Namibia/Botswana Trip Report
Dec 28th, 2006, 05:51 AM
#21
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Some absolutely magical photos of the Namibia landscape!! Great job and thanks for sharing.
I think your raptor photo may be a white-eyed kestrel. Maybe one of the birder experts here can confirm. Defintely not a fish eagle as they look almost identical to an American Bald Eagle.
I think your raptor photo may be a white-eyed kestrel. Maybe one of the birder experts here can confirm. Defintely not a fish eagle as they look almost identical to an American Bald Eagle.
Dec 28th, 2006, 07:19 AM
#22
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Lin:
The photos from Namibia are fantastic. I leave the end of May for Namibia and am also staying at Little Kulala. I want to go NOW. It looked like it was cold, they way people were dressed. I'm also doing 4 days at the Skelton Coast Camp and can't wait.
The photos from Namibia are fantastic. I leave the end of May for Namibia and am also staying at Little Kulala. I want to go NOW. It looked like it was cold, they way people were dressed. I'm also doing 4 days at the Skelton Coast Camp and can't wait.
Dec 28th, 2006, 08:48 AM
#23
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Thanks for all of your kind words. I'm working on the next installment of photos. I want to include everything but I'm really trying to get it down to only the best!
GreenDrake, thanks for telling me what my own picture is ha ha! Yes I can see now that it isn't an eagle but I'm not good at birds!
knlaw: We were at Kulala in June, and were told it was a cold spell. It was warm during the day and cold at night. We wore the long clothes during our desert walks at the request of the guide, but there were others around wearing shorts. It can get windy. You'll LOVE the camp. I wanted Skeleton Coast camp but it was booked, please tell about it when you return!
GreenDrake, thanks for telling me what my own picture is ha ha! Yes I can see now that it isn't an eagle but I'm not good at birds!
knlaw: We were at Kulala in June, and were told it was a cold spell. It was warm during the day and cold at night. We wore the long clothes during our desert walks at the request of the guide, but there were others around wearing shorts. It can get windy. You'll LOVE the camp. I wanted Skeleton Coast camp but it was booked, please tell about it when you return!
Dec 28th, 2006, 09:08 PM
#25
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These photos are from Savuti and Stanley's including the walk with the Elephants.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...0&y=eey13b
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...0&y=eey13b
Dec 28th, 2006, 09:57 PM
#26
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Oops I just realized I never added the wildlife/scenic photos for Palmwag, so here they are:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...0&y=o1exya
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...0&y=o1exya
Dec 29th, 2006, 12:45 PM
#33
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Patty,
I think the launch point was about a half hour from camp. We leave at dawn - you can still see the moon in my photos - depending upon wind conditions.
Last June, it was in the low 40's at night. It is very warm in the balloon because of the, um, hot air blowing down from the heater?? I didn't listen to the technical explanation! I believe this was unusually cold and that it's usually high 40s - low 50s, but, the cold isn't really an issue because the minute the sun goes down, we head straight back to camp and the vehicle is enclosed so no wind problems. Chilly, but bearable.
Balloon ride link:
http://www.namibsky.com/
to the rest of you, thanks for the compliments but I think Johan is just being extremely kind!! Pix of Kwetsani to come soon.
I think the launch point was about a half hour from camp. We leave at dawn - you can still see the moon in my photos - depending upon wind conditions.
Last June, it was in the low 40's at night. It is very warm in the balloon because of the, um, hot air blowing down from the heater?? I didn't listen to the technical explanation! I believe this was unusually cold and that it's usually high 40s - low 50s, but, the cold isn't really an issue because the minute the sun goes down, we head straight back to camp and the vehicle is enclosed so no wind problems. Chilly, but bearable.
Balloon ride link:
http://www.namibsky.com/
to the rest of you, thanks for the compliments but I think Johan is just being extremely kind!! Pix of Kwetsani to come soon.
Dec 29th, 2006, 08:16 PM
#35
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We stayed at Little Kulala at the beginning of December--and agree that it is a stunning camp. It had, in fact, just been upgraded to a "six paw" Wilderness Camp by having its deck enlarged and air conditioning put in. Given all this we truly anticipated and expected a superior experience--sorry to say that wasn't the case. We hadn't gone for the luxury but to be w/i the park and to be able to get to the dunes more quickly--and to sleep on the roof.
