This wild and spectacular country with towering golden sand dunes, deep canyons, high mountains and shimmering plains surrounded by rich bushland, surely offers one of the greatest African safaris ever! From the aptly named Skeleton Coast, where many ships have been lost, to the beautiful Namib Desert and the famous Etosha Pan and National Park, this tour will deliver the ultimate African experience, with countless birds and game amidst some of the most dramatic scenery imaginable. On this tour we will be searching for some endemic and near endemic birds of Namibia , including species such as Rockrunner, White-tailed Shrike, Dune Lark, Monteiro's Hornbill and Ruppell's Korhaan. There will also be an opportunity to see some fantastic mammals as Elephant, Giraffe, Lion, Leopard, Cheetah and Black Rhino. Led by one of South Africa's best safari guides we will be well looked after on this exceptional tour.
Itinerary
Day 1.- Meet you at Gatwick airport to take our flight straight to our African safari experience.
Day 2.- We will arrive early morning to Windhoek airport . Some of the commoner species to be seen on leaving the airport should include South African Cliff Swallows, Rock Martin and Little and White-rumped Swifts. We then have the afternoon to familiarise ourselves with some very good birds, including species such as Short-toed Rock-Thrush, Ruppell's Parrot, Monteiro's, Red and Yellow-billed Hornbills, Rockrunner, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Pin-tailed, Shaft-tailed and Longtailed Whydahs. Night Windhoek .
Day 3,4.- After breakfast we will drive northwest we arrive at Walvis Bay at the southern end of the Skeleton Coast . The lagoon here is Namibia's most important wetland and holds one of the highest concentrations of wading birds in Africa, where some 80,000 birds can be seen. Amongst these, and the masses of shorebirds in the surrounding mudflats and marshes, we can look for Kittlitz's, Three-banded, White-fronted and Chestnutbanded Plovers, while along the beach both Greater and Lesser Flamingos, White Pelicans and Cape, Crowned and Bank Cormorants can be seen. Nights Walvis Bay .
Day 5.- Continuing to explore this area the nearby salt works are worth a look, and regularly holds many species of heron, duck and wading birds. Other sites, including the banks of the Kuiseb River, may give us the chance to see White-backed and Red-faced Mousebirds, and Dune, Stark's and Gray's Larks. We will also have the chance of an optional pelagic boat trip where we can look for species such as Jackass Penguin, White-chinned Petrel, Sub-Antarctic, Pomarine and Long-tailed Skuas, Antarctic and Damara Terns, shearwaters, petrels, Cape Fur Seals and Dusky Dolphins. Night Walvis Bay .
Day 6,7.- Leaving the coast we now drive east to Spitzkoppe, an area resembling Switzerland which rises 600m above the surrounding plains. This is Leopard country, and also home to three endemic birds, including the rare Herero Chat which we have a very good chance of seeing. Amongst the boulder scree and steep-sided valleys we will search for wide variety of species which include Abdim's Stork, White-backed and Lappet-faced Vultures, Tawny and Martial Eagles, Black-breasted Snake-Eagle, Pale-chanting Goshawk, Lanner Falcon, Ludwig's Bustard, Ruppell's and Northern Black Korhaans, Burchell's Courser, Namaqua and Double-banded Sandgrouse, White-tailed Shrike, Rosy-faced Lovebird, Lilac-breasted Roller, Layard's Titbabbler, Cinnamon-breasted Rock and Golden-breasted Buntings, Burchell's and Cape Glossy Starlings, Red-headed Finch, Black-throated Seedeater and Violet-eared Waxbill. There are also plenty of larks to sort out, such as Monotonous, Long-billed, Spike-heeled, Red-capped, Stark's and Gray's, as well as Grey-backed Finchlark. We also have a chance to see Spotted Eagle Owls and both Baboon and Rock Hyrax. Night Omaruru.
Days 8,9,10,11.- Covering 22,270 square kilometres Etosha is one of Africa's finest and most dramatic national parks, and epitomises all those wonderful wildlife films we marvel at on television. Anyone with a love of nature should visit here at least once in their lives to witness the spectacle of birds and game, in what must rank as one of Africa's greatest wildlife experiences. Dominating the eastern sector is a vast shallow depression (pan), a seemingly lifeless, salty desert. The rest of the park comprises gravel beds, open grassland, mopane savannah, thorn thicket and mixed woodland, and during our stay here we will visit all the major habitats. Water-holes can be found all over the park and it is at these that we will concentrate our efforts to look for Elephant, Giraffe, Greater Kudu, Burchell's Zebra, Leopard, Lion, antelopes and even the rare Black Rhino. Cheetahs are also possible, and out on the open plains we may find herds of Springbok, Gemsbok and Blue Wildebeest, alongside Black-backed Jackal, Warthog, Red Hartebeest and the tiny Damara Dik-Dik. Amongst the astonishing array of 340 bird species recorded here we will be looking for Ostrich, Blue Crane, Kori Bustard, Red-crested Korhaan, Double-banded Courser, Spotted Thick-knee, Secretary Bird, Giant Eagle- Owl, Meyer's Parrot, Sabota, Spike-heeled, Pink-billed, Red-capped and Clapper Lark, Violet Woodhoopoe, Southern White-crowned, Crimson-breasted, Red-backed and Lesser Grey Shrikes, White Helmetshrike, Black-faced and Southern Pied Babblers, Wattled Starling, Longbilled and Grassveld Pipits, Marico, Scarlet-chested and White-bellied Sunbird, Melba and Scaly-feathered Finch, Yellow-bellied and Burnt-necked Eremomelas, Carp's Black Tit, Chestnut Weaver, Blue Waxbill, Golden-breasted Bunting, and both Paradise and Shaft-tailed Whydahs. Raptors are well represented with 35 species being recorded, from Lappet-faced and White-headed Vultures, Bateleur and Martial Eagle, to the tiny Pygmy Falcon, and we could see up to 12 different ducks include White-backed Duck, Hottentot Teal and South African Shelduck. Our time spent in this park will be very special and there will be wonderful opportunities for photography. By spending 4 nights at two different camps within the park or nearby, including one which overlooks a floodlit waterhole, we will come to fully appreciate Etosha and all its beauty.
Day 12,13.- After some final birding we make a stop in Ojibamba on our way to Windhoek . At Ojibamba we will we will visit the famous dinosaur tracks park , birding in the surroundings of our lodge is very productive for birds and mammals. Overnight in Ojibamaba Lodge. On our way back to Windhoek a stop at the sewerage works should add a few more herons, ducks and waders to our list while roadside birds could include Black-shouldered Kite, Tawny Eagle, Monteiro's Hornbill, and lots of shrikes, swifts, swallows, glossy starlings and flycatchers. Trying to catch up on any species we may have missed there may also be an opportunity to stop en-route at Okahandja and visit the wood carving market. Overnight at Windoek
Day 14.- Last birding day in Windhoek before go to the airport for our flight back home.
