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Tag: camp

  • African shoestrings – Namibia Day Sixty six – Okinjima

    It is estimated that there are 2500 cheetahs, a quarter of the world’s population, roaming rural Namibia, that is outside of the national parks. And that’s where all the problems lie. The farms are ideal for cheetahs and leopards (the other big cat that Africat specialises in). In the National Parks and game reserves both these predators are in competition with larger predators like lions. On the farms there is no such competition. Unfortunately they can’t tell the difference between small game and small farm animals like calves, sheep or goats which upsets the farmer just enough for him to set traps or go hunting! That’s where Africat come in.

    Straight after heating up the shutter in our cameras and blistering our shutter finger, we were whisked off in open top 4WD vehicles to the leopard hide. There we all sat in a small marquee whilst Guy one of the guides chats about Africat.

    “When a farmer kills or captures a cheetah or a leopard it often leads to making the problem worse.” He began “when a predator holds a territory it will chase out any intruding predators. Once its removed other predators will move in and often divide up the territory, so instead of having just one animal to deal with the farmer ends up two or three times as many. What we do is to try and educate the farmers to manage their livestock better so that losses are minimised and both can live together. Of course we often meet resistance and in those cases we just ask the farmer not to kill the cats but just capture them and release them to us so that we can release them back into the wild away from that farm.”

    He also told us that there were several cheetahs and leopards roaming wild on this farm and hopefully a number of leopards will visit the hide this afternoon. It occurred to me that we appeared to be in an unfenced area and wouldn’t there be the chance that the leopards might find us more attractive than the slabs of meat. Dumb question Nick!

    “Big cats will only really attack a human if the cat is cornered, injured or senses that we are vulnerable”. Guy said “If it’s got a much easier alternative then it will always go for that. Of course it also associates humans with guns and that also acts as a pretty big deterrent”

    I asked him what happened to his heavily bandaged foot that he couldn’t walk on without the aid of crutch.

    “Oh that, this happened in the lion enclosure”

    There was a complete silence. Sensing this, Guy went on. “Chris (the other guide) and I went in to see the lions and during our work I stepped backwards from the lion and caught my foot on a rock and fell spraining my ankle. As I said these big cats sense when we are vulnerable and in this case she began to make a move towards me. Fortunately Chris was there and herded her off before she actually attacked.” He smiled “So she didn’t really attack me. I just didn’t take enough care, something that when you’re dealing with these animals could cost a life”.

    “Aren’t we seeing these lions in the morning?” I whispered to Sue, who ignored me.

    With a degree of caution we are fed into the small hide and watch as the guides leave meat in conspicuous places on the elevated rocky terrain immediately in front of us. It was getting towards sunset so the light was that golden colour which bathed the rocks in almost perfect light. Within a few minutes a leopard appeared followed a few minutes later by another to chew on the slabs of meat and then disappear. For the next hour there was a regular pattern of first one then the other appearing and then disappearing.

    The hide was totally closed in except for a long thin viewing open window that made us feel like we were so close. In fact it was a zoo in reverse we were the ones imprisoned for our safety whilst the animals roamed around us. At one time one of the leopards looked straight at us and darted off after someone dropped their lens onto the small shelf we were all leaning on. Apart from that the only sound was that of camera shutters as we all strived to get that perfect leopard shot. I couldn’t help feel that this was all a bit contrived even though the leopards are free to roam anywhere they want and are native to the area. But I’m not complaining leopards are one of the most elusive animals to view in Africa and to see them up close and for so long, is an experience not to be missed.

    I like leopards! They are such magnificent beasts, like the shark they appear to be the perfect hunting machine with their muscular shaped body, long tail and strong stature.

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    A leopard eats it's prey amongst the rocks in Central Namibia
    A leopard eats it’s prey amongst the rocks in Central Namibia

  • African shoestrings – Namibia Day Sixty five – Okinjima

    Apart from a recreational park, Waterberg is also a breeding ground for some endangered animals. Animals like rhino, sable antelope and roan are protected on the plateau by its proximity to the terrain around it. We took a guided game drive in one of the two open topped 4WD’s that run daily. I mention the word open because a sudden downpour followed by persistent rain soaked us through to the skin. To add insult to injury the animals were hiding from us, probably wisely sheltering from the rain. We did manage to see one lonesome sable antelope briefly but that was it.

    Back in our tent we dried off and thought how nice it would be to sit in a nice cosy hotel room in front of a log fire. Of course we knew that the following night we would be doing something similar at Okinjima.

    I think I might have mentioned that of the two of us Sue is without doubt the animal lover. I love to see them in their natural environment and I can watch them for hours with a camera in my hands but I do not have the same love and concern for their welfare that Sue has. Somehow or rather she heard about the Africat Foundation, a non-profit organisation involved in the conservation and protection on Namibia’s cats. And I don’t mean pussycats!

