Tracking Cheetahs

In the early morning (530am! Zzzz…) we set off on another game drive – this time searching for Cheetah. Namibia hosts about 30% of the world's declining population of cheetahs. The cheetahs are now extinct in more than half the countries they were once found in. Again, Kavamba utilised his trusty handheld antenna to begin our high tech, wildnerness version of hide and seek. There were only 4 collared cheetahs on the 20 odd thousand hectare reserve due to the murder of one by a leopard on Boxing Day. As such, we considered ourselves quite lucky to spot two of them (Spitfire and Sniper). They were almost comatose after a big meal of impala. Their sleek, concave contours now more closely resembled the shape of a 41+ week, multigravid, diabetic, quintuplet abdomen. They weren’t running anywhere! In fact, they let us drive right up to them… closer than they normally get on the walking trek. We were in the jeep because Jonah presented too much of a tasty morsel. It was a risk that we were prepared to take, but rules are rules. We also encountered a couple of skittish rhino, a funny bird that changes colour and grows a tail longer than its body in mating season and were eluded by a hyena who wasn’t feeling sociable despite the distance that we had travelled.

Today we returned to Galton House in Windhoek. There was something extra nice about returning here. The staff were so lovely the first time around that it felt like coming home for a short break with friends before heading on. It is a bit like a water hole. Many of the people that we chatted with, or simply exchanged knowing nods with when the kids were acting up, were here for a night of respite after a week or two on the road or about to start on their journey. We have all been spoilt, but we’ve all experienced long gravel roads, flat tyres, random acts of kindness and wonderful scenery, people and food. We all look somewhat wearier, dirtier and happier. We didn’t want to risk taking the freebie bottle of sparkling on the plane so offered it around which prompted much reminiscing.

A quick dip, an odd but tasty meal of Cuban tapas and a glass of sparkling later and we were all ready for bed by 730. The lodges had been catering to European schedules of late, prolonged dinners starting at 730 or 8. We prefer to eat early and quickly… highly uncivilised but who cares? We’re “Strayan”! Added to the late nights were usually early morning game drives which made for short overnight sleeps.

Namibia has now drawn to a close. It was only a glimpse, but it felt like the right amount of time given that this was our first trip to Southern Africa. It was so very different and, in many ways nicer, than South Africa. We were so enchanted by Namibia’s vast open spaces, its incredible contrasting desert scenery as well the warm and friendly locals. We might return one day when the kids leave school and spend more time at one place as a fly in fly out holiday (utilising all the private air strips we saw!). Time will tell.

Steenbok

Giraffes everywhere, waiting for them to clear the path

Driving on a dry river bed looking following a hyena and hello! These guys were on our left just on the bank. A little too close...

Looking for creatures great AND small...

It took a while to find them but once we did, they were just there...just out in the open close to the road

Spitfire

Sniper

Our last dinner at Namibia was at a Tapas bar!

Happy Birthday Elliot

Today’s blog post was written by young Jonah. The adult version follows on -

Happy birthday Elliot! Time to go to the Okonjima plains camp.  When we arrived, we were all tired so we went straight in to our wonderful new homes and had a well-deserved rest. After resting we set out on our first adventure, leopard tracking. We got to see a mother and its 2 cubs feasting on a baby impala. We also got to see giraffes, warthogs, buffalo, water buck, kudu, oryx (with two babies (so cute!)), Mountain zebras, impalas, weaver birds and the ever so common Elliot. Our guide, Kavamba was very interesting and had razor sharp eyesight allowing him to see what we couldn’t. At first, he was a bit dull but once we got to know him we began to see the more exciting side of him. At first we didn’t know what the weird balls of grass on the trees were so we asked Kavamba who told us that it was giraffes’ way of storing food. It turned out to be bird nests after all. Elliots birthday dinner was nothing special or exciting although Elliot stated that when they sang happy birthday Namibian style he was very embarrassed. After that we went straight to bed unaware that we had to wake up at 5:00am.

