INTRODUCTION
Southern Africa is blessed with some of the African´s biggest national parks and finest landscapes with some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world. From the natural beauty of the Victoria Falls to the green wetlands of Okavango Delta and the austere Namib Desert, this region is home to a countless diversity of wildlife- By combining Namibia, Botswana and Zambia we can offer, the opportunity to visit three countries in one hit and the chance to see some fantastic mammals as Elephant, Giraffe, Lion, Leopard, Cheetah and Black Rhino, as well as an impressive bird list with more than 350 species including sunbirds, bee-eaters, waterfowl, raptors and an important number of karoo’s , coursers or sandgrouse. Timing the holiday to run at beginning of the green season, we will enjoy many of the nesting species in their breeding plumage. Led by one of South Africa's best safari guides we will be well looked after on this exceptional tour.
Itinerary
Day 1- Oct 3rd UK to Windhoek
Day 1- Oct 4th : Windhoek Airport – Windhoek City
You will be met your guide and tour leader after your arrival at the airport. Birding starts as soon as possible with locally common species and if lucky Orange River Francolin. After your airport birding you will be transferred to your hotel just outside Windhoek for check-in, if time permits in the afternoon a visit to the sewage works on the outskirts of the city will produce waterfowl including South African Shelduck, Egyptian Goose, African Jacana, Cape, redbilled and Hottentot Teal. Overnight in Windhoek
Day 2 - Oct 5th : Windhoek – Waterburg Plateau Park
We start the day with an early morning bird walk, the Acacia thornveld surrounding the lodge is good for species including Acacia Pied Barbet, Marico Sunbird, Dusky Sunbird, we will always keep an eye open for the skies, in search of Verreaux’s Eagle, including Black-chested and Brown Snake Eagles.
We leave Windhoek behind and be on our way towards Waterburg Plateau park, but enroute we will do a lot more stop and driving, as the open roads provide more chances of Martial Eagle, White- backed and Lappet-faced Vultures. Before reaching the town of Okahandja, we will make a stop along a partially water riverbed, you can sometimes pick up species such as Painted Snipe, Great White Egret etc. Overnight in Waterburg
Day 3 & 4 - Oct 6th & 7th: Waterburg- Etosha National Park
We will have an early morning rise before breakfast to give the nearby Waterburg cliffs a visit and this is where we have good chances in seeing some of Namibia’s endemic birdlife such as Hartlaub’s Francolin, Carp’s Black Tit, White-tailed Shrike, Damara Rock runner, Klipspringer antelopes and loads of Dassies( Rock Hyraxes).
When done with our early morning activity and after breakfast, we will pack up and head towards the Etosha National Park, where we will be based at Okaukuejo resort for the next 2 nights. Enroute we will stopover at the Otjiwarongo sewage ponds for more waterfowl, including Black-winged Stilt, Little Grebe, Purple Swamphen, White-faced Whistling Duck, Common Sand Piper and the list continues.
Our days in the park will consist of early morning drives, where we visit waterholes along the route to see various antelope species such as Springbok, Black-faced Impala ( endemic), Burchell’s Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest and Elephants should be in their numbers. The cats can be difficult, but anytime time of year provide for good shows, since most game concentrates around water holes, so are the cats, here we can say ‘keep your fingers crossed’.Okaukuejo is famous for it’s waterhole at the camp, in the dry season, you can have up to 14 different species of mammals the same time at the waterhole and at night it is floodlit, so you can experience rare sightings such as the endangered Black Rhino.Birds are plentiful, with the stately Secretary birds standing out. The world’s heaviest flying bird, the Kori Bustard can also be found in their numbers, while Lappet-faced Vultures and White-backed Vultures can entertain you for hours on end, if it happens to be a kill.The Okaukuejo area is good for larks, so Pink-billed Lark, Spike-heeled Lark, Red-capped Lark, Grey-backed Sparrowlark, Chestnut Backed SparrowLark etc are easy to spot. Overnight in Ethosa
Day 5 & 6 - Oct 8th & 9th : Etosha National park
Since we have to travel from the south side of the park to the east side of the park, it will be a full day, we will start early and again visit some waterholes from the previous day as we travel in an easterly direction, lunch will get us at the central camp for the park, Halali.
This camp is very good for owls, like African Scops Owlet, Barn Owl, White-faced Owl. Other important birds here are Bare-cheecked Babbler, Violet Wood-Hoopoe, Southern Crowned Shrike, White-helmeted Shrike.
