The highlight we’ve been travelling here for was finally there. Three days days of spotting wildlife in Etosha National Park. Something we were really looking forward to…
After 2 nights of hardly having a goods’ night rest we packed everything early in the morning, stuffed it all in the car, had some jummy fruit salade and drove towards Etosha. Luckily for us we did some research and since recently the Galton Gate in the West is open for all visitors (before it was only for residents of Dolomite). So we didn’t had to drive to Okaukuejo and thus had a couple of hours more to spend in the park. At 09:30 AM we arranged our entrance fee at that gate, declared we had nothing but good intentions and drove into the wild. After 20 minutes (!) we spotted our first herd of elephants. And I have to admit, it is quite something if you’re in the presence of these magnificent creatures. Elephants have always been one of my favourite mammals and I just knew that soon, Jens would feel the same way very soon about these gentle giants.
Our first stop was Olifantsrus, a great place to have lunch and an even greater place to do some more spotting. There is a lookout point with a waterhole that is frequented by wildebeest, springbok, oryx, … After that, it was time to drive in the direction of our campsite: Halali.
And then, all of the sudden we spotted a new herd of elephants crossing the road. The already very professional wildlife spotters we became in like two hours just knew that they were heading for the next waterhole and so we drove to Ozonjuitji m’Bari. When we arrived there, zebra’s, springboks and wildebeest were still enjoying the fresh water. And then we saw, out of the rising dust and blowing sand, the very impressive matriarch approaching. In her footsteps the others of the herd followed. It was just magnificent. The dust that was created made it even more mysterious and exciting. The interaction that took place between all animals showed that it’s not the lion who is king but rather the elephant. Every other animal cleared the way for the matriarch and her herd and they patiently waited for the elephants to finish drinking and bathing. Highlight of the day!
We drove further to Okaukuejo for a quick leg stretch and sanitary stop. After a few minutes driving we noticed a lot of cars and then you know: something is happening there! We arrived just in time to see three lions resting with their prey and a forth lion approaching. We also got signs of a rhino but we only saw the tip of it’s back so that didn’t really count.
After our first day out and about in Etosha, it was time to prepare our dinner and set up our tent (we’re just getting better and better) and dream about all the animals we will see the next day.
And again, what a feast it was! After again nothing more than 20 minutes we spotted our very first white rhino. The name white doesn’t refer to the colour of the rhino but to it’s mouth, which is wide. Then we took a different route than planned but we ended up seeing elephants and again a rhino, so lucky us! At one point we saw some cars aligned to the outmost left side of the road in front of us. And that’s when we saw this big, massive elephant bull standing on the right side of the road. We drove slowly closer and the bull started walking next to the cars. When it passed us we were like these teeny tiny humans next to this giant. It was incredible to see him up close!
The second day we drove through a completely different landscape. The west is more green and bushy, where the central part is a more vast and clear landscape with few trees and bushes. But that doesn’t keep away the animals, they’re well adapted to there habitat and so we spotted again a lot of springbok, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, ostrich, elephant, rhino, hartebeest, …
Because animal spotting is very exhausting (and driving all day, thank you Jens) we had dinner at the rest camp because cooking by ourselves would end up in disaster. In the morning you write down your reservation at the reception and in the evening you can relax, maybe still a bit dusty, and try out some game meat from the buffet. Oryx and Impala were tested and approved. After a day filled with excitement and continuous spotting, it’s nice to get into your tent and sleep and knor like little piggies…
