On The Road

A selection of images from The Road - most taken during a recent trip:


The Outjo Maower - this Cool Cat and his Donkeys were nowhere to be seen ...

... he'd probably gone looking for help after suffering a Blowout.


Hmmm, I wonder if I should translate that message?

Ok ... it says "I've got a F#%*ing Reputation" - in other words, he's The Man!


A family of Warthog scramble under a fence, startled by the approach of the car.


Entrance sign at Camp Mara - the Metal Birds depict a species of Parrot endemic to the area.


This Kudu Bull jumped two fences then crossed the road and jumped another ...

... this jumping habit of theirs is especially dangerous at night and results in many road accidents.


Desert Balloon flights - I'd love to go on one but they're way too expensive.


A Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk feeds on roadkill - it has obviously been captured by Researchers at some time - notice the Ring on it's leg.


A Sociable Weavers' Nest forms a Cradle in a desert Tree - makes me feel like singing a Lullaby to them ...


A pair of Bat-eared Foxes warily watch the passing car.


A wreck in the Desert - it looks like the car rolled before catching fire - someones Namibian Vacation in ruins.

Driving on Gravel can be treacherous - especially for the inexperienced.


'World's End' a Guest Farm in the Desert.

'Biltong' is dried meat, similar to American 'Jerky' - Namibia is a Carnivore's Paradise.


A Mad Max type vehicle - it appears to have pumping equipment mounted on the back.


A Cheetah runs away from the Road - it was after Sunset and I only managed a few blurry shots.
Daughter Megan is arriving in Cape Town from London this weekend and I'm fetching her from there - my Internet connection will be sporadic for awhile ...

Take care Friends.

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Mahango Game Park

The Mahangu Game Reserve is in NE Namibia at the start of the Caprivi Strip. The Reserve is located on the Okavango River where the river flows into Botswana's famous Okavango Swamps - it's a tiny reserve and not that well known, even amongst Namibians.


The area is home to many ancient large Baobab Trees.


In Namibia, the Savannah Buffalo is found only in the Caprivi region.

One of the 'Big Five', buffalo have a reputation for being extremely dangerous, especially when wounded.


I think that these beauties are Wattled Cranes - this region is a bird watcher's paradise.


Baby Vervet Monkey - there are a few troops in the reserve, also Baboons.


Bateleur - an Eagle.


A Hippo peers from behind a bush - awesome creatures!


A closer-up shot - just got to love those lips ... :)


A road sign warning to beware of Elephants ...


I told you to beware - this display caused me to flash on a previous Hair-raising encounter with an Elephant.


An African Fish Eagle sits on a branch over the river.


Roan Antelope.


Yellow-billed Egret on a burned tree stump.
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Off Again

Hello Friends, a few pics I've taken recently ... hope you enjoy them:


On The Road … a dead car used as a feature outside the town of Steinkopf in the Northern Cape, S Africa.


Two guys sitting on a step in Nababeep, N Cape.


Quiver Tree Forest, Keetmanshoop, Namibia


Ostrich Mama with a Gang of Chicks.


Cactus feature.


This dude selling belts on a street in Springbok asked me to take his pic …


A Dog guarding his turf eyes me.


Who Are You?


Another Dead car


Rock Dassie or Hyrax. I'm sure I read somewhere that, in evolutionary terms, this creature is the Elephant's closest relative but, I'm not going to stick my neck out and say it is so ...


Sociable Weavers’ Nest in Quiver Tree at Sunset. notice the lovely flat rocks on the ground - there was one rock more than 6 meters long but sadly, none were for sale.

My apologies for being so scarce on Blogylon, the truth is that I haven't had much enthusiasm for anything.

I'm returning home next week and not looking forward to facing an empty house but, I have much work to do.

Thank you all for your messages of condolence, support and wisdom, I appreciate them all - it is true that a burden shared is easier to bear.

Please take care of yourselves and each other - I'll see you after awhile.

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Rhino and Hyaena

More pics from a trip to Etosha:


Two Zebra sparring - Spring is in the Air!


These two Gnu were locked in mock-battle - we stopped to watch them ...


... after about a minute, as if on cue, they both paused and turned to stare at us ...

Gnu are You?


It was a chilly morning and the wind was blowing hard ... we didn't expect to see much.

Suddenly, a young male Spotted Hyaena lying in the grass just off the road ...


... and a Rhino appeared from across the open plain.


The Rhino stopped to graze on some bushes and also mark his territory.


Hyaena started following the Rhino ...

... it was then that we spotted the pride of Lion in the distance to the left and on either side of the central tree - it was likely a kill ...

the Lion were watching the Rhino.


Rhino became irritated and started chasing the Hyaena ... it was not a serious charge and soon ended.


The Hyaena slunk away and went to lie down in the grass again.


A few minutes later we encountered another young male heading in the direction of the Lion.

He took fright at the car, turned around and came charging back across the road.

Hyaena have a really strange gait, their hind legs appear weak.


I was really chuffed about the Spotted Hyaena because I'd never seen them before ...

... not bad for a day when we expected to see nothing at all.

Blog buddy Joan, at SA Photographs, recently did an informative post on these fascinating creatures - check it out here.
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A Jumbo Day In Etosha

I spent two days in Etosha with buddy Stretch - we traveled in his new second-hand Mini-bus Camper which has a cool hatch in the roof, great for Game viewing and photos:


Hand-crafted curios for sale just inside the Namutoni entrance gate.

I was disturbed to also see carved wooden Porcupines covered with real quills - saddened because I know that the animals the quills came from were probably caught in snares and died a torturous death.


We saw many groups of Elephant on day One - the first being these two bulls ambling along the road.

Strangely, on the Second day, a chilly wind was blowing and we didn't see one Jumbo.


Something I've heard about but never seen - people getting out of their cars and walking around at waterholes - despite being given a list of 'Dos and Don'ts' upon entering the Pans and signs at almost every waterhole saying 'Stay In Your Car'.

In one day we came upon four separate groups walking around at waterholes and Stretch, being bolder than me, minced no words when ordering them back into their cars.

For my part, on these occasions, I was disappointed at not getting pics of a Lion Feast ... :)


We encountered two separate pairs of Lion mating.


A Bus-load of Tourists jostle to get a view of the Big Cats doing the Deed.


An Elephant drinking at a waterhole - he surprised us by sticking his trunk through a hole in the ground to get to the water under the ledge ... considering the water level, this shows how long his trunk is.


A Kori Bustard takes off - these heavy birds don't fly very far, just enough to get out of danger.


Black and White.


Young Black-faced Impala drink at a waterhole.


Close-up of an Elephant drinking.

Etosha's Elephants are the largest in Africa but they have the smallest tusks.

Notice how small and worn his tusk is - due to a mineral deficiency in their diet.


A Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk surveys the world from the top of a thorn tree.


A small herd of Elephant approach a waterhole near sunset - the camp gates close precisely at sunset and sadly, it's impossible to linger at a waterhole as the sun goes down.
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