Holiday in Namibia (8): more Etosha National Park
On Tuesday, we left Okaukeujoa at 8 am with a local guide on an open vehicle game drive while our driver/guide Carlos drove our coach with our luggage to our next accommodation location.
It was another challenging day because all the roads were gravel, the breeze was strong and constant and, since we were in a national park, we could not leave the vehicle except for one toilet stop and an hour or so for lunch at another camp site called Halali.
We drove north-east along the southern side of the Etosha Pan, visiting one waterhole after another looking for whatever animals we could find along the road or at the waterholes.
One of our group, Kirtida, kept an impressively comprehensive list of all the species that we saw: black rhino, black jackal, springbok, ostrich, lappet vulture, spotted hyena, Angolan spitting cobra, blue wildebeest, Burchell zebra, oryx, giraffe, kori bustard, Egyptian goose, maribu stork, black-face impala, lilac-breasted roller, yellow-billed hornbill, red-billed hornbill, pale chanting goshawk, terrapin, blacksmith plover, greater flamingo, lesser flamingo, elephant, shaft-tailed whydah, warthog, secretary bird, blue crane, egret, greater painted stripe. The most common animals in the park are springbok (about 30,000) and zebra (around 20,00).
I am not a massive animal fan and only had binoculars and an iPhone, but it is impossible not to be captivated by seeing wild animals in their natural surroundings and in such numbers.
We left Etosha at the Nehale Lya Mpingana Gate and drove a little further to our accommodation for the next two nights: the Etosha King Nepalese Lodge where we arrived at 4.30 pm after a journey of eight and a half hours.. This lodge was only opened just before Covid and we were give an upgrade, so we had excellent rooms with all the facilities we could want (including a small individual pool, free drinks in the fridge, and – most importantly – free WiFi in the rooms themselves).
Wednesday was not a travelling day but the morning was the occasion for another game drive in Etosha National Park, so I set my alarm for 5.30 am ready for a 7 am departure in another open vehicle (our driver was called Fillemon but he had no idea why his parents – both now dead – had chosen this name).
We were out for five hours with just a toilet stop. We saw some of the animals that we had observed yesterday, but we were on the look-out for new species, especially the lion. We managed to find a lioness with her cub and a lioness who was pregnant. but we could only hear and not see the lion of the pride. Again we were awed by the lunar-like landscape of the massively expansive salt pan.
Lunch was an individual affair back at the hotel. Top of the menu was “traditional Omagungu salad with a twist” which was “locally sourced mopane worms served with fresh garden greens topped with feta, peppadew and olives”.Tempting – but I went for the “Etosha game pizza” with “a variety of game, red onions, peppers and mozzarella” which was delicious but too large.
In the afternoon, the group went another game drive with Fillemon. I think the attraction was a location which was a private waterhole that allowed the drinking of alcohol. For my part, I had seen enough animals for a while and took the opportunity to read, write and relax.