9OntheTrail

Namibia’s premiere wildlife destinationreveals its hidden unexpected wonders

under shining rainbows and stormy skies

HEREGOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES HERE

Namibia’s premiere wildlife destinationreveals its hidden unexpected wonders

under shining rainbows and stormy skies

ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK

WET SEASONBONANZA

ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK

WET SEASONBONANZA

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Once in twenty years, abundant rains turn the aridlandscapes of Etosha NP into a lush, verdant

environment carpeted with millions of Devil’s thornTribulus terrestris flowers, and the desert-like

panoramas change dramatically as new life bloomsunexpectedly everywhere. Namibian or Angolangiraffe Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis; on theprevious spread, South-western Black rhinoceros

Diceros bicornis sub.occidentalis.

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commonly and oft-repeatedtruism recites that photographingwildlife in Africa during the rainyseason is, generally speaking, moredifficult than in the dry one - as largeamounts of greenery, foliage and tallgrass will hide the subjects most of thetimes, even i f there are largernumbers of them when it rains; andthat finding game during the dryseason is much easier becauseanimals - especially larger ones - tendto congregate around waterholes and

water bodies in general, as they haveto drink at least twice a day. Andherbivores coming at a waterholemeans having predators sitting andwaiting for them right by the water’sedge. Sounds reasonable enough -especially where the bush is thickerand woody; but there is justsomething about photographingAfrican wildl i fe under stormy,thunderous skies, with dramaticcloudscapes and the smell of moistsoil at dawn. We already had greatly

ATEXT BY ANDREA FERRARI

PHOTOS BY ANDREA & ANTONELLA FERRARI

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A huge herd ofSpringbok Antidorcas

marsupialis under a stormy sky.

12Plains, Common

or Burchell’s zebraEquus quagga,formerly Equusburchellii.

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enjoyed our f irs t visi t to EtoshaNational Park, Namibia’s crownjewel (see our trip report here) withour friend Phillip Conradie of AfricanWildlife Photo Safaris at the peak ofthe dry season, when the Parkpossibly offers its best and most iconicpanoramas, so the three of usdecided to give it another try, this timehowever at the peak of its usuallyscarce, meager and often non-existentrainy season, in the hope that itsendless f lat plains, i ts most lyfeatureless landscapes and its alreadysparse and anemic vegetation wouldoffer good chances to photograph thelocal wildlife in a supposedly andhopefully unusual setting. Very fewpeople in any case seem interested invisiting Etosha during a (possibly) wettime of the year and accomodationinside the Park is usually both easierto book and heavily discounted, sowe expected something different,seriously taking in consideration even

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Male SpringbokAntidorcas marsupialis.

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Blue craneAnthropoidesparadiseafeeding inEtosha’sunusuallyverdant rain-soaked fields.

Cheetah Acinonyxjubatus by a once-in-a-

lifetime muddy pan.

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a possible disappointment. After all,who wants to track and photographa wet lion sitting miserably under therain in a dreary, gloomy, grey lightunder an overcast sky?

NAMIBIA’S EDEN FOR WILDLIFE

PHOTOGRAPHERS

We should not have worried. In fact,amazingly, our second trip to Etoshaexceeded our wildest hopes. Wewere lucky: the amount of rain whichhad recently fallen in the area occursonce in twenty years or so, andEtosha had magically tranformedfrom its iconic ghost-white, bleacheddeser t image into an absurdlycolorful palette of pastel colors, withcloudy, dark, stormy skies givingway to blinding azure ones in amatter of minutes and with rolling,endless lawn-like green pasturesliterally carpeted in millions of brightyellow Devil’s thorn (step on one and

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Left, Shaft-tailed whydahVidua regia; top right,Swallow-tailedbee-eaterMeropshirundineus;bottom right,Paradise-whydahor Easternwhydah Viduaparadisaea.

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Red hartebeest Alcelaphus buselaphus.

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Namibian orAngolan giraffeGiraffa camelopardalissub. angolensis.

