Seeing Spots!!! ... and Shaggin Lions!!!!
Trip Start
Dec 17, 2007
1
11
26
Trip End
Jan 19, 2008
Etosha National Park,
Namibia
Friday, January 4, 2008
Seeing spots!!!
Keywords - 600km Drive, Night Game Drive, Leopard, Dung beetles, How flat is Africa? Night of the Jackal.
Another 6am start sees us breaking camp to begin the drive to Etosha National Park ... it is a long drive of 600KM typical of my earlier truck life blog ... at lunch we did have a play with a massive dung beetle as he toiled to wheel a rather large turd through our little picnic ... they are hilarious insects ... they'd make great pets if it wasn't for the big pile of shite they keep collecting ...
Throughout the journey since Livingstone I'm struck by the flatness of Africa ..
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. between Botswana and Namibia so far there are very few high features ... in some areas where vegetation is sparse the horizons stretch endlessly with little to distract the eye ... it is quite peaceful to behold. I normally prefer mountains and sea to get my inspiration but these plains hold a special wonder of their own ... not least the abundance of amazing wildlife ... We arrive at the Von Lindquist entrance of the Etosha National park as quickly set up camp at the Namutoni site ... the sites in this park are very impressive with excellent facilities ... this one even has a German fort ... After making our tents Dave, Carol and I head off on a night game drive ...
A night game drive involves driving through the darkness on a Land Rover with no lights except a red spotter light ... with a cool box of beers ... we set off to intrude on the privacy of some poor beast ... it is an amazing experience ... initially we drove for what seemed like a lifetime seeing only Zebra (which you see a hell of a lot of here), Impala, Springbok, Jackal ... on a night drive the red light is all you have to spot animals as they come from out of the darkness and with little warning ... eventually we arrive at a water hole where some Elephant are taking an evening bathe surrounded by various smaller animals, including my first Rhino, all patiently waiting their turn ... then from behind us and out of blackness we hear the roars of a pride of lions ... it is a chilling noise from the void ... and it sounds close ... as the guide turns the light around we see just how close ... there are about 7 lions behind us barely 15M away ... to our collective relief they are doing what lions do most ... lazing around letting off the occasional roar, presumably to make their presence felt ..
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. I manage to squeeze off a few shots with the flash on my camera ... nothing to stop the presses ... but great for stimulating the memories ... Leaving the water hole we track a male lion as he hunts in the night ... he crosses within 5m of the jeep ...
At another water hole a group of Hyenas drink in the night ... their strong smell in pungent on the warm evening breeze.
A little later we see something very rare and beautiful ... our well trained guide spots a leopard hiding behind a shrub ... we stop about 15m away and shut off our engine to observe him ... he sits starting straight back at us sizing if we are a potential threat or some food ... after a few minutes he seems satisfied that we pose no threat and he slowly emerges crossing our path on the road within about 5m ... Leopards are perhaps the most elegant and beautiful of all the big cats ... and I feel honoured to have seen one in the wild. I go to bed that night a very happy man...
3rd Jan - Okaukuejo Campsite, Etosha National Park, Namibia, 19.1805S 15.9175E Alt1132.5m
Feeling Hot, Hot, HOT!!
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! Keywords - Game drive with Benji, Heffalumps take a bath, Water Holes and Salt Flats - A whole lot of hot nothing!!, The lone and level sands, Morning Game Drive, Chillin by the pool, Afternoon Game Drive, bloody Zebras!, the mighty Boks, No service restaurant, Wild animals in Africa v Ireland, Africa is alive - please lets try to keep it that way!!
The following morning we rise at 5am ... 1 hour before sunrise ... it is cold ... but I'm excited at the thought of doing an early morning game drive in Benji ... we open up the roof hatches above our head and make our way out of the campsite and into the salt pan ... it soon heats up to almost unbearable temperatures as the sun rises in the sky ... but not before giving us some amazing orange glow on the barren landscape and the animals during the golden hour ... we see many beast including - The mighty spring bok (at least according to our
Saffer guide Jacques ... but also impala, the fodder of the pan ... Jackals, these cheeky little beggars are everywhere ... even in the camp site at night they pass within 2m scavenging for food ... there is such a wealth of different animal life here it would be difficult to name everything we saw ... but some of the highlights include Eland and Oryx perhaps the most elegant of deer like beasts that roam the Etosha pan ... The pan itself is an impressive mix of sandy forest, shrub and a vast salt plain of featureless nothingness where nothing lives nor roams ... we also see the customary lions ... but this time they appear to have a mission ... four young males are tracking single file across the plain ... as well drive ahead of them we spot a Hyena with a kill in its mouth surrounded by buzzards, a martial eagle and some jackals ..
