The Desert Lions Await

Mamsy was in tears as we drove to the airstrip, and had us reaching for tissues also. She said she never felt like a guide the entire time with us, tapping her heart……….”It was like driving with family”. A very special person we hope to meet again.

Doro Nawas airstrip and our next ride. Cessna 208B Caravan workhorse of the fleet

Wilderness Air is our carrier for all the small flights and they have numerous planes flying daily, picking up and dropping off people all over Africa. Whoever it is that handles the logistics really knows their stuff. We were on a larger twin engine Cessna for the first leg, flying to Doro Nawas, kind of an airstrip hub in the middle of the desert with half a dozen planes coming and going in the short time we were on the ground. From there, it was a short 40 minute flight to Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp (juan-eeb) where we were greeted by our new guide Rocky. Flying in it was clear we were still in the desert, although there was a lot more vegetation, trees, etc., that we never saw at Little Kulala.

Rocky gave us the run down on the way to the camp, explaining that although they have very small herds in this area, all the usual suspects were here………it was just a case of finding them. The life blood of the area is the Hoanib River, now a totally dry dust bowl, but when the rainy season comes, it can become a raging river in seconds. The vegetation we saw from the air are the trees and bushes that grow along the river which have adapted to these harsh conditions, some with root systems that are 30-50 meters deep. Finding a way to survive in this area is as much a challenge for the vegetation as it is for the animals and birds.

Arriving at camp, we were surprised to find a very modern looking group of tented buildings, strung out across a narrow valley. The camp was just four years old, 8 individual suites, a main lodge, and another building used by researcher Ettie who was working on a brown hyena project and lived at the camp. Her husband Philip has been studying the desert lions in the area for over twenty years. They all wear tracking collars, and have been the subject of two documentaries………amazing but ultimately sad stories…….more on that later.

View of the camp, our unit, outdoor seating area, and view towards the watering hole…….Wilderness Safaris has installed three watering holes along the river.

All rooms were the same, although they had differing views of the man made watering hole about 100yds out from the camp…….we had an obstructed view, but were offered a move the next day to another unit with bang on perfect line of sight and we were happy to make the move……..lots of activity at the watering hole. Somehow with all the discussion about room #’s and all, we got screwed up on what unit we were actually in for our first night………..we convinced ourselves that it was #4, went to the door, no lock here just a sliding bolt down into the floor to keep the door closed and safe from baboons, I opened the door and was surprised to see that Jutta’s clothes had already been hung on the open rack beside the bed, and mine were……..hold on, those aren’t my clothes, and those aren’t Jutta’s either……….managed to get the door closed and bolt back in place just as the couple who were in #4 arrived back after lunch……..aplologies and a good laugh, before heading down to try #6.

Rocky had planned our first game drive for 5pm, and we were joined by Rose, and her mother Susan. Rose is a travel agent from New York, and when we mentioned meeting a few other agents at Little Kulala, she explained that it was normal for agents to be out touring camps in Africa at this time of year, so they could properly inform their clients back home, and share their info with everyone else at the firm. They were great company and a wealth of knowledge when it came to all things travel in Africa. Also on board was Christiane from Munich who takes the odd break from working trips to Cape Town to get out on safari. She had been to many different camps and was awesome company also. You could tell Rocky was a pro right out of the gate, slowing the truck on many occasions to inspect animal tracks in the sand, and maintaining an almost constant dialogue about all things plant, animal, bird, or insect, that we passed along the way.

Baboons catching some shade at the watering hole, and Mummy and daughter watching us closely

As luck would have it, I managed to spot a lion high on the riverbank above us. I truly wasn’t sure until we stopped and backed up, but then clear as day, half hidden by some low branches, were those distinctive ears and half a head exposed above the bank. Rocky turned around to a spot where he knew we could climb out of the riverbed in the truck, and within minutes we were sitting twenty feet away from two lioness, familiar to Rocky and know as #69 (the auntie) and her niece an unnamed two year old. Sundowners were served in the truck as we couldn’t pull ourselves away from the sight of our first big cats in Africa. These were two of only four lions known to inhabit this area……the other two were sisters of the niece and had moved closer to the coast to feed at the seal colony……….the short story on why so few lions remained here is that five young males were either killed or poisoned by neighbouring villagers trying to protect their cattle, and the actual mother of the three nieces was killed in a fight with a leopard where both big cats died……..after a lot of coaxing by the nieces, the auntie finally agreed to adopt the girls and share her kill with them.

A tall section of eroded riverbank……..the girls