Thursday Sept 15 – Etosha National Park

GAME ON!

Today we left the Okaukuejo compound to travel to Namutoni, our second stay within Etosha. We’ve seen so many animals that we don’t bother stopping for the stray giraffe or elephant, unless there’s something special about it. Well, we’ve seen a number of lions but today we spotted one with a full mane so that definitely deserved a photo stop.

Not long after we saw a large group of zebras and when we turned off onto a side dirt road to watch them, we were surrounded by hundreds of them, plus wildebeest as they headed to another area within Etosha – a mini migration. Apparently zebras and wildebeest usually travel together. All up, there must have been over a thousand zebras – and we were only at the tail end of the herd. One zebra stood out from the others with its abnormal colouring. Even Innocent and Cosmos acknowledged that such a large group of zebras travelling together and the partially black zebra were very unusual sights.

Back of the herd

Black "sheep"

 

Typical pose for zebras - shoulder to shoulder



Foursome

We then came across a breeding herd of elephants, lots of females with a group of young elephants, trying to cross the road in front of us. It was obvious where their path crossed the road but it didn’t stop a car parking in that area to watch them. Well, the elephants wouldn’t cross until the car moved and some were getting a little agitated about it. Finally the driver caught on and reversed and the elephants crossed.

Etosha National Park covers just under 23,000 square kilometres and within this area is the Etosha Pan, approximately 4,700 square kilometres of whitish clay which is mostly dry but can flood after heavy rains. It then comes alive with flamingos but there were none about now.

At our lodge tonight, I again opted out of a late evening game drive to have some downtime, which I was especially glad about when I saw that my bathroom had a huge bath plus outside showering area, even though outside was alive with mossies. Considering we’re staying in national parks here, the accommodation has been first rate!

Wednesday Sept 14 – Etosha National Park

WE’RE GOIN’ ON A LION HUNT

After breakfast we set off for our first game drive of the day, stopping to photograph giraffes about 10 metres from our truck, herds of zebras and elephants by the road and different waterholes. We saw leopard tracks (we were told they were only about an hour old) but didn’t see the leopard. 

A Snake Eagle

About two hours into the drive we had to stop as some bolt connected with the clutch broke (way too technical for me!) and it took about half an hour to do a running repair then drive back to the lodge in second gear, not stopping for anything. A large bull elephant crossed the road ahead of us with Cosmos, our driver, making frantic hand gestures trying to hurry it up. Fortunately it made it across before we reached it. The photo below shows just how close it was to us – this was taken at 70mm with no vertical cropping.

Back at the lodge, I opted out of the afternoon drive and decided to just relax around the grounds. After so many long days on the truck, it was really nice to just read, wander out to the watering hole to take some photos, catch up on washing, etc.

Hornbill

When the others returned about 5.30pm, we met up for drinks and nibbles on the verandah of the rondavel next door to mine when suddenly Innocent appeared with breaking news – we’re going after lions which had just been spotted about 15 minutes away. Off we went, speeding past giraffes about 5 metres from the road, no longer photo worthy! As we went Rose sang a song they sing at the school where she works – ‘We’re goin’ on a lion hunt’. We came across four vehicles parked by the roadside so pulled up near them and found seven lions sleeping under a tree. For about 20 minutes they just laid there so some vehicles took off – but we waited and suddenly the first one stretched, got up and slowly headed out. Over the next 10 minutes the others slowly followed.

By this time it was about 6.50 pm so we had to speed back to the compound as the gates are locked at 7pm – although we did notice some jackals had made it into the grounds last night and were wandering around.

The sun had set by the time we reached our accommodation but the sky still had a beautiful glow and there were animals at the watering hole so I went down with my camera.

I then went out again about 9.30 pm but there was not much happening, some birds and a few jackals. After about half an hour the jackals took off and two black rhinos came in – a mother and its young. Not long after a black male rhino also came in to drink. A couple of very apprehensive giraffes stood off to one side for quite some time and then decided to risk it and approached the waterhole. Nothing happened and all five animals drank from various spots around the hole. When the two smaller rhinos departed I called it a night. At least my tripod finally made it out of its bag!



Waterhole spotlight - no camera flash used



Tuesday Sept 13 – Gelbingen to Etosha National Park

THREE OUT OF FIVE AIN’T BAD

We only had one stop this morning, at a town to pick up some supplies, before we reached Etosha National Park at lunchtime. Once inside the gate we had a picnic lunch then went through the main gates into the park. Finally, we’re seeing animals!!!! We came across zebras by a watering hole and then not long after right beside the road. Giraffes were also nearby – most of us decided to delete the distance giraffe photos from the day before yesterday as we’re now getting much better images.

