Simon Thomsett

Category: Raptor Expedition | Date: May 13 2009 | By: Laila Bahaa-el-din

On day three in Etosha, we started driving towards our next campsite. We spotted four lionesses on the horizon, in front of the pan. We tried to get ourselves closer to the lions but were distracted by a pair of Red-necked Falcons sitting in a tree. They moved from one waterhole to another and we followed. Soon we were surrounded by tourists looking at the lions, but we stayed around and saw some Greater Kestrels and a Lanner Falcon. Some zebras came to drink and we thought the lions might ambush them but the zebras were long gone by the time the lions started to move. Unfortunately, the four lionesses, followed by 10 cubs, walked to another waterhole which was inaccessible to us.

Further on, we started seeing more and more zebras along the road until we arrived at a waterhole which was covered in hundreds of zebras, oryxes, ostriches and jackals. It was beautiful! We stayed there for the rest of the day, watching as zebras walked or galloped towards and away from the waterhole in huge numbers.

Busy waterhole

That night, I woke up several times to chaotic wildlife sounds but slipped back into sleep. In the morning, Simon said he heard lions kill a zebra during the night, so we went to find the waterhole that is right next to the campsite to investigate. And sure enough, a pride of lions was picking at the carcass of a zebra not too far from the waterhole. There were lots of other tourists around and we didn’t have long left before we had to be out of the park, so we drove back towards the area that had been covered in wildlife the evening before.

We were stopped looking at a Pale Chanting Goshawk when Simon saw an African Wild Cat run across the road. So we approached and drew up next to it. It stayed sitting in the long grass, eating a mouse, looking to all intents and purposes like a domestic cat. It then walked out of the grass and sat next to the car looking straight up at us. They are usually quite shy, so it was surprising to see this one so tame. Quite easy to see how it is the ancestor of the domestic cat!

African Wild Cat

And just a few metres down the road, we stopped to watch a Greater Kestrel eating a small bird. A little further and we stopped to watched two lions feeding on a zebra. As we looked through our binoculars, we could see other lions with cubs feeding on a different zebra further back. It was all action! Over a dozen jackals were sniffing around, trying to get close to the food. We were surprised not to see one single vulture in the sky with so much food around for them. We concluded that there must not be many vultures around, perhaps because of the lack of trees to nest and roost in.

What we didn’t consider is that the vultures here are just lazier than the ones we are used to: late-risers. We drove for a while and suddenly started seeing lots of Lappet-faced Vultures becoming active, and next the White-backed Vultures until we could see lots of vultures in the sky. We returned to the two carcasses and sure enough, they were descending on the zebra that the two lions had just abandoned. The jackals fought off the first few vultures but soon there were so many that they had to give up and leave the vultures to it. At one point, we managed to count about 150 vultures but I’m sure there were many more.

Jackal fighting off a vulture

We are disappointed at having to leave but we have something to look forward to. We are off to the coast to look at large seal colonies, and hopefully some Ospreys too.

Tags: african wild cat at etosha, lions and vultures at a kill

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Category: Raptor Expedition | Date: May 07 2009 | By: Laila Bahaa-el-din

On our second day in Etosha, I told Simon the pressure was on for him to find me exciting wildlife for my birthday. He spotted a distant lion but that didn’t cut it. We sat by a waterhole and watched a Kudu and zebras. As we drove away from the waterhole, I noticed a small falcon landing in a tree. We got nearer and Simon identified it as a Western Red-footed Falcon, my first! We spent quite some time watching it as it ate and preened. A Lappet-faced Vulture flew over me and I photographed it, only noticing later when I looked at the picture that the vulture had rings on its legs.

Ringed Lappet-faced Vulture

Not much further, we stopped to scan the area and there, right next to the road, was a lion. Our excitement quickly turned to sadness when we noticed how weak it was. It was about 18 months old and must either have lost its pride or been kicked-out. We asked a lady driving a tour-bus to call someone to come and help but nobody showed up so we went back to camp and pushed and pushed until the rangers were called. We then returned to the site and saw the lion, which we now saw was a female, struggling to walk towards some shade. We stayed until some rangers arrived and showed them where the lion had gone. They asked us not to stay around as they might do something unpleasant. We said we could handle it but wanted to stay and they said we had to leave, “policy,” as we might report things to the newspapers. We didn’t feel very hopeful that they would try to help the lion.

Weak lion cub

We drove a few hundred metres away and watched through binoculars. The rangers drove up to the tree, around it, then drove a little distance away. We couldn’t figure our what they were doing until we saw them get out of the car and heave a carcass into the back of their truck. At first we thought they had shot the lion, but then figured it was a Springbok as they returned to the tree where the lion was and pushed out the carcass. The rangers then drove towards us and told us that the lion was eating and seemed OK.

As we drove past some long grass, we noticed some drongos and kestrels dive-bombing something in the grass. It was an African Wild Cat, another first for the day! But I just got a glimpse of it as it ran away. Not a bad birthday!

Tags: ringed lappet sighting, sick lion in etosha

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Category: Raptor Expedition | Date: May 04 2009 | By: Laila Bahaa-el-din

We finally left Maun after some work on the car and were heading towards the Okavango panhandle when the car gave up again. It seemed the problem hadn’t been resolved. We push-started several times but it started getting dark so we headed for a camp site that was a few km off the main road. But we only made it a few hundred metres before the floods stopped us from getting any further. A couple of innovative guys were there, cashing in on the tourists who could go no further. We parked on a hill so that we could start in the morning.

