Tanzania 2019-23: Namibia Safari February-March 2021

Sossusvlei landscape

Part 1. Windhoek - Hardap National Park - Ai-Ais National Park - Aus - Luderitz - Namib-Naukluft National Park

In order to get a new tourist visa for Tanzania I had to leave the country in late February. We were planning to go to Kenya for a few days then Jenny read that Namibia had relaxed its COVID restrictions for tourists so we began planning a 3½ week safari there instead. This also meant that we could use a credit with Ethiopian Airlines for flights we couldn’t use to go to Australia a year ago. So on Monday 22nd Feb we arrived in Windhoek (via an overnight in Addis Ababa). As arranged we were met and taken to our car hire company and took delivery of a fine Toyota Hilux ute with lockable canopy.

Watching the sun go down on day 1 at Arebbusch Travel Lodge in Windhoek

Southern Red Bishop

White-backed Mousebird

Groundscraper Thrush

We had visited Namibia in 2015 and didn’t see all the country. On this trip we decided to venture further south and north and to leave out the ecologically distinct Caprivi Strip on the north east. We also had better luck this time with booking the national park accommodation - cheaper and conveniently inside the parks. In all we stayed in park accommodation for 13 of the 26 nights.

After a day in Windhoek (staying at the Arebbusch Travel Lodge - highly recommended) to rest and get some road supplies (water, snacks, money) we headed off to Hardap National Park which surrounds Hardap Dam - Namibia’s largest water storage reservoir. The camp here is a large assembly of cottages of varying sizes and we had the place almost to ourselves. The bush is arid savanna and grassland. Rain through most of the country back in December had broken a six year drought and many areas we visited were covered with lush, senescing grass. We drove the trails through the park to the south of the lake, ticking off birds and mammals as we went.

Hardap Dam

An Armoured Ground Cricket (Acanthoplus sp.)

Acacia Pied Barbet

Rock Hyrax using drainpipes to get around.

Sunset over Hardap Dam.

Next we went further south to Ai-Ais National Park. This park encompasses the Fish River Canyon - second only in size to the Grand Canyon of the USA. Again we had the small camp largely to ourselves. The canyon lookout revealed spectacular scenes that changed with the intensity of the sun through the day. The Fish River is dammed at Hardap Reservoir and is one of only six permanently flowing rivers in the country. We stayed at Hobas camp. There is another camp further south with hot springs but it was extensively damaged in the December floods and closed for repairs but we drove the road joining the two camps. Much of the country here is arid desert and few animals make it their home. We were amazed to see giraffe in an almost treeless plain and couldn’t imagine what the Mountain Zebra, Springbuck and Southern Oryx find to eat. Birds on the other had were abundant, having bred following the December rain. Nomadic species such as Lark-like Bunting and Grey-backed Sparrow Larks were in huge numbers. We spent some time at waterholes watching a constant stream of birds coming in to drink.

Fish River Canyon panorama.

We were surprised to see Giraffe in this largely treeless landscape.

Spot the Giraffes.

Springbucks sparring.

Mountain Zebra (a mammal lifer for us).

Namaqua Sandgrouse pair.

A word about the National Park camps. All parks have at least one camp and all are run by the same organisation - www.nwr.com.na - but each seems to operate in slightly different ways. The checking in procedure was different each time and we were never sure if our payment included dinner. I suspect we paid twice for meals at a couple of camps. We rarely got receipts or park permits either. The cottages/bandas/tents etc. were all fine but some had ineffective mosquito nets. All had aircon or fans - welcome in the hotter areas. The restaurants had good, basic food but little choice - particularly at breakfast (no cereal option at some). Wi-fi was available for a fee at each except the last (Dolomite Camp in Etosha NP) where it was free (but barely worked). Who charges separately for wi-fi these days? On the whole we can recommend the park accommodation as reasonable quality and cheaper options to the private lodges. They were situated in some amazing locations and all had nice pools.

The road from the camp to the canyon lookout.

General landscape.

After Ai-Ais we went to the tiny town of Aus which, for some reason, has an amazing hotel - The Bahnhof. It did a steady trade with people passing through on their way to other places. A lovely spot to stay in the middle of nowhere with a great restaurant (and free wi-fi). We stayed two nights and did a day trip to the old German port of Lüderitz where we did a cruise to seal and penguin colonies and then had a drive around the wild desert beaches.

Remains of huts from the guano harvesting industry.

African Penguins in the mist. They were accompanied on this island by Greater Flamingos.
Where else in the world would a Penguin and a Flamingo occur together?

Bank Cormorant.

African Penguins

African Oystercatcher

Our trusty Hilux at Diaz Point, Lüderitz.

The railway line to Lüderitz is engulfed by a sand dune here.

Southern Oryx (or Gemsbok).

Next we headed to Sossusvlei in Namib-Naukluft National Park. This was the first repeat visit from our 2015 safari. Last time we stayed at a flash lodge outside the park. This time we were at Sossus Dune Camp inside the park. This is an easy day’s drive from Windhoek and was reasonably busy. This section of the large park is famous for the red sand dunes, mysterious circles in the grasslands and Namibia’s endemic Dune Lark. It was very hot here so the methodology was a morning drive - siestas/swim - and a late afternoon drive. We weren’t very early getting out the first morning but luckily found three Dune Larks playing chasey in the dunes at the first place we stopped. Just as I was about to snap a few photos they suddenly vanished and could not be found again. Presumably they went into siesta mode until the late afternoon. If we’d been five minutes later we would have missed them. The Sossusvlei area is even harsher than the area around Fish River Canyon and we saw few bird species and fewer mammals.