Namibia and Zambia 2015 - What could go wrong this time

[Peter Connan]

I am really liking this so far!

 

Hop the sunburn wasn't too bad...

[KathBC]

I'm also interested in the type of camera equipment you were using.

Edited September 10, 2015 by KathBC

[Marks]

Everything looks gorgeous. I love how casually you mentioned skydiving...can't wait to hear about that!

[dlo]

@@KathBC

 

In addition to a bagful of food my crazy wife brought 2 cameras of which I was actually unaware until we were on the boat. She bought a Canon 70d last year and borrowed and Canon T1. Her lenses were 70 x 200 and 18 x 135. She did all the camera work except for any cell phone shots and I did all the video with a new Canon camcorder that was fantastic. Got some great video of us being hissed at by a leopard about 10 feet away from us! She also just scolded me about the pictures above as some were not taken with a cell.

 

@@Marks

 

As Peter Connan has noticed with his sunburn comment I do love a good foreshadow.

[dlo]

We get up early not knowing exactly when we're going skydiving as it's entirely weather dependent. We're back in our room after breakfast getting ready for our long drive as we have to leave for Twyfelfontein by 12 at the latest, when Chris says there's something wrong with my head. She married me so obviously there must be something wrong with her's as well. Sure enough though my heads getting tomato red and my forehead is swelling up. Whatever I'm not worrying about it but since the weather is still not quite right we have to wait a bit longer to go. Not much later we go back to the office to check on things and my hat doesn't even fit anymore and I'm starting to feel like crap. I show Robyn my forehead and she's pretty horrified as she insists that a hospital visit should be seriously considered!

 

Chris has been dreaming of skydiving in the desert for years so I don't really want to let her down so Robyn(she was awesome) calls Cottage medi-clinic and off we race to see a doctor. The swelling is literally growing by the hour and I'm actually a little concerned now when we get to see Dr. Gericke. I've never heard of swelling from a sunburn but he's pretty sure that's what it is, he hands me 3 prescriptions and we head into the pharmacy to get them filled while Chris insists on photos for insurance purposes. I chat to the friendly pharmacist and the tech cracks me up with her expressions and concern for my head even making me pop a couple of pills on the spot. Well its to late for skydiving now so I feel bad physically and mentally but Chris is a doll and tells not to worry about we're even now( In 2005 in Rwanda I was very excited to go to Nyungwe Forest when her food poisoning forced us back to King Fiasal hospital in Kigali).

 

We end up taking the C35 to Twyfelfontein where we stayed after our first choice was already booked solid. Its an interesting drive scenically as well as the wet towel on my head as my hat no longer fit on my head but we only can stop a couple of times. I liked every place i stayed on this trip and loved a couple but I'd rather go back to my bat infested banda in Uganda than be here again. The locations great and the rooms are fine and the foods ok. So what's the problem you ask well let me tell you, Everything is drivable in the area but after another very bumpy day driving there we decided to do some lodge activities instead. Unfortunately 2 of the 3 people at the front desk are to busy in conversation to help and the third person can't even get their attention. Annoyed but hey we can check on things in the morning, we head for dinner and a buffet in which my wife eats cheese and a few veggies as no one can tell us anything about the food. Every place after this handled the allergy thing perfectly as I will come to later.

 

The next morning I decide some mountain biking would be fun but I am looked at with confusion(maybe it was my now massive head) as they have no mountain bikes! After we get home we are told their website which offers mountain bikes is an obsolete website I really want to stress what a great trip we had and you won't be hearing any more complaints other than a couple more swollen head stories the rest of this report.

 

Typical scenery

 

We met a couple later on who walked out of there lodge and went here but loved it.

 

 

The only rock art we ended up seeing

 

 

 

 

We are now heading off to Grootberg lodge and i can't wait to get there.

 

 

 

[xelas]

@@dlo

 

Why not sharing with us some of those "insurance photos", and those with "wet towel turban"?? I mean no disrespect, or to make fun of you, just to show us and other newbies how important is using a hat all the time!!

Also, please do share the names of your lodge, and the lodge on the photo (if the one that the other couple stayed at, and loved it).

 

Chris, great photography! When you ladies get to hold a camera (not easy as camera is usually a man's toy !!) it ends in some spectacular photos. Even more so when your longest lens was 200 mm.

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@dlo

 

Love the banter and joshing between you and your wife about being even with regard to trip adjustments due to illness.

The bee, rock art and bush-shrike photos are splendid!

