Day 122 - 128 - Etosha National Park - Birthdays, Birds and Meteorite's

Our thatched tent at Dolomite Camp.

The great white salt pans.

Having left Etendeka this morning, we have a very long drive to reach our next destination, Galton Gate the entrance to Western Etosha National Park, where entry is only permitted if you are staying at the Dolomite Camp. The camp only opened last year and provides the first opportunity for self drive safari's to explore this area of the park and as a result the animals are not used to vehicles, so we were provided with the warning that species such as lions and elephants tend to be aggressive! Etosha, which translates to mean 'the great white place of dry water,' covers some 22,270 sq. km, ............ so? .............. trying to find a couple of lions in the bush shouldn't pose a problem then!! ....... The drive to Etosha was long, bumpy and dusty ............... just for a change!! ....... We fill up with fuel at Palmwag, then cross the vets fence (for foot and mouth precautionay spray as well as no dairy product and meat check!) and head to the town of Kamanjab for supplies. The journey along the C40 and C35, is long and as the children have had a few late nights, grumpy moods are par for the course, but we all survive the trip, after threats of dropping them off individually in the National Park to take out their aggression on the wildlife, but that didn't seem fair to the wildlife! so it was on with headphones for a little music!! We eventually get to the park entrance gate and after sorting out the permits and entrance fees, we start our own game drive along the 40km of tracks to Dolomite Camp, which is set up on the mountain side providing a panoramic view of the bushveld below. The camp is open to the bush and once the sun goes down, all guests have to be picked up from their tented chalet by 'golf buggy' as lions have been known to wander around at night! ..... hopefully they have a couple of spare golf clubs in the back, just in case!! ..... and we just make it in time for sunset and 50th birthday celebrations at the restuarant, complete with local dancers and singing!! .... and a very enjoyable time was had by all.



50th birthday celebrations, complete with dancing entertainment!!

The next morning we chill out by the pool, which has the same wonderful panoramic views, but the water is VERY cold, as the children soon find out! .......... but they enjoy a splash around with some of the local 'birds'!

A few local birds by the pool!!

Mornings are generally spent chilling out by the pool and catching up on journals and comprehension, followed by a 'self' game drive in the afternoons. There is an option to take a guided drive (approx 50 pounds per head!) but most of the viewing in Etosha is at the watering holes, so unless the guide is exceptionally knowledgeable, there is no real benefit.

The water holes on our self drive offer some great game viewing.

Fred taking the plunge!! .................................................... Yes, the water is ice cold!!!

We meet some very friendly people here during the evenings, one of whom is a german doctor, who assures us that we will be able to remove Imogens plaster cast by ourselves, rather than seeking medical help. This is a great relief as there will be no medical assistance where we are staying! ........... so, Harry's Swiss army knife will come in handy! The next morning we start a continuous 12 nights of camping, a journey that will take us through Etosha National Park, crossing the tiny and little used 'Dobe' boarder post into Botswana, north along the eastern side of the Okovanga Delta and back into Namibia's Caprivi Strip - the pan handle, heading for the Katima border into Zambia.

Travelling through Etosha, we see plenty of game at the waterholes, including springbok, giraffe, zebra, oryx, eland, kudu, warthog, jackal, black faced impala and lion as well as betula eagles, kori bustard and many more birds. We pass through a vast area of bush that suffered a huge fire some 6 months ago. Mile upon mile of blackened, scorched earth, for as far as the eye can see, probably driving for over an hour, with nothing but the odd honey badger and snake eagle, scouting for emerging grubs and snakes. It is quite unbelievable to witness the amount of damage the fire has caused. Later, we hear from one of the rangers, that although the electric Park boundary fencing was turned off, a large number of animals, including rhino, giraffe, lions and many more, with the exception of some of the larger elephants, were unable to breach this tall fence, to escape the surging flames and perished, as the bush fire hearded them to the very fence that was supposed to protect them!

