Namibia and Kgalagadi Adventure – Day 10 Namutoni, Etosha National Park

5 November 2018

This morning we packed a breakfast basket and set off at the gate opening time of 6:00 am.  It is cooler in the mornings and the animals are most active then so the earlier you get out there the better your chances of seeing interesting wild life.

 

The first bird of the morning – Kalahari Scrub-robin

How amazing to spot these two endangered beauties.   These are Black Rhino  – the leaf eating, narrow lipped variety.

We stopped at a waterhole where guinea fowl and doves were taking the waters.  The coffee craving had set in so we sat in the car to enjoy our breakfast.  This turned out to be a great thing to do because the waterhole became a hive of activity.  Warthogs came to wallow and buck to drink but they soon scuttled off when they smelled somebody approaching.

This hyena came down to drink

Off he went after slaking his thirst.

We followed him until he disappeared into the thickets

My favourite is this elegant and graceful, long-necked creature

 

There are thousands of guinea fowl in the park and one tends to overlook them – but they are really rather beautiful

A tawny eagle

We saw two like this wily jackal out on the salt pan

 

The Kori Bustard also fancied a walk on the pan

 

A rrufous-naped lark entertained us with his lovely song and wing flicking

Seen frequently were Pale Chanting Goshawks

The scaly-feathered finch do look cross but they’re very sweet

This little skink caught our attention

Gemsbok or Oryx are very handsome creatures

Later in the morning we visited another waterhole on the pan where we found a huge gathering of animals and birds.

What a handsome brute

The water’s lovely once you’re in!

Mud glorious mud

Kitlitz Plover

As we continued our drive we saw more lovely creatures

Namibia’s National Bird – The Crimson Breasted Shrike

Red Hartebeest

Back at Namutoni we visited the camp waterhole again and were delighted to see a few animals come down to drink and the highlight for me was the Marabou Stork who preened and displayed beautifully.

The marabou stork reminds me of an undertaker!