Hi Liz,
It was pleasant to read your 'comments' about your Namibian trip,
especially to read the differences compared with Kenya/Tz.as we are more
or less (frequent) Southern African travellers.
We have the same feelings about the advantages you mentioned about
Namibia.
Concerning the guides in Etosha NP what a pity!
We don't have experience with them as we travel on own means and do not
depend on guides or touroperators.
This is in our opinion one of the great advantages of visiting Southern
Africa:
you can make your own game-drives in mostly all national parks in SA,
Namibia,
Botswana and Zimbabwe (if you can afford it of course) and do not depend
on anyone.
Besides you can stay anywhere as long as you want too.
Concerning campinggroups I agree with you, but lots of these groups
travel with
so-called overlanders (large trucks) for a quite long period (4 weeks or
sometimes longer)
and through more than one country and believe it or not I've seen many
nice pic's of them
even taken at noon!
How was Okonjima and what about Himba's?
Let us know when we can see the pic's you took.
You can look at our itinerary about Namibia/Botswana at the site under
Itinerary & KNP
Lou Andreoli
Wildlife Photographer
Homepage: http://www.homepages.hetnet.nl/~louine
"Liz" schreef in bericht
news:f541f3124c.ri48000239@v-liz.co.uk...
> Hi everyone -
>
> Regulars will have noticed that I've just got back from my Namibian
trip.
> I had a great time, and will get it all up on my website *eventually*.
(I
> noticed that most photographers I met on the trip have already gone
digital
> - they'll have their pix up on their websites before I even get my
slides back!)
>
> Trip was very extensive for 12 days (main tour), but didn't visit the
south
> of the country (e.g. Fish River Canyon) or the north (e.g. Upupa Falls
or
> the Caprivi Strip), so my remarks are necessarily confined to the area
I
> covered. The main trip was as follows:
> Windhoek
> Sossuvlei/Sesreim
> Swakopmund
> Cape Cross (for fur seal colony)
> Twyfelfontein (Damaraland)
> Kakaoveld (Hobatere Lodge)
> Etosha
> Waterberg
> Then I had a two-night extension at Okonjima (Africat).
>
> I started to do a day-by-day account of the trip, but by day four I
realised
> it was getting too long for Usenet, so I'll put them on a temporary
page on
> my website for anyone who is interested (no pix).
> http://www.v-liz.co.uk/safari/namibia/temp.htm
> (I'll hold this posting until the page is 'up'.)
>
>
>
> Impressions at this stage of Namibia compared to Kenya/Tanzania
> (Disclaimer: I've only been two weeks in Namibia but 16 weeks in Kenya
and
> c4 weeks in Tz. Bear this in mind while reading the following!)
>
> Advantages of Namibia:
>
> You can drink the tap water everywhere!
>
> The roads are much, *much* better. It looks like they were all built
by the
> Romans, they are well maintained, either tar or gravel, and seem to be
> extremely well maintained (better than the UK) We saw 'fixers' on the
tar
> roads and graders on the gravel roads. Mind you, there's practically
no
> traffic. I'd be more than happy about driving there (which given that
I only
> fairly recently started driving and only then to work and the camera
club
> that's really saying something!), though with the remoteness of the
roads
> and me having no car maintenance skills (can't even change a tyre!) I
> wouldn't do it on my own.
>
> There are areas of dramatic scenery, more varied than the areas I've
visited
> in EA, so more suitable for landscape photography buffs.
>
> It feels so much safer, either out in the bush or in the towns. People
> seemed to be much better off than is the case in Kenya, as evidenced
by
> their clothes. I understand that this is not the case north of the
> 'veterinary fence', but I wasn't in that area.
>
> No hassle anywhere. At some (but not all) of the tourist sites, there
are
> little stalls with crafts, but there isn't any pressure to look or
buy. Even
> at the Himba village we visited, they were selling crafts, but
absolutely no
> pressure. I bought one thing and that seemed to be more than fine
(though
> the woman I bought from didn't recognise a SA 20 rand note, so had a
hiccup
> until her husband assured her it was OK.
>
> Americans haven't discovered Namibia to any extent, which means prices
are
> very reasonable.
>
>
> Disadvantages
> Namibia is a huge country and on the trip we were on (very ambitious
for 12
> days, but I couldn't find a non-camping trip which lasted longer than
> that) we spent most of the days travelling from place to place, with
just a
> short picnic break at lunchtime.
