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.
Fortunately, Erindi is focusing efforts on leopard conservation having established The Global Leopard Project in 2007 aimed at increasing our understanding. Unfortunately, leopards are a primary target for trophy hunters and farmers, due to the threat to their livestock, alike. They’re classed as ‘vulnerable’ by the IUCN and have been so since 1986. According to Okonjima’s AfriCat Foundation (more on them later) populations of leopards have dropped from 80,000 to 23,664 in the last 50 years. Erindi is one of the best places to see leopards in Namibia thanks to their healthy population of these animals.
Changing frequency on the ‘aerial’ and we were hot in pursuit of another female. This time we had better luck. The ‘pings’ got louder as we approached a clearing and, out of seemingly nowhere, she appeared. Having never seen an African Leopard before I was mesmerised. All she was doing was walking along, but she did so with such elegance and grace, and her markings were beautiful. Why anyone would want to kill one of these animals is beyond me. We managed to follow her for a little while until she disappeared into thick bush. I would have been content with just this sighting for the whole trip, but on to plan C - go and search for another one!
This time we ventured to a different area of the reserve not too far from the lodge. Having driven across in about 30mins it wasn’t long after this that we had the ‘pings’ of a third leopard in our ears. I couldn’t believe our luck - our guide had been tracking an adolescent female which we found lying in a clearing. We were able to get pretty close (close enough to get frame filling shots at 300mm!), and it really showed off her amazing markings. After a little while she got up and walked towards (not realising at the time) an Impala kill she had made approximately a couple of days before. As we followed her the stench of death quickly overpowered us and we knew where she was heading. As the light began to fade we were able to watch her tuck into this rotting flesh - such an amazing sight and a perfect way to end our short stay at Erindi!
On leaving Erindi shortly after breakfast we started to make our way north on a journey to ultimately reach the Skeleton Coast in the far north west of the country. This required an overnight stop 166 miles north of Erindi (four-and-a-half-hour journey), at a place called Mowani Mountain Camp. Located in an area called Damaraland, part of the Kunene Region inhabited by the Damara people, it is an area of beautiful desert landscapes. It is a harsh climate, experiencing high temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius and annual rainfall is low, sometimes non-existent. The wildlife here and further to the north have adapted to high heat and persisting droughts. It is the gateway for exploring the environment of desert-adapted elephants and giraffe. The elephants here have elongated limbs and broader soles able to handle the extreme rock and sand better and can travel for miles along dry river beds in search of water.
We attempted an afternoon game drive shortly after arriving at Mowani in search of these elephants in the Abu Hoab river but, around an hour or so into the drive, it soon became apparent we were driving into a sand storm. Pelted by strong winds and sand whipping into our faces, we decided to abandon the drive. It was a shame, but it couldn’t be helped. Fortunately, Mowani is situated up on a hillside out of the storm, so it allowed me time to explore the grounds in search of brightly coloured Red-Headed Rock Agamas (also known as Rainbow Agamas) that inhabit the boulders there.
Namibia is well known for its star-gazing. There is very little light pollution if none at all, especially in remote areas like Mowani. Siggi is a keen star-gazer and photographer, and tracked the best times for seeing the stars at their brightest. From a photography point of view its best to try and photograph the stars with as little moonlight as possible. The moon is so bright it reduces the impact of stars in an image. What that translated to was a 2.30am start to be up watching and photographing stars. Having photographed stars before, I wanted to incorporate the foreground into the image to give more context. I did some research on this prior to the trip and using LED panels seemed to be the best way to do this. Fortunately, there are plenty of portable versions of these you can buy online, so I brought them along. It was great fun testing it out and I’m relatively pleased with the results - definitely something to work on! I hope I didn’t wake anyone in the camp!
The next leg of the journey took us to a hotel called Doro Nawas and its airstrip around 30 minutes away. We were heading for Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp for two nights. This meant a 45-minute flight north to get there, and we were only able to take a small carry-on bag with us (as well as camera bags thankfully!). Our larger suitcases were left at Doro Nawas and not long after we were boarding a small 12 passenger plane. I’m not a comfortable flyer but for some irrational reason I feel much safer in smaller planes, so was able to enjoy the view on the way. The aerial views of the surrounding landscape were breath-taking, completely alien to anything in the western world and, so much so, you felt you were looking at the surface of another planet. As we approached the landing strip of Hoanib Camp our pilot had to circle it to check there were no elephants on the runway. While there were no elephants on the airstrip there were two adults and baby at a waterhole by the camp, surrounded by a beautiful desert landscape. It was amazing to watch them as we checked in and made our way to our rooms.