Really enjoying your trip report!

Tom K.

[dlo]

@@xelas

 

Ha those insurance photos no longer exist! but feel free to make fun of me as that was all my fault. I deserve no sympathy for being so stupid to forget to put my hat back on. The lodge was the one I complained about Twyfelfontein Country Lodge. It just shows how each person's experience can differ.

 

@@Tom Kellie

 

Appreciate the comments, trust me though she still really wants to skydive and since we are going back to Rwanda in 3 years I better find a cool place to make it happen.

[KaingU Lodge]

This is great!

 

The picture of the guy with the seal is brilliant.

[dlo]

@@xelas

 

I've also been informed we had this, 300mm 1:4 IS 1.4x extender.Whatever that means.

[xelas]

@@dlo

 

That means the close up photos being so good !

Edited September 11, 2015 by xelas

[Peter Connan]

Ouch, that sounds bad!

 

Love the Bokmakierie (the bird in the last post) and the Hyrax!

[dlo]

@@Peter Connan

 

Appreciate the bird ID's as I'm terrible with them except for the most obvious.

[dlo]

After the mountain bike fail we decide to get moving and drive to Grootberg Lodge knowing it will be our last hard drive in our trusty little Polo. My swelling went down a little in the night but upon returning to our room to pack Chris noticed had it had gone back up quite a bit and was now folding over my glasses and shifting lower on my head By the afternoon I'm starting to squint and rhino tracking tomorrow is hillarious and my video turned out terrible, I'm not sure who has worse eyesight at that point me or the rhino!

 

I'm very excited to get to Grootberg Lodge based off @@xelas report last year. It's a heck of a drive over some bumpy winding roads with some pretty big hills added in for fun. When you get to the lodge itself you have to park your car at the bottom of a steep hill at a ranger station unless you have 4x4 although they were all parked at the bottom as well. There are lovely views from the lodge and the higher elevation is a godsend after the crazy heat at Twyfelfontein. We skip an afternoon activity and have a late lunch, chill at the pool and put a fat bag of ice on my head. Chris is starving at this point and goes to talk to one of the ladies in the lodge, I think this is the happiest I see her for the whole trip after she tells me she's practically in tears and hugging the poor girl because she's so helpful with her, she eats great the 2 days we are here.

 

After dinner you're activity options are discussed and we are going rhino tracking with 1 other couple. An early morning start at 5:30 for our first rhino tracking since Matusadona waaaay back in 2002(I was still using 56K modem, god I'm old).

 

Lots of hyrax here

 

Help?

 

I have no idea

 

First giraffe of the trip,way more to come

 

Pretty nice view from the lodge

 

Lots of these today

 

 

Another long conversation about soccer my arsenal shirts work like a charm as everyone loves the premier league here. Chris always gets bored and walks off but to be fair I've had some pretty in depth conversations.

 

Next post is rhino tracking and then a lot of safari.

 

 

[Marks]

I'm impressed at how you've taken a potentially worrisome condition re: your head in such stride - and more, you seem to have had some fun with it!

 

 

 

More than pretty nice, I'd say! Love how the land and sky merge in the distant blue.

 

 

 

 

This is a really excellent photo. The detail on the bird's feathers is to die for.

 

I am enjoying following along a lot.

[xelas]

@@dlo

 

The birds photos are very crisp and sharp, great details. Would you mind asking Chris which exact 300 mm lens she was using?

 

As for the photo of the road sign ... heat or squint ?!

 

I was still using 56K modem, god I'm old). - not as old as me! My first one was 6400, and communication was done over BBS

[dlo]

@@Marks

 

Even when my head was about the size of a watermelon I still thought it was pretty funny. Appreciate the comments on the photos, its intimidating at first putting them up on this site because there are so many good photographers on here as you know. @@xelas and @@Tom Kellie encouraged me to write this and I'm quite enjoying reliving this now.

 

@@xelas

 

The squinting is now my go to excuse . The roadside pictures are usually me just quickly pulling out my cell phone and trying to get a shot off before we drive by. I'll check with her on the lens.

[Big Andy]

 

 

20150519-IMG_1696.jpg Help?

 

 

My bet for this would be Pririt Batis. http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/pririt-batis-batis-pririt

[Marks]

@@Big Andy Thanks for posting that web site, I'd never seen it before. It looks incredibly comprehensive.