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you’ll understand!) tiny flowers. Ourfears of possibly having difficulties inlocating wildlife - given the abundanceof water animals do not need to visitwaterholes, which is where visitorslook for them most of the times inEtosha) soon appeared to becompletely unfounded: in fact, wildlifenumbers seemed to have skyrocketed,with frequent stunning sightings ofcheetahs and lions and almost dailyencounters with Black rhinos (I believeour record was six in a single day!).Bird l i fe was also exceptional lyabundant - with many species inflamboyant mating plumage - andmost herbivores such as zebras andspringbok had just dropped theirbabies, providing excellent huntingopportunities to lurking predators. Theclimate was pleasantly cool duringmost of our stay, and the occasionalshower or fully-f ledged but briefthunderstorm provided dramatic skies,magical rainbows and great sunsets.Even our guide Phillip - a veteran ofmany a visit to Etosha - was greatlyimpressed.

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Plains, Common or Burchell’s zebra Equusquagga, formerly named

Equus burchellii.

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Left, a rainbowover a herd ofSpringbokAntidorcasmarsupialis.Right, femaleAfrican lionPanthera leodrinking at aroadsidepuddle.

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Martial eaglePolemaetusbellicosus.

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Far left, a pair ofSouthernmasked weaveror Africanmasked weaverPloceus velatus,on their nest. Left, Rufous-naped larkMirafraafricana.

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South-western Black rhinocerosDiceros bicornis sub.occidentalis.

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Top left, Greater kestrelFalco rupicoloides;

top right, Eastern Red-footed orAmur falcon Falco amurensis.Bottom left, Red-necked falconFalco chicquera; bottom right,

Rock kestrel Falco rupicolis.

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Gemsbok Oryx gazella.The very unusual greenish cast

of the pan is due to a rain-triggered algal bloom.

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African lionPanthera leo.

27Top left, Kori bustard

Ardeotis kori; top right, Lesser Greyshrike Lanius minor. Bottom left, Crimson-breasted boubou orCrimson-breasted shrikeLaniarius atrococcineus;bottom right, Double-banded sandgrousePterocles bicinctus.

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African lion Pantheraleo lurking in the grass.

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A CHOICE OF DIFFERENTSOLUTIONS TO VISIT

Etosha National Park offers severalexcellent and well-known camps tothe visi tor such as Halali andOkaukuejo, but we are very partial tothe colonial outpost atmosphereoffered by the old Imperial Germanfort at Namutoni, and spent most ofour time there. One key aspect for asuccessful visit to Etosha is beingalways ready to move to a differentarea in case good sightings are beingexperienced there, and obviouslyhaving a guide who is good atgetting the “pulse” of the currentsituation. This may also mean havingto cover considerable distances onoccasion, but of course this offers theadded bonus of lucky chanceencounters along the way. One thingis absolutely certain - be it dry or wetseason, Etosha always delivers andnever disappoints. Some species maybe easier to be encountered duringthe dry season (African elephantstend to congregate near water,Greater kudus do not stick to thickbush), but during our rainy seasonvisit we never went back to campempty-handed or disappointed, andin fact we believe that a wet season

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African elephantLoxodonta africana.Notice the typicallyshort and brokentusks usuallyobserved in theelephants of Etosha.

Left, rain squallin the distanceover Etosha’susually parchedplains; right, adultmale Greater kuduTragelaphusstrepsiceros.

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The stormy skiesof the wet season

give Etosha a uniquephotographic quality.

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Left, Purple rollerCoracias naevius;

right, Lilac-breastedroller Coracias

caudatus.

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Adult maleAfrican lion

Panthera leo.

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Top left, DamaraDik-dik Madoquakirkii sub.damarensis; top right, Common warthogPhacochoerusafricanus. Bottom left, Black-backed jackal Canismesomelas; bottomright, Cape foxVulpes chama.

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CheetahAcinonyx jubatus.

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Left, Red-crestedkorhaan or Red-crested bustard

Lophotis ruficrista;right, Tawny eagle

Aquila rapax .