Our last stop before we leave the park for today is Namutoni, this is where the Germans have built a fort to prevent local people from getting to the natural water points, from where they get water for themselves and their cattle herds. This area is extremely good for leopards, so we will spend time to try and locate these elusive cats. Our accommodation for the next 2 nights is situated just 10 km outside the park at Mushara Lodge.
The next full day will be set aside to explore the Namutoni area of the park again, for more opportunities of leopards and the special bird here will definitely be the rare and endangered Blue Crane. Overnight in Etosha
Day 7 - Oct 10th: Etosha N. P.– Grootfontein – Rundu
Today is more a travelling day, but we will get some opportunities to stop for more good birds. Just before we get to Grootfontein, we will visit the largest meteorite known to men on earth, this is the Hobas meteorite, they say this big lump of iron, zinc etc fell to earth some 80 thousand years ago and weigh around 50 tons.
We will get our lunch in Grootfontein and then hit the long road towards Rundu, a north-easterly town in Namibia, just before the start of the Caprivi strip. We will be staying on the banks of the Kavango river and it also serves as the border between Namibia and Angola. We stay here just 1 night, but this area is the start of a total new habitat zone, that means we will start with total new birds then the central parts of Namibia, birds included are a variety of heron species including Grey, Rufous- bellied, Squacco and Black-crowned Night Heron. A few weaver species are around and they are Spotted-backed and Golden Weavers and then the bird to find here is the Kurrichane Thrush.Bulbul species include Black-eyed and Yellow-bellied Bulbul. The White-browed Robin-Chat will wake you up in the early hours of the morning with a loud, melodious song.One special feature of this lodge is the wholesome cooking of the owner Valerie, the style is a farm like cuisine.
If lucky, we might have traditional local dancers performing to us as guest of the lodge, before dinner, a good chance for perfect shots of dancing Africans. Overnight in Rundu
Day 8 & 9 - Oct 11th & 12th: – Mahangu park – Shakawe (Botswana) Okavango pahandle
We will do a pre-breakfast bird walk and after wards pack up to be on our way towards Botswana, but first we will stop over at the Poppa Falls, (merely rapids of water running over rocks), but a good stop over for our count, birds here include Rock Pratincole, Black-collared Barbet, Green Wood-Hoopoe, Terrestrial BrownBul and if lucky we might see Cape Clawless Otter.
From here, we continue through the Mahangu National Park towards Botswana, so that means you will need your passports handy, but through the park Elephants, Giraffe and Buffalo are possible. There will be no pressure not seeing these animals now, since after 2 nights we will get back to Namibia and have 2 more nights in this area.
Our next 2 nights will be at the peaceful Xaro Camp, which is a sister camp to the well known Drotsky’s Cabins, the latter is the base camp, where we will leave our vehicle behind and take a boat cruise down stream to our camp Xaro, this camp is situated on a half peninsula, but it is here where we have very good chances of seeing the Pel’s Fishing Owl, Donovan, the owner of this camp knows the stake out points, other good birds here include Giant, Malachite, Pied, Woodland Kingfishers and the White-backed Night Heron is a top bird. If very lucky, we might see the African Pygmy Goose and the Goliath Heron usually stands out well. Optional boat trips are available to explore the area better. Overnight in Xaro Camp
Day 10 & 11 Oct 13th & 14th : Xaro camp – Mahangu area
Sandwiched between the Botswana border and the Kavango River, the Mahango Game Park is a fascinating world of papyrus-lined channels, vast floodplains, dense riverine forests and tall teak woodlands. Covering over 244 square kilometres, the park is home to an incredibly diverse range of wildlife. Mammals are common and include Hippopotomus, Elephant, Water Buffalo, Roan and Sable Antelope, Red Lechwe, Reedbuck, Bushbuck, Tsessebe, Blue Wildebeest and Impala.
Elephants are especially numerous here as evidenced by the widespread and conspicuous tree damage throughout. Birdlife is also superb with over 430 species recorded. During our time here we will be on the lookout for Bradfield's Hornbill, Broad-billed Roller, Arrow-marked Babbler, Long-toed Plover, African Pygmy-Goose, Grey-rumped Swallow, Brown Firefinch, and perhaps even the localized Greater Swamp Warbler. Mahango also marks the westernmost limit of several Okavango specialities including Wattled Crane, Coppery-tailed Coucal and Black Coucal. At the Mahangu Safari Lodge we can relax on the deck overlooking the river with a cocktail in hand watching hippos wallow in the shallows, crocodiles basking on the banks and a parade of herons and kingfishers following the river in search of their next meal.
The next day will be set aside to visit the Buffalo conservation area on the other side of the river ( I have seen wild dogs here before) and as the name suggest, a lot of buffaloes and bird watching on the flood plains is magical. The afternoon will see us off to the nearby Mahangu National Park for more chances of elephants, hippo’s, crocodiles etc. Overnight in Mahangu area.
