Iolo Williams Wildlife Safari

Okavango Delta

DAY 2: Rundu and the Okavango River After an early morning walk around the lodge or perhaps an optional activity at Africat we make our way north to the rivers and mature woodland of the Caprivi Strip. We will look for Dark-chanting Goshawk, Shikra, Gabar Goshawk, and spend the night at a lodge overlooking the Okavango River. We will spend the afternoon birding along the river which will be the perfect introduction to Okavango Delta and tropical and riverine woodland specials. Some of the specials we might find include Swamp Boubou, Golden Weaver, Rufous-bellied Heron, Brown-throated Weaver, Coppery-tailed and Senegal Coucals, Arrow-marked and Hartlaub’s Babblers, African Purple Swamphen, Lesser Jacana, Rock Pratincole, Water Thick-knee, Rufous-bellied Tit and Chirping, Levailant’s, Jacobin and Black Cuckoos, Grey-tit, Spotted, African Paradise and Ashy Flycatchers, Groundscraper Thrush and African Hoopoe. Rock Pratincole is often seen flying over late in the afternoon or early the morning. Accommodation: Hakusembe River Lodge on the banks of the Okavango River  

DAY 4: The Okavango Panhandle After breakfast we will make our way across the border into Botswana where we will spend the night exploring the Okavango Panhandle. We will first spend most of the morning to further explore Mahangu National Park and besides looking for some of the specials mentioned in yesterday’s program we will also scan the floodplains for Wattled Crane, Spur-winged and Egyptian Goose, White-faced Duck, Slaty, Great White, Yellow-billed and Little Egret, Squacco and Black, Goliath, Purple Herons, African Spoonbill, African Sacred, Hadeda and Glossy Ibis, Long-toed and Wattled Lapwing and if we come across a herd of Buffalo or other big game we will look for Red-billed and Yellow-billed Oxpeckers. After lunch and settling into our lodge for the night, we will depart for an afternoon boat cruise. The big special here is the highly sought after Pel’s Fishing Owl and this area must be one of the best spots in the world to find this beautiful bird. Other specials here include White-backed Night-heron, Brown Firefinch, African Skimmer, Luapula Cisticola, Chirping Cisticola, Coppery-tailed Coucal, White-browed Coucal, Greater Swamp Warbler, Broad-billed Roller, Narina Trogon and Malachite, Half-collared, Pied and Giant Kingfishers. Accommodation: Xaro Lodge or Drotsky’s Cabins  

Etosha

DAY 7: Central and Western Etosha National Park We have a full day to make our way to the eastern section of the park and we will look for Monotonous and Rufous-naped Larks and we will keep an eye out for raptors which include Martial Eagle and Tawny Eagles, Black-chested and Brown Snake-eagles, Lanner, Peregrine and Red-necked Falcons and Pale-chanting and Gabar Goshawks. We will enjoy lunch at Halali Resort which is a great birding spot and is known for sightings of Violet Woodhoopoe, Carp’s Black Tit, Bare-cheeked Babbler, Pied Babbler, White-crested Helmet-shrike, African Scops Owl and Southern White-faced Owlet. Etosha is also well known for vultures and we might see Lappet-faced, White-backed, White-headed and Hooded Vultures. We should arrive by mid-afternoon and after checking in we will spend the last couple daylight hours birding in the camp and scanning the famous flood-lit waterhole on the edge of the camp.  We will try and find Dusky and Scarlet-chested Sunbirds, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Acacia Pied Barbet, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, Sociable Weaver, African Pygmy Falcon, Fork-tailed Drongo, Marico Sunbird, Yellow-bellied Eremomela, Pied Crow, Rock Martin, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Cape Glossy Starling, Chestnut-vented Tit-babbler and Long-billed Crombec. At the waterhole tonight we will look for Verreaux’s Eagle-owl, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Barn Owl, Spotted Eagle-owl, Rufous-cheeked Nightjar and Double-banded Sandgrouse. Etosha is one of Africa’s biggest and best National Parks and one of the main tourist attractions in Namibia. It is 22 912km2 in size of which the Etosha Pan, a shallow depression that only holds water after good rainy seasons, is 5000km2 in size. Etosha is known for its spectacular game viewing and the waterholes attract huge numbers of game in the dry season when all the open water has dried up. During the rainy season the park is transformed into a green oasis and this is the time you find young of various animal species in huge numbers. 114 Species of mammal are found in the park and it is the best place in the world to see Black Rhino. Other game include elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, giraffe, honey-badger, black-faced impala, kudu, eland, Damara Dik-dik, warthog and big herds of springbok, zebra, blue wildebeest, red hartebeest and oryx. Accommodation: Okaukuejo Resort inside Etosha National Park  

DAY 9: Walvis Bay and the Skeleton Coast After an early morning walk and a great breakfast in the presence of Roy-faced Lovebirds, Cape Bunting, Dassie Rat and Namibian Rock Agama’s we will make our way to the Skeleton Coast where we will spend the night. Once we reach the Namib Desert, the oldest desert in the world we make our way across the plains we will look for Ruppell’s Korhaan, Double-banded Courser, Tractrac Chat, Stark’s Lark, Lark-like Bunting, Ludwig’s Bustard and Common Ostrich to name a few. After arriving in Walvis Bay or Swakopmund and settling into our Bed and Breakfast for the evening we will spend the afternoon at the Walvis Bay lagoon which has been declared a Ramsar site of global importance for thousands of waders that are found here. One of our main targets today will be the Damara Tern. Other birds we hope to find include Ruff, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Black-necked Grebe, Red-necked Phalarope, Spotted Redshank, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Swift, Common, Sandwich  and Caspian Terns, Eurasian and African Black Oystercatchers, Common Ringed, Chestnut-banded, Grey and Three-banded Plovers and Greater and Lesser Flamingos. Cape Cormorants are usually spotted in huge flocks and we will also look for Crowned and White-breasted Cormorants and if we are lucky Bank Cormorant. The great thing about this area is that anything can pitch up so we have the possibilities to see a rarity or two. Pomarine Jaeger and Subantarctic Skua are sometimes seen from the shoreline. Accommodation: Lagoon Lodge Bed and Breakfast in Walvis Bay.