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Namibian or Angolan giraffe Giraffa camelopardalissub. angolensis.

trip offers all-round much, muchbetter opportunities for sightingsand photography than a more“classical” one at the peak of thedry one. The numbers and thevariety of animals in Etosha duringthe rainy season are simplystaggering, the sparse vegetationoffers no obstacles at al l tosuccessful camerawork and thestunning flower beds stretchingforever make for a great andwelcome change in scenery. Yes,maybe this is not one’s “typical”Etosha, and from what we havebeen told such abundant rains -resul t ing in such an uniquelyverdant, luscious environment - takeplace only once in twenty years orso, usually being little more thanbrief, occasional showers with littleor no effect on Etosha’s barren,desert-like habitat most of the otheryears. Without such an abundanceof water as we have experienced,one must admit that most of timesEtosha would not change much

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during its wet season - animals woulddisperse all the same without havingto visi t the waterholes, but thelandscape wouldn’t be much to talkabout. Also, the overcast, leadenskies often present during the briefwet season can be very good for mostimages as they produce smoothlydiffused lighting, but create havocwith bird portraits, producing brightlylit, burnt-out whitish backgrounds (dryseason skies are on the oppositeinvariably blue). Yet, one can strikegold once in a while - and the gloriousspectacle of literally hundreds ofgiraffes or a lonely Black rhinopeacefully foraging in apparentlyendless meadows covered in brightyellow, pink and purple tiny flowersis too much of a temptation - if youlove nature as much as we do - to bepassed over without tempting luck.Next time you plan to visit Etosha dogive it a try and consider going thereduring the wet season from Decemberto March - we can guarantee youwon’t be disappointed. .

Left, GemsbokOryx gazella; right, Banded

mongoose Mungos mungo.

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Plains, Common or Burchell’s zebraEquus quagga,formerly namedEquus burchellii. The foal is just a few hours old.

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Blue orCommon wildebeest

Connochaetes taurinus.

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African lions Panthera leoresting among theflowering grasses - a veryunusual sight in Etosha.

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Top, Rock orwhite throatedmonitor Varanusalbigularis;bottom, LesserflamingoPhoeniconaiasminor - a veryunusual - or ratherunique - sight in Etosha.

African hoopoeUpupa africana.

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Left, Greylourie or Greygo-away-birdCorythaixoidesconcolor; right, close-up of a Plains,Common orBurchell’s zebraEquus quagga.

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South-western Black rhinoceros Dicerosbicornis sub. occidentalis. This photo was taken right

in front of Namutoni camp.

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Left, Africanlion Panthera leo,female; right,Southern blackkorhaanEupodotis afravocalizing.

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Red hartebeest Alcelaphus buselaphus - an apparently ungainly

but very speedy antelope.

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South-western Black rhinocerosDiceros bicornis sub. occidentalis.

This prehistoric-looking individual isan old battle-scarred veteran of

many a fight, missing its tail, bothits ears and even one of its horns.

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A typically beautifulrainy season landscapein Etosha with a herd of giraffes in anapparently endless fieldof Devil’s thorn Tribulusterrestris in bloom.

Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus.

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Left, male andfemale OstrichStruthio camelus;right, SouthernAfrican Groundsquirrel Xerusinauris.

A juvenile Southern PaleChanting goshawk Melieraxcanorus swoops down on a

fleeing Slender mongooseGalerella sanguinea.

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53Left, African elephantLoxodonta africana,

mother with baby; right, adult male

Black rhino Diceros bicornis.

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Namibian orAngolan giraffeGiraffacamelopardalisangolensis.

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Burchell’s zebraEquus quagga

socializing..

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Left, Burchell’szebra Equusquagga; right, portrait ofa Woolly-neckedstork Ciconiaepiscopus.

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A herd of Gemsbok Oryx gazella feeding by the

endless Etosha pan.

Black RhinoDiceros bicornis feeding

in a veritable sea ofDevil’s thorn Tribulus

terrestris flowers.

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The Banded mongooseMungos mungo

is an extremely active, inquisitive and very

social animal.

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Flamingos in thedesert - one of the many

unexpected sights of Etoshaduring one of its rare fully-

fledged wet seasons.