The game drive to Halali rest camp is over 200km through the Park, the camp being next to the huge white clay salt plains of the Etosha Pan, which cover about 5,000 sq. km, some 25% of the Etosha National Park. The pan can be dry for decades but very occasionaly floods from rivers to the north, creating a huge lake, the salinity levels of which are twice as high as sea water. These conditions produce blue green algae, which becomes the feeding ground for up to a million flamingoes. The camp itself is fairly busy with self drives and Africa overland vehicles, as it offers various facilities such as a restaurant, small shops, bar and pool. Each pitch has its own fire pit and braai with communal toilet and shower facilities and the camp benefits from a floodlit waterhole which we visit on an evening. Harry is on cooking duty for the first night and, with a little help, produces a very tasty Risotto on the braai. By the time we eat, at 6pm, it is alraedy dark, but this camp is fenced so staying up is not as much of an issue as the unfenced camps.

NWR's waste disposal methods!?

The next morning, we rise early and are on the road by 7.30am, heading for a long game drive in search of rhino. We again see many animals at the water holes and witness jackels finishing off a kill, from last night and on the way back, we spot fresh rhino tracks which lead us all the way back to camp, but turning off to the left just before we reach camp, along a track that I don't think we were supposed to take, we continue to follow them. This takes us to the back of the our camp and unfortunately we suddenly come across a huge smouldering mountain of waste, bottles, cans and plastics of all sorts, slowly burning, obviously constantly alight and releasing an acrid smoke into the bushveld air. Come on NWR (Namibia Wildlife Reserves), who run the National Park, I know you have problems getting rid of rubbish but you are supposed to be promoting conservation and Eco tourism!! ........ Not a good advert! The Rhino's made a visit to the camp water hole but unfortunately we had literally just missed them by the time we got there at about 2.30pm, so we take it easy enjoying the freezing waters of the swimming pool and even Imogen wants to brave an underwater swim, with a little help, as having her arm still in plaster causes some difficulty!

Photos by Fred.

Photos by Fred.

After 22,269 sq. km! ..................... we finally find the lions!

An Elephant road block .................. basking in the sun ....... it took some time to clear!!

Thirsty work.

After two nights at Halali Rest Camp we head east through the park and make a quick stop at Namatoni, which is a picturesque old fort, with its white washed walls, a relic of days gone by, now refurbished into an NWR Lodge. We take an early lunch, with a very limited menu! and notice a newspaper cutting in the lodge shop, pinned to the wall. It shows what a large bull elephant can do to a 'disrespectful' car, as it initially leans its whole body onto the side of the car, crushing the panels and then uses its tusks to literally flip it over into the ditch!! ........ driver and passengers still inside; we leave with a lot more respect for elephants than when we went in!! ................. not sure Imogen should have seen that picture!!



We head on to Onguma Bush Camp, which is located just outside the Von Lindequist Gate, where we exit the National Park. Onguma, in the local Herero language means "the place you don't want to leave" ........... and I am guessing ...... and hoping .... that it is not run by a bunch of Somalian Rebel fighters!!!

It is in fact a wonderful lodge with restuarant, water hole, pool and small thatched roundavels for accommodation, but we are staying in our tents in one of the camping pitches. As we arrive late in the afternoon, following our game drive, Johnny, from Safari Drive is waiting for us with our repaired Land Rover ....... so we now make the switch over, which is quite time consuming, as the roof tents need to be erected, stripped and re-made, by which time it is dark and we are using torch light. .......... Now collecting fire wood is a pastime that needs to be done carefully in the bush!! ........... In most camps you are not allowed to collect your own wood from the camps or parks, it is heavily frowned upon and you are required to buy it where and whenever you can. However, we have survived to date! and trying to stop Jo, a good farmers daughter, from collecting wood, from anywhere! when we need supplies, has been difficult, despite some of my warnings that in southern Africa, dead wood is a haven for many venomous creatures!! And indeed, the wrong dead wood of 'euphorbia' can give off poisonous fumes .... so not good to cook with! ....... Notwithstanding this we did have a small stock of wood just in case and whilst taking out the last items from our temporary Land Rover, Fred with his head in the car suddenly shouts "scorpion!" ......... Thinking he has mistaken it for a wood ant, I casually look into the car but can't see anything ...... " it's there ... by the head rest" ........ he shouts! ....... And there sitting on the seat next to the head rest, which has literally been just above Harry's left shoulder, is a small, orange scorpion! .... and with scorpions, usually the smaller they are, the more venomous they are!! .......... Ok, perhaps the wood collecting, checking procedure, needs to be undertaken a little more thouroughly next time, from a health and safety perspective and clearly we would not now qualify for our ISO 2000 European Health & Safety recognition certificate, but we were all still alive, which was quite a feat in itself! .......... Johnny, a little disturbed by our rather unwelcomed little guest, with a pair of tongs, helps us release him back into the bush and with a sigh, I feel that he is more than happy with Fred's discovery, as he is just about to embark on a 6 hour drive through the night, back to Windhoek, as our temporary Land Rover has to be out again, to another client, by 2 pm the next day.