>
> It certainly isn't wall-to-wall wildlife, and people who are
only/mainly
> interested in photographing game should probably consider Kenya/Tz,
> especially for their first few trips. Even in Etosha, the animals are
well
> spread out, and you have to drive around all the waterholes to see
where the
> animals are. Alternatively, you can spend a lot of time at one
waterhole
> with a good, thick book (!) and see what turns up. Just to show how
this
> varies, we had by far our best sightings at Okakuejo waterhole and
Andoni
> waterhole near Namotoni.
> Here's what the Bradt Guide (1998 edition) says about Andoni:
> "As far north as you can go, through some elephant-damaged mpoane
woodlands,
> this isolated spot is a man-mnade water-hole in the middle of an open
vlei.
> I've never seen much game up here."
> By contrast, we had some Springbok and Oryx, several giraffes
drinking, and
> an elephant herd with three tiny babies who were playing in a dust
bowl.
> Absolutely fantastic.
>
> In general, the wildlife is further away. In Kenya and the northern
circuit
> in Tz, I use my 75-300 lens most of the time. I was using my 500mm
lens most
> of the time in Namibia (good thing I bought my tripod!) OTOH, Greater
Kudu,
> which is notoriously shy in EA is confiding in Namibia, as are
Jackals,
> which IME usually run away as soon as you stop in EA.
>
> There aren't currently any direct flights between the UK and Windhoek.
You
> either have to change planes at Frankfurt or Jo'burg. I can't see this
> changing soon: although the Frankfurt - Windhoek flight was m-o-l full
(in
> economy - they were tyring to flog upgrades at check-in!) on the way
out, it
> was almost 1/2 empty on the way back. This is pretty tedious,
especially if,
> like me, you have to fly into London first (compounded because they've
> stoppped the Glasgow-Frankfurt flights!).
>
>
> *Subjective* Observations:
> The towns aren't what you imagine 'African' towns to be like. In the
area we
> travelled in, all the towns were just like European or American towns
but
> cleaner. Little shops offering 'Kaffe und Kuchen' and Biergartens are
> ubiquitous. But *thankfully* no MacDonalds :-))) (at least, I didn't
see
> any)
>
> The towns are well spread out - you don't constantly go through
villages
> where you can watch life being lived out on the street. Although some
roads
> go through constantly-changing habitats which is fascinating, some
roads
> (e.g. Waterberg -> Windhoek) are virtually the same all the way, so it
gets
> to be a bit MMBA!
>
> There seems to be some sort of obsession with braais. People seem to
like
> them! I don't 'get' this at all, and rebelled very quickly, taking off
for
> the restaurant. When an excellent eat-all-you-like buffet is less than
£10
> including soft drink or beer, I can't imagine why people want to waste
time
> cooking their own food and eating it between ugly concrete buildings
> (Okakuejo - I felt like I was in prison) or in the middle of a circle
of
> tents. Then you have to wash up, and the soot from the bottom of the
pans
> gets everywhere. Yukkkkk. (Actually, we weren't expected to wash up,
but
> when the guide had been driving all day, then made dinner, even I
couldn't
> sit on my FA and let him wash up too - even though I wanted to go back
to
> the waterhole.) It even takes longer - the night I rebelled alone (my
> fellow-travellers joined me after that) I went over to the restaurant
when
> they started preparing, ate my big buffet meal (*choosing* what I
wanted to
> eat), came back, and they had only just started eating. What's the
point???
> In a country with 35% unemployment, it surely makes sense for us
> (relatively) rich visitors to contribute a little to the employment of
> restaurant staff. Or am I missing something?????
>
> I'm soooooo glad I didn't weaken and accept a camping trip.
> I'd have been off after two nights and trying to get a flight home.
>
> From time to time we saw these camping groups.
> Some of them had tents so small I'd hardly have got myself and my
camera bag
> inside, far less anything else. Others had bigger tents, but between
two
> people, so the problem was similar. At Okakuejo, lots of the camping
groups
> arrived around 4.15. As soon as they got out of the vehicles, they
started
> busying around, dyb-dyb-dybbing like scouts on steroids, putting up
their tents
> and getting organised. Grief, it takes me about ten minutes of bending
and
> stretching after a long journey just to be able to stand straight
(though in
> lots of the tents, being able to stand straight wouldn't be an issue!)
