namibia 2023 - a 5,000km photo journey

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 Namibia.

The name itself is evokes extraordinary stories of adventure, mystery and exotic encounters. Infinite, open, desert plains, doted by a few and far apart oasis and settlements, a long coastline where life barely subsist between the clear blue of the Atlantic and rusty sandy beaches, and everywhere still, life clings and survives in this mythical landscape.

My first memories probably go back far to my childhood, watching some TV documentaries, and reading about the Skeleton coast, and the White elephant of the desert, and the salt plains dead tree in a Science and Life magazine my father used to buy for us. Yes, that far back our TV still had three to four channels and most of our knowledge came from buying magazines, encyclopaedia, and reading books :-)

So when my friend and experienced Africa aficionados Julian advertised a two week Namibia trip, covering the best of what the country had to offer, East to West and back, I did not think twice and signed up! And so preparations went under way, and soon a group of six photographers was confirmed. 

We immediately booked our flights to benefits of lower fares. I was lucky to have found a cheap Premium Economy seat both ways so was thankful for that!

The year was 2023, and we were just going out of the COVID pandemic, and I was so looking forward to a one of a kind adventure.

DAY 1 - June 3rd

Our journey would start at Singapore Changi airport, embarking on a 1.30am red eye ten and a half hours flight leaving for Johannesburg, South Afrikaans where we would transit to another international two hours flight, with Airlink, on our way to Namibia capital Windhoek: which can be loosely translated from Afrikaans language as Windy Corner. To tell the truth, it did not feel that long, as I was as excited as could be, and found time to eat, sleep, read, and enjoy every single moment of the journey there! 

The flight from South African to Namibia was much more interesting, actually, as we flew over such dramatic arid landscape, i could not keep looking down all the way in. 

Finally, around 1pm, and on the same day as we departed due to the timezones, our small plane landed in Namibia international airport.

Our local guide, Tim Theron, greeted us after checking out of the airport immigrations and customs, and soon we found ourselves checking in our very nice first hotel, overlooking a small hill and some quiet neighbourhood of Windhoek. This was a good time to check our gear, go around to take a few shots of the architecture and small birds looking out for leftovers (namely a very cute little Short-toed tock thrush), and before we knew it, as the evening got suddenly cold, we sat outside and enjoyed our first dinner. Good meat and wine for me!

I had no problem falling asleep that night.

DAY 2 - June 4th 

And just like that, I jumped out of bed in the early morning, heading down to a solid break fast and getting ready for our four and a half to five hours drive south west to Sossus Dune Lodge. We could barely register the amount of driving we were going to go through, but still it seemed a long way to go, stopping here and there, we probably would arrive very late afternoon or early evening.

Our two cars got packed to the brim with all luggages and after a final check that no one had forgotten anything, we hit the road! The roads out of town were in very good condition, and we sped along eating up the kilometres with each minute passing.

It would not be long though, before a first mandatory stop to capture some bird of prey in the distance, which maybe have been responsible for a road side kill left unfinished: by the look of it, a dark Verreaux Black Eagle. And a bit further, toping a steep hill, a dramatic landscape giving us a taste of what to come: and while we were shooting those landscape, at the corner of the road, a pair of Clipspringer looking back at us for a little while, before effortlessly climbing the rocks and getting out of sigh in no time. And as the first dunes came into view on the horizon, we spotted our very first iconic Oryx, galloping in the distance, but seemingly keeping an eye on us too. What a treat!

We drove on. The kilometres passed by, as I kept looking out of the window at the savage landscape. With barely any vegetation, and a terrain that at times looked like the surface of Mars, so dry, rusty looking and full of broken rocks, this was so different and alien from any other place I had ever visited in my life.

It really was hard to comprehend the vastness of the country we were crossing, and was a good thing there was so much to see: there is great diversity in arid landscape! And before we know it, we had almost 300 kilometres behind us and was time for a lunch break at the aptly named Solitaire station. And solitaire it was, virtually located in the middle of nowhere, despite being at a crossroads of some sort, what was so quaint were the numerous old cars carcasses littering the ground leading to the main buildings. Those were antics! And there was still beauty in their derelict state, half washed away, half painted, very dry looking, rusty but still somehow looking awesome!

We had a quick lunch break, hydrate ourselves, bathroom stop and had a little bit more time to take some shots before it was time to ride again. And as soon as we left the place and turned South, the landscape changed again. We were now in the heart of the Namib-Naukluft National Park

The road was more of a well-maintained dirt track by now, and our cars were sending a steady cloud of dust and tiny gravels as we sped along an almost straight line through the hot afternoon desert, under a deep, blue sky and relentless sun. 

And as the minutes slowly ticked by, the fames large Namibia dunes started to rise from the ground to greet us: and they look like exactly like what I had seen on TV or read in magazine. And what stroked me at first was their size, as it was a bit hard at first to realize how large they were. But as we drove deeper through their territory, some trees and Oryx could be seen at the base of some of them: and then it clicked. They were massive! Some maybe several hundred meters large and tall!

A lone Martial eagle was flying above us as we stopped at one of those famed dunes, a bit off Sossusvlei road, when our cars came to a halt in front Marais's Point where a small (beginner sized) and easy to climb dune with a few trees would be our first stop. I opened the door, as the warm, dry but strangely welcoming warmth of the desert hit all my senses at once. My hiking boots touched down. This was it, I was really here!

As luck would have it, we had reached that dune in perfect time for the golden hour. All around us, colours progressively took on an even more saturated, golden, clear appearance. Shadows elongated, wind died down, and everything was still. We would barely hear our voices, as they quickly got carried away in the vastness of our surroundings. And again, would it not be for previous footsteps, we may have walked on totally untouched sand, as we explored the dune from all angles, and kept taking photos: portrait, landscape, looking up, looking down, with a tree, without a tree, selfie (ok, one or two maybe), pointing shadows and facing the dying sun on the horizon.

We literarily had to be dragged down and recalled many times to our cars. It was time to go to our resting place for the night at the Sossus Dune lodge. We were told this was not the fanciest accommodations nearby, but the closest to the park entrance for quite a bit. And this was going to be an ace up our sleeves in the morning to insurance we would be first to drive in, and first to climb the big dunes bordering the fames salt plain dead trees at Deadvlei!

