Blogs from Etosha National Park, Namibia, Africa - page 11

We explored the whole south of the Etosha pan, including the campsites which date from the 60's, time of the Apartheid. The archtecture of the few builds reflect the preference of the Europeans, having nothing to do with the native Namibians. LET THE PICTURES DO THE TALK. (just a sample of so much seen) ... read more

So that's actually a lie, since there were no tigers or bears. And apparently the whole statement is a lie because you can't see them all on one continent. But what we did see was essentially the real life lion king. Etosha is a big national game park in Namibia, so after we got picked up from our rural homestays Wednesday morning we headed off for our mini safari. Now when I pictured safari I definitely pictured off roading in a big open landrover. Instead we drove on gravel roads through the park in our combis. I guess in all fairness though we called it a "game drive" and we had no where near enough khaki on to warrant a real safari. In a lot of ways it's kind of like Yellowstone...except with lions and elephants ... read more

Nine hours driving. That is how long it took to get from Windhoek to Etosha National Park. Namibia is a big country. But it sure was worth it. Within five minutes of driving in the gate we were presented with a waterhole with several giraffe and a bull elephant. Fantastic! We had joined a camping tour with Wild Dog Safaris. We camped for our first night at Namutoni campsite. It was such a great introduction to camping, with the best campsite bathrooms I have ever seen. A small detail, but an oh so important one! As we ate dinner on that first night, we had jackals and warthogs wandering past. These were the only animals, though, as the fences kept out the bigger (and slightly scarier) ones. On our second day we made our way slowly ... read more

We arrived in Namibia on the 29th September. Having driven through an endless expanse of dry, desert-like savannah, we arrived at Etosha National Park for more wildlife viewing than you can shake a stick at! The park's name meaning 'Great White Place of Dry Water' is an incredibly apt way of describing the endless expanses of greenish-white land. We went on many game drives and saw so many animals including lions and elephants, my favourites. We witnessed a herd of about 40 ellies rollicking in a waterhole having a wail of a time, with water, mud and dust flying all over the place. The babies were so cute and absolutely hilarious. I want to keep one! While all this was going on, zebras, giraffes, and a bunch of warthogs were standing by witnessing the events unfolding ... read more

We left the cheetah park early, stopping at Outjo for half an hour break for supplies. We had time for two plungers of coffee and some cake. I saw the incongruous scene of two local women in their traditional topless outfits queuing at the cheese counter of the local supermarket. It was a strange scene. Later they waited by the truck but I didn’t have the nerve to take a photo - but they looked superb in their leather tasselled skirts and numerous beads and jewellery. The town was beautifully adorned with red and purple flowered trees. We saw zebra and giraffes on our way into our campsite on the Etosha National Park. The camp is large and civilized with a more up market clientele than our usual sites and has bungalows as well as ... read more