Posts Tagged ‘Gemsbok’
Day trip through the Skeleton Coast Park
February 16th, 2011 | 
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Posted in With most of Namibia awash with rains, and a camping trip long overdue, last week we decided to head off to the dry Skeleton Coast Park for a visit. Our first night was spent at Buck’s Caravan Park at Henties Bay, which enabled us to set off very early the next morning for our day trip through the Park.
We had spent some time researching the area so that we would know what to look out for. There are a number of trip reports on this section of the coast, some of which are not very flattering, labeling the area as “boring”. Fortunately, we also read that one should stop often to examine the countryside, as the desert is alive with lichen and other plant and animal life. This made our journey so much richer and we’re glad we were offered that advice.
The journey to the Skeleton Coast Park is interesting in itself, with the Cape Cross seal colony a major attraction along the way, as well as the lichen fields, the salt works and the spectacular scenery, but we will write about these in separate blogs.
Entry to the Skeleton Coast Park requires a permit, which we purchased in Windhoek beforehand. The gates at the entrance to the Park were impressive, if somewhat forbidding with their skulls and crossbones, and added to the excitement of entering an area that has evoked feelings of fear and dread in the hearts of many a sailor who has been stranded on the beaches with little hope of surviving the harsh desert. It has also spelled the ruin of many prospectors who considered the area to be rich in minerals.
The first thing that strikes you about the Skeleton Coast, apart from its incredible beauty, is its isolation. It was comforting to know that the Park officials knew we were there, because we only saw one other car for the duration of our five hour visit. Imagine having a whole park virtually to yourself in this day and age!
After passing over the Ugab River, with its windblown shrubs and Acacia trees, we made our way to our first stop, which was the wreck of the Atlantic Pride fishing vessel. Not much remains of this hapless boat, but it sets the mood and shows that man is no match for the angry sea and the desert.
The landscape is timeless and gives one a feeling of being in a state of quiet meditation. The scenery changes every couple of kilometers so one is constantly looking at different colours and textures, from gravel plains to sand dunes. We stopped often to examine the lichen fields which add golden colours to the ground. It was as if our Maker had used every little rock as a miniature artist’s palette and then discarded it to go on to create an even better landscape further along.
Next we came across a rusty old oil rig which once was the dream of hopeful prospectors. Now it is prey to the salt air that has rusted it into delicate filigree patterns that add a beauty of their own in the desert.
We were excited to come across both a black-backed jackal and a Gemsbok in the desert, wondering what they lived on in this inhospitable environment. At Torra Bay, which is deserted for all but one month of the year when the fishermen are allowed to camp there, the lonely buildings were guarded by cormorants and crows, which lent a mournful air to the place with their loud cawing.
We exited the Park through the Springbokwasser Gate on the east and this drive is also through magnificent scenery of barchan dunes and grey-capped gravel mountains dotted with grazing springbok. We stopped to look at the Welwitchia mirabilis plants that are abundant alongside the road and the poisonous Euphorbia damarana, which are quite different from the usual Euphorbia plants that are found elsewhere in the country.
The first thing that strikes you about the Skeleton Coast, apart from its incredible beauty, is its isolation. It was comforting to know that the Park officials knew we were there, because we only saw one other car for the duration of our five hour visit. Imagine having a whole park virtually to yourself in this day and age!
After passing over the Ugab River, with its windblown shrubs and Acacia trees, we made our way to our first stop, which was the wreck of the Atlantic Pride fishing vessel. Not much remains of this hapless boat, but it sets the mood and shows that man is no match for the angry sea and the desert.
The landscape is timeless and gives one a feeling of being in a state of quiet meditation. The scenery changes every couple of kilometers so one is constantly looking at different colours and textures, from gravel plains to sand dunes. We stopped often to examine the lichen fields which add golden colours to the ground. It was as if our Maker had used every little rock as a miniature artist’s palette and then discarded it to go on to create an even better landscape further along.
Next we came across a rusty old oil rig which once was the dream of hopeful prospectors. Now it is prey to the salt air that has rusted it into delicate filigree patterns that add a beauty of their own in the desert.
We were excited to come across both a black-backed jackal and a Gemsbok in the desert, wondering what they lived on in this inhospitable environment. At Torra Bay, which is deserted for all but one month of the year when the fishermen are allowed to camp there, the lonely buildings were guarded by cormorants and crows, which lent a mournful air to the place with their loud cawing.
We exited the Park through the Springbokwasser Gate on the east and this drive is also through magnificent scenery of barchan dunes and grey-capped gravel mountains dotted with grazing springbok. We stopped to look at the Welwitchia mirabilis plants that are abundant alongside the road and the poisonous Euphorbia damarana, which are quite different from the usual Euphorbia plants that are found elsewhere in the country.
It was an incredible day’s drive and at no point were we bored or tired of the scenery. In fact we’d love to be able to spend a bit longer exploring further up north as we’re sure the Park has a lot more to offer than we could cram into a single day.
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The Gemsbok – courageous, elegant and proud
Namibian’s think so highly of the gemsbok, or Oryx gazella that their national coat of arms depicts two of these magnificent animals on either side of a shield covered with the national flag – representing courage, elegance and pride. If you see these antelope in their desert surroundings, you will understand why they hold such a prominent place in the hearts of all Namibians.
We come across them often in our travels in Namibia and Botswana and they never fail to give us a thrill when we see them. Their coats vary in colour from light grey to light brown, with patches of white, highlighted by dramatic black lines on their backs, legs and faces. These striking markings are offset by long straight horns that are sported by both males and females – the female’s horns being slightly thinner and longer.
Gemsbok can survive in harsh semi-desert conditions and dry savannah areas as they have adapted to tolerate heat better than other antelopes. Able to withstand temperatures in excess of 45 degrees C they use rapid breathing to cool the blood that passes through their noses. This cooler blood is transported to their brains and their body temperature is brought down a few degrees.
They are able to survive for long periods without water. Like most antelopes, they are mainly grazers, but they also eat tsamma melons, bulbs and tubers, which add moisture and fibre to their diet. During the day gemsbok mostly try and find a shady tree to stand under, as they prefer feeding early in the morning, evening and sometimes during the night, when temperatures are cooler.
Lions, hyenas and dogs are their main predators, apart from humans, who hunt them for trophies or meat. We came across a lion kill in the Central Kalahari last year, where a pride of lions had brought down a gemsbok.
The lions guarded their kill very jealously because a large number of black-backed jackals were keen to get any pickings that they could.
Gemsbok give birth to a single calf, arriving at any time during the year, after a nine month gestation period. The calf is usually hidden for the first few weeks of its life before it joins the rest of the herd. The baby’s horns grow very quickly, giving rise to the myth that gemsbok are born with horns, which obviously isn’t true. As can be seen from the photo below, the baby is brown with very few markings.
Wherever we see them – in the sand dunes of Sossusvlei, the savannah grasslands of Botswana or the arid rocky Etosha game reserve, they remain one of our absolute favourite animals and we always admire their grace and beauty.