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. soon enough the lions sweep in to scavenge the remains of some poor impala from the lead Hyena who relinquishes it without a fight ... the Eagle flies toward us and I manage to squeeze off a shot or two or this amazing bird in flight ... as we head towards the campsite for lunch we spot a large group of Elephant at a waterhole surrounded by everything ... Ostrich, Impala, Oryx, Lion ... you name it ... and awesome sight with their young at their feet ... It is strange coming from Ireland to Africa ... at home the biggest wild animal you see is probably a fox, a deer or a badger ... but here be giants ... and they are everywhere ... as you drive along the highway the meaning of road kill takes on a whole new meaning ... at one point we saw what was left of a car that had apparently hit an elephant ... not much was left of it!!!
We reach the camp and Joe has lunch ready ... it is past midday now and the heat ... though dry is unbearable ... so it is into the pool with the lot of us to cool off ... we did try to get some food at the campsite restaurant ... but service is not included here in Africa and we abandon the mission after waiting for 20 minutes just to get no service at all ... not even a drink from the many waitresses who busily buzz around the nearly empty restaurant ..
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. quite an amazing feat in poor service really ... Later that evening we head off on Benji again for an evening game drive ... it was every bit as glorious as the morning drive with the highlight being an amazing orange landscape in the evening golden hour ... the Zebra and Oryx glow in its light and the distant rains make for an interesting skyline in the evening light ... I should mention that it does rain here in the desert ... but most of the water evaporates before hitting the ground.
We return to the campsite for dinner and afterward Christina and I head with some of the others to a game viewing water hole at the camp ... we sit in the darkness whispering a conversation and observing some rather dull Rhino do very little indeed ... not the most fitting end to a perfect day ... but its nice to have a chat with someone in such a lovely setting ... it is so civilised sipping G&T's and watching the animals take their drinks while sitting on a park bench ... we get to bed late given our early start the following morning ... another 5am rise awaits!!
4th Jan - Okaukuejo Campsite, Etosha National Park, Namibia, 19.1805S 15.9175E Alt1132.5m
Shaggin Lions!!
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! Keywords - Morning Game Drive, Shaggin Lions, Chillin, Civilised Water holes, G&T with the Rhinos, Reality bites - Kenyan nightmares, poor Benji... Poor Wil!!!
Well finally I have caught up with myself on this blog and I am typing in real time ... this morning we did another game drive where we saw lions mating ... the day was a good bit cooler so I sat in our kitchen chatting with Jaques, Wil and Joe and writing this text ... it is nice to do nothing sometimes ... so I skip the afternoon drive ...
There is a lot of trouble in Kenya at the moment and poor Joe is worried for his family ... it is strange but normally you read about things like this in the news and scarcely give it second thought ... but when it affects someone you know it takes on a whole new meaning ... hopefully things will settle down no that the international community has taken steps to foster a dialogue ... and Joe's family is safe for now ... but stories of riots and deserted city streets and find their way to us from his son ...
Poor Benji is giving trouble again ..
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. and poor Wil has the cab down and a wheel off as he is fixing it again ... it seems an endless task for him and my heart goes out to him as he has had a tough few days given out long drive to Etosha and our twice daily 3 hour drives ... he is coping well with it all the same ... though he looks a little bit tired sometimes ... In the evening, when the truck returns, we head to the water hole viewing area to watch the sun set and sip G&T's as we observe the giraffes have an their evening drink ... it is amazing to watch how the splay their legs to reach the water. Later the giraffes head off into the sunset and I get my cliché African photo of a dusty silhouette in the evening light ... a majestic Oryx joins us before I head to dinner leaving Christina half sleeping on the bench by the water hole ... her arm is healing slowly and she has me keeping a photographic record of a massive bruise developing on it ... it can't be easy for her she even has Sarah fastening he clothing ...
So now I sit in the darkness of the campsite on my own at this late hour ... with only the roaming Jackals for company ... it has been a windy night and the whistle of the wind is relieving the night air ... tomorrow is another day as we head to stay at a Cheetah reserve ... I can't wait but the thought of an early rise is not too hot ... it is 12:30 and we rise at 6am!
Comments
frustrated Editor
Hi Simon, I'm reading your blogs with interest (although I confess the control freak in me is mentally correcting and improving!!) Sorry about that - I'll try to remember you are writing in less than optimum conditions. Getting beyond the odd typo or spelling error I like your writing style and and can almost smell the hippos - the trip sounds amazing. No doubt it will be hell coming back to Bertie tribunals and the rest of the shite we drone on endlessly about in this wee country but at least you can look forward to inviting us all over for pizza to see your slide show seeing we didn't get to meet up before you left.
Yours in anticipation, Mags H
PS A belated Happy New Year - I would have written sooner but was too lazy to register on the site until now and couldn't post a comment otherwise...
Shooting the animals
Hi Simon. The sights sound absolutely delightful, all those animals happily eating, mating, relinquishing their food to bigger animals. I can only hope that the shots you are taking at the wild game are with your camera. Feeling very jealous. R.