We enjoy a very pleasant couple of nights stay at Onguma and take advantage of the lodge facilities to catch up with the Internet, whilst the children enjoyed the pool and games room. Over dinner at the timber and thatched open restuarant, overlooking the water hole, we meet up with a few new faces as well as a few familiar faces of people we have met on the way.

With not having cooked last night, the Land Rover is fairly well packed, so we make an early start in the morning as we have a long 6 hour drive to Mukuri Campsite in Bushmanland, close to Tsumkwe, near the Botswana Border .......... back to remote camping! We initially drive on tar roads! ....... which is a bit of a luxury and on the way take a big detour, just outside Grootfontein, to visit the Hoba Meteorite! ........ which is the largest single meteorite in the world. It is a round trip of an additional 48km, being located on the edge of the Kalahari Plain, but we understand it is worth the visit.

Now from a layman's viewpoint, you would think that a meteorite is a big round ball of rock, stuck in a crater in the ground, but clearly we have been watching too many cartoons in life as, this meteorite is more or less a square piece of rock, or should I say iron! ............ It was, actually, quite an amazing site to see and well worth the detour. This unsuspectingly, rather small, in terms of what we expected, square shaped object, measuring some 2.95m x 2.84m across, with a thickness that varies between 122cm and 75cm, weighs approximately 60 tons!! .............. being no more than three quarters of the size of a bull elephant ...... it actually weighs as much as 12 huge bull elephants pilled on top of each other!!! ........... that was quite difficult to comprehend in itself! ......... However, it does consist of 82.4% iron, with a surface that has become rather shinny where people have sat on it and some areas have been vandalised in the past, where people have tried to chisel bits off, revealing a softer shinny metal cut.

Back on the road, we stop at Grootfontein where we have been advised to fill up with everything we can get in terms of fuel, water and food, as there will be nothing else on the way for the next 550km!!! This we do and after a welcome coffee and sandwich we head off, a little later than anticipated, but hoping we can reach Mukuri before sunset!

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Day 119 - 122 - Etendeka: Bucket showers, Elephants and the Crystal Mountain.

Etendeka Mountain Camp, or as the children reffered to it ...... Ant & Deck-a, ...... was a vey remote bush camp nestled amongst the plains and mountains of Northern Damaraland and last night after a quick solar powered, hot water, 'bucket' shower we managed sundowners on the mountain ridge overlooking a most spectacular view. We were staying here in a tented lodge, with adjacent open 'bucket' shower and 'flush loos' on a full board basis, .......... a little bit of luxury!! ........ and with a bit of practice, using one full bucket of hot water ........ the shower was good! ...... with enough left over to clean your teeth! Etendeka is a 'concession' reserve and run by Dennis, who has been there for some 21 years. It is a wonderfully sociable camp with Ivan the guide, who is a great and knowledgeable character; taught by non other than Mr 'Johann Lombard', back in his 'Wilderness Safari' days, ..... and whilst at Etendeka we met some great people; Maisa Fernandez (who kindly took the photo below), a lovely German couple who kindly sent me some photos but there email seems to have disappeared from my system - please send again! The Lodier family, Justine and George with their chidren Alexia and Benji, who kept our children entertained.

