In late April to May of 2016 we joined Wild4 African Photographic Safaris for a tour of Namibia. We have travelled with Wild4 before on our trip to Kenya and Tanzania. Namibia is in the south western part of Africa, on the Atlantic coast, just north of South Africa. Botswana is to the east, and Angola and Zambia are to the north. The size of Namibia is slightly smaller than the states of Texas and Louisiana combined. Its population is about 2.1 million people according to 2011 census. The arid Namib Desert occupies much of Namibia resulting in Namibia being one of the least densely populated countries in the world. Its multi-party parliamentary democracy makes it one of the most stable countries to visit in Africa
We met Stu Porter from Wild4 African Photographic Safaris in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. To get there we started our journey in San Francisco and travelled via London to Cape Town, South Africa. To get to Windhoek we either had to travel through Johannesburg or through Cape Town. Since Cape Town is a tourist destination in itself, it made sense to spend some time there. We spent a total of 6 nights in Cape Town on our our way in and out of Windhoek. We spent a total of 14 nights in various regions of Namibia. Our time in Namibia was fully packed with plenty of photographic opportunities. As we moved from one region to the next our photographic skills were constantly being challenged as we faced endless unfamiliar subjects and an ever changing environment. It was exciting but exhausting as well.
Our group consisted of 6 guests and Stu. Operationally, we were supported by Nester, a driver/guide from Ultimate Safaris. Our transportation was a Toyota Land Cruiser pickup that had been modified to carry 6 passengers in the back. Our luggage was carried in a trailer. Most days our vehicle carried us to different photo locations. Throughout most of the trip we got out of the vehicle and wandered around to take pictures of the landscape. In Etosha National Park, where the game drives occurred, a second Land Cruiser was added. This gave us more room to photograph wildlife from inside the vehicles as visitors in Etosha must stay in their vehicles at all times. In general our days started between 4:00 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. There was often a considerable distance to be covered between our lodges/camps and the desired photo locations chosen by Stu. Breakfast were mostly in the field after our sunrise shots. After breakfast we worked our way back to the lodges for lunch and a couple of hours of rest or to download pictures. In mid afternoon we were off again for more photography until after sunset. On days when we travelled from one region to the next, lunch was often packed for the road after a good breakfast at the lodge or camp. Our accommodations were very well appointed. Except for when we stayed overnight in a city, where hotel rooms were the norm, tented cabins/chalets were common in the outback. Most of the lodges/camps we stayed in were located within National Parks or private reserves. Due to their remoteness, each lodge or camp offers its own excursions which are usually included in their full board rates. As we immersed ourselves into the wilderness our experiences were enhanced by these lovely lodges and camps.
This trip covered Cape Town, South Africa and many parts of Namibia, we find organizing our photos by region made it easier for us to remember them.
Cape Town has a very pleasent climate, striking geology, a long history and is in the fynbos floral kingdom--the smallest and most diverse of the 6 floral kingdoms. The weather was not good to us, but we were able to get a good sense of the place and spend some quality time in the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden which highlights the diversity of the fynbos kingdom. We also arranged a 1-day photo tour that included many stops on the cape pennisula.
One thing that impressed us about Cape Town is that it was easy to find really good food, and that food would be about half the price that we would pay in the San Francisco Bay area.
| Cape Town tourist pictures | Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden |
| Ralph's Pictures | Winnie's Pictures |
| Some food we ate |
Windhoek is the capital city of Namibia. The River Crossing Lodge, where we stayed for one night is located between the international airport and the town center making it a convenient transit location. The lodge is surrounded by open space so we did not see much of anything. The accommodation was nice and the food reasonably good. The next morning we were to take a commercial flight from the international airport to Lüderitz, a harbor town in southwest Namibia near the abandoned mining town of Kopmanskop which was our first photo destination. Due to some mixup within Ultimate Safaris we missed the flight. The next next scheduled flight was in 3 days so Ultimate Safaris transferred us to Eros airport inside the city and arranged a private charter on a Cessna 404 Titan. This took a while to arrange so we had a long wait, but we eventually were on our way and got a much better view of the landscape from the 404 than from a commercial jet.
| Travelling from Windhoek to Lüderitz |
Nester our driver/guide for the next two weeks met us at the airport in Lüderitz. Nester was the key to success in this entire trip. Since we arrived much later than planned, we were fast losing our afternoon light to photograph Kolmanskop. We had originally planned to go to the hotel for lunch, but Nester had wisely picked up some boxed lunches from the hotel, so we ate, changed clothes, and organized our equipment inside the terminal building at the airport. We were the only ones there so this was easy. Ultimate Safaris did a good job to remedy their error and get us back on schedule.