Not the fanciest lodge? To us it was like five stars to see lodging, promise of a hot shower, and a firm bed to fall asleep after a big dinner, and some time spent, like every night, backing up all the photos on two separate SSD drives: always one on me, and one in the luggage. Storage is cheap. Lost memories (photos) very expensive!

As the night was rapidly enveloped by a pitch black blanket, the stars all came out. Alone on my lodge veranda, I looked up and let my thoughts wandered for some time: before setting up the tripod and trying out some settings for our astrophotography sessions. It was going to be a short night, as we would need to wake up around 5am and hit the road for our big dune day!

DAY 3 - June 5th 

We were ready to go and board the cars by 5.30am, and it was cold. Funny enough, I remember asking before we left, what kind of clothes we ought to bring, imagining the scorching white heat we would endure during the day, but had never thought much about the early morning or night temperature drop. I was told it would be cold and better bring a warm jacket or something similar. Somehow, that did not register, thinking 'This is Africa, Namibia, we are talking about, just a hoodie will do, com'on...'

Big mistake.

It was freezing cold, and as we sped along the dark road towards the park's entrance, I had 4 layers of clothes on my body, two scarves, my hoodie from work (thank god I brought it after all...), a bonnet and my hat. In my pockets, a loose pair of cotton gloves. Yes it was cold, but I was so excited, and grinning ear to ear, I did not care at all. This morning we would climb the dunes all the way to Sossusvlei flats and photograph the rising sun and the dead trees.

By 7.30am we arrived at the base of the dunes, and I remember nodding to the briefing quickly, turning around, and without a second to spare, leaving at great paces up the first dune, caring tripod and camera bag, looking ahead and hoping to warm up soon. Because it was cold!

I was alone. I was the first on the dunes. In front of me, not a single sole. And my destination closer than I had imagined. The distance was not great, barely a kilometre, but the angle of attack, walking in the sand carrying a few kilograms of equipment was not insignificant. I was warmed up nicely by now, my legs starting to ache a little bit and my heart rate peaking at 158bpm when reaching the top of the sandy path! But what a view did reward me... because right in front of me, unobstructed, virgin of any presence, under a still dark cloudless sky and the setting Moon, at long last, Sossusvlei salt flats greeted me.

Wasting no time, I climbed down from where I had willingly stopped to take in the view, but also my breath, and took my first steps onto the salt flats. Like I had assumed, it was hard, crusted and white, twisting in some weird petrified patterns at times. Dead trees lay here and there, at different angles, mostly on the periphery of the flats, and where some generation, small green bushes mostly, incredibly survived.

I put down the tripods and started taking some pictures before the Moon disappeared. Checking my first shots, a few could have been taken on Mars. I wished I had brought a small Mars rover replica with me to take some cool pictures... But as I smiled at the thought, the first silhouettes reaching the top of the path appeared. Soon, there would be people all around I guess, and some precious shots may be more difficult to get. And with that thought, I pushed on, going further onto the flats, taking more dramatic shots of the dead trees against the immensity of some of the dunes, while some other groups could be seen on the crest, slowly making their way to the summits. For sure, they were going to have some amazing view from the summit!

On my right, on a branch, a small brown bird, a Familiar Chat, suddenly appeared. It looked at me, and after taking some safety shots from a distance, walked much closer, very slowly, under its curious gaze. Maybe it was as surprised seeing somebody here at this hour than I was to see a bird making a pit stop on the salt flats! I turned around and could see some of my party guests making their way into the flats too, so I decided to cross the white expanse and try my luck on the other side, as the win unexpectedly whipped up a few small twisters at the edge of the trees.

I looked up again towards the top of the dunes, and saw sand was being whipped up into small funnels, engulfing briefly some of the climbers. Namibia, it seemed, was closing down on us slowly and maybe the timing was being perfect because turning around time was coming, and the walk down the parking, although not as touch as the climb, was still a kilometre of heavy sand to trudge through. But happy to trudge I was. And down I walked the path, more and more shielding my eyes from the angry sand growing outbursts. 

And by the time we all gathered back at our vehicles for the drive back to our lodge, and a warm breakfast before checking out to our next destination, the dunes all around us were being slightly veiled into a sandy cloak, making visibility not so great anymore, and breathing, I assumed, not too pleasant either. Good thing we had beaten the crowd with an early start!

We arrived at Dead Valley Lodge right on time for lunch. The so called appellation 'Dead Valley' was quite fitting I thought, as the little oasis of accommodations was more or less in the middle of nowhere, again, right in the open sky on all sides. I imagines should a sand storm roll in, the only viable option would be to stay indoors and not attempt any traveling... But for now, we were happily seating around our lunch, cooling down with some fresh beverages, and already looking forward to our afternoon, which would be spent exploring some more, and much bigger, dunes.

We stopped at two of them, and I was able to compose some interesting perspective, looking at the sandy, snake-like profiles they projected, especially with the sun creating all sorts of shadows. And there was no limit to enjoying walking in that amazing sand. We spotted more Oryx around the dunes, but always a bit far away. So when it was time to move back to the park, but explore other dunes where we should be able to come quite close to some, we were delighted and quickly drove South.

On the roadside, our first sighting of a heavy looking big bird, the Rippel's Korhaan, and finally more Oryx, closer to us. And as the dunes loomed larger in the park, finally, we were able to walk very quietly between the few trees present, and get some really good shots of a group of Oryx. The colours were amazing, with the sun setting, and the orange, red and green becoming more vivid all around us. Some of the Oryx were also getting closer to us, closer to some of the trees, where they used their iconic long horns to rustle the lower branches and get the fruits to drop at their feet to feed. We slowly followed them at a distance for some time, and as long as there was light. But eventually, they all moved away, up the dunes, and disappeared. That was our cue to go back to the lodge.

It had been a long day, and need less to say we were starved, and longing for something cool and fizzy, or not, down our throat. Dinner was interesting to say the least, as one could sample most of the bush, or desert meat, that the country had to offer. And one not to run away from a challenge, I decided to taste it all. And let me tell you: it was delicious!I was content.

I decided to hurry back to my room and check all backup had been done, before indulging in a steaming hot shower and promptly going to sleep. Tomorrow wake up for me and another guest would be 5am, and our optional destination for which we had opt it: balloon ride over the desert: and champagne breakfast after landing if we made it back alive!

