Mainly Namibia

[RooFlyer]

We drove out at 7:30 this morning headed west, first to the World Heritage Twyfenfontein San people engravings site - not paintings, but scratched into the sandstone rock. I’ve just discovered that Bushman is not regarded as good language today although our overall tour guide has been using it.

Twyfelfontein or /Ui-//aes

Twyfelfontein or /Ui-//aes has one of the largest concentrations of [...] petroglyphs, i.e. rock engravings in Africa. Most of these well-preserved engravings represent rhinoceros, . The site also includes six ...

whc.unesco.org

Also known as

/Ui-//aes​

where I think the / represent the 'clicks' of the Damaran language. There are 4 distinct click sounds. We had lady guides both here and later in the day at the petrified forest and it was delightful to listen to them speaking in their own language with the clicks.

The engravings are considered 2-6000 years old and occur in a very large number of places in this area. The greatest number of engavings and paintings in southern Africa, we were told.

Twyfelfontein Heritage Site

Namibia was awarded its first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. Since then, visitors from all over the world have travelled to Twyfelfontein – one of the largest concentrations of rock petroglyphs in Africa. It is estimated that there are approximately 2500 different rock engravings...

visitnamibia.com.na

There are four trails you can take to view the art in different areas, several of which require a guide to take you. We went on the lion-man tour with a guide which takes about 80 minutes from the parking area and there’s also toilets and a shop and gallery there.

The engravings occur on flat surfaces coated in iron oxide, so when scratched into, the features come up a lighter colour. There’s not much rain in this area so they are still well preserved.

As you can see, there is a vast amount of wildlife portrayed including penguins and seals, showing that the people went out to the coastline to trade probably to get salt to preserve their meats.

The engravings are considered the result of shamanism and many of the animals show some transition between human and animals, for instance having five toes rather than a hoof or five protrusions from the head of a giraffe rather than two.















The engraved footprints are regarded as signatures.

 

[RooFlyer]

Then we drove back the way we came stopping first at the San cultural living museum. I have a thing about not wishing to regard people and their lifestyle as an object of curiosity, which may be misplaced but that’s just me. So I stayed in the van with air-conditioning while the others did the visit over about an hour and they said it was good.

Final stop for the day was a bit further on back towards the lodge and it was the petrified forest.

There are shelters there where we had lunch plus running water, toilets, power (!) and a bit of a souvenir shop which looked not very attractive. Again we had a guide, another lovely lady who told us a bit more about the San culture and the language - singing San( and western!) songs with the clicks. By this time it was early afternoon and really hot but still very enjoyable.

It’s not an actual forest but a large number of petrified tree trunks lying in situ. I was surprised how large they were and also the huge number of bits of petrified wood lying all around the area.





just about everything here is a chunk of petrified wood.




Perfectly preserved bark textures and another features on the tree trunk.













We were told they were conifers, washed 250 million years ago down from present day Angola.

 

[RooFlyer]

The only wildlife of today. There are the smaller desert elephants in the area and also giraffes but we saw none.





walking back to the start. All the rocks are pieces of petrified wood.

 

[RooFlyer]

So that’s up-to-date. The Germans have arrived and are smoking up a storm so I’ve had to move around a bit.





Another buffet dinner tonight then on the road tomorrow to Etosha National Park.

 

[RooFlyer]

A couple of videos

Dune driving at Sandwich Harbour

shipwreck and the Skeleton Coast

 

[Daver6]

A couple of videos

Dune driving at Sandwich Harbour

shipwreck and the Skeleton Coast

I thought that wreck looked familiar. Much foggier day in 2015.

 

[RooFlyer]

Before dinner, we had sundowners on the platform a little way up the hill behind the lodge. This is the lodge complex and the obligatory sunset was as usual gorgeous.









There were a few beasties around - several kudus came to drink and we spotted a few Damara dik diks as well.



Dinner was the usual buffet. I must say they’re okay without being spectacular. But quite understandable given the remotness of the lodge and the very long supply lines.

Out of the Damara Lodge at 9:30 am this morning and a 2 1/2 hour drive arrive on blessed bitumen road to Etosha national Park. On the way we bypassed our accommodation as we meeting a vehicle for a additional private half day game drive.

The usual 9 seater for 5 of us. Very hot, but it had a roof.

First stop was a waterhole at the accommodation and park complex. If you’re staying here, you have access to this all day.

An elephant herd of about 42 including probably 10 youngsters.









Springboks and zebras

 

[RooFlyer]

wW drove out on a predetermined loop around a number of small water holes. First sighting was a social weaver birds nest holding maybe 100 individuals.





Then this bird of prey, I forget the name sorry maybe so I can help



Etosha at this time of year is a vast expense of sparsely vegetated Plains. You can go along time without seeing a shrub and early on, in the heart of the day, we saw no wildlife except springboks and kudus between water holes.



Things brightened at the waterhole, of course.

 

[RooFlyer]

We reached the next waterhole and there was a herd of elephants drinking out of a very meagre water source, obviously a bore pump.



There were a couple of ostriches about and they obviously wanted to go in and have a drink but didn’t dare while the elephants were there. Any time they approached one of the elephants turn and shoo it away.





