Etosha - There are no elephants in Etosha! *

[Moggiedog]

It is always difficult when reminiscing about a place to know what to write about and which pictures to post. Each day that we spent in Etosha had moments of tranquility and other moments of excitement. As I have previously stated it was the wet season - so what did we get - rain. This was not a problem as it cooled the air and it gave a ghostly quality to the scenery when the rain stopped and mist meandered across the road. Mist was not the only thing that meandered across the road - four and two legged creatures escorted us on many occasions. Lion where plentiful - but not always in the ideal situation for taking photographs.
This male was a picture of misery - he was not enamored with the rain.

The rain didn't last for long and a weak sun broke through the clouds. This gave the animals some energy and some of them took time out to smell the fresh wet grass - or perhaps seek out some juicy mouse or rat.

[Moggiedog]

Not having any set route in mind we wandered around wherever the mood took us. Springbok pronking along the side of the road enjoying the cool weather. Unfortunately no pictures of them pronking. The herds were massive - stretching as far as the eye could see. On both sides of the road as well as on the horizon.Gemsbok immaculately turned out in the Sunday best.





Zebra in the middle of the road enjoying each others company -


Lion sightings - but not good photographic opportunites. A pride on the kill behind a hill - just visible with the naked eye - as a herd of impala watched from a safe distance.


Etosha has been faces. Each turn in the road brings a different landscape. From rivers of red flowers to murky muddy surrounds with a whole lot inbetween.

[Moggiedog]

Thanks for reading and your comments - much appreciated.

it was time to leave our temporary home and head for our next stop. it was hard to believe how fast time had passed. I am just sorry there is no way to slow time down when things are good and speeding it up in the bad times.
On our way out of camp a small critter was crossing the road. We blocked the road until he was out of harms way. He/she was in no hurry but fortunately the one and only other car had no problem with waiting until safety had been reached.
(i'm glad it's just in the pic his tail is gone)



We were in no hurry to get to Namutoni as it was a beautiful day - not too hot. The scenery was beautiful and game was plentiful. perhaps not the huge dramatic sightings but none the less well worth taking our time. Small creatures had decided the grass was greener on the other side and were braving the roaring monstrosities on the road.


Unfortunately not all of the animals were fat and healthy. This sad little jackal was fighting hard for survival. We noticed a lot of the animals seemed to be infested with mange.


The black faced impala were becoming more numerous and some smaller ones were very intrigued with the boxes that moved along the roads. They had no fear of the vehicles and watched us as much as we watched them.



the kudu on the other hand - didn't even bother to look in our direction. they were far to interested in the lush green leaves that were on offer.


Still no sign of elephant. no droppings - no nothing. There are no elephant in Etosha!

[Moggiedog]

After checking in we took a walk around the camp. I must be very honest - way too smart and definitely not a place to stay unless you're into - dare I say it - hotel type accommodation. No self catering at all - unless you camping. No place to light a fire. The rooms are very quiet and not much sound from th veld can be heard.
We stopped for a cold drink and had the pleasure of meeting Bloody Sunday - the camp manager. What a wonderful person. He treated us like long lost family and he told the staff to ensure that his friends from South Africa were given nothing but the best. A sense of humor second to none. I was sorry to see he go as I could have spent a lot longer in his company.
It had got extremely hot so we lazed around camp until late after noon when we went out for a drive. It was a dry run as far as animals were concerned but plenty of birds to be seen.
We were given a stern lecture for disturbing the peace.




We then interrupted a cleaning session - which was not well received


Two vultures were squabbling over their evening meal - even though there was more than enough for both


A more pleasing sight was this brightly colored roller than was enjoying the setting sun


After dark I took a walk to the waterhole - but there was nothing to be seen. Just the stars and the moon. Headed back to the room to get some shut eye. A lot of driving still to be done and plenty still to be seen.

[Moggiedog]

Looks a bit like me when some one has rattled my cage!

Next morning we headed for the pan. hard to believe so much water can be found in a 'dry park" .There was no sign of the zebra. Natures cleaning crue had been hard at work overnight. not a single bone remained.
As usual it took us a lot longer than anticipated to do a comparatively short drive. Not many mammals but the bird life was fantastic. All the water birds were enjoying the heavy rains the season had brought.




our next stop was at two palms - once again plenty of bird life.Although there were more than two palms - we saw the two before we saw the rest of the trees. Ducks squabbling and making plenty of noise. They were certainly entertaining an the time past with us being kept amused y their antics.



