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
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.
**********
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!