[dlo]

@@xelas

 

As texted to me by the wife, Canon lens EF 300MM 1: 4 L IS Macro 1.5/ 4.9ft with stabilizer. That's a mouthful!

 

I'm also going to add a few videos for my own amusement. I really like a leopard video i got but using the Youtube editor which is garbage just makes it worse. I really do have some outstanding shaky cam abilities if I do say so myself.

 

 

This one is our friendly captain playing the comedian.

 

 

This one mostly focuses on the millions(it seemed like it) of seals battling on the beach. Due to some ADD i keep jumping from one bunch to the next.

 

 

[dlo]

I love rhino tracking, one of the reasons I became addicted to Africa was seeing a large boulder rise from the ground on my first trip to Africa and realize that's no boulder! After my heart started we were allowed to go see Boma (named my dog after him) as he was orphaned and being hand reared. Well its 5:30 in the morning and a German couple who we meet up with in Etosha and us are in a vehicle for a bumpy downhill ride to see rhinos and I'm not tired in the least. We have a guide Liberty and 2 trackers Barman? and Charles, when I say Prince Charles is easier to remember and ask him if he has a princess the boys tease him mercilessly, it gets even worse when I mention there are some lovely ladies in the lodge

 

We don't see a lot other than 2 giraffe,1 dead,1 alive and a few zebras on the way back. It's a typical African massage type drive and results in a flat which allows the trackers to disappear and do there thing. We wait a while and then Liberty says they have found them, I can't even find the trackers! It's slow going over very rough terrain as the older gentleman really struggled with it. We finally move towards them and we see a mother and baby at about 2 or 3. Of course they are hidden in some bushes and then move away pretty quickly. 10 minutes later we are stopped as we have caught up and they are in an open area. One of the trackers is closer and we are told we can creep up 1 at a time to get a closer view.

 

Chris going "pole pole" towards the rhinos.

 

Its pretty funny but I can barely see the viewfinder and Chris is shaking because she's nervous so we don't get many pictures. We get about 10 minutes with them before they tire of us and leave so its time to leave them alone and head back to the vehicle. We are still buzzing back at the vehicle Instead of going back to the lodge we head for lunch at a campsite they have set up for people who wish to camp.

 

 

I had a great time with the rhinos and with the guides so when we get back to the lodge in a burst of enthusiasm that isn't unusual for me I tell the boys to wait I'm going to find Charles's princess, ok not really but i dash back to our room and grab 3 of the 7 soccer balls I brought to donate in Zambia! I have never seen anyone as excited as them after this though as they burst with excitement and I can't stop grinning. I would give another to my waiter tomorrow as he was awesome too (I know I think everyone's great!) After dinner we are treated to a performance by the Grootberg Lodge choir who apparently have a yearly competition with all the other Damaraland lodges. I've read that some people like this type of stuff and some don't but every person staying there had a big smile on there face and enjoyed themselves immensely.

 

We're pretty tired after the early start and crash early in anticipation of a paved road on the way to Etosha and content from having a really good day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Towlersonsafari]

@dio We are really enjoying your report-and keen to find out what you make of etosha! you really convey the excitiement of Walking -that nervous butterfly time feeling coupled with an enormous grin on one's face!

[Marks]

What a great rhino experience! Being so close to them on foot, as I recently learned, really is awe-inspiring.

 

Sounds like you had a blast with the guides and trackers, too.

 

After dinner we are treated to a performance by the Grootberg Lodge choir who apparently have a yearly competition with all the other Damaraland lodges.

 

 

 

I bet this would be a lot of fun.

[dlo]

@@Towlersonsafari

 

Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one to get those nerves and I'm just a big chicken so its good to know I'm not the only one.

 

@@Marks

 

Being able to enter their world is always a special experience for me. Chris knows that on each trip I'm going to surprise her with something and we are going rhino tracking.

 

This is our third time we've had an after dinner performance. All have been fun but we had a Masai song and dance at Ngwesi Lodge in Kenya. We were the only 2 guests at the lodge and we certainly were not expecting something like that. Someone made an Elephant call behind us as the lead guide proclaimed therewas an Elephant behind us. I jumped out of my seat almost as high as a Masai can jump and the entire staff burst out in laughter. They then started singing and dancing and grabbed me and Chris to join in and show them how it's done. I've got the biggest smile right now just telling you this story

Edited September 15, 2015 by dlo

[FlyTraveler]

Enjoying this report very much @@dlo! What a great idea to combine Namibia and Zambia (SLNP) in one trip. Looking forward to seeing more...