Olifantsrust: Etosha National Park

We were up before dawn on 28^th August as we had the long drive to Etosha ahead of us. We left in the dark & hoped to spotlight a good mammal along the way. However, all was quiet seeing just a Black backed Jackal & a few Springbok.

Benguella Long billed Lark

Recently split in the Long billed Lark complex.

The bad news is it responds to 

Karoo Long billed Lark calls!

We exited the park & after around 20 kms started looking for Benguella Long billed Lark. At our second spot we found them, at least three birds present & they were singing & displaying! We then enjoyed a nice breakfast on the side of a nearby mountain. Then it was time to drive, our first stop being Kaminjab, where we stocked up on groceries, filled up our gas container, got extra fuel & most importantly topped up our supplies of wine, gin & beer!

A nice introduction to this wonderful park.

Giraffe & Gemsbok.

Burchell's (Plains) Zebra

Kori Bustard

We entered Etosha National Park through Galton Gate & drove eastwards stopping at Jakkalswater & Okawao waterholes. Both had a good selection of the more normal species present.

Olifantsrus Camp

Looking from the walkway over the camp.

This is a small camp with only 10 camping sites.

The hide is the best feature of this camp.

The veld is very dry as the whole area is in the

 middle of a drought.

Lion spoor just outside the camp

We arrived at Olifantsrus, our home for the next six nights & made camp.

Blue Wildebeest

Large numbers come to drink here.

Burchell's Sandgrouse

c. 450 came in to drink this morning.

The upper story of the hide gives an unusual view!

Young male.

Kudu

Red Hartebeest

Plains Zebra

After a taxonomic revision, Burchell's Zebra now 
only occurs in East Africa.

Having a dust bath!

Gemsbok

We decided to spend all day of the 29^th in camp, just visiting the excellent hide & chilling out. A good selection of game came to the waterhole & several hundred Burchell’s Sandgrouse came to drink mid to late morning.

Here he comes!

The problem is they dominate the waterhole,

 keeping other species away.

In the early afternoon, four male Elephants turned up & dominated the waterhole for the next few hours.

Giraffe: always a pleasure to see.

Honey Badger

On the 30^th we drove back west via Nomab & Duneveld waterholes. The light was behind us & was excellent for photography including a Honey Badger who was late going home.

Dolomite Camp is perched high above

 the surrounding veld.

This part of the park has been hit hard

 by the drought.

White backed & Lappet faced Vulture

Pale chanting Goshawk

Immature Gabar Goshawk

This individual gave really nice close up views.

Female Double banded Sandgrouse

Male

Grey backed Sparrow-lark

We continued past Dolomite Camp to Klippan & Rateldraf waterholes. Both had a few animals present. 

The recently split Damara Red billed Hornbill

We then doubled back & spent the hot hours at Dolomite spotting a pair of Damara Red billed Hornbills. 

This is a very nice upmarket camp.

A great infinity pool with fantastic views.

This camp is in an excellent position on the side of a hill, giving panoramic views. 

Verreaux's Eagle

Rock Hyrax

This is of course, the favourite prey of 

Verreaux's  Eagles.

A baby!

A pair of Verreaux’s Eagles flew over when we were having lunch. A very pleasant spot indeed & worth paying the premium rates to stay over for a couple of nights.

Gemsbok

Hartemann's Mountain Zebra

This species is quite common in the

 western section of  the park.

We returned to camp via Jakkalswater at around 5pm. We visited the hide after dark but without success, as a strong wind had blown up & we didn’t see one animal!

Eland

Springbok

Namaqua Sandgrouse

Very common in the park

They gave some fabulous views.

Had a bit of a lay in bed on 31^st, venturing out to Tobieron waterhole in the morning. It was excellent with over 20 Eland present plus all the normal plains game. Also around 2,000 Namaqua & Burchell’s Sandgrouse came into drink.

Gemsbok

These two were having a bit of a set to!

We returned to camp for lunch & spent the rest of the afternoon in the hide, enjoying over 100 animals present including Gemsbok, Blue Wildebeast & Plains Zebra.

A terrible photo, but the only one on our

 anniversary of us meeting.

In the evening we opened a bottle of champagne as it was the first anniversary of Delana & I meeting! How the year has flown by!

Black Rhino

We then went to the hide in the dark. It was the polar opposite of the previous night, with four Black Rhinos present, including two who were having a bit of a pushing match. A couple of Elephants were also present. But then disaster struck! I fell down the stairs in the dark hurting my foot in the process. Delana bandaged it up, but hobbling around in a lot of pain.

Greater Kestrel

Not everyone gets through the drought. 

This is an Eland.

We planned to be up early on 1^st September but I was in a lot of pain & it took me a while to get going & organise myself. We drove west again, the bush looked fantastic in the morning light but no animals & no birds! It was deathly quiet! 

Lion

He was very close to the road 

& was not happy to see us!

He moved slightly further away.

I think this pair had moved away

 from the pride to be alone!

However around 16 kilometers out from the camp, Delana spotted a pair of Lions by the side of the track. We enjoyed great views for the next fifteen minutes. This was a long overdue sighting, as this was out fifth day in Etosha!

Ludvig's Bustard, as usual these shy birds

 keep their distance.

Temminck's Courser

Fawn coloured Lark

We continued driving west, stopping at three more waterholes but little activity. We did see 2 Ludvig’s Bustards & 9 Temminck’s Coursers. True to form, the bustards were shy & kept their distance.

Hartemann's Mountain Zebra: it is hard to believe 

but this species was once on the verge of extinction.

We enjoyed nice views of a variety of the commoner game species including some Hartemann’s Mountain Zebras viewed in excellent light. We would have liked to have lunch at Dolomite Camp again but I couldn’t manage the steep slope & many stairs, so reluctantly we headed for home returning around 1.30 pm.

Delana looked after me royally, as I can only hobble around, still in pain, but seems to be getting better. Spent rest of the afternoon resting in camp. Hope to be a touch better tomorrow.

Frisky Wildebeest!

Large herds came to drink late morning.

White backed Vulture coming down to drink.

Common Sandpiper, an early migrant.

Still in a lot of pain on the morning of the 2^nd September. Decided to spend the day around the camp. My foot got less painful as the day progressed. Spent most of the morning in the hide. Large numbers of Springbok; Burchell’s Zebra & Blue Wildebeast present. 250+ Burchell’s Sandgrouse came to drink. Otherwise it was quiet. I whiled away the afternoon hours by deleting & organising my photos. Started to pack away the camp slowly in the evening. Tomorrow we go to Okaukuejo for a four night stay.

Best birds:

Nothing unusual seen. Only around 80 species recorded, which is very poor. The long lasting drought & the winter season contributed heavily to this disappointing total. Only species of note were Ludvig’s Bustard; Damara Red billed Hornbill & Chestnut Weaver.

Mammals:

Plains (Burchell’s) Zebra; Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra; Black faced Impala; Springbok; Kudu; Gemsbok; Steenbok; Red Hartebeest; Blue Wildebeest; Eland; Giraffe; Honey Badger; Elephant; Black Rhino 5; Warthog; Yellow Mongoose; Rock Dassie; Spotted Hyena; Black backed Jackal; Chacma Baboon; Lion 2.