Namibia/Botswana/Zambia 12

Tags

Blue waxbill, giraffe, Grey go-away-bird, Impala, lanner falcon, Little bee-eater, Mahango National Park, Red lechwe, red-crested korhaan, Sable antelope, termite mound, Tsessebe, warthog, Wattled crane

Saturday afternoon, 2nd March. I was delighted to see as I got up from lunch to return to my room for a siesta, that there were several Sable antelopes on the opposite bank.

Such beautiful long horns

I took a few photos of and in my room.

Camera had difficulty in the darkish room. This was not the most luxurious of our lodges. Perhaps that was why I felt very much at my ease there.

More pillow embroidery

This is the lodge’s bar area.

And here is a Go-away-bird in the tree beside me as I waited there for us all to assemble for another drive in the Mahango National Park. Many had really been hoping to see a cheetah these last two days. For myself, I had seen – just – one before, but I had never seen a leopard. We had been told that still might see one of these later in the trip, but this was the last time we might see a cheetah.

I do love the mohican hairstyle.

We covered the same ground as we had in the morning but in very different light.

Oops, I failed to note the name of this bird.

Common impala (i.e. not Black-faced ones)

Inside of am old termite mound, giving just a hint of the amazing engineering which keeps the mound – which is mainly below ground – aerated and cool.

Little bee-eater

This morning’s three wattled cranes again – presumably

Red lechwe

Blue waxbill. It’s a very small bird.

Red-crested korhaan

Tsessebe

Warthogs. They must have toughened ‘knees’.

More Tsessebe, in evening light. (Being so near the equator, about 18° South, sundown is early, even in summer.)

Lanner falcon

Sadly, no cheetah.

Namibia/Botswana/Zambia 11

Tags

African fish-eagle, Baobab, Blue waxbill, Broad-billed roller, Burchell's glossy starling, Carmine bee-eater, Chacma baboon, Darter, dung beetle, grey hornbill, Jacobin cuckoo, Kalahari tented tortoise, kudu, Long-tailed starling, Mahango National Park, Mahangu Safari Lodge, Namibia, Nile crocodile, pearl-spotted owlet, purple-banded sunbird, Red lechwe, Red-billed spurfowl, roan antelope, Southern reedbuck, vervet monkey, warthog, Wattled crane

Saturday 2nd March. There was no wifi in our rooms at the Mahangu Lodge, only in the bar/dining area. And breakfast was not until 7 a.m. But I discovered that they served coffee from shortly after 6 a.m. there.

This morning, we went for a game drive in the Mahango Game Park. It was reasonably cool to begin with.

As I’ve said, there is elephant dung everywhere. Here are dung beetles making the most of the fact that a vehicle has already processed some.

Warthogs, youngster kneeling to feed.

Roan antelope

Warthog family

Seeing this just makes me long to be back there.

Kudu

Purple-banded sunbirds

Kalahari tented tortoise

Jacobin cuckoo

Pearl-spotted owlet

Grey hornbill

Our starling is beautiful when you really look at it. Africa’s starlings don’t need any study to show the same quality. Long-tailed starling.

Red-billed spurfowl

Burchell’s glossy starling

Broad-billed roller

Blue waxbill

Wattled cranes (‘uncommon resident’) – very far off

It was getting hot now. Paddling with these Southern reedbuck would have been very welcome!

Frustrating not to be able to capture the image of this vervet monkey more precisely, but…

… there were some of his companions across the way

African fish-eagle

Darters

Nile crocodile

Southern reedbuck

Red lechwe

Baobab tree

Chacma baboons

Carmine bee-eater

We had been out for four hours, and were ready for our lunch.