valandian-in Africa: And into Namibia

July 31

Another border crossing today as we left Chobe and entered Namibia. Again it took some time to process everyone. When we entered Botswana we had been told to make sure we had an entry stamp in our passport. So now we had to ensure we had the exit stamp in our passport before moving across to the Namibia 'immigration' building. Then made sure we had our passport stamped with the Namibia entry so there would not be any issues when we eventually crossed into South Africa.

The Caprivi strip is a narrow strip of land with Angola to the north and Botswana and Zimbabwe to the south. There is also a tiny border with Zambia near where we crossed from that country into Botswana. This strip of land was fought for by the Germans as part of Namibia (South West Africa then and renamed German South West Africa) so they would have easier access to the Zambezi River and East Africa.

We arrived at our 'rustic' accommodation shortly after 2.30pm. Mazambala Lodge is on an island in the flood plain of the Kwando River, a tributary of the Chobe River. We had been transferred to the island by boat which was a unique experience.

We went out on a boat safari before dinner. The pandanas has not yet been eaten down by the elephants so it was difficult to see the numerous hippos sunning themselves on the bank. We did see lots of lechwe antelope, but they are shy by nature so as we approached they often scampered away.

Our boat driver asked us before we headed back if we wanted to see some swallow nests. Of course! So we continued on up river. This was probably also a great move as we came back as the sun was setting - with the obvious result!

Self explanatory really

Our coach proved to be a novelty everywhere we went. One lad was brave enough to wave

Still the women do most of the work in the home

The villages were much more tidy than we have seen previously

Perhaps the German influence comes into play. Everything seems to be well kept

This cheeky weaver bird decides he had better have 'words' with this 'intruder' as he tries to peck at his reflection in the coach wing mirror

The 'departure lounge'. The boats have arrived. Our larger luggage has already been taken up river

These flat bottomed boats are ideal for transporting both people and goods up the river to the lodge

And we are away

Arriving at the lodge we are greeted by the owner and explained the rules.

Each room is in an individual hut with its number and an animal logo. Sadly I was not in No.16 (my favourite number) which also happened to have a lion logo!

A cute little guinea fowl pot stood at our door

Rustic! Gorgeous as far as we were concerned. We were, however in one of the newer rooms

Out on the river we come across this monitor lizard sunning himself

The lechwe antelope is distinctive because, as you can see, its hindquarters are higher than its fore legs. This makes for easy grazing and a fast get away!

I told you we saw lots of bee eaters!

Getting a little wind blown, as were we.

A baby croc eyes us off

Lots of grey louries in this area

The road bridge which provdes shelter for dozens of swallow families

The birds migrate from the Northern Hemisphere each autumn to spend the summer in the warm southern countries

Never tire ....

This beautiful fellow posed just right before darting off

Lots of fun at dinner time with good company

August 1

A leisurely morning resting at the lodge, sunning ourselves on the top deck of the hide. Saw lots of birds.

A slightly different variety of swallow to those I'm used to seeing in England, but swallows nonetheless

The grey louries were fluttering in and out of the trees in number. Then the wind blew up a top knot just at the right time

It was cold and windy up top so early in the day, but the view was amazing .....

Looking out over the river. No large game close by, sadly

In the afternoon we went on a game drive. We were taken by boat to our safari vehicles. We saw kudu, a pair of bateleur eagles, crimson breasted shrike, drongos, bee eaters, long tailed shrike and an eagle owl nest.

However the highlight of the drive was our encounter with the 100+ elephants. We came upon them when a bull was blocking the road. The road was only just wide enough for our vehicle and he was larger than us, so it was a matter of waiting until he moved on with the rest of the herd. We did not have long to wait but then another bull, this time on the edge of the road, decided to challenge us. We waited a good ten minutes before he too decided to join the rest of the herd. We followed along behind them and when they were away from the road we passed them to wait further down near the river.

Slowly the herd caught up with us and we were in for a treat as they ambled along within metres of our trucks. What an awesome experience.

Our guide, Ben all decked out in his safari clothes, badges and all

This tree is found all over this region. Known as a sausage tree because of the long sausage shaped fruit which you can clearly see hanging down from the tree

No crocs nearby - time for a drink!

We soon came across this lone bull elephant

Long tailed shrike

Crimson breasted shrike. Such a vivid red colour, not so apparent when in the shade

Drongos are common in Namibia and Eastern Cape, South Africa. We have lots of jokes about the name of course

Two beautiful bateleur eagles

We passed a group of female kudu nervously keeping an eye on us.

This big chap was sunning himself on the banks of the river

Now this is what I would call an obstruction on the road! You can see beyond several other elephants

Then this chap decided to stand guard as well

Eventually he moved on

We followed with caution at a distance. You can see, if you look closely, lots of other elephants camouflaged by the the bushes on the left and straight ahead

Still keeping an eye on us

Trunk up is a warning sign as well as the flapping ears

Ahead you can just see how large this group is ranging right across from the river to the right of the picture

When we finally stopped at an open location close to the river, another young elephant appeared to the front of us

This group were drinking further back from where we had come

Then they all began to stroll our way. I was now back in the vehicle! Others stayed close by but stood their ground. Our guides were seemingly unperturbed