DAY 4 - June 6th 

Yet again, wrapped myself into a few layers, as getting out of bed had been a bit of a shock: it was cold. But I did not care, rushed out of the door, met my friend and our driver soon took us on the road again to the balloon ride offices, a short hour away drive from there. There were quite a few people as it turned out, who also braved for the early morning ride. We duly completed all the necessary paperwork and soon were on our way in a little convoy, which also included the van carrying the balloon. 

It was around 7am by the time we arrived at our launch pad. The sky was beginning to show some deep blue and orange colours as the sun was very slowly rising. And my teeth were clattering non stop as the bitter cold of the open desert hit me after a few minutes in the open. I kid you not. It was so bad that the moment they started the burners to inflate the balloons, I stayed as closed as safety permitted to try stop shivering...

At last, the colourful envelops of our rides were fully up, a multicolour patchwork above our gondola, onto which we quickly climbed: in total, twelve of us and the pilot. And just like that, we started to rise, with a few bursts of the burners.

Up we went...

All around me, flat, dry land, a few mountains forming the basin where our camp was located, and further way almost on the horizon, dunes as far as the eye could see. Below, the shadows of our balloons (there were two crews operating), played cat and mouse as we gained altitude. And now that the sun was up, I could finally warmed up and enjoy the view, now that we were several hundred meters high.

As the sun rose higher, colours were changing below, with shadows shifting, new details emerging, patterns in the sand and the rock, trees suddenly appearing in contrast, minuscules, Oryx and Jackal presence betrayed by moving shadows. I was taking it all in, trying to burn every details and senses I could feel in my memory, so I would never forget this experience... and when the pilot indicated we were about to start our descent, with some very interesting comments and recommendations from our pilot: simply put, the gondola is going to be dragged onto the ground for a bit hopefully, but it may go on or flip over so hang on. And with that we started losing altitude, slowly at first. I was expecting a bit of a bump, rock and roll once we touchdown, but it was actually much gentler. Skilled pilot and cooperating winds.

Before we knew it we were all outside the gondola and happily walking to the magnificent breakfast tables which had been setup for our successful landing: a balloonist tradition so to speak. Champagne, assortment of pastries and cold meat, and of course plenty of cheese to go around. We were thrilled, big success and hats off to the crew!

After going back to the company HQ and paying for the ride (you only pay if you come back alive as tradition goes), we quickly drove back to our lodge to finish packing and continue our drive West, towards Walvis Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean! It would be a few hours drive, punctuating to take some photos of Lappet-faced vultures, more Oryx, wild Ostrich, South African Ground squirrel, Sociable weaver bird, Blacked-back jackal, Common Warthog and a few other smaller birds. But one stop we were all looking for was the Tropic Of Capricorn line, which we would be crossing about halfway to our destination. Needless to say, there were lots of photos taken around that sign...

On the road again, as the hours rolled by, and early afternoon we made another stop near a dried riverbed for a quick packed lunch. And it took us a few more hours to reach the coastline and Walvis Bay. As usual, once the sun started to go down, so did the temperature and we made a few quick stops outside town to shoot some scores of Lesser flamingos, Silver seagulls, Black-winged Stit, Swift terns, Cape teals and some more... and ultimately ended up on the beach, in town, capturing the last rays of sun as huge flocks of Greater flamingos huddled together in small groups before turning in for the night.

What a long and eventful day it had been: especially for the two of us who did the balloon ride. 

I was bone tired, I was hungry and thirsty, and very happy to head to a seafood and wine restaurant after we had checked in our cosy little cottage. The garlic mini lobsters and mash potatoes were especially scrumptious. And so it was with a full stomach and memories a fresh as a squeezed lemon that i collapsed in bed after a hot shower and necessary photo cards backup.

DAY 5 - June 7th 

We had the luxury of waking up at a decent time for once, and not rush for breakfast: which was very much appreciated by everybody! 

We started our day of adventure going to the harbour, and been greeted by a multitude of Great White Pelicans: especially the ones perched on the boardwalk pier leading to our boat. Quite a large bird indeed, they would just look down at us walking by, and I'm sure not have been the only one wondering if they would snatch our hats or leave a little gift on them. As I was smiling, little did I know what was going to happen later.

Formalities all completed, we set sail through and out of the harbour, eyes wide opened and marvelling at the bountiful wildlife: pelicans of course, more of them, always elegant flamingos, very noisy Cape fur seals sunbathing on the beach, Cape Gannet, Kelp gulls, and very happy to see cute little Haviside's dolphin accompanying us for a little while. On a beach at some point, we could see busy people setting up tables for a breakfast, while the silhouette of a lone Blacked-back jackal nearby appeared on a small dune.

The scenery was vast and wild and it was such a great feeling of freedom and sensation of being alive in away, to be on the water, absorbing as much as I could, as our boat eventually made a u-turn, and back to port.

This is where we suddenly were greeted by a small flock of Great White pelicans who boarded the boat, as a scheduled feeding show was organized by the crew. Those birds knew the timing alright! So did a few seals joining the deck! And it is at this moment that they landed in our midst and screams of wonder and alarms echoed as a large one decided to make my hat his landing pad! It was not that heavy, actually, so I did not think much of it at first. But when he made itself comfortable and looking down at me, we decided this was enough and shoo it away joining the others and getting his little fish from the crew. Feeling lucky, but I should have gone play the Lotto right after, in hindsight! What a laugh...

After docking back at the harbour, we wasted no time and jumped back in our cars, for an exciting drive south, on the beach, up and down the majestic dunes bordering Sandwich Bay.

But first, our drive took us closer to the salt producing drying basins. On our left and right, huge areas, shallows by all accounts, were at different stages of evaporation, in order to extract the raw salt from seawater, and further down this facility, conveyor belts were actively building up great piles of snow white salt, glistening under the noon sun: what a sight! It actually looked more like ice sugar to me. We had a quick peak inside and saw huge bulldozer and trucks busy shaping up, collecting and storing the precious salt and was actually amazing to think we would buy some later at a convenience store!

But a bit further, passed some great flocks of lesser flamingos, we drove past some red tinted canals and reservoir: it actually was more of a dark pink bordering red, but the sight was surprising to say the last. We were told by our guide this was due to alga, mostly Dunaliella, producing that pigments. Adding the high salinity and minerals present, this colour red would come into various intensity and hues. The contrast with the above blue sky and other surrounding white drying lakes was amazing...

