The alarm was again set for 5, with the objective of getting out early.
The difference today was that we had to bring our entire luggage since we were
moving to a new camp further east. As a result we had packed everything up
before we went to bed, just leaving out the clothes for the day.
It turned out to be a particularly wise idea. When the alarm went off,
it seemed very quiet in our cabin. I soon realized that this was because there
was no electricity, and it was still pitch black. Unfortunately there was no
flashlight in the cabin to help us out, and so we began by using our
smartphones to light things up. Then I remembered my kindle, and turned the
backlight up on full while placing it next to the sink. This worked great, and
I was happy to find a new use for my kindle. We also made a note to always
bring our own flashlight with us on future trips for just this sort of
incident.
So, just as we were about to leave the cabin to head down for
breakfast, the power came back on. This was a bit of a relief, as it did allow
us to properly check the place to ensure we did not forget anything.
Again we were the first down for breakfast. As we finished up, a Dutch
couple we had met the previous day came down. They were not happy as they had
wanted to get an earlier start, but due to the power cut they had not been able
to. Ah well, I guess they didn’t have a kindle…
As we had quite a distance to cover in the reserve today, we had to
adopt a much faster pace than the day before. Okay, it is not like you are
speeding, but keeping perhaps 40 or 50kmh at times was really necessary. You
can really only do this when the landscape becomes a bit more barren though,
because you still need to keep looking for animals.
While the growth was still fairly dense, we did manage to spot a group
of red hartebeest, as well as a wonderful bee-eater.
With the landscape beginning to get more barren, we came across a
waterhole that was quite busy. Other than the usual, there were two huge
elephants having a drink. No matter how many times you have seen an elephant,
when you can get up close to an African one you never fail to be impressed.
Pushing on, the landscape kept changing, becoming very arid. The
temperature was rising, and there were not a lot of animals to be seen, I did
spot a small squirrel next to the car, and a fly-catcher having some lunch.
One thing particularly interesting with Etosha in general is that there
are quite a lot of waterholes throughout the reserve. Some are man-made, but
the best ones for spotting animals are the natural ones. It is just at one of
the natural ones that we stop for a bit in order to properly scan the area. The
thing is that at this time of the day, most animals are trying to find some
shade to hide in. Myriam suddenly sees something lurking underneath a nearby
tree, and upon inspection it turns out to be a lion.
She is obviously very lazy at this time, and so we barely manage to get
some shots as she raises her head for a bit. After having indicated to another
couple that showed up shortly after us where the lion is, we decide to head on
over to Okaukuejo, the next camp we will be staying at.
Okaukuejo is the oldest camp in Etosha, and it is very different from
the Dolomite Camp we have been staying at. It is a big camp with a proper wall
around it, meaning that you must be inside the gate before sundown, and
obviously the gate then does not open before sunup. This week this the gate
closes at 19:12, and opens the next day at 06:38. At the check-in we see that
they do night-drives here, and we sign up for it right away. Since the night
drive will leave at 20:00, we then book a table for dinner at 18:30 and then
head to our new cabin to settle in and rest a bit.
I had booked this time a luxury cabin in front of the lit waterhole,
and the location really does not disappoint. We have a short nap, and then
spend the rest of the afternoon checking out the procession of animals coming
by the waterhole.
After dinner which was a pretty disappointing buffet, but that did
allow us to taste the milk tart we never got on my birthday due to the
chocolate cake, we head towards the night-drive jeep to get ready. A young
German couple also shows up for the drive, and we have a friendly chat with
them. They tell us they really want to see big cats, but are concerned there
will be nothing to see on a night drive.
We have done a few game drives in the past, and really enjoy them. Even
though it is almost impossible to take any photos, you sometimes get lucky and
can get some very interesting action you would never get during the day.
Spotting using a lamp, once you get the hang of it, can be quite simple since
you learn to look for the eyes that are reflected in the light. It turns out
that here they use a red filter over the lamp as it is less disruptive on the
animals, something that in the end makes any of my photos all red.
Our guide seems really good as early on he first spots a caracal. I try
to take a photo, but it is really too far away. Then we come across an
aardwolf. This is a very rare animal related to the hyena, but is a herbivore.
Below is the photo I managed to take, but given the poor quality I also copied
another one from the web together with a photo of a caracal.
We continue driving, and start to get really cold. These game-drive
jeeps are fully open cars, and the night here in the semi-desert is getting
quite cold. With the intense heat of the late afternoon, we did underestimate
this a bit, even though we did bring along a sweater each. We will have to
remember to bring our jackets if we go on any more such drives.
Some two hours go by without us really seeing anything, except for a
rabbit, and I think we are all getting quite miserable. The drive should end by
23:00, and since it is past 22:30 by now I am sort of hoping our guide will
call it quits and head back to camp. That is when he suddenly stops and goes
“Lion…..s!” Just in front of us is a huge pride of lions!
We sit still in the car as we see lion after lion stroll by just next
to us. It is an awesome experience, and we estimate from counting that there
must be at least 18 lions in all, probably more. We see two males, one quite
young but with a beautiful mane. Then there are 5 females which are then
followed by a never ending flow of young lions ranging from “teenagers” to two
cubs just a couple of months old. They are all playing like kids do, and all
this just a couple of meters from us. It is an extremely emotional moment, and
one of those you will never forget, but can’t quite explain either. I feel my
eyes start to cloud up a bit from the emotion, and then it is finally time to
go as we must head back to camp.
It is something like 23:30 when we finally make it back, and we head to
our cabin exhausted. While I am in the bathroom, Myriam suddenly shouts from
the balcony that there is a rhino at the waterhole! I think she is kidding, but
she insists and come out to see the rhino too! Just amazing, but I am truly
exhausted, and figure I need to get some sleep before we get up again at 5 the
next morning, but I am also too excited to sleep. So, we spend a bit more time
on our balcony looking at the photos and videos of the evening, as the buzz
slowly wears off.
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