Time to head back for some lunch and a bit of a leg stretch. The trip back we saw a lot more mammals - especially giraffe and zebra. It is very strange to see giraffe wandering in open areas without a tree in sight. Etosha is certainly different - even if there are no elephant in Etosha!

[Moggiedog]

We were not the only ones enjoying lazing round the pool at lunch time. A family of mongoose/mongooses /mongeese had made their home under the decking. The little ones were out exploring whilst mom and dad foraged around the trees looking for bugs or anything else that took their fancy. one little one looked like he was slightly brain damaged and stuck to mommies side like valcro. He kept muttering to himself and making strange sounds. His mouth was permanently in motion.

Some bats in the tree were keeping a wary eye on proceedings. the only movement from them was an occasional stretch of their wings or a small movement to keep their grip on the tree trunk.

The afternoon drive we decided to take a slow meander to the waterhole. Plenty of buck having their evening drink. A zebra with an itchie leg and a tortoise that had decided the middle of the road was a good place to catch the sun.

Besides having a good drink the springbok were enjoying getting some salt or mineral out of the surrounding rocks.

The sun was getting low in the sky and we made our slow way back to camp. A rhino was spotted in the distance. A fleeting sighting of a lion and a what I find strange a kudu - not in the bush but out on the grasslands.

[Moggiedog]

Thanks for staying with me. Etosha is a wonderful place to visit - pictures do not do it justice!!

The next day can only be described as "the Killing Fields'. Whichever way we looked their were vultures and jackal on a kill. The lion had had a feeding frenzy.
Going on a drive

The same kill about an hour later

Not very far away was another gathering of the clans. the two kills were in sight of each other


A tad further down the road we noticed some gnu behaving in a strange manner. I have got to give these animals credit. the big daddy grouped his followers together and advanced towards the threat his family was facing - perhaps he was just stupid. lucky for him the lion were so fat and well fed they gave a very half hearted movement towards the wildebeest , changed direction and disappeared into the bushes.



Unfortunately one little calf got separated. It was running around crying and "asking' for help. Fortunately he was pointed in the right direction and was soon bounding off to join his family.

[Moggiedog]

Thanks again for joining me. It is always nice when others share your experience with you.

The day was spent as most days in a game park are. the amount of game seen was unbelievable. many people had told us that to go to Etosha in the wet season is not worth it. There may be no elephant in Etosha - but the wet season was no disappointment to us. The biggest advantage was the lack of human and vehicles at sightings.

That evening at the waterhole was an amazing experience. SO counted the giraffe that came down to drink - and he didn't start counting from the time we arrived but after we had been there more than an hour. Over 50 giraffe! Not only giraffe but plenty of other four legged creatures.













Unfortunately the time was up and we had to head back to camp before the gates closed.

Not only was it time for us to leave but the giraffe decided it was time to head home - and what better way than by taking a shortcut across the water.

[Moggiedog]

The following days passed in much the same manner. the only difference was at the water hole. the giraffe, the rhino, the zebra and all the other animals came down to drink - but not a single animal drank. We could not figure out what was happening. No signs of stress - no signs of being hunted and yet they all walked to the edge of the water and left without dropping their heads - strange.
Perhaps this fella has the answer



or maybe he does


Time to say goodbye and head for home. A trip that I am certainly hoping to repeat as soon as I have found a convenient bank to rob.

A rainbow greeted us on arrival and in the distance a rainbow said farewell.




Once again a big tree was our stop for lunch



Then we were greeted by the following at our arrival at Ngepi



Oh well - thats is what happens when the rivers come down in flood and you see hippo in the river next to the highway that used to be dry land.

There are no elephant in Etosha - yes we did see droppings on our way out - fresh - but no Elephant to be seen - BUt Etosha has
dimara dik dik. Giraffe that graze - I could not believe my eyes - we stopped and watched as he snapped his fron legs together and came up smartly munching on grass. this process with repeated over and over again. Adaptation of nature is incredible!


and another creature that is very strange and different from the norm -

[Moggiedog]

Thank you all for your nice comments and staying with me to the end. Pumbaa - I was so glad we saw the dik diks. We hadn't seen any and I was beginning to think we would't see them. On our last day we saw about ten of these beautiful little creatures. The black Zebra is fascinating. I believe it is a mutant gene and that they are only found in Etosha. (Not sure if this is true or not)

This link may be of interest
http://www.republikein.com.na/politiek- ... 113726.php