March 20th 2015, Okaukuejo to Namutoni, Etosha

Having gotten all our stuff packed in the car, we did the check-out before heading for breakfast. We figured this would save some time as there would likely be a bit of a check-out rush after breakfast.

As we then had a fair distance to cover this day, and we knew already there was not a lot to be seen in the nearby places, we set off at a pretty swift pace. With the wide open spaces, it was possible to spot animals from afar, and so speed was less of an issue.

At one point, we took a road that lead right up to the shores of the salt lake. The view was truly impressive, with what looked like a beach landscape and a white sea. This is a huge salt lake, and it appears that during heavy rains certainly the part we were at becomes fully flooded. Not so now, even though we had seen a number of thunderstorms in the area the night before.

Having not seen any yet on this trip, we then finally came across our first secretary bird. Right nearby there was another of lilac breasted roller followed by a purple roller.

Getting close to Namutoni, Myriam spots a small group of lions resting under a lone tree. They are looking very lazy as usual with lions at this time of the day, and so we decide to leave them to their nap. We do see some more wonderful birds as well.

We decided to push on so as to get to the new camp and check-in because time was going by pretty fast. We completed the formalities, and signed up for a night drive again. Although the camp looked quite nice at the entrance, getting to the bungalow area produced a different site.

The place literally looked like a dump site. There was some sort of tall fencing around the bungalows, but it had collapsed at some places. Getting the car to our bungalow proved difficult as there was no real road to it, and after a bit of a struggle we did manage. There were broken concrete pipes all over the place, with termites and other bugs crawling around.

Luckily once inside the bungalow things got a bit better. The room was clean, and there was a functioning air-conditioner and a fridge. However the way things had been designed and installed really left you thinking. There was no door or curtain leading to the bathroom and toilet. The double sink looked nice at first, until you realized that the faucets were so low you couldn't quite get your hands under them. Then the bathtub was sunk down in to the floor, and there were two shower heads above it that you could change the spray on…if you could reach them! They were well over two meters up! It was all kind of funny though, and since everything inside was clean it didn’t really bother us. Besides, we were only staying for one night.

There was still time for another quick drive, and we had seen at the sighting book at the entrance that there had been several leopard sightings recently. We noted the spots and headed straight for the first one just minutes outside the camp.

This was at a very nice natural waterhole, and we closely scrutinized the area. No leopard. Oh well, it was time to go for the second spot, but just as we were driving out I spotted an amazing paradise wydah. This is one of those birds you always see in bird books but never expect to see for real. Well here she was!!

At the next waterhole we stopped again to check out the scene. There were a couple of jackals by the water, and a few springboks and stuff. I thought I noticed something in the bushes in the distance, and upon zooming in with my camera it was confirmed as our first leopard!

I set the car up for a perfect view and switched the engine off, as we expected to sit here for a while. The leopard was looking towards the water, and we thought he might get up to get a drink and maybe make a lunge for a springbok. It didn’t take long before he did get up and walk to the water.

The view was incredible, as by the time he was by the water he really was not far from us. The jackals were all howling their warnings, and the leopard seemed a bit annoyed and too lazy to do anything else. After a drink, he headed back towards the bushes.

We followed him for a while longer, together with an English couple in another car, but in the end we lost track of him in the bushes.

Near to the camp we saw a couple of cars stopped at the side of the road. We headed there to see what was going on, and saw a group of three lions relaxing beneath a tree. Time for some quick photos, and then it was back to camp for some dinner before our night drive.

Arriving at the camp, I decided to fill the car. The following day would be the longest drive of the whole trip, and although I knew there would be a few service stations on the way, it was better to be safe than sorry. I saw that they accepted credit cards, which is unusual in Namibia as most service stations are cash only, and so I decided to pay by card so as to save the cash for when there is no alternative. The attendant first got out one remote machine, and I put my card in and entered the pin code. He then told me that machine wasn’t working properly, and got out a second one and completed the transaction.

I didn’t think anything really about this until two days later. In a shop I tried to pay with my card, and the transaction was refused. At the same time I received an sms from Swisscard informing me to contact them. Since I had a mobile phone connection, I called them right away. It turns out there had been several illicit cash withdrawals done with my card, and they had blocked it.  That was when it hit me that the attendant in the service station had made a copy and recorded my pin code with the first machine. This information must then have been sent to accomplices in Windhoek who had right away begun withdrawing as much cash as possible from ATM machines.

Luckily the card had been blocked quickly, and the illicit transactions are taken care of by MasterCard, but you can never be too careful. After some research on the internet, this seems to be a scam that is becoming quite common, and in Namibia is run by a Nigerian gang.

After getting fuel and resting a short bit in our cabin, we got all our gear together, with jackets and all, and went to have dinner. The thing is we wanted to be ready as quickly as possible for the night drive, and with the camp being pretty big the restaurant was half way between our cabin and the gate.

There was just another couple joining the night drive, so we were able to get comfortable in the jeep. It was warmer than the other night, but it was really nice to put our jackets on nevertheless. We headed first towards the Etosha exit gate, and turn off towards a nice trail that went past a big waterhole. The name of the trail is Dik-Dik trail, and indeed we soon got to see a tiny dik-dik. Getting to the waterhole, we saw right away a spotted hyena and asked the guide to stop. He was more interested in following a black rhino just a bit further up, which was fine especially as we then got to have a good look at the hyena as well.

Unlike the night drive we had done from Okaukuejo, this time there was a driver and a guide, and so they were perhaps a bit more efficient in spotting animals. So, after visiting this first waterhole, we headed towards the area we had seen the lions earlier in the day. There were some in the same spot as before, but we also saw another lion over on the other side of the road. What was interesting here is that there was a hyena calmly walking towards the lion, and she did not seem to have noticed the lion. Given that these two are enemies, we stayed still expecting to see some action.

The hyena then noticed the lion, but about then another lion had shown up, and the hyena was in between the two. After a short while of assessing the situation, the hyena then came towards us instead, and walked right up to the jeep! She was so close we could have easily touched her, but that would probably not have been such a good idea. She then turns around, and suddenly heads straight for one of the two lions! This hyena certainly does not seem scared of anything, because she would really be in a lot of trouble if the two lions decide to attack. In the end, she probably thought the better of it, and heads of in another direction.

We continue on a bit further, and meet up with the leopard from earlier in the day. This time he is stalking some springboks, and we stop to watch how things play out. There is a sort of intimacy when observing things on a night drive, because the darkness makes you feel somehow in a closed space with the animal. We are all very quiet while we observe the leopard, and you even try to breath calmly in order to make as little noise as possible. As the leopard creeps closer, suddenly the stillness of the night is broken by another car arriving. The noise and the lights end up scaring the springboks, and so the leopard decides to call it quits. 

Since it is close to 23:00, our guides decide to head back to the camp. As we get there, we quickly make our way back to our cabin, and stumble in to bed.