On this 13 day Namibia birdwatching trip we traverse a multitude of habitats focusing on the dry central and northern reaches of Namibia. While the focus will be on birdwatching there will be ample opportunity for mammal watching at several key sites included in the itinerary.
The tour starts in Windhoek, Namibia where we visit some local birding sites before heading southwards to the Namib-Naukluft National Park and world famous Sossuvlei. The park at over 4 million hectares is one of the largest conservation areas in Africa and home to one of the oldest deserts in the world. The park has a range of diverse habitat types stretching from the sand dune fields in the west to the central gravel plains to the Naukluft Mountains. Here we spend two days exploring and searching for regional specials such as Pygmy Falcon, Rüppell’s Korhaan, Karoo Long-billed Lark, Stark’s Lark, Pale-winged Starling and Sociable Weaver.
From Namib-Naukluft National Park we descend down off the central plateau towards the coastal town of Walvis Bay where we will spend two days in search of waterbirds as well as some of the desert specials found in the adjacent Namib Desert including Dune Lark and Gray’s Lark. From the coast we head inland, crossing the vast plains of Damaraland and on towards the majestic Spitzkoppe Inselberg where we search for Herero Chat before pushing on to the granitic Erongo Mountains. We spend the better part of two days in search of several Namibian specials including Hartlaub’s Spurfowl, Rockrunner and White-tailed Shrike before traveling north to Etosha National Park, one of Africa’s largest wilderness areas. In the region of 380 bird species have been recorded in the park including several of the Namibian specials. We base ourselves at at two of Etosha’s iconic camps which include Okaukeujo and Halali rest camps and spend the better part of four days exploring the park looking for key species such as Bare-cheeked Babbler, Damara Red-billed Hornbill, Monteiro’s Hornbill and Chestnut Weaver.
From Etosha we head south to the Waterberg Plateau National, a wilderness area covering 40 500 ha. The park is dominated by the red sandstone cliffs of the Waterberg range which tower above the surrounding landscape. After spending two days exploring the Waterberg we head south to Windhoek where the tour comes to an end.
