Namibia takes its name from The Namib Desert. Indeed, the name ‘Namib’ means ‘vast place’ which is the perfect way to describe the country. The desert itself is believed to have existed for at least 55 million years, making it the world’s oldest. It stretches for roughly 1,243 miles along the Atlantic coast of Africa, spanning Namibia, South Africa and Angola. In the local Nama language, Namib means ‘an area where there is nothing’. It has some of the highest sand dunes in the world, most notably in Sossusvlei. It is also home to the largest canyon in Africa, known as the Fish River Canyon. There is a lot of space in Namibia given its one of the least crowded countries on the planet. As of 2020 its population is estimated to be 2.5 million inhabiting a country that is 318,261 square miles in size. To put that in context England has a population of approximately 56 million (as of 2020) inhabiting 50,337 square miles. Namibia’s population speak a total of 30 different languages. While English is the official language less than 1% of the country’s population speak it as their first language. Nearly half the population speaks Oshiwambo dialects, while the other main languages are Afrikaans, Herero and German.
Knowing Erindi was the only likely place I’d hopefully come across Wild Dogs I made a specific request to try and find them that evening. The dogs had other plans though and despite searching some of their territory they were nowhere to be seen. So, we opted for a general explore to see what we could find. Almost immediately we came across more giraffe, Springbok with their beautiful striped markings and Blue Wildebeest.
Unbeknownst to us our guide, Hano, knew the area we were in had sightings of lions earlier in the day. As we drove slowly and carefully through the bush a couple of large light brown/yellow ‘rocks’ showed in the distance under a tree. One of these ‘rocks’ flicked its tail into the air and then, hearing us approach, casually lifted its head to reveal a large male Lion looking at us. These ‘rocks’ turned out to be a dominant male, a Lioness and their three-month-old cub. The experience we had with these lions was just magic, and one I’ll forever be grateful to Hano for.
Initially sleepy, the lions lazed around for most of the time. As the sun started setting the little cub started to get more active, wanting to play and explore. At one point he came right up to our jeep and just sat there looking at us. His mum and dad didn’t seem bothered at all. After a while he must have got bored watching us watching him (we didn’t do much after all) and went back to playing tug-of-war with dad’s ear and having a bath from mum. The beautiful golden light we all crave in photography gave us an amazing hour before the sun sank below the horizon. All in all, we spent around three of four hours with these lions. Watching animals for that length of time really pays off to witness interaction that you would otherwise not see. I could have spent weeks watching them. Eventually, as it started to get dark we made the journey back to the lodge arriving after nightfall. I was counting my lucky stars having experienced so much in just two days.
Our experience also highlights how worthwhile it is to get private game drives (if affordable). With most non-photographic game drives the focus is all about racking up the number of species seen and, as such, only a very limited time is given to staying with any one animal. Indeed, while we were with these Lions a couple of other jeeps arrived and left after five minutes. With a private drive we could focus purely on what we wanted to see, and with such an obliging opportunity as this we had absolutely no intention of moving on. Fortunately for the three of us it was only £20 extra per drive per person!
The next day started early before sunrise. All morning game drives at Erindi start with coffee at the restaurant before heading out into the reserve at 6am. The sight from the restaurant balcony got me jumping with excitement - the pack of African Wild Dogs were play fighting in the distance and, before long, came down to the lake overlooked by where we stood. A group of Blue Wildebeest (apparently their collective noun is known as gnu) had come down to the lake to drink. The dogs, rather than in full hunting mode, seemed to be teasing them by strolling into the group and then running away when a Wildebeest gave chase. They did this a few times before giving up and moving out of sight.
Naturally when we got into the jeep for the drive our focus was on the Wild Dogs, and we caught up with them within five minutes of setting off. They were making their way back to the den they had used earlier in the year to raise their pups. Constantly on the move, we would drive ahead and watch as they trotted towards and past us, and then we’d race forwards again. Occasionally they would come and sniff the side of the jeep and the tyres, completely unperturbed by us. So much so that eventually, in late morning, they stopped to rest and sleep.
I really wasn’t sure whether we would have enough luck to see them during our trip. African Wild Dogs, or Painted Dogs as they’re sometimes called, are listed as ‘threatened’ by the IUCN with only around 5,000 animals left in the wild. They’re considered one of the world’s most endangered animals, facing threats such as human population growth and loss of habitat. They’re very capable hunters, successfully bringing down around 80% of their prey, and as such are killed by farmers fearing for their livestock. They’re also very susceptible to disease, vulnerable to most of the same diseases as domestic dogs. So, as they become increasingly in contact with humans their risk of infection only increases. Fortunately, Erindi focuses on conservation of all endangered species in its reserve and the pack, around 30 strong, which call it home are doing well.