Leaving the salt facilities behind us, we sped along the road, and finally shifter into four wheels drive, and onto the dunes, where we would stop soon for a walk around, and been shown how to find the tell tell signs that small sand lizards were hiding below the surface. And after inspecting a few dunes carefully, pointing to some disturbance on the slopes of a small dune, he carefully dig up the sand, and let you a rainbow looking little lizard, which immediately shifted to the shadowed area of his hand. Just a minute or so of showing off, then the little reptile was let go and very quickly disappeared in the sand. What a little beauty!

Off we went, and this time our car literarily went for the beach, and skilfully drove on the slowly diminishing area between the tall dunes on our left, and the rising sea on our right: let's say the two left wheels were on dry sand and the two right heels we on the wet sand! This was fun! But eventually we ran out of beach. With nowhere else to go forth, our driver revved up the engine and the jeep suddenly went up the dune: at a very steep angle! Still fun, but quite a sensation still... And so we would drive several hundred meters of dune, drive/slide down a little bit, go around the summit of one, then make a final push for the tallest dune, giving up a breathtaking view of the South Atlantic Ocean and Sandwich Bay West side, and dunes as far as the eyes could see East.

We feasted our senses on the moment.

When the moment came to go down the dunes, where our Champagne late lunch/snack would be served, the realization we would have to drive down the steep dunes we had just climbed hit me: as I was sitting in the front passenger seat. And with a laugh and grin, the driver told me to hang on, as the car went into a 35-40 degrees down angle, suddenly gliding, using the sand as a natural conveyor belt! With both hands on the dashboard, I was grinning too, maybe grinding my teeth a little bit still in apprehension... and of course all that went away once we reached the base, and slowly made our way to the garnished tables which had been setup by the crew. It is a tough life...

As we savoured the delicious meal, refreshed our dry throat with a few glass of bubble wine, a few Cape sparrow came in close checking for crumbs, while some Cape Wagtail kept their distance. The sun was still high around 4.30pm, when everything was packed up again in the jeep and we drove back up north and Walvis Bay. 

As we drove through some rough terrain punctuated by big holes and dry bushes, we saw a lone Springbok poking its head out of one of those natural trenches, and just watch us drive by. We hoped it was not injured or something else since it did not move at all. Maybe it was just settling in for the night ahead and was too comfortable to even move? Back on the beach, further up as the sun was getting really low and elongating shadows to the extreme, a few Blacked-back jackal lazed on the sand, warming up to the last warmth of the day maybe, before the bitter cold night. And still further north, a single Cape fur seal sat smack in the middle of the tracks, refusing to move as we got closer. So we went around, while it gave us, I swear, one of those annoyed, or exasperated look telling us to just 'move on, nothing to see' look... And so we did!

It was close to 6.30pm when the sun started to disappeared on the horizon, and instantly, the temperature took a nose dive: cue for us to turn around, and head for a much needed seafood treat, accompanied by a chilled Darling Cellars reserve white wine from South Africa. And much later, after a slow drive through the pitch black town, we finally reached our hotel. I had no more energy to spare after doing all my due diligence chores (shower, cleaning, backing up and packing for the next day).

DAY 6, June 8th 

Today we would bid farewell to Walvis Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, starting our long drive North West, through some very dry desert indeed and to our next stop at the Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, from whee we would explore the surrounding plains and rocky hills wildlife. But first, we were scheduled for another long drive on the beach, first South and around Walvis bay, then straight North this time.

There were countless new photo opportunities around Walvis Bay, Cape fur seals, shipwrecks, more Black-back Jackal lazying on the sand, countless birds, amazing vista, but mostly, clean, crisp salted air of the Atlantic!. And as we arrived to the tip of the Bay arching tip, we could finally see and appreciate the big, white, fast moving rolling waves of the ocean, coming crashing in a boom and a lingering whisper as the last of the wave got swallowed by the sand. Kelp gulls were flying all around us, and a few hurriedly finished devouring a crabs on the waterline. To our right, a large Caspian Tern suddenly became aware of our presence and in an instance was on its feet, flapping its wings to be airborne, never turning back, while some Cape teals were also busy foraging the small pools of water here and there further up the beach..

We eventually turned around, back into town to buy a few groceries to prepare ourselves for the long ride North and back into the desert due East. It would be a few hours to reach our lodge so was important to be as comfortable as possible in the cars.

But before taking the desert road, we still had another ride, and had a few moments to stop and shoot some dolphin playing in the rolling waves, the famed African Oystercatcher bird, some very familiar looking whimbrels (we seasonally have those visitors in Singapore!), and even a lone Great White pelicans, as maybe a good by and good luck send off as we finally turned East when the beach ended in front of us.

And into the East we we now heading...

It took us about three hours to cross that first portion of the desert, encountering nothing much, but endless rocks and sandy plains, with dry trees and low vegetation. But the ride was pleasant, as we chatted a lot between ourselves and started to be good friends with a couple, whose husband was recently into wildlife and birding but the wife was just enjoying the trip. And so time passed rather quickly, and soon we slowed down, made a turn out the main highway and into more of a good condition dirt road, as the terrain got a bit more rocky and higher as we progressed.

By 3.30pm we had finally reached our place, with a main long foyer and several villas all sorting this sort of traditional thatched roof, so reminiscent of rural lodges, eco-resorts and safari camps. Although I was not sure if those material used were traditional too like grass or reed or more modern. But they looked elegant and great, against the huge rocks at the back of the resort. IN the middle of the entrance courtyard a Monteiro's hornbill landed on of the tall branches of the centre tree, while a few Giant Ground gecko scattered all around for safety. 

We were offered some refreshment on arrival, and had a little bit of time to check in, go to our villas and unpack, refresh a little bit before heading out for some late afternoon wildlife sights seeing and sunset drinks.

And so we drove out of the resort, following quite a rugged dirt track, and quickly encountering a few birds like the beautiful Rock Kestrel, perched high, scanning the horizon for a late meal, as well as many Great sparrows foraging on the ground, and more hornbill too. Further, as the vegetation thickened, some Chacma baboon, definitely not looking friendly, and under the trees, just sitting there without it seemed paying attention to us. Further, away as we started to climb the hills, Oryx appeared, Marico Flycatcher, and some very sleepy and cute looking rosy-faced lovebird.

