead a very active dive here on the 16th where she spotted the first blacktip / grey reef shark of the season. These sharks are curious and come to have a look at the divers, they are however shy and once they realise they have been spotted they swim away quickly. The divers also saw a big honeycomb ray on the sand, as well as a couple of marbled electric rays. They enjoyed watching a huge honeycomb eel swim past them and loved swimming in amongst the big school of bluebanded snappers.This time of year also sees a marked increase of male loggerhead turtles. They tend to be more predominant just before the start of turtle nesting season, which is officially next month. The males can be distinguished by the fact that they have a much longer ‘tail’ than the females. The males tend to become more curious, almost aggressive towards scuba divers, coming in really close, and judging from the glint in their eyes it looks as if they are hoping that the diver is a willing female turtle! The females mate with various males during the season to ensure the best gene pool for the following generation. They then fertilise the eggs as required.
The females then come onto the beach to lay their eggs about ten times in a season, laying approximately 100 eggs each time.A wonderful sighting this month confirms that summer is here – a 10 meter long Whaleshark! We were watching the humpback whales from the one side of the boat and Clive turned and saw the unmistakeable fin sticking out of the water. "Whaleshark" he shouted and we quickly forgot all about the whales. The whaleshark was right next to the boat and swimming along slowly. Clive managed to snorkel next to her and got some lovely footage of her with his underwater video camera. Those of you who have dived with Clive know just how good he is as finding the ‘little critters’. Well, he has done it again – he has discovered another summer surprise in the form of a Pineapple Fish! He has now found one on Aerial Reef, living under a ledge. These fish are an extremely rare sighting and are very secretive. They are small, perhaps the size of the old R1.00 coin and look like miniature pineapples, spikes and all! Well done Clive!As for other ‘little critters’, we have been seeing lots of nudibranchs, little sole or flounder hiding on the sand in cleaning stations that are active with cleaner shrimps and humpback shrimps, nicknamed ‘Durban Dancing Shrimps’ because of the way they move! Sightings of blue banded and red-scribbled pipefish, which are part of the seahorse family! These tiny creatures are extremely well camouflaged and they tend to live in pairs. Reproduction is unique in that the male incubates the eggs in a pouch, the same way that the seahorses do.Also wonderful to look at is the anemone. This creature plays host to the usual suspects, namely the clown fish and dominoes, but there are smaller creatures that are often not noticed. Porcelain crabs live in the anemone’s tentacles for protection and they put out little webbed ‘mits’ to catch passing plankton, which they eat. There are also tiny, almost invisible shrimps that enjoy the protection of living together. Eggshell cowries are striking with their black and orange mantle covering their brilliant white shell inside.Another summer visitor will be the pregnant, female, raggedtooth shark. We first expect to see a few males on various reefs, before the females start arriving in full force. The males will stay until the water becomes uncomfortably warm for them, when they head back to the Eastern Cape and cooler climes. The females however, will be with us from December through to March, when they will also head back to give birth to their pups in the Eastern Cape."Beautiful whale sightings. Great coral and rays. Friendly team!" David & Sarina Clinch, Tokyo, Japan

Looking forward to next months diving!

Climate figures for the month of September averaged a daily minimum of 18°C and an average daily maximum of 31°C. The lowest recorded temperature was 10°C and the highest 38°C. No rainfall was recorded.

Departing Ongava for Palmwag, I decided to explore a little more of Namibia… after all it was an Adventurer Exploration! So we visited the Gamkarab Caves north of Outjo, where there was a challenging climb down for 50m to some interesting sights down at the bottom and a welcoming pool to cool off in. This was a big highlight (although only recommended for the younger and fitter), but perhaps exceeded the following morning at Palmwag when I gave the guests a wake-up call with desert-adapted elephant in front of their tents. After breakfast we tracked black rhino on foot and managed to successfully find a big bull.

Having relaxed with a well deserved lunch after our efforts we headed to Warmquelle Ongongo Falls for a swim – the best swimming pool in the world! On the way back to Palmwag a sight of 5 cheetah surprised us, and we drank in the sighting in combination with celebratory sundowners.

Heading south to Twyfelfontein and Damaraland Camp the following day, we once again tracked desert elephant and were rewarded in the late afternoon with a herd of 21. We had a very good outdoor dinner at the boma that night and the next morning headed south towards Swakopmund, finding more desert elephant while driving through the most beautiful landscape of Namibia from the Huab River to the Ugab River.

The annual summer time change has taken place, resulting in longer daylight hours in the afternoon, affording more time to watch rhino and other animals at the waterholes. The last of the natural dams have dried up, forcing the animals to migrate to other sections of the Reserve where the man-made waterholes give a constant supply of fresh water. The camp’s waterhole is starting to provide great excitement as brown and spotted hyaena whoop their way around the waterhole The Acacia newbronii trees are blossoming, their vibrant yellow pom-pom type flowers breaking the bleak landscape of the Etosha Pan. Giraffe and springbok gather around in numbers, delicately picking off the blooms between the sharp thorns. Plains animals abound at the waterholes, riveting everyone by their sheer numbers and the antics of the “swimming” springbok as they wade into the water past their bellies in search of cleaner water. Rhino, both black and white, are frequenting the waterholes in and around the camp, making the guides’ jobs that much easier! The frequent roar of the lions is a reminder that their food source is closer and easier on which to prey. Stompie (one of our notorious lionesses known for her aggressive nature), together with her pride, keeps everyone captivated as they frequent the waterhole opposite our lapa for their nightly drink before heading off. Leopard have been seen in camp and two cheetah were observed on the way to the airfield chasing a scrub hare before being thwarted at the last moment. Black-chested Snake Eagles, Tawny Eagles and Pale Chanting Goshawks are currently easy to spot as they perch in the bare Mopane branches, keeping an eye out for an unsuspecting reptile. Sparrow Weavers are enthusiastically building new nests indicating spring is just around the corner. The colourful Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters beautify the bare trees as do the Lilac-breasted Rollers.

The dust in the air lends itself to providing a red orb as the sun sets in the west framed by barren branches. Absolutely stunning.