Taken by Maisa Fernandez

The mornings were taken up with long walks, up to 4 hours, which over rocky ground, Fred (foot still bandaged) found quite challenging, but the freedom to walk, without being eaten, and the scenery was quite amazing. There was no sign of other human life for as far as the eye could see, in any direction and it was possible to see for miles to the distant mountain ranges. Back in camp, after a hearty lunch, siestas were an option, but we chose to use the couple of hours catching up with journals and a little bit of school work, before the afternoon game drive. The drive was fun and on the way back from the first days game drive, just as dusk was falling, the track was blocked by a very upset porcupine who was being stalked by a young leopard!! ..... This was quite an extraordinary siting and the porcupine with its quills fully erect, looked huge. We sat there quietly in the diminishing light as the young male leopard, who initially ran into the darkness, came back around to have another go at the porcupine. The porcupine was not happy, hissing and spiiting and backing himself aggressively toward the leopard, then towards the Land Rover. In the end the leopard conceded defeat and walked off, the porcupine's erect quills proving far too dangerous for the young leopard, but this left us still unable to continue our journey. The porcupine refused to move and kept backing up toward the Land Rover, threating to inject his quils into our tyre!! ............. It was quite amusing to see this wild, or should I say 'livid' creature, trying to tackle a Land Rover!! ............ Eventually we inched passed as it spat and hissed its discontent at our prescence and then it suddenly ran off into the night ............. I suspect to the nearest bar for a good whisky, to calm its nerves!!!

Below: Our view from the tent. ...................... Above: our abode.

!


The whole of Etendeka was a geologist's paradise and on the second morning when Ivan took both us and the Lodier family up to 'Crystal Mountain', which for the children was like being in a huge 'sweety' shop! ...... there were crystals, literally, everywhere you looked. What appeared to be a plain orange coloured lump of Basalt rock on the outside, when split open suddenly became a hidden treasure of sparkling amethysts, clear quartz or some other form of ancient crystalised gem. It was quite a sight to see and these glistening crystals, offering visable clues to the formation of this ancient volcanic landscape, provided the basis of a good Geology lesson from Ivan, which kept the children transfixed. In fact, the only thing missing from the experience was Indiana Jones and The Crystal Skull!! ........... Air bubbles locked into the volcanic larva as it cooled at different rates causing huge internal tension, all those millions of years ago, transform into small round 'pebble' like crystal stones, called Geots. Through natural erosion and exfoliation of the basalt, they are sprinkled around the ground like spilled 'smarties' of various colours, having been released from their stone prison, slowly discolouring as the air tarnishes their surface. ........ and watching the history of this landscape, literally unfold before your very eyes, understanding the immense power and forces that created what we were standing on, is quite thought provoking!

Indiana Jones ................................................................ and his mum!

Etendeka is a great 'eco' place to stay, both from the friendly, sociable atmosphere that Dennis has created and the stunning remote mountain location and we were sad to leave; I was even given a bottle of bubbly as a birthday gift to take on our way! ... but on the way we bumped into some interesting wildlife! ..... including the two 'brothers in arms' below! ............. Now, .... as the one thing animals don't have in the bush is a 'MIRROR' ...... how the devil do THEY know what, or who, they are!? ........... the Zebra has never seen himself, .... so he looks at the Oryx and unquestionably thinks he is an Oryx!!!! ........ and the Oryx, ..... he looks at the zebra and thinks ....... 'whow ... I'm one of those! .... interesting thought!! ......... Now in terms of filming, they say never work with animals!!! .... but these two chaps were experienced and clearly had their 'equity' cards!!! .... "So, guys ..... after 3 .... and look this way! .. 1,2,3"

Yes ................... these guys are gooood!!!! ....................... truly amazing!

We left the luxury of 'bucket' showers and 'flushing loos' behind, to drive the 20km back through the bushveld track in our faithful Land Rover, across the vast open plains, framed between the orange basalt mountains and just before we reached the Consession Gate, we came to an abrupt halt! .... Our route was completely blocked by a herd of seven grazing Elephants! ...... There was no way we could pass without provoking them and having a provoked 5 ton bull elephant running for your boot was not a good idea! .......... so, letting the elephants see us and get used to us, we sat quietly, then crept slowly forward in the Land Rover to get as close as we dare and switched off the engine to watch them. We managed to get fairly close but needed to be cautious as there was a mother with her young and they will get protective. Being completely on your own with these wild animals is both an amazing and rewarding experience, albeit slightly scary, as any wild animal is unpredictable and even a 2 ton Land Rover was no match for a fully grown elephant! ................... they were keeping their eyes on us and we remained very calm and enjoyed the moment until they gave us enough room to slowly move passed. A great end to Etendeka!

Leaving the elephants behind, we are now on our way to Etosha, a huge National Park in northern Namibia and home to the big 5. We are heading for 'Dolomite Camp', in west Etosha, a couple of days in a lodge, with real bathrooms, for the 'big' Birthday.

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