As we drove higher into the bush, the driver suddenly stopped and pointed to the opposite hills. Between the bushes, a group of Hartmann's Mountain zebras was slowly making its way in between the small trees. We stopped, and patiently waited until they crested the summit. With a perfect golden light illuminating the rocks around them, they stopped and looked back at us: perfect shots! And with that we moved on , to be sure not to miss the sunset, and our refreshments...

It was late and dark when we reached back our accommodation, and since we had some astrophotography planned this evening, we wasted no time eating, unpacking and getting ready. With the big rocks as background, we tried several angles and settings, and managed to capture some of the clearest skies I had ever seen in my life: except maybe when I was diving in the red sea, off a live-aboard boat off the coast of Egypt!

We left around 8am, saying good bye to a very noisy pair of Northern Red-billed hornbill visiting us for breakfast, as well as Rock dassies families warming up in the rising sun over the giant boulders, and a few African Red-eyed bulbuls, White-tailed shrikes, a lone Purple roller, and or first sighting, alas a bit far away, of the incredible Secretary bird!

What a busy and fruitful day it had been.

DAY 7, June 9th 

Our next destination, where we would spend a few nights, was located close to the famous Etosha National Park, at a resort named Okaukuejo, and my villa was strategically located right in front of the waterhole. This was very exciting and I was really looking forward to that! But for now, after checking in and leaving our luggage behind, we headed out and cleared the gate to enter the wilderness, and check out the other waterhole as the mid afternoon clock was ticking away.

As we drove out, on our right, a Black-chested snake eagle took off, a banded-like snake in its beak, with its head already deep inside the bird of prey! 

The drive to the waterhole was less than thirty minutes and as we arrived, slowly down so to not spook the wildlife, some Springbok, zebra, Black-faced impala, and multitude of birds had started to gather around, as the sun started it slow descent . But it was still burning hot and almost blinding bright, as our first Namibia white elephants came into view, slowly making their way towards the life giving water. There were only two of them, but by the look of it, those were young males, with tusks not fully developed. And after a few minutes of quenching their thirst, they went on with the business of locking trunks and testing their strength, each pushing the other one. What a sight!

But as we wanted to sample as much as possible before going back to the camp, we left that waterhole and drove to another one, where a lone, tall giraffe, with a Blacked-face jackal right next to it, was drinking the cooling water. A Sprinkbok joined them, as a bit further away, a very shy Northern Black Korhaan was now foraging in the tall, dry, golden grass and bushes. And as we were turning a corner, another lone surprise briefly crossed our path: a Spotted hyaena! Our guide motioned us to look the other way: our first Black rhinoceros appeared out of the bush, but kept its distance. As we would experienced in a unique fashion another day, they do have very poor sight, but, apart from a keen sense of smell, a very good hearing too!

To say we were excited was a bold understatement.

Finally, the light started to fade, a cue for us to turn back and look forward some private time in our villas and gather again for dinner: later would be our first night at the camp waterhole.

But as we neared the camp, in the last dying rays of sun, the famous Honey badger greeted us from the side of the road! It did not look much, by the size and the slow demeanour it displayed, but the reputation of this animal as one of the fiercest, fearless, most difficult to kill (from a predator point of view) was unmatched. It was afraid of nothing. And a nearby Yellow mongoose, standing on its hind legs, sun glittering in its eyes, keeping tab on the Honey badger, think so too it seemed. Further into the distance, a Common ostrich had also stopped in its track: not because of the Honey badger, which was too small and far away to see, but maybe it had sense another predator, and was checking the surrounding before being on its way too.

So much to see! And this was only day 1 in Etosha National Park...

Going back to our rooms, preparing the gear for the night, having a very satisfying dinner, drinks, and taking a short rest thereafter all seemed to pass in a blur. Soon it was pitch black, the stars were out, sharply shining above, and the waterhole right in front of my villa was beckoning.

There was, again, a significant temperature drop: but not as bad as in the desert earlier that week... and as I setup my tripod. it did not take long for the wildlife to slowly make its way to the waterhole edge.

First, a trio of White rhinoceros showed up, almost walking at a leisure pace, and started drinking, making their way around the pool, checking out different spots, but also, I think, making way for some large African elephants now also wanting to drink. With the spotlights, we had to modify our camera settings as to avoid banding, thus changing the shutter speed rate to exactly match the spotlight frequency. It took a bit of practice but eventually I got it. But the rhinoceros were not gone, as it turned out. They had been staying just a bit out of sight away from the pool, and as soon as the elephants left, they came back, with one actually going for a swim!

It was close to midnight by the time I started to feel really tired, and decided to call it a day. There would be more opportunities to shoot at night, and tomorrow was another long day of driving and action. And I still had to shower and make my backups... yawn...

DAY 8, June 10th 

We had an early, solid, full breakfast as early as possible, as we wanted to be at the gates from the moment they opened, and hit the road as soon as possible. This morning, we would drive North East, towards the legendary Etosha Pan.

If you go to google map at first and search Etosha Pan, it probably will show up as a blue coloured area, very much resembling a rather large lake. Etosha in the local Oshindonga dialect means 'Great White Place'. But once you get there, or check Google Earth, there is no water, since this is a hollow, salted, dry lake bed: although it may gather some moisture or some very rare water. Goole Earth will show the lake as white-green: and I think the green colour is not vegetation, but part of an algae which will grow after some rains transform the pan dry crust into mud.

The drive was less than a hour, and int he morning sun, the wildlife was already very active. Near another waterhole we visited, a Tawny eagle was perched on top of a lone dead bare tree branch, while around it, Black-faced impala were slowly gathering, keeping a weary eye on a Hyaena pair which did not seem interested in them. We were hoping to see the lions pride, but as we were informed, due to the cooler than usual climate, they may have decided to go further North where there is more vegetation and game too. 

So we hit the road and stopped here and there to capture some action. One of my favourite were a pair of beautiful Pale Chanting goshawks which had gathered on top of a tree after one of them had caught and mostly eaten a small rodent below. Further away, on another tree, an African Hawk-eagle was taking off, maybe having realized there was more chance of a meal at a distance from the Hawks.