One of the guys there had his Mokoro (canoe) and offered to take us for a ride in the morning, for a fee. We concluded that we might as well see all these floodplains, so, early in the morning we went out and watched as the sun rose over the Okavango. As the area is a cattle area, we didn’t see much in the way of wildlife except a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl and a Fish Eagle. But it sure was pretty. On our return to mainland, we tried push-starting and pull-starting the car but to no avail. So we borrowed a battery from another car to start the Range Rover, returned the battery and were on our way. A couple of push starts later and we arrived at the campsite we had been aiming for the day before. There we spent the afternoon charging up the car batteries so that we could at least push as far as Rundu, across the border in Namibia, where we could find a mechanic.

The Okavango floods

Simon in a Mokoro

After a day in Rundu fixing the car, we went to Etosha National Park. What is usually a pan that fills with a few millimetres of water for a few days a year was an enormous lake where you couldn’t see the other side. We watched as a Giraffe did its gymnastic drinking. That night, we had just finished our meal and Simon was standing nearby when I noticed two Honey Badgers (Ratels) run past his legs. Simon noticed them too and we jumped for the cameras. We followed them as they went from one spot to another looking through the bins. It was quite a surprise!

Honey Badger under a truck

Tags: car trouble, etosha national park, okavango floods

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Category: Raptor Expedition | Date: May 01 2009 | By: simonthomsett

Starting from Kenya, we were already ill-prepared for an overland trip in terms of specialized kit such as metal planks, chains, off road tyres, sliding solar panels, multi-battery arrangements, roof top tents, internal lighting, inverters for computers, fuel and water pumps, water filter systems, etc. What we put together were “Jua Kali” (quick fix) versions of the above. For example, I used an old electric fuel pump to push water into a metal canister in which is a single water filter. The can and filter I bought in Nakumat Nairobi. The whole thing worked and it cost about $20 to make. Unfortunately the mechanic I asked to mount it in the car welded 5 pieces of angle iron on to the roll bar and nearly destroyed it. There was a lot of miscommunication with very poor work being done on the car as few understood the concept of traveling far beyond home. “No problem … when it breaks we fix it again.” With this assurance we set off.

I did get a few things well done. The spare fuel tanks mounted under both front seats are very slick and useful. I got a passable roof-top tent for Laila to use, while I use a tent on the ground, both made in Nairobi. I put together a two-ring gas cooker and a 12kg gas cylinder for the kitchen. You open the back door and it becomes the chopping board. These work well, but some other things have not.

The Car

A green two-door Range Rover built in 1976 with a bizarre paint job. It has a knobblie crocodile skin-like surface. Everyone from confused traffic cops to street kids or safari guides marvel and stroke the surface. I am proud of it. How this came about I am not sure, but it works very well in camouflaging the car and reducing glare. I have a feeling it was an accident and that it is actually an awful paint job. I like this old car. It has a classic shape. The long muzzle curves down at the front and give an unbeatable forward view.

The gear box is four speed. You get into fourth gear quickly and stay there, hitting 85kph comfortably or 100kph downhill. It is in four-wheel drive all the time. The low ratio is very solid and will get you out of most problems. The pneumatic operated diff’ lock is tricky to use and can get stuck in it.

The engine

The original V8 petrol engine may be reliable and powerful but gives poor mileage and was replaced with a trusty Nissan 3.2 D - “D” for diesel. I opted for the non-turbo version. Turbos burn out and leave you stranded. I do not care to go fast, much preferring good torque and slow speed and reliability. This Nissan engine allowed a power steering pump to work on a newer Range Rover Power steering unit. It worked well until we got to Lusaka, then it packed up. Now it is manual and building up my pecs.

The tyres

Of all the decisions I regret was the choice of very expensive tubeless tyres that have persistently let us down virtually every day of this trip. I hate them for they are utterly useless off-road, despite being filled with equally expensive glue guaranteed to withstand 6-inch nails.

This Range Rover has, in my opinion, one of the most comfortable rides of all 4-by-4s. The coil springs all-round give it a smooth ride, although in Arusha we beefed up the rear suspension with Mercedes springs inside the original coils to take the weight of the clobber that we amassed.

Most people taking on an overlander trip like this take too much. We could easily have cut back on a few things but we are laden with cameras and work-related equipment. We are not concerned with getting from A to B across the continent, but in natural areas and so have to do a lot of off-road driving. As we crossed into Botswana and Namibia we were amazed at the camper bakkies (pick-ups), and trailers originating from South Africa. I scoffed at them at first. Air-conditioned, tinted windowed new 4-by-4s with every domestic convenience on board is not my idea of a safari. The camp sites, too, in this southern section are neat electric lit communes that I at first abhorred. Why drive 100 km to go to the bush and sit in a parking lot looking at other campers? The roads too are smooth and endlessly signposted and a new experience for me where such things in Kenya are mostly non-existent.

As this journey has reached a point where we tire of inconvenience, I now grudgingly accept the plug in the wall, tapped water, rubbish bin and even the loo and showers and neighbours. Preserving some sort of resilience I will never use the open fire pit provided! I now look sideways at the new campers and trailers that surround me as I write this blog.

The Car, surrounded by Kokerbooms (Quiver Trees) in Namibia

Tags: camping with convenience, kokerbooms, the expedition car

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