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We began our drive back south towards Windhoek stopping at Okonjima overnight. Okonjima Nature Reserve is home to AfriCat. Straight from their website - ”Founded in 1991, The AfriCat Foundation is committed to the long-term conservation and survival of Namibia’s Large Carnivores in their natural habitat.” They rescue cheetahs, lions and leopards from farmlands and return over 85% to the wild. A rehabilitation programs exists for cats who are not able to be released back into the wild immediately, giving them an opportunity to return to their natural environment. Those we are not able to be released, such as the injured or those orphaned at a young age are fared for in a protected environment. Their ultimate goal is to turn their 22,000 hectares of land, which was once denuded farmland, back to its natural state, last seen 100 years ago. The lodge functions as a means to keep the projects sustainable including funding education for the locals and visitors.

We certainly learnt a lot! The leopards are the most elusive and secretive of the large cats. They are are opportunistic hunters and will kill even when not hungry. They are strong and powerful and are able to take prey twice their body weight vertically up into a tree to protect it from scavenging predators. Unless a female is accompanied by dependent offspring, they are usually solitary and actively defend their territories. In contrast, cheetahs are not opportunistic. They hunt only when hungry and only moderately protect their kill as their smaller structure make a win against larger predators unlikely. The currently estimated population of free-roaming Cheetahs in Africa in 2018 is 7000 in Africa and 100 in Asia.

The "Barn" the very large and airy common area at Okonjima Lodge. It was also nice and cool!

I wonder how cold it gets to have these around

One half the barn, the other half is the dining area

Our cabin/room

The view from the bed

Private balcony

We got there in time for lunch as well as the afternoon leopard tracking game drive. They had collared 12 leopards mainly to track their health and habits. As a side bonus, it was used as a way for visitors to see these highly elusive cats in their natural habitats. Kavamba, our guide, initially quiet had a rather quick sense of humour! He was also a wealth of information, helping us identify the various animals we had captured on camera, as well as teaching us how to tell the various types of antelopes apart. We were all awed by how we could drive, spot animals miles away as well as see tracks on the ground ALL at the same time.

Kavamba saw us taking photos of birds’ nests commenting on how perfectly round they seem. He then asked us if we knew what they really were. He proceeded to tell us that these neat piles of grass were not made by birds but rather by giraffes who use it for storage in case of drought. We fell for it hook, line and sinker. The story turned out to be the African version of the drop bear story….He asked us if we knew what giraffes ate. The children’s answer “They are fed carrots at the zoo”. We wanted to desperately to hide somewhere….Kavamba couldn’t stop laughing…

Leopard tracking was exhilarating! For a moment, we could see how people might have found hunting addictive. We followed 2 leopards for a while, but they just didn’t want to be seen. Kavamba persisted and we tracked a third leopard Lila and success! We got to see not one, not two…but three leopards! Lila had 2 cubs with her and they were content to be in the open and for us to watch them.

We returned to the lodge late. Thankfully dinner was quick, as well as being delicious. Elliot was given a small piece of cake with sparklers that came with a birthday song by the staff. He was still embarrassed despite it being round two! It was straight to bed after that as we had another early morning game drive the next day!

Fast wifi! Waiting for our guide, Kavamba

We the common (warthog)...

...and the rare. The very cute and small Damara dikdik, the smallest antelope in the world

Kavamba looking for leopard signals

A very typical Safari game drive view

A baby giraffe. This one is about 1 month old!

Lila with her cub trying to rub up against her

She had an impala up a tree

One of her curious cubs coming closer to check us out

Are these birds nests? or giraffe stores?!?

They are actually a handy way to tell direction in the African bush. The birds that builds these nests always make them on the west side of the tree!

Sunset drinks time!

For some reason, everyone thinks it is our anniversary!

We keep getting these freebies...

We'll take it!

Merry Christmas From Namibia!

This brief post was brought to you by Elliot. Again, the adult version follows.

Today was Christmas! We woke up to some delectable cinnamon pancakes for breakfast for a nice start to the day. Our plan then was to attend a local church service. After a few failed attempts, we found one that we were on time for, although the entire service was in Afrikaans. We then proceeded to go to a nearby shopping centre and had a bucket load of chicken at KFC. After over ordering, we went back to the lodge where we assembled by the pool in order to cool off until dinner. During this time, a family of warthogs were also seen. Finally, we had a Christmas dinner which went so late that we weren’t able to stay for desert and dozed off ready for the next day.