A monitor lizard - apparently quite rare





Kudu



Reports were that there was nothing in front of us so we turned back and return to one of the water holes we visited before and was happy to find a giraffe angling to get a drink. It was very cautious and took ages to actually approach the water kneel down and have a slurp.





Once again, the poor bloody ostriches were obliged to hang back but eventually they got in the other side of the waterhole and had a go.



Red hartebeests

 

[RooFlyer]

Our final stop, abt 5:30pm was back near the entrance to the park and we jagged a black rhino.







That wasn’t a bad warmup for tomorrow when we will be starting early and hopefully get amongst a bit more.

 

[RooFlyer]

We checked late into Etosha Safari Lodge, another Gondwana establishment. An extraordinary strung out series of chalets on two limbs away from the main complex.

As usual, I asked if it was possible, Could I be situated away from the main lodge area and possible noise. So I got room five, the fifth closest of 20 in my string.

The RH side string have ochre roofs in Google maps.


Although they are white at the moment.



Views from the deck. There are 3 pools









Inside, rather ludicrously, they have these gas flame things going.



The room is pretty good - a very substantial mozzie net and all pretty good facilities.

 

[Daver6]

Is this the lodge on the western end of the park?

 

[RooFlyer]

Is this the lodge on the western end of the park?

It's about 10km outside the park. And after you enter the park, it's paved for about another 10 km to the park centre where the game drives fan out.

The accommodation in the park ranges from camping to quite good, not quite as good as we are for two days, but then you are next to or within reasonably walking distance of that waterhole. It’s much harder for tours to get bookings which to be a bit flexible with resoect to numbers, inside the park. For individual bookings, the Parks centre would be a good option but you need to book a well ahead.

 

[Daver6]

It's about 10km outside the park. And after you enter the park, it's paved for about another 10 km to the park centre where the game drives fan out.

The accommodation in the park ranges from camping to quite good, not quite as good as we are for two days, but then you are next to or within reasonably walking distance of that waterhole. It’s much harder for tours to get bookings which to be a bit flexible with resoect to numbers, inside the park. For individual bookings, the Parks centre would be a good option but you need to book a well ahead.

Ah. Ok. I was wondering why it sounded familiar. It was one of the options MrsDaver6 and I considered when we went.

 

[RooFlyer]

The Gondwana group have three accommodation sites in the area. From most expensive to least, The Safari Lodge which I am in, the Village which @bPeteb and Al were in and the Safari Camp.

The first of two nights we were here we didn’t eat at our lodge but drove the short distance down to the Safari camp. There we had their buffet which is absolutely nothing to write home about and we were supposed to stay for the local entertainment. It was okay, but we are all pretty tired so we decamped pretty early.

A 6:30 am departure this morning for a full days game drive in Etosha. The idea is to get to the gate early, as it only opens at sunrise which was 715 today. issue being that everyone wants to get in as early as possible and there is paperwork to be done at the gate so if you will bemiles back andit’ll take you long time to actually get into the into the park. We were number five which is a very good effort.

First sighting



Soon followed by black rhino ( with horn) and youngster. Unlike Madikwe, we are not allowed to go off the formed roads here.





We then we fanged east to reach the edge of the great salt pan of Etosha.







And there, lying in wait, were these guys.





Didn’t do anything just hanging out. Within 10 minutes there will possibly 15 vehicles at the viewpoint but being early we had 'pride' of place. Our driver today was very very good. He always got us a good viewing position at the popular spots.

Nearby

 

[RooFlyer]

I should say that although we had suffered many days of very bad corrugations, today was the worst by a bit of a distance. Corrugations were about the same, but we are obliged to travel much slower and so there were many long periods of teeth shattering corrugations. By the end of the day, my lower back was absolutely packing it in and I had to take some painkillers.

But that was still in the future

A grey jackal tackled a dead snake, although it was very tentative, thinking it was probably still alive.



A blur as it nips and pulls back rapidly.





and the first of a number of elephants crossing the road










A bustard, world's heaviest flying bird.

 

[RooFlyer]

The sightings kept coming



These two at a waterhole. Noth'n doing. The game at the end of the waterhole overflow were very very nervous and it was moderately entertaining to watch their approach carefully to drink.





Kudu



And then in another water hole, the start of a magnificent parade of giraffe. This fulfilled my last big wish of this trip.







A short distance further road down the road was a heard I think the term is of 13 giraffe - wonderful.

 

[RooFlyer]

Another elephant Crossing







We saw another bunch of elephants and a lot more ostriches, Springbok by the hundred, but then it was time for lunch at the park complex by the waterhole there.







After lunch was pretty much more of the same. It was very hot by this time and most the game had retreated but we saw most of the same around waterholes.





Our accommodations seen from the drive-in from the park



Have 'happily' consumed two double G&T’s while I’ve been posting this.

 

[RooFlyer]

Some more views around the complex




Mobile outside bar to service the sundowners

 

[RooFlyer]

More sundowners on the deck at which time a band of about 10 or 12 Mongeese swarmed around the place.







But focusing on the sunset of course, by which time I’d manage to snork down a couple of double G&T s so I was feeling very mellow.




These taken with my good Canon camera so the colours are not iPhone enhanced.