Namibia
Bird Gallery
This section is currently being revamped with much more information and additonal images which will hopefully be of interest to anyone planning a visit. The Etosha section in particular will take a while to redo but all others apart from this title page and an animal species entry have been completed. I also intend to include a section featuring information on some of Etosha`s animal and bird species. (LINKs to follow)*
Further information on Namibia and additional images taken there can also be found on Clydeside Images.com. Utilise the blog`s search box or the `Overseas-Namibia` fly-out label on the right-hand side of the blog page. Please bear in mind that my Stock Photography Archive has even more shots taken in Namibia. If you wish to purchase any image(s) please email using the Contact Form and I will respond at the earliest opportunity.
Further information on Namibia and additional images taken there can also be found on Clydeside Images.com. Utilise the blog`s search box or the `Overseas-Namibia` fly-out label on the right-hand side of the blog page. Please bear in mind that my Stock Photography Archive has even more shots taken in Namibia. If you wish to purchase any image(s) please email using the Contact Form and I will respond at the earliest opportunity.
From the world`s largest sand dunes in the Namib-Naukluft Desert, the wave-battered ships` graveyard of the Skeleton Coast, to big game viewing in Etosha National Park, Damaraland, or the Caprivi Strip, Namibia is a vast, beautiful land full of contrasts.
Distances are long and driving for hours, often through desolate terrain, can be challenging but the extensive network of mainly gravel roads, with little traffic, enables visitors to experience the stunning landscapes and exciting destinations at a comfortable pace - this is the place to come for a superb self-drive adventure.
I have been fortunate to visit the country three times, the most recent occasion being in September / October 2018. There are several ways to get to Namibia from the UK but, residing in Scotland, the cheapest and most convenient option for my wife and I on the first two occasions was with British Airways: Shuttle from Glasgow to Heathrow, Boeing 747 night flight to Johannesburg, then a Com Air Boeing 737 to Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako Airport (WDH).
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For our second holiday a Ford Ranger was allocated and when we returned to Namibia in September 2018, we picked up a Toyota Fortuner (above) at the Hertz rental desk in the airport terminal to save spending a night in Windhoek. All three 4x4s were up for the task with solid tyres, air conditioning and a USB port for connecting iPods or charging camera batteries etc. Radio reception is poor outwith the towns and cities and your favourite music helps the long distances fly in. The Fortuner also had the facility to connect your device with Bluetooth (to edit)*.
Any suggested 2-3 week-long introductory self-drive tour of the country will likely take in the desert, including the world`s biggest sand dunes and dried-up lake beds at Sossuslvei, Swakopmund and Walvis Bay on the Skeleton Coast, with one or two nights in either Damaraland, the Waterburg Plateau, or the Erongo Mountains, all of which make a convenient stopover when travelling to or from wildlife-rich Etosha National Park, rated by most visitors as the essential highlight.
Sunrise, Etosha Pan
Visitors wishing to enter Etosha or any of the other Namibian national parks are issued with a permit at the main gate for the number of days required. The appropriate fees must be paid before leaving, usually at a separate reception building, often located in a rest camp. The permits are valid for 24 hours after issue rather than per day. Visitors must ensure that they vacate the park, or are inside a restcamp if they have accommodation there, before the gates close at sundown.
Each permit lists the National Park rules which are also displayed on large billboards at the entrance gates. Visitors who infringe these conditions risk a hefty fine, expulsion from the park or both. One day on our latest holiday, my wife and I returned to the Nebrownii waterhole mid-afternoon and found that the parking area wasn’t too busy so I got a good spot, cut the engine, and settled down for a long wait. The calm didn’t last long though and soon, numerous cars, 4-wheel drives, and large purpose-built safari trucks had gathered, the occupants all focused on a group of lionesses that had exited from the culvert below the main road. One of the cats was on her own, well back from the others as they approached the waterhole, scattering Springbok and Zebra in the process.
Please note that all images on this website and my blog are Copyright. They are not free to use and have been embedded with a digital watermark.
This is the view from our chalet.
Dolomite camp is situated in the remote, previously restricted western section of Etosha National Park and its reception building, restaurants, bar and 20 chalets are dotted along a rocky ridge affording stunning views across the plains. Only two chalets, number 13 and 14 at the north end, offer a view of the waterhole and my wife and I had one of them - we could see for 20 miles from the veranda and watch herds of elephant, giraffe, zebra and ostrich come and go.
Chalets 13 and 14 from the Dolomietpunt waterhole
The camp and car park at the bottom of the hill are unfenced so animals can wander in and out at will, passing right next to the accommodation units. Staff advise guests to be down in the main dining area before darkness falls then, after you've eaten, a guy in a golf buggy drops you off. Sitting out on your veranda to watch the stars isn`t recommended either as lion and leopard often pass by during the night. They weren`t kidding - around 4 am on our second night here, a lion snatched a baboon on the rocks right outside our chalet. Brick walls, rather than canvas would have been preferable as he or she stayed for a while, and we could hear every breath!
This Baboon pulled a cardboard sheet out from under the concrete ridge weighing down the thatch and looked at it as if he was reading a Sunday newspaper! An example of the gang`s handywork (our chalet the morning after the lion encounter) can be seen on the right.
Raptors
Greater Kestrel, Etosha National Park
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Vultures & Crows
Vultures Chudop waterhole, mid-afternoon etc*
Ostriches, Bustards, Koraans & Secretary Birds
Kori Bustard, Fischer`s Pan, Etosha National Park.
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The Northern Black Korhaan, also known as the White-quilled Bustard, is a species of bird in the bustard family, Otididae. It occurs mainly in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa and Its preferred habitat is primarily open grassland and scrub. It gives loud, distinctive calls and display flights. Both sexes differ from the Southern Black Korhaan (Afrotis Afra), which is endemic to South Africa, by white inner webs to primaries, forming conspicuous white window on upper- and underwing in flight.
A Secretary Bird struts its stuff beside the main Namutoni - Okaukuejo road.
Parrots, Hornbills, Sunbirds & Hummingbirds
Doves, Grouse and Guineafowl.
Lapwings & Plovers
Shrikes
Okaukuejo - Dolomite road*
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Larks & Finches *
Weavers & Sparrows
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Above: Okaukuejo etc*
Waterbirds
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The Great White Pelican is the larger of the two species found in Africa, the other being the Pink-backed. The wingspan of the Great White Pelican can range from 226 cm to 360 cm (7.4ft - 11.8ft), the latter measurement being the largest ever recorded wingspan of a flying bird apart from the Great Albatross.
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