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Waterhole at Dusk
This is the view from the hide. It is 10:30 on Sunday morning, and I've just woken up after three and a half hours sleep. Last night, instead of spending time in my bed, I was huddled in a sleeping bag 15 ft off the ground, overlooking one of the most beautiful water-holes in the area.
I've spent much of various nights in the past at the waterhole in Halali camp, Etosha National park, but this was my first full dusk till dawn session, and to be honest, although the variety of game we have is much less, I enjoyed it far more.
Around 5pm on Saturday night, while most people were looking forward to dinner, undoubtedly followed by a few drinks, I drove into the centre in our violently converted open bakkie and picked up my companion for the night. Although a former navy Lt-Commander, Brigit shares my love of the wild places, and she is in the process of moving her career, and future, into the fields of biology and ecology.
Half an hour later we'd parked on the closest road to the dam, covered the back seats on the vehicle with a tarp borrowed from the clinic (and usually used to
Waterhole at Dawn
After we finally left in the morning, I stopped on the edge of the water to take this shot looking back towards the rising sun. carry sick cheetahs), and cautiously crept up to the dam's edge. The sun was still bright, but there was always the possibility that something large and/or dangerous had beaten us to it, and the hide was still 300m away along the shoreline. Our timing proved good however, and all we saw at that time was the brilliant orange red of the plateau reflected in the mirror flat water. I really need to come back around the same time and take a few pictures, but although I had my camera with me, I wanted to get hidden away as soon as possible and settled instead for a few deep sighs of appreciation.
The hide is, frankly amazing. Set on a platform around 3m above the razed bank of the dam edge, it offers truly stunning views across the water. Three people could sit cosily within, but with our bags of blankets, cameras and flasks, we found it perfect for two. A narrow slit offers views of a full 360 degrees, and the wooden bench has a long sloping back that was actually more comfortable than the airbus seats I spend similar amounts of time in every time I fly home!
Waterhole at Dawn
Almost hidden among the trees on the right is the hide where I spent this wonderful night. There is extensive storage space below the bench, and cunningly fitted shelves both in front and to one side, all of which I spread things across. It is probably the best hide I've ever been in.
Unfortunately, the full-moon had risen three nights ago, so we were faced with a couple of hours of utter darkness after the sun dipped below the horizon. Before the light faded completely, we did see a few gemsbok drifting onto the edge of the plain to the east of the water, but it was to be when the light disappeared altogether that the first really impressive show of the night began.
There are literally no artificial lights for miles around, and none whatsoever in sight of the hide. With zero light pollution, and a cloudless sky, we were wowed for over an hour by the panoply of stars all around us. I've lived in Africa for over two years, but it doesn't make a difference on a night like that. My eyes were every bit as round as Brigit's as we sat in the gleaming darkness watching constellations both known and unknown drifting majestically across the heavens.
I slept a little after that, but woke almost instinctively when the moon first appeared above the plateau. Brigit still had a huge grin on her face - she didn't sleep at all until close till dawn - and kept on grinning insanely for most of the night. There were dark shapes moving around the water, although with the moon still low we couldn't be absolutely certain what they all were. Based almost entirely on how they moved, rather than the decidedly indistinct outlines, I think they comprised of gemsbok, kudu and a few eland. There were definitely a lot of babies in there too.
The night rang with the sounds of life. We could hear dozens of distinct birdcalls, a frog chorus, groups of jackals on both sides of the dam calling among themselves and to each-other, humming insects, and the occasional clatter as horns clashed among the larger mammals. With or without eyes, it remained a beautiful view of the African bush.
A few clouds did alas shroud the stars, but the moon remained bright and soon we could begin to positively identify the shadowy beasts below. There were no "big five" to be seen, no carnivores visibly stalking through the long grass, but it didn't even begin to matter. For over six hours, there were never less than forty animals in sight, living their lives before us. Huge and majestic, and great kudu bulls, strode out of the bush, while groups of their females stared in admiration. Quarrelsome gemsbok clashed from time to time, but their apparent fierceness was revealed as a thin mask when they skittered away from the slightest unexpected noises, often bolting tens of metres before sheepishly stopping and returning to their munching and posturing. Smaller animals, barely seen, slipped around and about, amongst them all.
Almost inevitably our whispered conversation turned to a discussion of the use of night-vision equipment. Who knows what could be revealed on that shadowy plain with such a toy? The USA seems to make much of the most sophisticated gear out there, but much of it is restricted to sale and use within that distant continent - which doesn't help me at all! I'm told it's possible to get hold of ex-Russian equipment, but need to investigate where, and in the meantime Brigit has promised to ask around her contacts about ex-US military stock in the hope that some of it will be legal to export... and not too expensive.
The tree-line on the far side of the dam was 500m away, but with only grass in between, we had a fine view of all of it. Nothing large could have strayed onto that plain without our seeing it, but I do wonder what else might have been skulking in the darkness.
With such a view as that, the time passed quickly, much more quickly than any International flight I've ever suffered through. It was however cold there, even in my thermals and thick sleeping bag. As winter progresses I fear that'll become worse, but I'm determined to go back, hopefully with better equipment, but even without, it was truly magical.
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Sarah
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Wow!
Hi Rob, What amazing adventures you're having in Namibia. I love reading your blogs. Photos are so beautiful! Sarah xs