Etosha Mountain Lodge Etosha National Park

I woke up at 2:30am and lay awake wondering what had woken me up. Then I heard it again, the roar of a lion and realized I had woven those roars into my dreams. Now wide awake I wondered what time it was. I could hear rustling nearby and guessed a jackal must be wandering the campsite looking for scraps of food. I thought about getting up and going down to the water hole to see if there were lions ...

... the water was really swirling hard and someone yelled "Now the other way!" The second people turned around their faces changed from good natured smiles to a look of shock as they floundered helplessly against the current. Now the pool was filled with struggling people crying out in surprise and laughter as they tried to swim or walk unsuccessfully.<br><br>After the swim we hurried off for showers and then to the ...

... for the land in the 19th century. The stunning thing about Etosha is its size and that there are watering holes dotted around the park where the animals come to drink. At todays watering hole we drove right beside it to witness numerous animals coming in for a drink. It was here we saw giraffe, zebra, kudu, oryx ( with their straight long antlers and beautiful grey fur ...

So we spent 3 days on safari in Etosha National park, we completed 6 game drives, and next to the campsite was a floodlit waterhole which was excellent for spending sunset and night times!!<br><br>We saw so much!<br><br>There were plenty of elephants - one evening at sunset 4 mothers and their 4 babies of various ages came down to the water hole to drink and bathe. It was such a cute sight - and yet another kodak moment (or 100!!)<br><br>There were lots of black ...

... 8211; now although there was nothing in his wing mirrors, he didn't check the rear view mirror &#8211; BANG!!! Unfortunately between the car and the trailer were a tree and a bin!! The bin was completely squashed but 'luckily&#8217; the damage to the car was on the bumper and not the lights. Just as well Dave got the Grumpy shirt last night or he would have got it today!<br><br>After the reversing disaster we drove to the Pan ...

... they said they were black rhino &#8211; rarer than the white and more aggressive. Gary and Ant said they hadn&#8217;t seen one in the wild for years, so I knew this was special.<br><br>As we watched them another one came out of the bush &#8211; they were very sweet when they greeted each other as they seemed to rub noses! There was one argument when the two charged each other &#8211; the sound of their clashing horns was extremely loud!! After this a mother and her calf appeared ...

... here. <br><br>This was after the preceding evening where I spent 5 hours till 10.30 pm first watching the sun set with a herd of elephants in the foreground; then in total darkness and just lit up by 3 floodlights saw rhinos and giraffes continually come in their 2's and 3's to drink. Yes, it got colder but the sight of these magnificient beasts at night was awe inspiring. So was the challenge to capture the ...

Halili Camp Etosha 24th, 25th &amp; 26th July 2009<br><br>We were due to stop overnight at Outjo but as we were up early and made such good time on the road we decided to ask NWR if we could spend an extra night at Halali. No problem the lady at the gate told us, pay at the campsite. Halali is a large campsite but not overfull as it goes on actual numbers of campers and overlanders have one pitch but may have 16 campers using ...

... it if the animals have enough space? Is it if they don't feed the animals? What if they mix them all together in only one area? Even if the park still has a fence around it, there's still something that feels slightly unnatural about the experience - it's hard to complain as it's as real to life as can be achieved while still protecting the animals, and the photos are great(!) but there's still this nagging feeling that it's all set up for tourists. I

... back for our breakfast voucher. No, it has to go to the office. Can she give me a note for breakfast? No, office knows. Yes, but I would prefer the restaurant to know. Office knows. But I know, this is not going to work tomorrow morning. I ask Dr T to try again before we leave, he is so much better at those things. Surely enough, he does come back with a paper, she took out of the garbage bin. But she assured: we will not need it ...