    Their home is a place called Okinjima guest farm, a 50 kilometre drive from Waterberg. If you are reading this with the idea that it’s gonna be cheap on account of it being in this blog. Think again! At US$165.00 per night per person it cost almost as much as the twelve nights accommodation we had booked with the MET! But the cost was for full board and activities, so the only thing we had to pay for was alcohol.

    This was our treat! We would stay just the one night but make sure we were there spot on check in time and leave spot on check out time. We were going to get our moneys worth! The first thing we did after checking in was to have a swim and then a shower in the privacy of our own room. It’s a funny thing about having a shower. You get used to having to use communal showers and on the whole they had been pretty good, lots of hot water, reasonable flow and quite clean. But you get tired of undressing and dressing (the latter usually in a pool of water) in a matchbox. A shower feels so much better knowing that you can have it at your pace and leisurely get dry and dressed.

    The resort itself is a small area of terraced thatched units with the main building, a huge open thatched rondavel close by. Elsewhere there’s a swimming pool, a huge bird/animal hide and a patch of lawn between the main building and the rooms.

    We had lunch at 1pm and then returned for coffee and cake just before 3.

    It was just after my second helping of cake (I told you I was gonna get my money’s worth) that the action started. Three of the owners, Lisa, Donna and Rosalea brought out three cheetahs and feed them on the lawn. Click, click, click went our camera and those of the other guests as these women cuddled, stroked, feed and talked with these cheetahs. With the exception of one idiot, we all kept a respectable distance. I had never been this close to a wild animal of this stature before, every time I had seen cheetah I had the protection of a car body or wire fence between me and these beautiful beasts. The one idiot attempted to stroke one of them as if it were a domestic cat. I’m not sure who was quicker Lisa or the cheetah! The cheetah swiveled its head menacingly whilst Lisa dashed over and reprimanded the idiot and at the same time had the cheetah under control. These cheetahs were in fact quite tame they had all been rescued from hardship and then reared on the farm and were part of the family.

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    A Cheetah on the lawn at Okinjima camp in Namibia
    A Cheetah on the lawn at Okinjima camp in Namibia

  • African shoestrings – Namibia Day Fourty nine – Fish River Canyon

    Our goal was to get to the Fish River Canyon around 120 kilometres away and Keetmanshoop was the closest large town. The catch was that there was no easy way there unless you hired a car, which a lot of people did. We had looked at that this and found the cost too exorbitant. Thanks to the Lonely Planet we had found an alternative.

    The Fish River Lodge offered reasonable packages including transfers from Keetmanshoop. We were picked up from La Rochelle by Riet just after lunchtime. Riet and Louie own and run the Fish River Canyon but with a strange twist. She (Riet) lives in Keetmanshoop with the kids and he lives at the lodge. An arrangement they have had for the last 3 years.

    Tough on your marriage!

    Both were from Cape Town and like many others had moved away from the turmoil of South Africa in search of better and safer life. As she told this we were looking out of the car window at a dull brown, rocky, flat treeless plain that somehow didn’t inspire us at all. Then she remarked that anybody coming here who has seen the Grand Canyon in the States must be so disappointed when they see the Fish River Canyon. Well, we had seen the Grand Canyon, so things weren’t looking good!

    The lodge is located about 40 kilometres north of Hobas, the canyons main tourist and information centre. There’s another area of activity further south at Ai-Ais Hot Springs resort, so we were starting to have doubts as to whether we were in the right place!

    As soon as we got there Louie gave us a beer each and whisked us off in the back of a Ute to the canyon 10 kilometres away. We drove down a rather bone jarring track onto the canyon floor and stopped there for a swim in the murky red Fish River. It was such a remote and desolate landscape, that the last thing you would expect is to see ten or so people suddenly appear along the floor of the canyon! This was a group hiking the Fish River hiking trail. Without exception they were all soaked in sweat and dust as they tore off their backpacks and all, bar a couple, jumped in fully clothed. Louie then took us back up to the canyon edge and to a viewpoint to watch the sunset.

    The lodge itself was pretty basic. With just two showers and toilets between six rooms; it was a cross between an old shack and a backpackers hostel. Apart from the lodge there was a dorm set away down the slight hill that the lodge stood on. Converted from a stable, it was a lot cooler than the lodge.

    And then there was Louie!
    Rough and ready, there were no airs and graces about Louie. He was one of those blokes you’d find down any pub tossing it down and talking gibberish with the rest of them. That we could handle!
    His singing was another matter!
    After tea he would bring out the guitar and sing the only song he knew “The horse with no name” for those of you born since the heady sixties, this was a big hit by a band called America. And ever since Louie sung it, I’ve been scarred for life. Talk about or see a desert and that damn “In the desert you can’t remember your name” comes into my head.

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    Fish river lodge, Fish river Canyon, Namibia
    Fish river lodge, Fish river Canyon, Namibia