We drove on, spotting a A Black rhinoceros in the thick bushes: we stopped and waited for a photo opportunity if it came out, but I think it was either shy, still very sleepy or just did not want to pose for the tourists, so we moved on. A bit further, Wildebeests, zebra, giraffes, and Yellow mongoose dictated how many times we stopped and for how long to take some good shots. But we had to press on as we were on a schedule if we wanted to cover all the photo opportunities on the agenda for today; but not after saying good bye to a curious Double-banded Sandgrouse, which was observing us from the shadow of a nearby thick bush.

Finally, we arrived at the famed Etosha Pan. And while there was vegetation bordering the vast expanse, as far as we could see North and East, it was as advertised: nothing but cracked, white rough sand and dried mud baking under the relentless sun. But what a spectacle: it was magic! And as if on cue, bordering the Pan and where the vegetation started, textbook mirage gave us the illusion there was water aplenty there! A bit further, a lone Springbok had venture a bit out onto the pan. It looked lost, looking all around. But maybe it was trying to find something, or escape something else. We waited, but nothing happened and eventually it left the pan and disappeared into the bush.

Our next stop was another waterhole south of the Pan, where a large herd of White elephants, including babies, was enjoying all things elephants do. The majority of the specimen were drinking or just enjoying the cool water, while the youngest were, of course, were messing around int he mud and shallows under the watchful eyes of the adults. A bit further on dry lands, a few young elephants, as well as a pair of older bulls, were testing their strength, locking trunks and tusks. But here was nothing lethal, just play and dominance assertion I guess. 

It was non-stop elephant action for almost a full hour... but at last we had to leave. As we left, a family of Oryx crossed the road, and we had to stop and wait until they cleared the way. ON our left, as we gained speed, another Pale Chanting Goshawk perched on a tall twig looked at us driving by. Maybe it was looking for a meal. But so were we, as we were now heading back to the lodges for a late lunch: today I opted for a traditional beef burger and crispy potato wedges.

During our afternoon drive, we encountered again most of what we had seen in the morning, South of the Pan, and the memory cards were slowly filling up, making me wonder how such a safari was possible in the old days of camera films and 36 exposures! You would have to carry a bag full of rolls: 'Yes, I did...' commented Julian smiling, as he had done in the past. 'And don't even get me started how to pass security X-rays at airports and having to explain at times how those cannot go in the machine... and having security open each roll canister to check nothing else than films was stored inside!'

We laughed.

The car abruptly stopped.

Tim, our local guide, pointed to the far away bushes: 'A large, Black rhinoceros is coming...' and Julian added 'If he comes close to the cars, total silence... we don't want to scare him' We smiled, but our guides were not. That male was big, sporting two big horns. And he was coming for us in a straight line.

An uncomfortable silence set in. And in a bizarre series of thought I imagined somebody sneezing or suddenly coughing loudly and the Rhinoceros charging us, at the very least... But we were as quiet as tombstones, and the magnificent rhino came right up to our car's windows, looking at us. It slowly walked forth and back, as we silently took a few shots, slowly, very slowly, moving our big lens as it kept an eye on us, breathing a bit heavily I sensed.

But nothing happened. It continued its inspection of the cars, and eventually passed by us, continued for a while on the road ahead of the cars, and at long last, made its way back onto the plain and towards the far away vegetation line. We finally allowed ourselves to breath normally and starting happily, and noisily to exchange our amazement at each others. What an encounter!

It was now close to 5pm, and it would take us an hour to go back to the lodges, while the sun would besetting down on the horizon. This was going to be our last night here and we wanted to make the most of the night photography at the waterhole, so everybody was eager to have a solid meal and go setup our gear.

The giraffe were the first to come, at a gallop even, and at the edge of the waterhole, went legs apart in order to allow their long neck to drop to the surface and their lips to noisily slurp the water. They actually have no other choice to drink. When done, they would raise their neck again, shaking their head left and right, sending a water spray in a typical S shape: not an easy shot to get.

I was better prepared with my camera setting tonight and spent a few hours outside, until the cold forced me back to my room. More elephants came to drink that night, as well as a few White rhinoceros, including a magnificent specimen sporting two massive horns., keeping its distance from the onlookers. Meanwhile, a younger make decided to go for a swim and literarily floated all the way to the middle of the pool, offering us some pretty good shots! On the shore, two other rhinoceros were locking horns, and testing their dominance.

Eventually my eyes betrayed my will to stay much longer, and around midnight, I decided to go back and get some much needed rest.

What a day... And tomorrow was going to be a long ride, and a long day and night again we were told!

DAY 9 - June 11th 

Today, our drive would take us along the southern edge of Etosha Pan, then North East again to our next lodge for the night.

We caught up again with the Pan, driving along its Southernmost edge, and encountered large herd of Zebra, doing what they do best: Zebra crossing... While further away amidst some relatively green and abundant short gross, a few Springbok were lazily grazing. Further still closing to the horizon, a long line of wildebeest was making its way to their next stop. And as we were leaving the dry arid land behind, one last Yellow Mongoose, observing a family a South African ground squirrel, briefly looked at us: when Tim stopped the car again.

A bit far away, in the middle of a clear area surrounded by a few green trees, a few lions, male and female, were probably still warming up from the cold night, not paying much attention to anything else. There were only three or four specimen, so it was not really a pride of lions, as we had desperately tried to locate. But at least it was a sighting!

On we went, and near an acacia tree, we finally had a chance to take some really fantastic shots of the colourful and beautiful Lilac-breasted roller bird! One of my favourite birds on this trip. Once we had our fill, we drove away, shooting as we drove more zebra, impalas, Common ostrich, a pair of Lappet-faced vultures in their nest atop a tree, another lone Tawny eagle and much more, including a few elephants roaming the vastness of the plains on our way North, as the vegetation became greener and denser. On the side of the road, we came across the very first giant Termite mounds, which are famous for this part of Namibia: some of them already as tall as a three meters tree!

We reached our pit stop for the night, at the Namuteni wildlife resort, and were greeted in front of the guest registration office by a family of Slender mongoose, frolicking on the lush green grass. I took a few steps forward them, very carefully, then kneeled down and waited to see if they would come. Closer they came, sniffing me carefully, gently poking at my legs and even giving a soft bite on my ankles: at which point I decided to slowly retreat.

