News / Camp News

Ongava Lodge - May 2009

27 May 2009

Weather and Landscape
The temperatures are continuing to drop; winter is creeping in slowly although the afternoons are still very pleasant. The early morning temperatures are sometimes as low as 4 °Celsius and the afternoons could be as high as 30°.The northern parts of Namibia were Ongava Game Reserve is located are fairly warmer than the southern parts of the country, even in winter months. All the deciduous trees are shedding their leaves, the grasses are drying out, and within a few weeks this area will be transformed into its typical dry-season dress. It's amazing how quick this transformation takes place, just a few months ago, the area was covered in greenery and scattered pools of water.

Wildlife Sightings
The lion population is thriving on Ongava Game Reserve - three females from different prides has been seen with cubs. Two of the females have three cubs each, and the third female has four cubs. All these cubs are only a few weeks old. The older cubs from Stompies Pride have been seen around Ongava Lodge for over three weeks now. They have been seen trying to hunt at the lodge's waterhole, with no success. They are still young and don't have any hunting experience, as a result they tend to chase away the possible prey, rather than catch it!

Late in the month four big females of the group managed to bring down a mother and baby giraffe very close to the lodge. The whole pride gathered for a feast that lasted three days. Some of the lion's bellies were too heavy for them to even move. They would eat and then come to the lodge waterhole to drink. During this whole period the guests enjoyed the frequent visits of the lions at the waterhole and their roars at night and early mornings. We suspect the baby giraffe was a new born, and the mother was trying to protect the young one when she was attacked.

One evening, the whole lion pride came in from the parking area along the pathway, passed through the main area and went to the pool area. At the pool, they chewed up the pool cover and dragged it down the stairs towards the guest rooms. The last visit was an adrenalin loaded incident. When the guides came back from the afternoon drive, they found lions at the parking area heading up the pathway stairs to the main area. They immediately called and informed the manager on duty as there were guests having sundowner drinks on the lapa area. When the manager and staff peeped to see what was happening, the lions were already by the office which is about 20 metres from the main area. The manager advised the guests to be quiet, remain calm and move into a safe area, although some of them wanted to see where the lions were. One of the managers fired a bear banger into the air and the lions eventually left the lodge area. The guests were relieved, and all flocked to the bar and ordered some drinks to calm their nerves.

It has been a while since we saw any leopards on the reserve; however a cheetah with three cubs were seen close to the airstrip. The family was spotted lying in the road, as soon as they saw the vehicle; they stood up and started walking along the road. The vehicle followed them slowly; they then moved off the road and sat on the edge of the road, looking very relaxed. The cubs appeared to be only 2-3 weeks old.

The rhino sightings on the reserve keeps are getting better and better, as the cover decreases and visibility improves. The white rhinos have started moving to the far western side of the reserve (Sonop) which means that now we have to travel a bit further to see the them. This is their annual routine, they move back to the Sonop area due to lack of nutritious grasses in the areas close by.

To our suprise one day, we were paid a visit by Obelix, the biggest black rhino on the reserve. He came to drink at the lodge's waterhole during the day. The black rhinos generally only come to drink from the lodge's waterhole at night, but this time Obelix came at midday. He approached the waterhole with calm, had a drink and the guests had at least 20 minutes to enjoy the sighting.

The best place to view wildlife at the moment is from the lapa. You can sit there the whole morning and afternoon, drink in hand, and you will see lots of animals. Different types of game frequent the waterhole with peak times lasting from around 09:00 till 13:00 and then in the afternoon around 15:00 to 16:00.

The morning drives into Etosha National Park are still as popular and elephant sightings are getting more frequent. Due to the cooler winter conditions at the moment, the elephants only come to the waterhole when it's warm, in the late mornings and afternoons.

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