Namibia

Well I travelled back down to the Namib Rand reserve to visit James(Party Boy from South African Wildlife College) I headed down south from Swakopmund. Swakopmund had been our ending point of our Namibian tour from Cape Town. Most of the group continued on to Victoria Falls. I decided to stay and see a little bit more of Namibia. I took off early in the morning and the drive although picturesque was grueling. It took me about 7 hours of hard driving to get down to the Namib Rand and bar one wrong turn I made it in one piece. The roads are generally poor graded gravel roads and you have to steer into the corners a lot of the time. The little rental car I hired (Hyundai Atos) was really put through its paces but it is actually not a bad little yoke. I stopped off in a place called Solitaire. It’s a very apt name for a place in the middle of nowhere. The place is renowned for its apple pie. A guy called Moose makes it and he was actually there when I went in. He looks like a fat version of ZZ Top and he asked me how I heard of his apple pie. He’s been making it the same way for 20 years or so he told me. I’ve gotta admit it’s nice but it’s touch and go whether it’s as good as Mags at home! It does need a bit of cream or ice cream to really top it off but in the middle of the bush it’s not too bad!

I just arrived into the reserve after sunset and the great thing was that I managed to take in a bit of a night drive on my way to the Rangers quarters where James lives and works. I saw my first Bat Eared Foxes and wild Gemsbok. I saw a lovely Giant Eagle Owl and there were lots of Black Backed Jackals and Springbok too so it was a good end to the drive.

James lives in a place around 55 kilometers out from the sea in the South West of Namibia. The reserve he is doing his Cheetah research in is about 178,000 hectares and has lots of room for game and predators. It borders the Namib Naukluft Park on one side and the Nubib Mountains on the other. These mountains however don’t stop the Cheetah’s from raiding livestock farms on the other side of the escarpment however and this causes problems for the Cheetah project and more importantly for the Cheetahs. Some of the local farmers aren’t too happy about the re-introduction of these beautiful predators into the area. The area is absolutely stunning. It is so vast and desolate but enchanting at the same time. The farmers who eventually settled here in the early 20th century were true pioneers. Unfortunately it was as is nearly always the case to the detriment of the indigenous people and wildlife. Namibia has 25% of the Worlds Cheetah population but unfortunately 85% of these animals are roaming agricultural land.

Partyboy made me feel very welcome and he introduced me to his work crew who are Damara people. They help with his research and general maintenance of the Rangers quarters. The reserve is made up of 16 farms that amalgamated to form the reserve. The indigenous animals of the area had been poisoned or shot to make way for cattle and sheep farming and this led to their near extinction in the area. They are making a huge come back now though as there are about 12,000 Springbok and 4,000 Gemsbok alone. This provides plenty of opportunities for predators and this in turn leads to an increase in scavengers etc etc. The project is going well and the Cheetah’s that James looks after are doing well. He has released 5 males and 2 females so far. All seem to be doing well.

We had a Braai that evening and I had my first taste of Gemsbok. It was lovely and we shared it with Paul the local Damara guy that helps James. We had a few brews and caught up on the past 6 months. The next morning we were up early to go tracking one of the female Cheetahs. We were welcome by the “Boys,” as they were up at the holding pen kissing the other two females that haven’t been released. It was amazing to see 5 wild Cheetah’s first thing in the morning. We set off to find Shanti the female Cheetah that had only been released last Sunday. All the Cheetah’s are collared so we tracked them using telemetry equipment. It was great fun tracking her. Unfortunately she led us a merry dance into the mountains. We climbed to about 1400 metres but to no avail. We couldn’t locate her. The elusive mountain Cheetah was smarter than us. I enjoyed the hike anyway. It was tough going and I wouldn’t be as nimble as the mountain goat James. Sure all Canadians are good mountainy men so he says! The poor auld Damara lad Paul though was struggling. He had a bit of a bubblas (hangover) after his two beers the night before. He speaks the local Nama language which is all clicks and it sounds really unique. He is trying to learn English now but James is giving him some bad habits!
The views from the mountain were spectacular and it was a good start to the day. The thing that really strikes you is the vastness of the expanse and the quietness. It’s definitely a place for reflection. You mightn’t see another person for the day and it reminds me of Leitrim back in the day! We headed back for a bit of brekkie and some coffee and then after lunch we went out to look for the other female. To cut a long story short she also gave us the slip but we had an idea where to find her. It was hard trekking and you’d certainly lose the Ned Kelly very quick out here! Poor auld James had to go and look for her the next day while carrying a leg of Springbok!

