Etosha
Onguma Tented Camp and Anderssons Camp
After a 4-½ hour drive from Rundu area we arrived at the East Gate of Etosha Game Park and put our luggage in our tent and went for a game drive. Within the first 15 minutes we had seen Elephant, Giraffe, Zebra, Black Faced Impala, Gemsbok, and two male Lion sleeping under a tree. This area of Namibia is amazing. There are so many animals. We are like little kids discovering animals everywhere we look.
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| People along the way |
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| I love how they carry things |
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| The entrance to Onguma, just outside of Etosha Park |
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| Scott at Reception |
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| Breakfast |
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| Inside our tented room |
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| Our room |
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| A small pool to cool off |
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| The entrance to Etosha |
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| Barb's favorite animal |
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| Gemsbok or Oryx |
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| Impala |
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| Hanging out in the shade |
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| Female and Male ostrich |
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| This is a trick photo. Is this a zebra with 2 bodies? |
We visit the areas where there are water holes. The animals come to the water holes to drink.
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| AHHH, water! |
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| Elephants storming the water hole |
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| Kudu |
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| More ostrich |
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| It's like national geographic |
We watched as zebra, impala and giraffe come around the water hole.
Here come more Elephants. As they get closer to the water hole their pace quickens and they thunder into the water hole area and scare the other animals away.
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| Male Bull |
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| Two young ones playing. The elephants are very social and the herd takes care of the young ones and protects them. |
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| Baby nursing |
The Giraffe stands back and waits patiently for the Elephants to quit playing in the water and leave so he can go get a drink.
The Giraffe is skittish. He waits at a distance for the Elephants to leave. He also waits for the Zebras to leave. He doesn’t even trust the Impalas to be around when he has to bend down with his neck and squat with his legs to get a drink. He is very vulnerable to attack when he is in the position and he wants to be sure that nothing will hurt him while he is getting a drink.
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| He is very vulnerable when he bends down on his front knees to drink |
On the way back from our afternoon drive we stop at another water hole that has an Elephant, Giraffe and a spotted Hyena drinking water. While we were watching another 20 Elephants came walking straight into the water. The Spotted Hyena and the Giraffe made a quick exit when the new Elephants arrived.
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| Everyone gets a turn |
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| Spotted Hyena |
This place is amazing! We want to figure out how to get our grandkids over here to see this amazing sight.
The next morning we went on another walking safari in the area of the Onguma Tented Camp. It was good exercise but we did not see many animals.
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| Telling us about the termite mounds |
After breakfast we drove our Land Rover back into the Etosha Game Park. We saw animals everywhere we looked. We saw lots of Giraffe (Barb’s favorite African animal).
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| Barb is pointing to the giraffes. You are not supposed to get out of your car! |
Our favorite highlights of the day were watching two lions mating. They would mate for a few minutes and then rest for 30 minutes and then mate again.
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| They mate for 4 days. During that time they don't hunt or eat. They mate about every 15-30 minutes. |
We also saw Black Rhino late in the day. Cool!
On the way back to our camp we stopped outside the park for a sundowner toast. We pulled our Land Rover off the road and got into our cooler and found drinks and snacks. We sat on the hood and watched the sun go down.
After our sundowner we got into our Land Rover and
started driving to our camp. Less than 1 kilometer away we were
surprised to see a Lioness cross the road and lay down 20 yards from our
vehicle. We sat and watched as she looked at us and yawned. We were a
little nervous since we were just out of our vehicle having a sundowner
and there were apparently lions around us!
After 10 minutes of watching the Lion we were surprised to see another female Lion walk up from behind our vehicle. Female Lions do the hunting. Hunting Lions surrounds us! Thank goodness we are safe in the vehicle. If you stay in your vehicle the animals just see the vehicle as one big object. If you get out of your vehicle the Lions would see you as a possible dinner.
Some of the animals we saw today were:
Lions mating
Lionesses hunting
Black Rhino
Elephant
Zebra
Black Faced Impala (indigenous to Etosha)
Kory Bustard Bird that can weigh 30 pounds
Giraffe
Spotted Hyena
Cape Fox
Korhan Bird
Helmeted Guinea Fowl
Kudu
Gemsbok
Fox
Scrub Hare
Dik Dik
Banded Mongoose
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| Dik dik |
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| Kudu |
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| Make Kudu |
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| Zebra |
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| Blue Wildebeest |
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| Korhan |
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| Kory Bustard |
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| Helmeted Guild Fowl |
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| Banded Mongoose |
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| Impala fighting |
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| Wildebeest |
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| Etosha is a large salt pan. A lot of it is very desolate. It's amazing the animals survive here. |
That night we heard lions roaring and some animal squealing. We think the lions had a successful hunt.
In the morning as we drove out we saw about five Black Backed Jackals. Then we spotted a big male Lion under a tree eating an Eland. No doubt the female Lions killed the Eland and the big male Lion in his role as the King of the Jungle gets to eat first.
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| Lion eating an Eland |
Driving from the East Gate (Namutoni) to the South Gate (Andersson’s Gate) of Etosha National Park:
When you drive in Etosha National Park you must enter after sunrise and get out of the gate by sunset each day. The only exceptions are for those that stay in the few government camps inside the Park. On our drive across Etosha we visited our favorite water holes near the east gate including Klein Namutoni, Koinagas, Chudop and Kalkheuwel. Then we drove west into the center of the park and visited Salvadora, Sueda, Homob, Nebrown, Gemshokvlakte and Olifantsbad. We then drove further west to Wofsnes and onto Okondeka before turning around to make sure we could get out of the park by sunset.
There were animals throughout the park but there were more animals and there was more action near the water holes closer to the East Gate. However, where we turned around at our most westerly location in the park we also saw two female lions lounging under one of the few shade trees in that area.
That night we stayed in Andersson’s Camp. Charles Andersson “discovered” this area in 1851 and this camp is on that homestead. The camp has a “blind” or “hide” where you can walk in an underground tunnel up to a concrete bunker with one foot wide windows with metal bars so you can look at the animals up close. When Barb and I entered the blind there were three people in it looking at a young male Lion from a distance of about 5 feet. The Lion was crouched looking straight into our faces. All of sudden the Lion roared and charged forward stopping just short of the bars. Everyone in the blind jumped back from the bars. This was gut wrenching scary! The Lion charged again and stopped, this time throwing dirt into the blind through the bars. One lady was shaken and left the tunnel. The Lion charged 3 or 4 more times before he got up to leave following a family of three other female Lions as they left the area. Wow! They tell you if you are charged by a Lion to stand your ground and yell back at the Lion. I’m not sure I could stand my ground in the face of that power and noise of the Lion’s roar.
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| Andersson's Camp |
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| Our room |
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| Scott cooling off |
The next morning we began our five-hour drive to the Desert Rhino Camp in Damaraland. On the way we stopped to see some Himba women with their babies. We bought some bracelets, played with their babies and took some pictures. The Himba are a beautiful people.
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| Barb shopping |
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| The Himba women use red ochre to rub all over their bodies. They use it for a sunscreen and beauty |
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