As if that wasn’t enough the morning drive wasn’t over. We left the dogs to their slumber and made our way back to where we’d seen the lions the day before. We didn’t make it that far though as a different lioness had been spotted with three older cubs, estimated around one year old. Erindi has a policy of only two jeeps per sighting which is very welcome. I’ve heard horror stories in more well know national parks in places like Kenya where there can be up to 20 or 30 jeeps all crammed together. We waited our turn to approach these lions and patience was rewarded with the three cubs receiving a bath from their mum in the shade of a tree. The interaction between them all was brilliant to watch. Not long after this they decided to get on the move again, which alerted us to yet another lioness, this time with two young cubs resting in the shade of some scrubland.
As with most game reserves by lunch time we made our way back to the lodge for lunch to be ready for an afternoon drive later in the day. It was on my first lunchtime that I had a stroke of luck - deciding to spend the time watching the hippos and crocodiles in the lake by the lodge I followed a path that led to a shaded area of seating at the end overlooking the water. Before I got there though I noticed some thrashing in the water below me. After a few seconds it became clear one of the crocodiles had caught a catfish of some kind. While completely in the wrong position for a water level shot (there was no way of getting down to the water’s edge given an electric fence and I’m not sure I fancied getting that close to a Nile Crocodile with no barrier!) it was a great few minutes watching it thrash about with its prize. Reaching the end of the path into the shaded area proved great for getting close-up shots of the crocodiles (using a 500mm lens) as they basked in the midday heat.
Before long it was time to venture back out into the reserve again and, having had such amazing luck with the lions so far, we opted for an explore of the area. We managed to see a number of antelope species including Steenbok, Springbok and Impala. While trying to focus on other species the lions had other ideas and we came upon the lioness with two young cubs from the morning again. This time the cubs were suckling in an area of scrubland while the male, the same from last night having fathered all the cubs we had seen so far with three lionesses, watched close by. It was amazing to watch how peaceful they all seemed, only occasionally raising their heads to watch what we were doing.
The other lioness with three older cubs (again from the morning) then ventured over to where we were, stopping under the tree we spent the evening the previous night with a different lioness. It definitely seemed to be a favoured spot of theirs! Watching two of the three cubs play fighting together was brilliant to witness and my camera went into machine gun mode to capture it - the facial expressions were priceless!
We decided to follow in our own footsteps from the previous night and spend the evening watching these lions as they got progressively more active the later it got. Watching the two young cubs walk over dad while he slept is a memory that will be with me for a very long time.
I think lions are taken for granted by most people. Iconic to Africa and made famous through the film The Lion King and the documentary Born Free, most don’t realise they’re vulnerable to extinction. In some parts of Africa, they’re considered ‘critically endangered’ as their numbers are plummeting. Expanding human populations and the resulting growth in agriculture are amongst the main causes of their demise, as well as being prized as hunting trophies. Estimated to be roughly 20,000 left in the wild, their numbers have reduced from 110,000 50 years ago. To come across the lions we saw at Erindi came as quite a surprise to me, and one I’ll be forever thankful for.
Our final day in Erindi arrived and what a way to finish. In the morning we chose to look for Cheetah which, without realising, meant a two-hour drive to the other end of the reserve where they were often found. Using telemetry, whereby a radio collar is attached to the animal and a signal is transmitted to a receiver, we were able to track them down. Our guide used what can only be described as a TV aerial, pointing in different directions, waiting for a tell-tale ‘ping’ to give the animal’s direction away. As the ‘ping’ got louder we knew we were getting closer. Once our guide was comfortable the Cheetah was close by we stopped and got out of the jeep. From here we would be walking into the bush to find them. Armed with a rifle, our guide led us on as the hot sun bore down on us. It wasn’t long before, hiding in the thicket, we had our first glimpse of one. Given it was almost midday by this point they were understandably sitting in the shade and pretty much asleep. I could hardly blame them - in fact I had a snooze on the journey back to the lodge later that morning!
The afternoon’s plan was to use telemetry again, but this time to find an animal I was very much hoping to find during our trip to Namibia, second only to Wild Dogs; the Leopard. Our guide from the morning was surprisingly confident that we would, saying we had a 90% chance of finding one. I liked those odds! So, our afternoon was spent once again listening out for ‘pings’ on the ‘TV aerial’ and staring into bushes and trees hoping for a sign. After about an hour of searching and coming close to one (or at least the ‘pings’ suggested we were) we had to give up our search as the bush was getting too thick. Plan B - go and search for another one!