Blogs from Etosha National Park, Namibia, Africa
May 11th 2012
We have arrived in AFRICA!!!! Still on a high from our afternoon of feeding cheetahs, we all woke up ready to hit the road bound for Etosha national park. We had a pit stop in a town called Outjo for internet and supply shopping which was followed by a short drive on SEALED road to the park. Etosha is the largest wildlife park in Africa and is located around a large salt pan. I’m not going to pretend like my expectations were low, I was picturing plains filled with elephants, giraffes and rhinos roaming around all together so when we began our game drive and the first thing to see was more frigging springbok anxiety kicked in. We were very soon rewarded though with herds of zebras and wilderbeast at the first water hole and some ... read more
February 2nd 2012
Etosha National Park Our first camping experience turned out to be pretty nice- the tents were easy to assemble, and the gear included mattresses for sleeping in comfort. The campground included a kitchen – with electricity, and the fire pits had amazing racks over the pit to barbeque dinner. Whew! Jacques and Barry, our bus driver, cooked an excellent meal which included an African dish called: Braai Brooidjie. Sounds like "bry Broo-ecky" Turns out, this is a fancy name for grilled cheese with onion and tomato- cooked over the fire. They were delicious! The park also had the most amazing pool- which we were able to use on both days we were there. Our wildlife adventure has certainly begun- on the drive in, we saw giraffes- about 8 of them passed by through the trees. We ... read more
August 26th 2011
M – My last few blogs on Etosha focused on the Lions eating their breakfast, their hunting and their lazing by the water hole. Kate has also blogged on our close encounter with elephants (Nellie the Elephant Can Pack Her Trunk!). During our three days in Etosha we have seen plenty of other animals. Here are just a few of the HUNDREDS of pictures we took of the animals, and an update on my hair! Scroll Down To See the Sample and Remember to Click on the "Next" Link at the bottom to get the next page of photos ...... read more
August 25th 2011
M – Having seen a group of lions devouring their breakfast on our first day we were now trying to top that experience by actually seeing an actual kill. On day 2 we rounded a corner and pulled up yards from this group of lions. We sat no more that 15 yards behind them in our car and watched as one by one they walked away and over the brow of a nearby hill. During the whole time they didn’t even glance in our direction nor did we see them make any obvious signals between each other as to when it was a particular lions turn to go forward. After they had all moved on we drove on a little and followed them over the hill. On the other side of the hill was a large ... read more
August 22nd 2011
M – Etosha is the largest park in Africa and was to be my first opportunity to see the big game – lions, elephant, rhino etc. so I was pretty excited. It didn’t disappoint - within 1km of checking in at the camp inside the park we came across three lion (2 male, 1 female) tucking into a Wildebeest approx. 50 yards from the roadside. Beginners luck? Anyway, although we missed the actual kill we couldn’t have missed it by long as shortly after we arrived about 30 jackals began circling nervously. We watched the lions take it in turns to eat their breakfast and take naps for about an hour although we could have sat there for longer. Real Discovery Channel stuff! Since this initial viewing of lions we have been lucky to see many ... read more
August 20th 2011
M Because once they have staked out their place by the pool no one else is getting look in! The following short series of photos is of a family of lions (mother, father and two younger daughters) enjoying a lazy afternoon by the pool (man-made watering hole) before dad decides to take a stroll. In typical lion style he totally ignores the tourists cars and walks straight between the them. As usual they also totally ignore the other animals who themselves want to take a drink. You can see the wildebeest, antelope and zebra looking on in the background just waiting for the lions to get bored and leave th ewatering hole so that they can get a look in. As every british tourist knows - you need to put your towels on the loungers by ... read more
April 10th 2011
Sa. 26.3. – Di, 29.3. Etosha Nationalpark Durch das King Nehale Gate von Norden her fahren wir in den Etosha Nationalpark. Noch vor der Parkgrenze begrüßen uns tausende Frösche, die sich in den überschwemmten Ebenen links und rechts der Strasse und in den Pfützen scheinbar wohlfühlen. Einige Marabus, denen diese frische Mahlzeit wohl gut schmeckt, benützen die Straße als Start- und Landebahn. Ihre Spannweite beeindruckt uns! Im Park selbst sehen wir am Weg zum Camp Namutoni zwar einige Oryx und Springböcke, aber nicht gerade viele. Alle Tiere scheinen sich rund ums Camp versammelt zu haben, wir entdecken sie bei der abendlichen Rundfahrt ganz in der Nähe von Namutoni, und sehen auch einige Tiere, die wir vorher noch nie gesehen hatten, wie Schakale, eine Hyäne und Dik-Diks. Am nächsten Tag fahren wir 10 Stunden rum, je weiter ... read more
February 10th 2011
After driving a few hours, we arrived at Otjiwarongo. We headed to the one attraction in town – a crocodile farm. As we all know, I heart all lizards so this was awesome! They had areas for the adult crocs, the juniors and the babies. I went to bed on the earlier side as there was nothing really to do. There was a TV in the room and Casino was on… I watched for a bit and BOOM! A storm hit. It was intense rain, winds, thunder, and lightning. Ann still wasn’t back from chatting the entire hotel up yet. She arrived back after an hour into the storm, soaked. We woke up to a lot of mud, but it wasn’t going to stop our drive to Etosha. Etosha is famous for their watering holes. At ... read more
Elephants, Lions, Zebra and then some
Published: November 16th 2010Africa » Namibia » Etosha National Park
October 20th 2010
As the first few clumps came out, I got my camera in position for the fascinating sight of an elephant really pushing it. It seemed so forceful that I was surprised he didn’t pass out. As I snapped up a photo of an elevated tail with three connecting pearls of yellow poo leaving his butt. I noticed urine flushing out, to create a pee pool near his back legs. Following that, a fascinating fart that created elephant arse rupture. (!) This wonderful turn of events was finalised with a massive erection walk off. Most people watching walked off too on the sight of this 5th leg, but not us. We were embracing this wonderful incite into nature. Gosh Etosha National Park was something else and the elephant arse rupture was just one of multiple great moments. ... read more