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Merry Christmas from Namibia! It was a low key Christmas. We drove around 100km to get to the nearest town, Tsumeb, to attend a Christmas service. There were many churches but we had to make a few attempts to get the start time right! We were too early for the first, too late for the second and finally just on time for the lucky third attempt. We were the only non “black” family at church which initially felt a little confronting, but they made us feel welcome and the minister was kind enough to stay the important parts in English to be inclusive. Even though we couldn’t understand the bulk of the service, we were able to enjoy the magnificent and moving singing of the congregation. I’m amazed at how such beautiful sounds just come out! On account of our big trip, we didn’t exchange Christmas presents but the children were allowed to pick a souvenir of their choice along the journey.

At our KFC lunch, we were reminded about how privilege and blessed we were. We were approached by a man for money. We declined but offered to buy him a meal instead and his gratitude was so palpable. Rather than eating though, he carefully packed it away in his bag. As we ate, he patiently waited. We were not sure why then felt awful as realisation hit. He was waiting for us to finish so he can finish off the leftovers. We set aside what was edible in a neat pile and move away quickly so he could eat in peace. It was a rather humbling experience.

Kentucky Fried Christmas!

Happy Family!

The sink hole not work stopping at...

On the way back, we stopped at Lake Otjikoto, a limehole sinkhole. We were charged N$5 (AUD5) per adult. To be honest, other than its interesting history where retreating German forces in 1915 dumped their weapons in the lake to prevent it from falling into South African hands , it was not worth the entry price to look at it…

The rest of the day was as described by Elliot. Not much happened!

Etosha National Park

This blogpost was proudly brought to you by Lara. The adult version to fill in the gaps follows on below!

It’s Christmas Eve with Lara and friends…uh! Uh! We have Lara…and Jonah…Ell-i-ot!!! Mum and Dad and that’s the fam…ily!!!!

‘Twas December 24^th, the day before Christmas. We prepared for our epic journey from Ongava Lodge to Mushara bush camp. The voyage was on extremely bumpy gravel terrain making it almost impossible for Lara and Jonah to watch Netflix without getting a headache and many animals were spotted on the way. The drive through Etosha National Park was a quest with many challenges for the Albany family. We nearly ran over a greater kudu, had to stop for an urgent pee pee in a giant drop hole toilet in the middle of the bush and there was a squirrel in the men’s toilet, but we finally arrived at Mushara bush camp.

A lioness and her cub, just barely visible above the grass

They were quite far away and we only just spotted them because of their pointy ears! No they were not pups of any sort, but adult Bat Ear Foxes!

Herd of wilderbeests

One just by the side of the road

A very LARGE hyena that walked right by our car...

Field zebras

Rhino!

A springbok close up

A welcoming drink of homemade iced tea that did not taste like iced tea whatsoever was given to us. Lara did not like the drink but felt compelled to drink it. Mum did not finish. Elliot was the first to finish. Jonah and Dad both drank the full glass. After what felt like an eternity being briefed in the non-airconditioned lobby, we were shown to our rooms…which turned out to be mutant tents. It wasn’t a tent, but it wasn’t a building. It was a mutant tent room with a shower, toilet, lights, beds, couch and…NO AIRCONDITIONING. This left us entirely dependant on the single fan in the room to keep us cool from the smoking hot weather. Aside from the fact that there was no air conditioning, it was very pleasant with nice beds and mosquito nets. Following such luxurious lodges that carried our luggage to the rooms, Mum was not happy when we had to bring our own luggage to the room and even more unhappy when we discovered that there were luggage carts after manually trekking to our rooms while carrying our luggage by hand. There were also about a billion trillion moths outside the tent, all clinging their little hairy moth legs on the fly wall…Dad’s. Worst. Nightmare. Mum was paranoid that the moths would eat our clothes.

After settling into the rooms, we went back to the lobby to have lunch. As we were only seeking a light meal after the many snacks eaten on the road. We ordered severely overpriced cheese toasties with salad that Mum and Dad weren’t particularly happy about. Jonah didn’t even eat all his salad and there was capsicum…ew. At least there was ice-cream with chocolate sauce that came with the meal.