Giraffe in disguise

Once at the lodge, while Innocent checked us in, we wandered down to the watering hole. What a surprise awaited us. There was a herd of elephants, including several young ones, at the hole, about 30 metres from us. In the background there were zebras and giraffes waiting their turn to come into drink – there is obviously some sort of pecking order! There would have easily been more than 20 elephants.

Elephants cover themselves in mud to keep cool and keep insects off

Pecking order at the waterhole

  

Innocent was very lucky (or persuasive) and was able to get our accommodation for the next 2 nights in rondavels, right near the watering hole so my door is about 40 metres from where all the action is. Incredible! And the accommodation is great. Each round rondavel is divided into 2 different accommodation units with the beds enclosed in mosquito netting forming a ‘room’ about twice the size of my laundry. From the bed you can see out the double French doors onto a little fenced in private enclosure with seating, plus there is cushioned seating on the veranda, and a nice ensuite, all decked out, naturally, with a safari theme. All up, very impressive accommodation, and I’m glad I’m here for two nights.

This afternoon we went out on a game drive and saw several large bull elephants, lots of zebras, springbok, oryx, wildebeest, ostrich, jackals, and, eventually, lions. There were two lionesses with five lion cubs between them plus another lioness sleeping down in a hollow. Unfortunately the sun was behind them so it made photo-taking quite challenging from the truck.

Dinner tonight was another buffet but it was also Gillian’s birthday so Innocent and Cosmos had arranged a private room and the staff decorated it with party things which had been secretly bought a couple of days ago at one of our stops. One of the meats on offer tonight was kudu so I’ve now eaten oryx, eland and kudu – the eland lasagne being my favourite.

When we returned to our rondavels later in the evening, the waterhole was floodlit and a rhino was coming in for a drink - three of the big five in one afternoon. Not bad going – especially as we had been warned that we probably wouldn’t see any lions here!

Monday Sept 12 2011 – Khorixas to Gelbingen

STONE AGE 

This morning we drove out to Twyfelfontein, a UNESCO World Heritage site with its Stone Age etchings dating back some 5,000 years. The countryside reminds me very much of parts of Central and North Western Australia with the red rock and vegetation.

Our guide, Hermanos (?), was part Himba and part Herero, and had the most interesting braided hair. He was also very knowledgeable and gave us a lot of information.

There are over 2,000 etchings here of animals, including penguins and seals and as we are quite some distance from the coast, and even more so from where penguins would be found, it shows the distances these ancient people travelled by foot. We also learnt that they walked in single file, those with the smallest feet first and the person with the largest feet last, so that they only left one set of footprints when they travelled. 

Not far from our stop for the night, we saw our first giraffes in the wild, even though they were some distance away, but we were all pretty excited.

We finally reached Gelbingen, a private farm with some accommodation, but the main draw is that there is a Himba settlement on the property. Up to 80 Himba tribes people live here at any one time, mostly women and children as the men still tend to live up north looking after their cattle. The Himba are not interested in Western – or indeed modern – culture and prefer to live very simple lives, with their plaited hair and reddened skin from a concoction of fat and red earth. Two modern products they like though are plastic which they use for making beads – and cell phones!

 

In our accommodation there is only electricity for lighting as the farm produces its own power but there is a charging centre where you can go and recharge your appliances and gadgets and also pick up wi-fi. Fortunately I found that I could pick up wi-fi on my netbook in bed – how convenient was that!

Dinner tonight included eland lasagne which was very tasty!

Sunday Sept 11 2011 – Swakopmund to Khorixas

FROM SEALS TO DONKEYS

We bid farewell to Jean this morning as she’s flying back to Utah via Johannesburg this evening. Along the coast this morning the sky looked overcast, although it was probably some dense coastal haze, and we headed north towards the Skeleton Coast and Cape Cross, a huge breeding ground for Cape fur seals. The shoreline was covered with them – there would have been thousands. Fortunately the wind must have been blowing in the right direction because the smell wasn’t overpowering!

From there we headed inland and once about 15 kilometres away from the coast, the sky turned blue and the temperature rose – and off came our fleeces or sweaters.

Lunch was a picnic stop at a little tourist centre along the way and we only made two other stops along the way, the first being at a roadside market where Herero ladies were selling crafts. One 22 year old woman had her son when she was only 10 years old!!!

The second stop was an unexpected one. Some men on a donkey cart signalled they were out of water. After being given about 10 litres of water for free, they then wanted to charge us $10 Namibian for a photo. Trish gave them 5 cigarettes instead and we were allowed to take as many photos as we wanted.

Late afternoon we arrived at Khorixas, our stop for the night, and relaxed either in or around the pool. The power went out for a while but my little torch has proved so handy this trip and was again useful for shedding light for finding clothes, showering etc.

Dinner tonight was a buffet and then the staff entertained us with some songs and dancing, forcing Cosmos up to join them. I was watching him and can say that he only lip-synced – the cheat!