I finished my day off by feeding the captive females with some fresh Springbok meat. It was amazing how agile the cats were and they grabbed the legs in mid air and took off running in the blink of an eye. Partyboy missed the picture again! He might be able to climb mountains but he could do with some practice with a camera! He did capture a shot with me with two legs of venison in my hand though which reminds me of a joke I always tell when I’m drunk.

We had a few drinks that night but had an early one as I had to drive North again to Windhoek in the morning. I got up early but took a detour to Sesriem where we had been the previous week with the tour group. I wanted to get some good pictures of the Deadvlei. I had been there already but there were too many people walking around and I couldn’t get any shots without bodies in the frame. I was glad I went back in the end because it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. It’s an area in the desert where the trees have been dead for a thousand years. It is a dried up river bed and the contrast between the colours is beautiful. I’ll let you make up your own mind when ya see the pictures!

It took me 7 hours driving to get to Windhoek after leaving Sesriem. The roads were completely empty for most of the way. I would say that I drove for 350 kilometers without meeting another soul on the road. I did meet traffic when I was within 50 kms out of Windhoek though and when I got there, the hostel I was given a tip for was totally booked out! That would be typical of Wingitdotcom type tours though so I went around town in my little pimped up Hyundai looking for somewhere to lay the head. I ended up staying in a guest house. It was nice and everything was done in typical German fashion. Efficiency is definitely the German strong point.

I was up early again for another 6 hour slog up to Etosha(The great white place) in the North. The roads were quiet again even though this is the biggest tourist attraction in the country. This is the biggest wildlife park in Namibia. It’s around 22,000 square kilometers or approx the size of Holland and it centres on an old pan. The wildlife is beautiful here but very resilient. The animals have to be able to live on very little water and so some of the more water dependent animals simply can’t survive here. It is a very hot, arid land where only the adaptable survive. I went out for some game drives and saw loads of Black Rhino, Elie’s, Oryx, Springbok, Wildebeest and birds but apart from Jackals no big Cats. My fingers are crossed for the next few days that I see some. It’s a beautiful serene place anyway so I’ll enjoy the peace and quiet.

Well the God’s were smiling this morning. I left the camp at 6 and about 5 km from the gate there were 2 Lionesses lying on the road! I reached for my camera and nooooooooooo! I left it back at the camp. I did a U e and tried not to leave rubber on the tarmac or scare off the Lions. I got back just in time to see them starting to walk off into the bush. I was so busy taking shots of the Lionesses fanning out across the plains that I didn’t even notice the big male walking right up to my car window. I have to admit I nearly shat myself there and then. He looked at me full on and I was thinking he was going to pull me through the window! Lucky I had my belt on is all I could think and I was ready to slam my hand on the horn! He just looked at me though and I got my composure back enough to take some shots of him. He was huge and really healthy looking. He didn’t have a very distinguished mane though and I was thinking that maybe he was quite young. I’d have a guess and say eight. The pride consisted of two males and four females. They had just eaten by the looks of their bellies too. Their faces had blood still dotted around. I waited with them until they all headed off and watched them as they went. They looked like they were in hunting mode again but unfortunately the road didn’t head in the direction they took. It was an amazing start to the morning and how do you top that!