Spitzkoppe

Spitzkoppe is a fascinating place to visit.  As we entered the park I jumped out and started chasing around trying to photograph the various birds I could hear.  A good proportion it seemed were hanging around due to the dripping tap outside the gents loos...

Anyway we did see a really good range of birds including Acacia Pied Barbet:

Black-chested Prinia:

The stunning Bokmakerie:

 Another bird with brilliant plumage, the Crimson-breasted Shrike:

At one point we spied a Pale-winged Starling hanging around close to the car and presumed they must be used to being fed by the visitors.  I tried crumbling an oat bar... we were surprised at how many birds turned up and how quickly they responded.

The biggest surprise were the Monteiro's Hornbills:

Mountain Wheatears came close but didn't seem to want the human food:

The Pale-winged Starlings however were very keen:

As well as the birds, we saw our first Rock Hyrax at Spitzkoppe:

They are very agile across near sheer rockfaces:

The orange-headed lizard seemed very confident of itself:

The scenery around Sptizkoppe really is something to behold:

The stones and trees here seem almost placed by hand:

Helen took this picture to illustrate the scale of the place:

 Weird succulent tree:

From Spitzkoppe and the lunchtime heat, we drove on towards the Erongo Mountains and Omaruru, toward  our lodge for the next couple of nights, the Ai Aiba.