Desert to Delta birds and mammals
This trip is designed for 6 participants only with over 20 Namibian near-endemics including Rockrunner. Guests experience the Namib Desert and Skeleton Coast and the world-famous Etosha Pan mammals. Spend 3 nights in Botswana on the Okavango River which is the best place for Pel’s Fishing Owl and view the Carmine Bee-eater breeding colonies. Possible other sightings included are 9 species of owls, 6 species of bustards and 12 species of eagles.
Tour focus
This tour has been designed to have the best chances to see Namibia’s endemics, near endemics and regional specials, including the elusive Pel’s Fishing Owl, plus a wide diversity of African mammals and reptiles.
You will see from the itinerary that there are multiple opportunities to find some of the tricky bird species (especially the desert larks and other desert-adapted species), giving us the best chances of success. The reason we have done this is to avoid the temptation of rushing around trying to get the biggest list. Instead we allow you to focus on the birds that you will always remember and can only see here. However, having said that, we will be in some of Africa’s best birding areas and when birding we'll focus on all the available species (within reason) and will see a huge diversity.
A species list will be handed as part of your tour booklet and is available beforehand upon request. This is a dedicated birding tour with early starts and lots of time in the field. We will also search for and watch mammals and reptiles; Namibia has a fantastic diversity and we are likely to have some great sightings. Lion, African Elephant, Southern Oryx, Burchell’s Zebra, Hippopotamus, Banded Mongoose, to name a few, and perhaps even chameleons, geckos and many other creatures may capture our attention.
The tour is timed to coincide with the presence of mammals and large flocks of sandgrouse at the Etosha waterholes, the breeding season of Southern Carmine Bee-eater and the return of the summer migrants. The day may be hot, cooling off in the evening and we’ll travel in an air-conditioned mini-bus.
Meet the Tour leader:
Tertius Gouws leads birding tours in 9 African countries and has a special interest in mammals, volunteers as a wildlife vet and is an accomplished bird photographer. He has that rare balance between showing people good birds and sharing his photographic insights. His sharp eye and gentle nature are key in making his tours such a success.
Itinerary summary
On this Birding Africa Namibia Okavango Tour, we'll explore the scenic Erongo Mountains for Hartlaub’s Spurfowl, Short-toed Rock-thrush and the endemic Rockrunner, before driving west to Walvis Bay with its abundant shorebirds on one of Africa’s richest estuaries. Here we’ll stay for two nights.
We’ll then head north east via Spitzkoppe, premier site for Herero Chat, and the Brandberg inselberg where the surrounding gravel plains are home to a variety of endemics including the recently described Benguela Long-billed Lark. We may also be lucky enough to glimpse the rare desert-adapted African Elephant.
From here we continue north to Etosha National Park for four days (staying in rest camps within the park or just outside the park, depending on availability), before heading north towards Rundu and the well-watered Caprivi region. Crossing the border into Botswana, we will stay three nights at Shakawe on the Okavango Panhandle (one of the best places to see Pel’s Fishing Owl).
Finally, we’ll visit Mahango Game Park and the Waterberg Plateau Park before our journey concludes at Windhoek airport.
When: Dates (17-day tour) 15 Sep - 1 Oct 2017
Cost: Guaranteed Price: From $5460.00 per 2 pax and $590.00 for a single, including transfers, drinks and tips.