All
> this *in the best light of the day*. Then at first light, when we
were
> going back down to the waterhole, cameras on tripods, there were the
> apparently 'happy campers' having breakfast, striking camp and heading
off
> again - in the other 'best light of the day'. I'm clearly missing
something
> - that seems *totally* pointless to me. I asked some people, and they
all
> said, "It's much more natural".
> Hmmm.
> What's 'natural' about eating off plastic plates in the middle of a
> circle of tents???
>
> Which all means that if photography is a main aim and you choose a
camping
> trip, you'd have to be very, very careful and very, *very* selective.
>
> We did a few bush walks, and I know lots on the group here rave about
them.
> Although our guides were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic, I'm
afraid my
> experiences just confirmed my prejudices - you don't get near to any
> animals, so the guide has to fill the time talking about tracks and
plants
> -info you can get from books! (though you can't smell the smells from
books)
> and you don't see much because you have to watch your feet all the
time to
> avoid falling into aardvark holes or stumbling over boulders, so then
you
> get caught up in thorns! However, with all the travelling in a
vehicle, the
> exercise was undoubtedly very valuable.
>
> The next point it's hard to know whether my remarks apply to our own
guide
> and the others we saw, or would apply to most Namibian guides (Maybe
it
> doesn't come into the Guiding 101 course?). In Etosha in particular,
our
> guide didn't seem to know anything about positioning the vehicle for
> photographers. (In EA, every driver we've ever had did this
automatically -
> even the trainee we had on the first trip, and the newbies who take
the
> short trips into NNP). It's especially an issue at Etosha because we
didn't
> have a pop-up roof (indeed, we never saw a vehicle, from any company,
with a
> pop-up roof) so the people at the 'wrong' side don't have a clear
> photographic line without everyone having to bend and squeeze. [This
wasn't
> an issue outside Etosha because otherwise it was landscapes etc and we
could
> get out of the vehicle.]
>
> In addition, we had to 'argue' about what he was going to stop for. At
one
> point, I saw a steenbok in good light in a clearing. I asked the
driver to
> stop, and he drove on, negotiating about it for about 1/2 mile,
arguing that
> we would see more steenboks! I stuck to my guns and made him go back.
Later
> on, we saw some more steenboks in a thicket (not very photographable)
and he
> was delirious to be 'proved right'! Similar things happened a few
times, and
> he eventually was giving me glares all the time which clearly said,
"Bossy
> cow"! However, as all three of us on the trip had similar interests
(my two
> fellow-travllers are camera-club judges and birders), I felt I was
perfectly
> in the right - after all, it was our trip, not his (OK, I *am* a bossy
cow!)
>
> We practically came to punches when we all wanted to stop to
photograph two
> Southern Pale Chanting Goshawks in perfect morning light on an old
kill,
> right at the side of the road. For a while, we thought he wasn't going
to
> stop, and when he eventaully reversed back, he stopped in a
> less-than-optimal position, and shouted, "You wanted to stop, why
aren't you
> shooting?" the minute the brakes were on!
>
> We got so fed up with having to stage-manage every shot (his English
wasn't
> up to "Could you please stop, roll back a bit, slowly, then stop again
and
> switch off the engine", so I gave up and limited myself to "*STOP*
please")
> that I took to watching other groups at the waterholes: none of the
guides
> we saw seemed to have this sussed, and many of the vehicles were much
less
> suitable for photographing from than ours was (we were in a Toyota
Condor).
> Some people on other groups were sitting without a clear window view
at all,
> and the overlanders are often 'stuck' with a ridiculously high
viewpoint
> with no option. Again, this would only be a serious issue in Etosha.
The
> guide I had at Okonjima could position very well for photography, but
he was
> a photographer himself!
>
>
> Overall, I'm very glad I did the trip and really enjoyed it. Duncan
would
> have hated it, so I'm glad I 'braved it out' and went on my own. It's
hard
> to know if I'd go again. After our first trip to Kenya, even though we
were
> held up for 27 hours then had an overnight flight, I was phoning tour
> operators to start planning our next safari within an hour of arriving
home.
> I'm not doing this at the moment!
> I would be interested in visiting the Caprivi area, though, so I'm not
> saying "never"!
>
> Slainte
>
> Liz
>
> --
> Virtual Liz at http://www.v-liz.co.uk
> Safaris; India; Seychelles; image-manipulation
> New Mar 03: Kenya additions Apr03: Impressions of India.
> Coming soon: Namibia
|