The managers during our stay were lax, didn't follow through on several requests (i.e. setting up our roofs so that we could sleep out--one of the features that had attracted us to LK; inviting a couple to join our dinner group as requested; repairing the improperly installed closing device on the door to our kulala; closing the doors to our room after cleaning it to keep it cool--among others).Generally they were inattentive and not responsive to the few guests that were there during this time. It was frustrating and upsetting--especially coming on LK having told our TA that we couldn't take a five o'clock flight to the camp (we arrived at 4:00 from Maun) so that we had to stay overnight in Windhoek, then scheduling our flight to LK at 1:30 the next day--and when we called to request an earlier flight we were told the early flight was filled and we could only come earlier if we wanted to charter a private plane. This turned out to be untrue; the 9:00 a.m. flight had only two passengers. The 1:30 flight was scheduled to depart from Eos--although we were staying 4K from Windhoek International; going to Eos and being told there that we would have to fly to Windhoek International (Eos was over 25K from where we were staying--the flight back to WI was a 20 minute flight) to pick up two other passengers who would be arriving from England; having to wait at WI for them to arrive, go through customs, etc. so that we didn't leave for LK until 3:00 and didn't arrive at LK until almost 5:00--never having eaten since breakfast since we had been told we would be arriving at LK by 3:00 and would have lunch there. Having to rush when we did arrive to be able to go for the evening drive--and it goes on and on.
Happily, our guide, Gabriel, was informative, fun, and helpful and the two other couples we shared the Landrover with were good humored and interesting. But given the cost of getting to LK, the beauty of the place and the potential for it to be a very special experience, it was very disappointing to have our stay be thwarted in these--and other ways by lackadaisical managers. Especially since until then, our experiences in other camps and at our hotel in Cape Town had been so different.
The managers during our stay were lax, didn't follow through on several requests (i.e. setting up our roofs so that we could sleep out--one of the features that had attracted us to LK; inviting a couple to join our dinner group as requested; repairing the improperly installed closing device on the door to our kulala; closing the doors to our room after cleaning it to keep it cool--among others).Generally they were inattentive and not responsive to the few guests that were there during this time. It was frustrating and upsetting--especially coming on LK having told our TA that we couldn't take a five o'clock flight to the camp (we arrived at 4:00 from Maun) so that we had to stay overnight in Windhoek, then scheduling our flight to LK at 1:30 the next day--and when we called to request an earlier flight we were told the early flight was filled and we could only come earlier if we wanted to charter a private plane. This turned out to be untrue; the 9:00 a.m. flight had only two passengers. The 1:30 flight was scheduled to depart from Eos--although we were staying 4K from Windhoek International; going to Eos and being told there that we would have to fly to Windhoek International (Eos was over 25K from where we were staying--the flight back to WI was a 20 minute flight) to pick up two other passengers who would be arriving from England; having to wait at WI for them to arrive, go through customs, etc. so that we didn't leave for LK until 3:00 and didn't arrive at LK until almost 5:00--never having eaten since breakfast since we had been told we would be arriving at LK by 3:00 and would have lunch there. Having to rush when we did arrive to be able to go for the evening drive--and it goes on and on.
Happily, our guide, Gabriel, was informative, fun, and helpful and the two other couples we shared the Landrover with were good humored and interesting. But given the cost of getting to LK, the beauty of the place and the potential for it to be a very special experience, it was very disappointing to have our stay be thwarted in these--and other ways by lackadaisical managers. Especially since until then, our experiences in other camps and at our hotel in Cape Town had been so different.
Dec 31st, 2006, 07:11 AM
#36
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You have a beautifully written report. The Little Kulala pictures show the stunning landscapes and lighting. So many springbok! I know the dilemma of a night in Joburg or not. Since you extended your Little Kulala stay by a night and had some extra sleep the next day, I think you had the best of both worlds. <b>How many puff adders did you see?</b>
You gave a great account of Palmwag and I appreciate the advice to stay more than 2 nights. With a 3 hour drive from the airstrip, that makes perfect sense. To be mauled by a black rhino more than once is incredible. I am so glad you got to track a black rhino despite the upset of the intruder.
