Mon. 3rd June ’24
We came to Etosha eleven years ago and it was our first ever game drive together. We travelled with Nomad Tours from Cape Town to Victoria Falls and, ever since, we have wanted to return to Namibia and especially Etosha, ever since. Even after three weeks of early mornings I still don’t like a 6am alarm call and hide under the covers, especially as it is really cold outside. Still, after coffee and breakfast we are off to the park gate which maybe 45mins or 25mins drive away, depending on who you believe. It is actually nearer 15 minutes and as it is after sunrise we are third in the queue to get in.
We dive off the tarmac road as soon as we can and start looking left and right for wild animals. We decide we are not stopping for springbok, or oryx, or weaver bird nest or boring birds unless they are doing something very unusual. We have the track to ourselves and soon spot a cape fox meandering across the plain about to cross the road. Quick camera, lens cap off, window down, engine off and click, click, click. Too late! We will need to get much slicker if we see something fast moving!!
We are heading for Gemsbokvlakte waterhole to see if the wildlife is up as early as us. The answer is not much. The springbok are everywhere but not much else yet. At the Aus waterhole we get to see a hartebeest, which is more exciting. The plan is then to cut back to the main road but we are thwarted by the road being closed so we have to retrace our steps. Still muttering about the closed road, we see a group of tour safari trucks stopped at the side of the road. That is usually a good sign that there is something to see so we stop next to the first vehicle to ask, cats is the answer.
We stop and point our cameras in the direction everyone is looking and I can see two ears through the long grass and I get Dave to edge forward for a better view. Dave cannot see anything and after I take a few shots we decide the are just too far away. I am embarrassed by my photos, so you will have to wait until tomorrow when we got better shots of lions. Shortly after, a jackal crossed the road in front of us and as we looked at our photo later we see he has been in a fight.
The day is now warming up and the animals are beginning to wake up so Nebrowni Waterholes was much busier and quite pretty. We stayed a while watching the comings and goings but soon we decided it was time for liquid in and liquid out so heading for the Okaukeujo camp. There is no getting out of your vehicle in the park and toilets are few and far between. We also need to pay the camp fees at Okaukuejo to enable us to exit the park later, so stopping here kills multiple birds with one stone. We had heard the Etosha was not as good as when we were last here and Okaukuejo camp is looking tired and the restaurant and coffee not good. A quick stop at the waterhole (both human and animal ones!) there and we were off exploring again.
We headed north and found a spot for our picnic lunch but the landscape was very samey up here. Flat and little vegetation, so we decided to revisit some of the waterholes we had visited earlier which have a variety of bushes and trees surrounding them before heading back for tea and cake at the lodge as well as be prepared not to miss sunset again. The animals thwarted a quick escape as zebras lined up drinking at a waterhole as well as a family group close by. The elegant giraffes meandered around. As for the group of ten elephants with their young ones. I guess the youngest was only a few months old.
Eleven years ago I splashed out on a map of Etosha as it included a list of animals and birds and filed it at home just in case. Well, it has been invaluable on this trip as the roads haven’t changed much. We are enjoying driving ourselves through the park and are glad we are not on one of the open sided safari vehicles as the tourists are wrapped up warm all day and still look cold. There was so much action to photograph we had to resist so many of them or we would still be there!! At the last waterhole we saw an overland truck and on closer inspection it was a Nomad truck so we just had to wind down the window for a quick chat. They are still doing the Cape Town to Victoria Falls route – and our old truck, Janis, is still in service.
We did make it back for quick tea and cake before changing for Sundowner and then spent an hour just sat by the waterhole, cameras to hand just in case that fantastic sight occurred requiring yet more photos. Springbok, zebras and wildebeest came and went. As light fell a giraffe made it’s way cautiously to the hotel waterhole and we willed it to drink as they are amazing to watch how they splay their front legs to be able to drink. We headed to dinner buzzing about when we had seen today knowing we had a full day in the park tomorrow too. All in all, we have enjoyed revisiting Etosha and exploring the Janet and Dave way.