While only visiting for two nights, it was perhaps the location we were looking forward to the most. My parents had visited before, and most of the amazing stories of wildlife had come from here. From the vast landscapes of the Hoanib River (it's located on a private concession over a million acres in size) to the surrounding desolate desert and Skeleton Coast. It is home to the greatest concentration of desert-adapted elephants and lions, and the last free roaming rhino populations on earth. Approximately 75% of Namibia’s endemic species inhabit this area. The Hoanib River runs for 167 miles but, along with 11 other rivers, is only seasonal, staying dry for most of the time (it can stay dry for years at a time). Rainfall is variable, but usually between 0 and 325 millimetres. While on the surface it may appear dry, water runs deep underground, supporting an oasis of plant-life in an otherwise barren land of rock and sand. This in turn provides life-support to wildlife in the area and is why the area is considered one of the last true wilderness environments of Namibia. This was why we travelled so far, and it didn’t disappoint.
We had arrived in time for lunch and, more importantly, in time to venture out to the Hoanib River for an afternoon game drive. While windy, it was nothing like the sandstorm we had experienced the previous day at Mowani. We came across Springbok, still elegant and beautiful in their markings and made all the more stunning given the landscape, as well as my first glimpse at Namibia’s national animal; the Oryx (or Gemsbok). Perfectly adapted to desert life, they can survive on moisture from eating plants alone, capable of surviving up to a couple of weeks without water. They have a unique mechanism to maintain their temperature too. They are able to cool the blood flowing to their brain through the capillaries in their nose as they breathe. Equally they dig shallow holes to rest and cool down, when shade isn’t available. There are four species of Oryx, and the Gemsbok found in Namibia is the largest. Combine that with their distinctive black and white markings and impressive horns and you can see why they’re considered so photogenic. It was spellbinding watching them in their environment.
Further along we came across our first elephant; a bull known locally as Ollie. He was under an Ana Tree when we found him, reaching for green shoots up high. Slightly smaller than their African bush relatives, he was still an impressive sight, especially in the beautiful evening light, dwarfing our jeep as he walked past us only metres away. Desert-adapted elephants are found in only two places in the world; Mali and northern Namibia.
Their smaller size means they need less water to survive, and have slightly longer trunks to allow them to dig down into the sand to search for water underground. In fact, they only drink water every three or four days. Considering the elephants in Etosha National Park can drink up to 200 litres a day it just shows how they’ve had to adapt. When males reach puberty, they split off from their familial herd. There are two dominant bulls along this area of the river; Ollie and Arnold. The females travel in smaller groups than typical African elephants so as to ensure less pressure on finding food. They can travel up to 40/50 miles a day in search of water and food in such a sparse landscape. After watching Ollie for a short while we continued on.
Heading up and out of the riverbed we came across a ‘tower’ of giraffes, as their collective noun is called. Around seven or eight strong, the group were feeding out in the open in stunning evening light. I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced something quite as peaceful or tranquil as that evening. Surrounded by giraffes gracefully going about their business was magical.
These giraffes are considered genetically identical to those found in Etosha (where the landscape is entirely different) - both are a subspecies of Southern Giraffe known as Angolan Giraffe. Surprisingly the giraffes at Hoanib have adapted so that they don’t need to drink at all, getting all the water they need from eating vegetation. If water is easily available they will drink, but they don’t actually have to. They’re often found browsing in the early morning when there is still dew on leaves from fog during the night.
Unfortunately, giraffe populations are declining worldwide, labelled the ‘silent extinction’ as they’re often forgotten when it comes to conservation. Their numbers have plummeted 40% in the last 30 years. The usual culprits are the reason; habitat loss due to human encroachment, killing for bush meat and trophy hunting are all threats. In 2017 the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation found that an average of one dead giraffe a day was being imported into the United States as a trophy. A coalition of more than 30 African countries have come together to support a proposal to put giraffes on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (known as CITES). If this is successful it would result in the first restrictions on the international commercial trade of giraffe products.
The following morning, we were out early before sunrise to explore. Before we reached the riverbed, we came across a large herd of Springbok. The males were rutting for dominance and the right to mate, reminding me very much of the Red Deer rutting season back home in the UK. As the sun rose it cast a perfect backlight to their dramatic fights of supremacy. Where we had gone left on reaching the riverbed the previous afternoon, we went the opposite direction that morning.
We came across plenty of Oryx again as well as our first sighting of an Ostrich. After a quick ‘pit-stop’ for each we continued on - we were eager to catch up with the elephants if we could find them. Our guide, Max, followed their footprints in the sand in the riverbed and, eventually, up to the dunes above. All of a sudden we were in front of a herd of elephants having a mud/sand bath. It is believed they do this to help with thermoregulation, as well as providing “sunscreen” and removing parasites. It was perfect for photography and we were so lucky to have arrived just as they were throwing plumes of sand and dirt over themselves. If we had arrived ten minutes later, we would have missed it.
We continued to watch and follow this herd at distance for the next two hours. The group consisted of two adult females, a nine-year-old male and two babies (male and female). The baby male certainly considered himself a force to be reckoned with, throwing his weight around by flapping his ears and trumpeting! The herd was constantly on the move and, once we had got to the point of needing to turn around, we left them to it.