After the usual checking in, quick unpacking, lunch and refreshments, we quickly headed out to catch a few hours of wildlife sighting, driving back towards Etosha Pan for a bit, where we were greeting by small herds of tall giraffes and wildebeests. On top acacia trees, Swallow-tailed bee-eater birds, and a lone, magnificent in the late afternoon golden light, Lilac-breasted roller bird. ON the ground, looking a bit comical I must say, some Helmeted Guineafowls closing in a small waterhole where animals were starting to gather as the night was only a hour or so away. 

The Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori), the largest (and also the heaviest) flying bird native to Africa, made its appearance, drinking while keeping an eye on the gathering wildlife. An impala came drink close to it, soon joined by a few giraffes. And before we knew it, it was time to go in order to reach the gate before closing time: or we would have to pay a late arrival penalty fee!

Night came. Dinner time came. Baking up time came. And at last I was able to go out behind the villas. In the distance we could hear lions roaring, amongst other animals, maybe hyaena and jackals? The night was pitch black, especially with very limited light from the resort, and unfortunately I was unable to see anything that night. 

And so while still early I decided to get a few extra hours or sleep before our long day ahead.

DAY 10, June 12th 

It was an early rise today, as wanted again to be the first on the road and spend as much time as possible roaming the countryside as possible. And while the cars were lining up and impatiently waiting for the gates to open, to our right in a small tree, the small and incredibly beautiful Marico sunbird landed, then quickly drank nectars from the flowers, before flying away again.

FINALLY the gates opened and as if on cue, from a nearby tall tree, a lone Tawny eagle flew off.

We headed into some very dense vegetation, in search of the very shy Damara Dik Dik: the smallest antelope in the world. And thanks for Tim local knowledge, was soon able to spot it through the layers of branches and trees. The cards stopped and we waited in silence, as one at first, then a second specimen appeared and very slowly foraged just off the road, before crossing in front of us. Very small indeed. Very cute!

After we moved on a few hundred meters, all stops again! Very close to our car, perched in the midst of tangled dry branches, a tiny brown, violet and purple puffball: the rightly named Violet-eared Waxbill! Very cool. Very lucky for us! And almost right it the Wabill bird, a tiny Green-backed camaroptera bird: although the name almost sounded like a dinosaur species. Wait: but birds are feathered descendants of dinosaurs, no...?

We had achieved our goal in that part of the park, and decided to drive out of the thicket of small trees, and head back to the main dirt road, where a disturbed Lilac-breasted roller bird, giving us a Angry Bird look, flew away in a jiffy.

Not very far away, we reached another waterhole. There was a bit of a traffic jam here as many cars we lining up and waiting for a chance at a good spot and taking photos of a few Greater Kudu (male and female), impalas, and Blue wildebeest (they are NOT blue...). We slowly drove around the waterhole and witnessed something peculiar. A lone giraffe was picking up what looked like large stone from the ground and apparently chewing on them. But as we got close, and confirmed by our local guide, those were bones, not stones. While giraffe are indeed herbivorous, not carnivorous, they do sometimes pick up and chew on old bones in order to get phosphorous and calcium, which may lack from their day to day vegetation diet. But this one, it seemed to me, had just swallowed one whole: and I assumed it may be to help crush and mush the tough vegetation they sometimes have to eat?

We had an hour or so long drive, Tim told us, as a Cheetah had been spotted by some other local guides, and he was keen to try locate it for us. 

Cheetah! My favourite African big cat. The only one that purrs, I heard once. Somehow one I consider my spirit animal.

We accelerated, driving big cloud of dust on the first road, as Tim kept checking on the radio. The Cheetah was hunting. It may have a few cubs also nearby, so this was a unique chance for us. And after a quick search, the car stopped and we could see the Cheetah close to a green bush: a kill visibly at its feet, and maybe at least two cubs in the shadows, hopefully eating their due. We stopped our engines. I attached my x1.4 teleconverter for maximum range and also chose APSC-C mode for extra cropping zoom. The heat haze was bad, as it close to noon and the sun at its harshest. But I was getting a few good shots, and had to remember to breath in between series of clicks... 

Remember as opposed to a private game reserve where cars can go anywhere, off road and very close to the action if safe, in a National park, cars are not allowed to go off track. And it is absolutely forbidden to step out of your vehicle for any reason (unless emergency). So whatever distance we had to work with, that was it.

Unfortunately, rumours of our success spread like wildfire, and soon after, multitude of vehicles soon reached us, parking here and there, some off road, and not cutting off their engines, soon sending a mix of dust and exhaust gas everywhere. Some of those operators, under pressure from some visibly well off passengers, drove in front, blocking our view, taunting all the rules.

This is was sad and spoiled a bit the mood for the rest of us.

But we managed to get plenty of early good shots and were OK leaving the increasing chaos of the place, and tour back towards Etosha Pan for one last look at the magnificent desolation. And it turned out to be the right choice, at the right timing. 

We were slowly driving when we all almost at the same time shouted words of amazement, as out of the dust of the Pan, covered in the omnipresent white clay dust (which the elephant cover themselves for sun protection, mostly), five large bull elephants appeared, swaying their long trunks, collecting dust and sand still and using it to spray it back on their back. We stopped the car and waited. It took a bit longer to happen, but the elephants, maybe intrigued or curious about us, made a slight turn and crossed the road right in front of us: an eye peering back at us through their thick lashes.

Memorable.

And that was the last time we would see the Etosha Pan and its incredible wildlife, as it was now time to turn around and go back to the lodge: but not without spending time checking a few spots. Giraffes running in the vegetation richer, northern plains was a sight out of Africa indeed! Close to a waterhole, where not much action had us at first disappointed, a disturbance in the nearby thick bushes made us stop in our tracks and the cars engines were cut off. There was something slowly moving there, just out of sight. We could hear vegetation being crushed and pushed aside. A heavy sniffing or breathing maybe, we were not sure. And at last, very slowly, another large rhinoceros poked its head out, looking directly in our direction. 

Magnificent!

Once again, alas, we had to press on and make our way back to camp as to avoid being late, staring at the closed gates and pay a fine! There were no visitors, vehicles allowed at night outside the fenced visitors lodges. The night belonged to the wildlife!