Kolmanskop Ghost Town is 10 km inland from the port town of Lüderitz. In 1908 diamonds were discovered in the sand by a German worker. German miners began to settle and built a village in the architectural style of a German town. The town declined after World War I when most of the easy diamonds had been found and was ultimately abandoned in 1954. Tours of the town are offered during the day, attracting visitors from around the world. Some of the buildings in the village are restored to house artifacts and displays and to provide services for visitors. The rest of the buildings are left to be slowly filled by blowing sand, making them great subjects to photograph. The almost total absence of rain in Namibia also helps to preserve these buildings. A permits is required to photograph Kolmanskop after hours. Stu arranged permits for both the afternoon we arrived and the next morning. We shot from afternoon into sunset, and the next morning starting before sunrise. We did not have any time in Lüderitz, which was unfortunate. It appears to be an interesting port town. We spent the night at the Lüderitz Nest Hotel right by the sea. They served a nice dinner buffet with good seafood. Late next morning we ate at the Kolmanskop Cafe before hitting the road to our next destination.
| Ralph's Pictures | Winnie's Pictures |
Heading inland our drive to Namtib Biosphere Reserve brought us through desert landscape and never ending sandy plains with rocky mountains in the distance. We arrived with a packed lunch and settled into our accommodations at the Namtib Desert Lodge owned by a German couple. While growing up, the owner, Torsten, spent many a years in this area which ultimately led to the acquisition of a ranch. He, his wife Linn and his children now call Namtib Desert Lodge their home. Torsten conducts excursions to the reserve using his specially designed truck which requires guests to climb up a ladder and sit astride a padded bench in the bed of the truck, somewhat like riding a motorcycle. Meals are served family style and meats are from his ranch. This was where we got our first taste of Gemsbok which was very good. At the dinner table Torsten and Linn shared their many stories about the ranch joined by fun conversations amongst the guests.
The main purpose of our visit to the Namtib Biosphere Reserve was to photograph quiver trees. The quiver tree is a tall, branching species of aloe, indigenous to southern Africa. Our one night stay was followed by a leisure morning start to NamtibRand Nature Reserve.
| Ralph's Pictures | Winnie's Pictures |
| Lodge, Food, People |
A relatively short drive brought us to the entrance of Wolwedans then onto Wolwedans Dunes Lodge within the NamibRand Nature Reserve. The reserve offers vast expanse of magnificent landscapes highlighted by gemsboks and springboks and other small animals. Wolwedans Dunes Lodge is a luxury lodge with full amenities, great food and great views. Animals come to visit the small nearby water hole from time to time. Even if you do not want to venture out on an excursion, you can still take in the surrounding by hanging around the Lodge. The Lodge offers its own drivers and vehicles to explore NamibRand Nature Reserve. We left Nester at the main entrance in Wolwedans and a driver and vehicle provided by Wolwedans drove us around the reserve. Our stay was kept busy driving through the reserve and stopping where we found photo opportunities. On our second night Stu had arranged for us a dinner in the field away from the lodge so we could shoot the stars. We also visited Boulder Camp which belongs to Wolwedans’s collection of camps and lodges. We wish there was more time spent in Wolwedans to truly enjoy this desert paradise.
| Ralph's Pictures | Winnie's Pictures |
| Lodge, Food, People | Resurrection Bush |
A few hours drive took us to the Sossusvlei area. Entering the area is entering a different world. Think red sand and spectacular big dunes. For photographers the tall dunes and the skeletons of camel thorn trees against the dunes are the subject of interest. Guests who stay in lodges outside the Sossusvlei area must line up in the morning at the gate to get in. Arranging our stay at the Sossus Dune Lodge in Sesriem within the Sossusvlei area meant we started our days earlier and stayed out later. While here we had an opportunity to do something outside of our tour. We arranged in advance with the Sossusvlei Lodge Adventure Center for an open-door helicopter flight over the dunes at sunrise. It was understood that our request could only be accommodated if weather permitted. While Stu and his other guests returned to the dunes for more pictures on our second morning, we were lucky enough to be in a helicopter with the doors removed taking aerial photos of the dunes. The views from above were well worth the cost of the flight.
