Okavango to Etosha

August 4

Travelling day to Rundu. Purely an overnight stop as the following 2 nights are in Etosha and it was too far to get there in one day.

The lodge overlooks the Okavango River which forms part of the border with Angola. Angola is still a dangerous country, mainly because there are not just rebels but because there are land mines still around the country. However, there is an obvious flow of local people across the river between the two countries. We watched this boat traffic. Dugout canoes are used to transport people from one bank to the next – no border formalities unless you use the road crossing further upstream!

Rundu is the 2^nd largest town in Namibia after the capital, Windhoek. Security is tight in the town. Even leaving the supermarket your goods are checked against your docket when leaving. Interestingly the guard only looked at our docket and sent us on our way. The locals were more closely scrutinised.

We were sad to leave our lovely tented camp at Ndovhu.

One last sunrise over the Okavango

Accommodation at Rundu was full of surprises

As well as some dancing by the locals

This dugout was so overloaded, we watched with trepidation to see if they made it across

Sunsets are still enticing

 August 5

Early start for the long drive to Etosha. After a couple of hours we stopped at the environment checkpoint where the wheels of the coach are sprayed and all people walk through a chemical bath. It's becoming quite routine now.

At Tsumeb we visited the cultural village where we were shown through a number of tribal 'villages'. Ben and Andre (our driver) meanwhile cooked a BBQ lunch. Then we were on our way again for the final long leg to Etosha arriving just as the sun was setting!

There are not as many tribes in Namibia as in Kenya and Tanzania (or even South Africa). We were to encounter people from the Herero and Himba tribes which stand out in our memories because of their physical appearance. Herero women wear a specific type of cultural dress reminiscent of Victoria times as well as a complex scarf type headdress. The Himba is a very minority tribe. However, the women are distinct because despite the many western visitors (and missionaries) they still only wear a skirt. In addition they coat their skin with a mixture of butterfat and ochre to protect themselves from the hot dry conditions. They are a remarkably good looking.

If you would be interested to know more here is a Namibia tourism website.

Tribes in Namibia

The rising casts a different light on the view from our accommodation

This was an interesting lodge with lovely African decor

The bar captivated the men in the group

A comfortable lounge area with a welcoming fire in the evening

Look closely - 4 donkeys. Did not see as many hauling in Kenya/Tanzania. The people here are better off. Our guide referred to these donkey carts as "4 cylinder Kalahari Ferrari"

The visitor centre was full of artifacts and information about Namibia and the tribes

In the display village at Tsumeb. This structure was for keeping pots and other utensils off the ground

This is the largest tribe in Namibia and their villages have stake fences which take a winding path to the huts

Our guide demonstrates how they churn butter in a carved out gourd vessel

Some huts are not for the vertically challenged

Needless to say this road sign is a common sight as antelope abound

At a fuel stop there was this inviting cafe. Of particular interest to some was the first item on the greet wall on the right!

And so the sun sets on another day of travelling

August 6

Up very early, all rugged up against the cold, for our all day game drive. Etosha literally translates to “Great White Place”. A very apt description as for mile after mile the flat landscape is mostly white. Although Etosha is known for its concentration of wildlife, our success was not great. The day was worthwhile, however, because in the first hour and a half we saw three cheetahs which unsuccessfully went for a kill, as well as two young male lions. How many more photos can I take of lions – lots is the simple answer!

Other game we saw: Bell chanting goshawk, yellow mongoose, ground squirrel, lots of springbok, at the Etosha pan we caught a giraffe drinking, jackal, elephant, zebra, lots of other giraffe and oryx.

Some facts about the elephants, oryx and giraffe.

Female elephants have a different shaped forehead to the bull elephants. The female elephant has a distinct angle at the upper forehead. The forehead of the bull is more curved. The family group is kept together and managed by an older female known as a matriarch. A group typically consists of 6 to 12 individual elephants – the matriarch, her daughters and their calves. When bull elephants reach sexual maturity they leave or are driven from the family unit. They will remain either solitary or link with other young bulls only returning to a family unit to find a mate. Teenage bulls are often referred to as delinquents as they display aggressive behaviour and tussle with other young bulls in the family group. Elephants have six sets of teeth during their lifetime. There is a complex replacement cycle. However, once the last set of teeth fall out the animal slowly dies of starvation.

The oryx face markings help with cooling the animal. They are desert animals and are able to go for long periods without water. They have a large concentration of veins in the face and when they breathe in, the blood going to the brain is cooled. The body hair is also designed to reflect heat.

We all know how tall a giraffe is but they have no more vertebrae than a human. The heart weighs 12kg and pumps blood 3m up to the brain. When they drink, there are special valves which operate to keep blood from draining to the head. It is actually a lucky sighting to see a giraffe drinking as they are very vulnerable in this position. So they have to be very sure there are no predators close by.

We had blankets for sitting in the open safari vehicle to he can be forgiven for the shorts and thongs

Lots of zebra

A absolutely exciting sighting. Three cheetahs

One getting up and stretching heralds an impending chase

This springbok is looking on nervously, but the chase came to nothing

Soon after we come across two male lions in the scrub close to the road

Totally unperturbed by all the growing attention

The crush of vehicles so became ridiculous. Even if we tried to leave, we were boxed in. Two large coaches arrived and left no room for smaller vehicles to maneouvre

Ah well. We'll just ignore it all!

We saw lots of giraffe

and huge numbers of springbok. Such pretty antelope

This tower, in the central camp ground can be seen from far away so it's easy to find your way back

A bell chanting goshawk keeps an eye out from its perch

Waterholes were busy places - ostrich, oryx, springbok, impala and the occasional jackal all visiting from time to time

Such beautiful markings and superb horns

Very useful to deal with that itch

Many ostrich we saw were simply resting

This shy yellow mongoose and his mates were quite nervous at our presence

This poor springbok had slipped into the waterhole. It's efforts to get out could have cost her life

With all the exertion required to extricate themselves from the waterhole, they are easy prey with little energy to run away from predators.

It is amazing how such beautiful flowers survive in such harsh conditions

A lovely lunch was spread out for us

The tree in the centre is where the buffalo weaver birds had built their nest

This waterhole can be watched from the camp ground. Animals come and go all the time

Several black backed jackals trotted down to the water

Everyone drinking happily

Everything is quiet and calm

A huge buffalo weaver nest provided some interest

Then along came the big fellows and the oryx took flight

But the springbok were unperturbed

A group of female kudu nervously checked out the conditions

Everyone was at the waterhole when the elephants arrived

Then we set off again

Back on the road after lunch, we came across a family of ground squirrels

The buffalo weaver nests comprise many families and grows and grows until sometimes it becomes too heavy for the branch to endure the weight.

The nest comes crashing down

This is a small waterhole close to the famous salt pan in northern Etosha

Only a trickle of water, but this giraffe took a quick drink and then as quickly moved on

One animal most people never tire of watching

On our way out of the park we spotted some elephants who decided to cross the road in front of us. You can tell this is a bull - the curved forehead is evident!!!!!!!

Another one side on you can see more easily

We were required to disinfect before leaving the park

Another road sign for my collection - warthogs!

Back at the lodge. This is the path from the car park. Lovely grounds