But we were not there yet, the sun was still above the horizon, and while the golden hour was now bathing the plains in a wonderfully warm and rich light, we still encountered countless animals: Slender mongoose on a termite mound, another large herd of elephants crossing the plains, and giraffes. Some of them were going to the nearby waterhole, some of them were just walking away from there. It was the late afternoon nature traffic jam, while some were preparing to spend the night safely tucked away while others were preparing togo hunt and eat.

And so was I.

DAY 11, June 13th 

Today was the 13th of June, and that also meant, we only had two nights left to our amazing Namibia cross country trip. Having left for good Etosha National Park and its wonders behind us, we started our drive South, back towards the capital, Windhoek. 

A long drive would bring us to our first pit stop at the Cheetah Conservation Fund institution, located about 50 kilometres east of an area we recently were, named Otjiwarongo. Its founder, conservation biologist Laurie Marker, a very well know figure internationally. ON the way, we came across what appeared to be a Fork-tailed Drongo (there was a lot of debate on this, but the birding app weighted to the ID). We had to stop to take photos of a very nice pair of White-backed vulture on top a tree: really amazing birds, and large too! On the other side of the road, several trees hosted numerous varieties, it seemed, of Finches, like the House finch, while as we drove again, a lone Warthog looked at us with much indifference.

We finally arrived at the Cheetah centre around 2pm and we first toured the entire complex of building: those were a mix hive of activities catered to the graceful feline, and we would be scheduled to experience some of its aspects, including Cheetah feeding. We were able to come very close, since it was behind fenced areas, but I must admit my heart sank a little bit at the sight of those beautiful creatures behind 'bars' so to speak: especially after having witness that Cheetah mother feeding her cubs on a fresh kills the day before. But that was the whole purpose of rescue of injured and 'lost' cubs. The centre catered a lot for education as well, and helping the local farmer and land owner have more Cheetah friendly land management. There was a lot to learn and assimilate, and was certainly very educational.

We took a break for lunch, then headed back out to the centre where Cheetah would be allowed to exercise in the (still fenced) open and run after dummy prey pulled by pulleys. So we got a taste of the famous Cheetah speed, and this was no joke. If you had not setup your shutter speed on lightening fast, all the action shots would probably be blur!

It was close to 5pm and the end of another day when we left the Centre and drove to our second last night stop, on top of a hill with a hell of a view to the Waterberg Plateau National Park, at the point where it appeared to have been in two with a sledge hammer...

We started our dinner, and I decided to make the most of the great food and drinks, as the night was projected to be long and quite cold, but perfect for astrophotography. And as we went on our culinary business, a commotion at the table next to us made us stop, as we witness an elderly man had slowly dropped its head onto the table and slowly, to the amazement for everybody, fell on the floor. It was obviously a mild heart attack or stroke, and people rushed to help him, putting his body on the side while calls were made to the nearest town for an ambulance. That strangely reminded him how important it was for those expedition to have a very good (med evac) travel insurance as you never know what may happen.

I made a move back to my villas after the ambulance carrying the old man and a relative had departed, and got all my gear setup on the porch. My jaw dropped as I gazed up. Already to the naked eye, the night sky had transformed into an horizon to horizon tapestry of stars! The Milky Way was obviously extremely well defined and visible and would continue rising in the next few hours. I started taking long exposures.

My God... it's full of stars!

It was close to midnight when I started to go back inside every five minutes or so as the cold started to sip the last of my body warmth away. But I was happy to have collected a nice series of shots so decided to call it a day.

DAY 12, June 14th 

And just like that, today was the day we would drive back to our starting point, Windhoek, for our last night in Namibia before the long flight back to Singapore. I was smiling, as during the night I had received an offer to upgrade from Premium Economy to Business class, and had just received the successful booking confirmation. I was going to enjoy myself and make the most out of it before going back to reality, and work...

As mentioned the day earlier, the whole area we had spent the last two days, and especially since yesterday, was dotted with those giant termite mounds, and this morning we had the time and opportunity to stop at different location and admire those construction. I was quite surprised to feel how solid it actually was, almost like concrete, rather than dried mud or something like that. One was more than three meters tall! Some were isolated, some were kind of devouring the tree they were leaning on, and some seemed to be merging with their neighbours. Truly amazing...

Further South, we cam across the elegant Secretary bird: and no the name Secretary does not derive from the long, slender legs this bird is sporting, but from the male secretary of the early 1800s, who wore grey tailcoat and dark knee-length pants and used goose-quill pens they carried behind their ears (Wikipedia). This one had been chasing something in the tall grass, but did not manage to make a kill. So it walked along the road, at times turning its head towards us, before crossing the road and suddenly taking off in front of the car.

This was one of the last of the wildlife we would see, as we drove closer and closer to Windhoek and checked in again to our first hotel when we first arrived. That night was also our last dinner as a group and as usual the food was excellent and savoury.

DAY 13, June 15th 

Like we did before, our car brought us back to the airport, and after some last minute local souvenir shopping, we boarding our small plane en route for Johannesburg, where after a short lay over, our nine hours flight would bring us safely home.

It had been a dream trip for me, having read and heard so much about this wild and raw place. And although we had clocked a bit more than 5,000 kilometres of driving through many different landscapes and wildlife of Namibia, it was just a small portion of this gigantic country. Looking at the map, this was no small achievement still, and we owed it to both Julian and Tim, having drove us safely across this vast country, and shared with us their passion and knowledge.

And just like that, we took off.

THE END

Reference Notes

As some the original travel agency no longer exist as was, if you are interested in such a trip, please email me at contact@lanceflare.com and I will help you with your inquiry.

If you are interested in some of the photographs presented in this documents, or wished to see more snapshots related to a particular subject, just for viewing or for print, email me as well contact@lanceflare.com 

At this point in time I did not insert all the snapshots descriptions, especially for wildlife naming. I may do so in an updated version.

Acknowledgements

A big thank you to Julian and Silkway Travel for organizing this wonderful trip. I have a head full of memories, as well as slightly over 15,000 RAW files to process :-)

Tim, thank you again for your knowledge and friendship during this trip and glad we stay in touch from time to time!

Thanks SP for advancing me the Balloon Ride money!

Gear

S ONY a1 (version 1)

SONY a7RIII

SEL 24240mm zoom lens

FE400mm f/2.8

SEL 14mm, f/1.8

x1.4 TC

2TB SSD backup storage