Travel: Safari, so good in Namibia

THE jackals were beginning to call across the bush, gathering their forces and strength for the hunting ahead.

The yapping of cheetahs resounded for miles in the still air as the sun slipped behind the red sandstone mountains. Up on the rock-strewn hillside behind us, a solitary, sleepy hyena was rousing himself for a night-time trek.

Down in the dry river bed, Martin, our Namibian guide, was pouring the gin and tonics for that civilised ritual beloved of all white visitors to Africa, the sundowner. It has been like this since the first Victorians came here to slaughter the wildlife for fun and it still holds its enduring appeal now.

We are just camera-toters, though and Martin explains why shooting big cats such as leopards is not the way forward. Scientific studies have proved, he says, that if you kill a leopard then others move in and you may end up with more than you had before.

It’s a hard message to get across to the 7,000 cattle farmers – most from German stock, as Namibia was German South-West Africa until the South Africans took over after the First World War – who fenced off the central veldt more than a century ago. But it’s one that Martin and the owners of Okonjima, the conservation estate he works for, are determined to spread.

Okonjima, 140km north of the capital of Windhoek, is the home of the non-profit AfriCat Foundation founded by the Hanssen family and is a bold experiment, restoring 22,000 hectares of former cattle ranch into an area once again rich in native wildlife. It remains surrounded by farms where hunting is pursued for profit but the Hanssens have shrugged off hostility to set up a stunning safari estate where the only shots are through the lens.

The big cats remain at the core of this enterprise and the leopards and cheetahs here are mainly animals that have caused problems elsewhere. Radio tracking by skilled guides means close sightings are virtually guaranteed on the twice-daily game treks.

It’s the little moments that impress. Two leopards strolling down a river bed just yards away turn to each other and engage in a ferocious bout of mating. They rest, then engage again, and we voyeurs, who have flown thousands of miles to see life in the raw, are not sure where to look. Afterwards, the female stretches out exhausted, while the male licks his paws with an almost-smirk on his handsome feline face.

Next morning, after interrupting a troop of noisy baboons eating breakfast in the treetops, we descend from the protection of our vehicle to track cheetahs on foot. We follow reverentially in their footsteps, hardly daring to breathe. Not so a brazen male warthog who repeatedly taunts the three from a distance, perhaps steering them away from his family in the long grass.

At Okonjima, we stay at Bush Camp – individual thatch-roofed lodges strung out amid open grassland in which you are free to roam (the predators are in a larger fenced area) along with the herds of black-faced impala, oryx and giraffe. Bush Camp lodge is where breakfast – after 5:30am game drive starts you’ll need it – delightful afternoon teas and dinner are taken. Open to the elements, you can absorb the sounds and smells while dining on beautifully prepared and presented food, washed down with South African wine.

Etosha (the place of dry water) is a grand old game park around five hours drive north. We arrive at Mushara, our lodge, in the midst of a violent thunderstorm that presaged the rainy season. The Mushara Collection, close to the eastern gate, is owned by another former farmer, Marc Pampe. The well-run lodge and its surrounding chalets are complemented by the collection’s Bush Camp, aimed at families, and the more upmarket Outpost nearby.

The real star here is the government-run park itself, 22,000 square km of bush around a giant salt pan that was once a vast lake. The road takes visitors to watering holes around which abundant game congregates.

Again, it’s the little moments that impress; the crashing arrival of two elephants at the watering hole you’d hoped they were heading for, startling three squat-legged giraffes. Moments later, four lionesses slink through the grass just off the main road. We watch their stately progress and see them square up to a herd of horned oryx, the males at the front in a defensive line. Back near the pan, in more open grassland, two ostriches stand close together in perfect stillness. Look hard and beneath the extravagantly feathered male, in a medusa of moving heads, is a nest of chicks. Later, as the sun begins to dip, a rhino wades into the middle of a watering hole to drink; an elephant submerges himself until only the top of his head and his trunk are above water.

Swinging back south to Windhoek brings its own reward in the form of the Erongo Wilderness Lodge. Run by Roger Fussell, the camp is an extraordinarily private world enclosed by a range of granite mountains, consisting of a central lodge with ten luxury tents. Guinea-pig like rock dassies are the main company while a troop of baboons provide the entertainment. In the still air of the night, their calls bring the sound of Africa into your dreams.

To the south, Windhoek has a bustling centre with a “wild frontier” colonial history that has left a legacy of attractive public buildings and churches. New restaurants and boutique hotels are bringing a more cosmopolitan feel.

Set around a shady central courtyard, the Olive Grove, also run by the sure-touched Fussells, provides a relaxing stop-over within easy reach of the city centre before or after heading out on to the open road in one of the safest of African countries. You can even drink the tap water. n

• An eight-night self drive itinerary – Northern Highlights of Namibia – including two nights at Okonjima Main Camp, two nights at Mushara Bush Camp, one night at Gondwana Etosha Safari Lodge, two nights at Erongo Wilderness Lodge and one night at Olive Grove starts at £1,950 per person (ground arrangements only and based on two people sharing a double room). Book through World Odyssey (01905-731 373, [email protected]). Flights available from Air Namibia, starting from around £1,000 from Heathrow via Frankfurt (www.airnamibia.com.na). Further information from www.namibiatourism.com.na.