13 Days Namibia Botswana Birding Tour Adventure

We have a half day’s drive to Etosha National Park, where we spend two nights at Okaukuejo Camp in comfortable chalets. The floodlit waterhole here must be one of the world’s best places to see the rare Black Rhinoceros. Loads of other animals and birds come here to drink day and night, including African Elephant, Plains Zebra, Springbok, Double-banded Sandgrouse, and a host of others. Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Western Barn Owl, Grey-hooded Kingfisher, Crimson-breasted Shrike (Namibia’s absolutely brilliantly colored national bird), and Sociable Weaver (with its humongous nests) also frequent the camp. Venturing out of the camp in our vehicle (due to the presence of dangerous animals it is illegal to alight from the vehicle) on birding/game drives, we will look for Pygmy Falcon, larks, Double-banded Courser, Secretarybird, Ant-eating Chat, Lion, Cheetah (this cat is rare, but Etosha provides a fair chance at it), and a host of others.

Overnight: Okaukuejo Camp, Etosha National Park

After final wildlife photography at Okaukuejo we head into the heart of Etosha and spend two nights at Halali Camp – which is in a completely different habitat (mopane woodland instead of open plains and savanna). The floodlit waterhole at this camp is at least as good as the one at Okaukuejo; in fact, it provides a better chance at Leopard (especially if you are willing to spend hours there at night with a bottle of wine – it can be a tough life in Africa!). We sometimes find five different owl species at Halali – on a recent visit there we located Southern White-faced Owl, African Scops Owl, and Western Barn Owl at their daytime roosts, in addition to active Pearl-spotted Owlet – this is a pygmy owl species that is active both day and night. Honey Badger is known to lurk around the camp at night.

Overnight: Halali Camp, Etosha National Park

We spend our last two Namibian nights (before proceeding to Botswana) at Mushara Lodge on the far eastern side of Etosha just outside the park. Once again the eastern side of Etosha presents a very different habitat compared to the two camps we will have been to. Gangs of Banded Mongooses are very tame around here, and this gregarious, gorgeously cute, and well-marked animal provides much entertainment and seems to love being in photos. Many Acacia birds are found in this area, and with luck we might even see Red-necked Falcon. A drive to the interesting plains to the north of the camp often generates beautiful Blue Crane (near-endemic to South Africa except for an isolated population here in Etosha), Eastern Clapper Lark, herds of game, and much else. An extension of the massive Etosha Pan or “the Great White Place” itself, Fischer’s Pan, sometimes holds large amounts of water, unlike most of the rest of this ancient “wetland” (now dry in modern times).

Overnight: Mushara Lodge, Tsumeb

We have a long drive (at least half a day) to the Okavango. We head northeast from Namutoni, eventually reaching much less arid areas, soon finding ourselves in Namibia’s tropical Caprivi Strip. Eventually we meet the Kavango River, which we then follow southward into Botswana. Here in Botswana this large river spreads out into the panhandle of the incredible Okavango Delta – eventually the thirsty Kalahari sands absorb the entire river, preventing it from ever getting to the sea. The Okavango Delta is a humongous oasis, consisting of papyrus-lined channels, riverine, forest-covered islands, and quiet backwaters. Crocodiles and Hippopotamuses are common in these swamps, as are a plethora of herons (including some quite rare ones, such as White-backed Night Heron, Rufous-bellied Heron, the very localized Slaty Egret, etc.), and kingfishers (from the minute Malachite Kingfisher to the huge Giant Kingfisher – and everything in between).

Several different bee-eaters add an awesome splash of almost unbelievable rainbow colors, and one of the most spectacular sights is arguably the most spectacular species, Southern Carmine Bee-eater, breeding on sandbanks along the river. Many of these birds mentioned can be approached very closely by boat – which is how we spend much of our time birding here in the delta. One of the great prizes of the Okavango is Pel’s Fishing Owl, which we usually find without many problems, along with African Wood Owl and African Barred Owlet. Brown Firefinch, African Pygmy Goose, and hornbills, and a rich diversity of other birds will also be sought here.

Overnight: Xaro Lodge or Drotsky’s Cabins, Shakawe

Namibia and Botswana photography tourWe’ll search for Pel’s Fishing Owl in the Okavango Swamps.

We have a four-hour-long drive to Maun for our flights home.