At this moment in time, we were all stinking hot and made the decision to get inside the pool before we all died of overheating. Lara somehow managed to get unchanged and changed into her swimmers with only one hand and the other filled with sunscreen. At the swimming pool, the first ever poolympics took place. It was a series of mini competitions in the pool including activities such as who could throw Jonah the furthest and who could carry Jonah for the longest above the water. Mum got out of the pool because she was convinced that she saw black mould but nobody else could see anything.

Overpriced lunch!

The common areas. Spacious and actually quite beautiful

The gorgeous decor of the bathroom. Very Stanley and Livingstone!

Our "mutant tent"

I don't think "camping" can get better than this...other than air-conditioning!

The vanity in the tent. Toilet to the left, and then shower to the right. It was so hot...the water coming out of the cold water tap stayed warm the whole shower...

Can't move....too hot

After showering in our cool tent showers, we went to dinner. The dining tables were decorated elaborately with glitter bonbons and other Christmas ornaments. There was only one problem…we were seated at the table underneath 13 lights and were being bombed by giant moths every 5 seconds. First came the entre which was a salad. Lara thought a lemon was an orange and ate it. Elliot made the same mistake after seeing Lara suffer from the sour taste of the lemon. Our mains came a billion years later, and we were served our game. And then there was dessert which took another billion years to come. It was a massive meringue with fruit cake ice-cream. Lara never thought there would be a day when she would dislike ice cream… After our three hour Christmas Eve dinner we all plonked in bed but struggled to fall asleep in the 25 degrees weather.

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The main purpose of today was our DIY game drive across Etosha National Park, considered one of Africa’s great parks in both size and diversity of wildlife. This was part of our “budget saving” sections in order to be able to splurge on staying at some of the nicer lodges. We were a little apprehensive and worried that we didn’t the skills to spot the animals. We needn’t have worried. Despite the recent rains which had dispersed the animals usually congregated at the waterholes, we still saw a lot, perhaps not as many as we would have with a trained guide but enough to keep this amateur crew happy. We just stopped when we saw others stop and that was a sure fire sign that there was something exciting to see! Our “animals sighted” list included a lioness with her cub, a male lion, a hyena, zebras crossing the road, giraffes, rhinos, bat ear fox (which we thought were baby jackals because they were tiny!) and many many more.

We thought we’d share some practical information which may be helpful if you are considering self-driving. Fill up on petrol outside the park (Outjo is a good option) as fuel within the park can be unreliable. The park opens and closes its gates at sunrise and sunset and all travel must be completed within those times including if you are staying within the National Park itself so do look up the times before hand. Your vehicle is registered at the gate where you are given a permit, you then have to pay the park fees (which were very reasonable ) at one of two gated towns (Okaukuejo and Namutoni) within the park itself. This receipt and registration papers are needed at the exit of the gate of your choice. Although we were only covering around 140km, the speed limit within the park is 60km/hr so it does take longer to cross it than a normal. Also take into consideration that your chances of spotting animals and getting good photos are better when driving slower. You may also want time just stopping and waiting at the waterholes as the animals come and go. Patience is a virtue!

We arrived after a tiring drive to Mushara Bush Camp just outside the Eastern gate (Von Lindequist Gate) of Etosha National Park. I struggle to be objective as it was very hot (as Lara has alluded to), I am heat averse (don’t ask me why I am in Africa in the summer) and known to get the grumps when unable to deal with the heat! The physical décor of the “camp” was actually very nice. It is many, many levels above the glamping options at home. It was designed to be more family friendly and so catered for families with younger children. The service though was well below the standard we had experienced elsewhere. The staff never gave adequate information about anything...I didn't mind paying for food but I would like to know the prices before hand! Although we were probably spoilt by our experiences in other parts of Namibia and South Africa. If we had come here first straight from Australia we may not have had an issue! We didn’t do much for the rest of the day as it was just too hot. Even dinner was a struggle. They had organised a lovely Christmas themed dinner with champagne, crackers on the table, and a gift for the guests. But the food was slow to arrive and we were hot and constantly attacked by moths. I was not happy!

Gifts for the adults!

The dinner menu

Creative decorations