| Ralph's Pictures | Winnie's Pictures |
| Lodge, Food, People |
A 5 hours drive with minimal stopping brought us north and west to Swakopmund on the coast. Swakopmund is a beach resort. In May the coastline is often shrouded in fog. This was a welcome relief after a long and rather warm ride in the jeep and the hot dry days in the desert. The presence of foreign investment in the form of modern homes along the beach was very obvious. Our home for the night was the Hansa Hotel in town. We had some down time followed by a leisurely dinner in the dining room. Our plan for the next morning was to join Batis Birding Safaris for a half day Eco Dune Tour (Living Desert).
Dayne from Batis picked us up in his jeep after breakfast. The Living Desert Tour turned out to be fascinating. We were taken to the dune belt between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund along the coast. Unlike the dunes in the Sossusvlei area these dunes are of a pale yellow-gold color that is rather glaring to the eyes. The sand in these dunes is really fine and flows almost like liquid. Hidden in the sand are interesting little creatures such as the Namaqua Chameleon and the Namib Dune Gecko. Dayne, with his keen eyes spotted, and exposed them from under the sand. A half day in this area was only an introduction. We were sure a whole day for us would not be too much. Winnie captured a sequence of pictures on the Namaqua Chameleon after a mealworm and Ralph used his iPhone to record the Namib Dune Gecko burrowed itself back into the sand after it was let go.
| Ralph's Pictures | Winnie's Pictures |
| Lodge, Food, People | Namib Web-footed Gecko video |
We left Swakopmund after our Living Desert Tour and headed north along the coast for a bit before heading east towards the region of Darmaraland. The route took us through Namibia’s highest mountains with rivers along the way. In Damaraland we looked for Desert Adapted Elephants. Our accommodation was the remote Camp Kipwe where we stayed for 2 nights. Camp Kipwe is one of those places that appears to be completely hidden by large boulders until you get there. It was a pleasant surprise to find such a place in this vast wilderness.
We started our day early next morning with Nester our guide looking for elephants. We were not disappointed. We came across a baby elephant who was not paying attention and followed other elephants instead of its mother. When it realized mama was not around it started running making panic calls. As it called we noticed a female elephant running towards the little one from a distance. It was likely an older sibling. When the baby found mama, the sibling also arrived. The mama appeared to scold the older sibling who should have kept an eye on the baby. It happened quite quickly but was great fun to watch. In the afternoon we went out again for a drive in the surrounding area and soaked in the sunset with more pictures.
| Ralph's Pictures | Winnie's Pictures |
| Lodge, Food, People |
Our final destination was Etosha National Park in the north, where our game drives took place. On the way to Etosha we made a detour to visit a local Himba settlement in the Grootberg Pass area. While it was interesting to make this visit, we were not too sure it was worth our time because the commercial aspect has lessened the authenticity of the culture it presented. We arrived at Etosha Nation Park through the Andersson’s gate on the southern boundary in the afternoon and started our game drive through the Park until we reach Okaukuejo Camp. Similar to many lodges one finds in national parks, this camp services a large number of visitors that come to visit Etosha. The Camp waterhole has seating on one side and is illuminated at night for better wildlife viewing.
The next morning we took a game drive through Etosha National Park and worked our way east towards to our next accommodation, the Onguma Tented Camp which is located at a waterhole just outside of Etosha Park’s east entrance. This is another luxury camp that is self contained. The Camp is not surrounded by any fence so wildlife are free to roam in close proximity. Escort is required in the evening to leave or return to our private tent. We heard a lion roaring in the middle of night. The private waterhole serves guests well for wildlife viewing if you wish to relax around camp, outside your tent or for that matter lying in bed in your tent. We, however, chose to return to the park for more game drives. To find wildlife in Etosha it is necessary hang out by the water holes. That was how we spent the final hours of our Best of Namibia Photography Safari before returning to Windhoek.
| Ralph's Pictures | Winnie's Pictures |
| Lodge, Food, People | A visit to the Himba People |
Some of Winnie and Ralph's Other Journeys