I'll look at the wildlife photos of Palmwag and the other places later.
Your candid account of your experience at Ongava and Etosha will be a help for those of us planning a trip there some day, especially with Michael's comments along side. You had some good viewing there and your waterhole pictures prove it. The lion drinking and the zebra are excellent shots.
The lion porcupine interaction at Savuti is a fantastic find. The lion hunt at night must have made in impression on all of you.
The personnel setup at Stanley's is interesting. Your comment on the number of participants walking was something I wondered about. <b>How many went?</b>
Some exciting action at Kwetsani as well.
Thanks for the informative and detailed report. I'm going to save the Namibia parts for future reference.
You gave a great account of Palmwag and I appreciate the advice to stay more than 2 nights. With a 3 hour drive from the airstrip, that makes perfect sense. To be mauled by a black rhino more than once is incredible. I am so glad you got to track a black rhino despite the upset of the intruder.
I'll look at the wildlife photos of Palmwag and the other places later.
Your candid account of your experience at Ongava and Etosha will be a help for those of us planning a trip there some day, especially with Michael's comments along side. You had some good viewing there and your waterhole pictures prove it. The lion drinking and the zebra are excellent shots.
The lion porcupine interaction at Savuti is a fantastic find. The lion hunt at night must have made in impression on all of you.
The personnel setup at Stanley's is interesting. Your comment on the number of participants walking was something I wondered about. <b>How many went?</b>
Some exciting action at Kwetsani as well.
Thanks for the informative and detailed report. I'm going to save the Namibia parts for future reference.
Jan 1st, 2007, 11:28 AM
#38
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520: Hmmm. I have to say I'm not really surprised at your experience at LK. I had so much fun, I didn't think of talking about the management. I cannot remember the guy's name, but now that I read your report, I do remember complaining about him on the Wilderness survey form. I also had made the same request to him several times. When we arrived at WDK, our papers and confirmations and the usual Wilderness Safari package was not awaiting us as it should have. The manager gave us a big run around, even told us he'd be flying to WDK that day and would pick them up for us, but never did. He was not that interested in guest satisfaction, leaving that to his lovely staff. At the time, I felt that was because he was busy trying to impress Wilderness big shots who were visiting and inspecting the camp improvements. But maybe he's like that all of the time. We addressed all of our requests to our guide and she made sure we got everything we needed. If I had planned to sleep out on the roof and it had not been prepared, I would have just asked again, because it doesn't take much work, just dumping a sleeping bag up there. I hope you didn't miss out on that experience. How absolutely frustrating to travel all the way to LK and not be able to get there on the day planned! Did you make your own travel arrangements or did you have an agent?
Jan 1st, 2007, 11:38 AM
#39
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Here are my photos from Kwetsani:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...0&y=2tnf4s
Matt and Pred, I have an unidentified bird in this lot too! Help!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...0&y=2tnf4s
Matt and Pred, I have an unidentified bird in this lot too! Help!
Jan 1st, 2007, 11:46 AM
#40
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Hi Lynn, thank you so much (and all of you) for taking the time to read my report and look at my albums.
We saw 2 puff adders at the bottom of Sessriem Canyon. In fact, OUR GUIDE stepped on the first one - she was lucky indeed! It didn't phase her though.
There is supposedly a maximum of 10 people for the elephant activity. On the day that we went, I believe there were 1 or 2 more than that. I didn't care for walking single file in a line of people, nor for waiting our turns for each photo opp or chance to touch the elephants, etc. - that took up a lot of our time. Yet it was such a unique opportunity that it was still worth while.
We saw 2 puff adders at the bottom of Sessriem Canyon. In fact, OUR GUIDE stepped on the first one - she was lucky indeed! It didn't phase her though.
There is supposedly a maximum of 10 people for the elephant activity. On the day that we went, I believe there were 1 or 2 more than that. I didn't care for walking single file in a line of people, nor for waiting our turns for each photo opp or chance to touch the elephants, etc. - that took up a lot of our time. Yet it was such a unique opportunity that it was still worth while.