Day 12 - Oct 15th : Mahangu Safari Lodge – Bumhill – Katima Mulilo
A quick glance at a map of Namibia reveals the presence of a narrow geographical appendage stretching from the country’s northeast corner well into the interior of the continent. It looks a bit like the trunk of an elephant stretching to grasp an object just beyond its reach. In fact, a colonial land grab is exactly what this narrow strip of Namibia is all about. During the days of German colonial rule, the Deutschlanders desired a port to then Tanganyka, which was under German rule. In an ill-fated attempt to establish such a route, they traded the Walvisbay deep harbour to Great Britain for the Caprivi Strip which then belonged to Botswana. Unfortunately, they forgot that Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe where all in British hands, so made it impossible to use as a passage route, leaving the present day Caprivi strip as cartographical evidence of how short-sighted men can be. Today’s drive will take us right through the Caprivi strip to the town of Katima Mulilo. As we head east into Africa’s inner quarters, we will keep alert for birds such as Dickinson’s Kestrel, Racket-tailed Roller, Black-headed Oriole, Southern Ground-Hornbill. If the gods are smiling on us today we may also see one of the continent’s rarest mammals, the African Wild Dog. Around midday, we’ll stop for lunch at a beautiful campsite on the banks of the Kwando river, which later on becomes the Chobe River in Botswana. Here Crested Francolins will come close expecting to pick up the bits and scraps dropped during lunch. Our lodge is beautifully situated on the banks of the mighty Zambezi River, and after checking in and taking a short rest, we will go to the local sewage ponds in search of Lizard Buzzard, Bronze Manikin, Green Sandpiper, White-faced Whistling-Ducks and a variety of weavers.
Day 13 & 14 - Oct 16th & 17th: Chobe park Kasane ( Botswana)
We’ll begin with a pre-breakfast bird walk hoping to find specialties of the area like Schalow’s Turaco, Scarlet-chested, White-bellied and Coppery Sunbirds and a plethora of kingfishers including Brown-hooded, Grey-headed, Giant and Pied. Before again crossing into Botswana, we will stop at the Chobe River flood plains, where some of the inhabitants could be Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Spurwing Goose, African Fish-Eagle, Saddle-billed Stork and African Openbill. We will enter Botswana and then make a 60 km drive through Chobe National Park. Chobe is famous for its elephant population (70,000+) and hundreds cross the main road on their way to the Chobe waterfront for their daily afternoon drink and bath. This is a spectacle that is unforgettable and a trip to Chobe wouldn’t be complete without witnessing it. Our lodge is sited on the banks of the Chobe River and the viewing deck at the bar offers a stunning view over the surrounding wetlands where Elephants, Hippos, Crocodiles, Buffalo and a variety of antelope species roam. On our first afternoon we’ll take a guided boat trip on the river which should get us very close to elephants drinking from and swimming in the river. Crocodiles and hippos will also be plentiful and birds are well-represented with possible close encounters with African Fish-Eagle and Trumpeter Hornbill likely. Needless to say this will be an excellent venue for photography as well as a chance to relax under the late afternoon African sun in the midst of an abundance of wildlife found in few other places on the planet. We’ll leave our second day in Chobe open and make decisions over dinner about how to proceed. A variety of optional game drives are available as well as a second, optional boat trip. Overnight in Kobe area
Day 15 - Oct 18th : Livingstone – Zambezi Waterfron
This morning we’ll leave Botswana and enter Zambia, the third African country included in the tour. This border crossing will surely be one of the most chaotic you have ever experienced as an over abundance of zealous moneychangers will harass and harangue you in an attempt to procure your exchange business. The absence of banks or regulated exchange booths at the border lends to this carnival atmosphere. However, don’t be alarmed or dissuaded. Instead, enjoy the spectacle while your guide sort out the details. The drive to our lodge is short and we’ll be there before lunch. After lunch we’ll visit Victoria Falls and wander the grounds looking for a few additional birds like Red-winged Starling and Mocking Cliff-Chat. You can also partake in a relaxing afternoon boat cruise ( optional) on the mighty Zambezi river, where they will serve you good wine while consuming the thoughts and experiences of the past weeks.
Day 16 - Oct 19th: Zambezi River Lodge – Livingstone Airport
If time permits this morning, we will have a quick glance at the local sewage ponds, for species like Allen’s Galinule, some more waterfowl etc, before getting to the airport where we say our goodbyes and wish everyone a good flight back to their home destinations.
All pictures by Josele J Saiz & Charly