We had been invited to spend a few days at a private game reserve run by our friend’s daughter and her partner, staying in the posh lodge and being treated to five star service.
It was a very generous offer and we were extremely excited about it. The only trouble was, we had just spent a week wild camping in Kaokoland and the three of us and everything we owned were filthy – how could we arrive at an upmarket game lodge in this state?
We decided to spend two nights at our lovely campsite in Opuwo and get ourselves cleaned up. The first step was a good shower for me and James followed by a deep clean for Henry, inside and out. We also had to empty and clean our bush toilet and do a bit of emergency clothes washing
But we still made time for a wonderful meal at the campsite restaurant with surprisingly generous glasses of wine
By the time we left you would hardly have recognised us from the bedraggled team that had emerged from Kaokoland a few days earlier.
We drove three hours to the town of Kamanjab, bought a boat load of food as a small contribution to our stay at the lodge and checked into a nearby campsite for the night
We were due to meet our friends, Kobus and Marissa, on the road just outside Kamanjab at 3pm the next day and drive to the lodge together. Our campsite kindly allowed us to stay on our pitch until lunchtime and James spent the morning trying to find the cause of Henry’s persistent steering wobble – there were so many candidates for the issue but no matter what we tightened, replaced or greased it didn’t seem to make any difference.
We arrived at the meeting point an hour early and our friends were an hour late but the wait was worth it. When we arrived at the lodge it took our breath away
It was beautiful
Our room was amazing, a little different to the campsites we had got used to
The staff were very friendly and welcoming and it was wonderful to finally meet our friends’ eldest daughter, Ilouwna and her partner Johann.
We spent a fabulous three days with them being treated like royalty but also like family.
The food was exceptional, three meals each day, two courses for lunch and dinner, and as many cookies as we could eat in between (unfortunately I could eat quite a lot and by the time we left my trousers had strangely shrunk around my waist!).
Johann has a wealth of experience running game reserves and knows an incredible amount about animals. He is also a semi-professional photographer. I spent a large part of each evening talking to him, trying to learn as much as I could about everything related to conservation, wildlife, tourism and photography – I just can’t forget my dream to set up a conservation reserve in Namibia and talking to someone who has done just that was too good an opportunity to miss.
Ilouwna herself was lovely, she made us feel very welcome. She is an experienced lodge manager and made it all look so easy, keeping everything running smoothly whilst still somehow being able to spend time with us all, relaxed and smiling
Kobus and Marissa’s younger daughter, Liana was also there with her family. We had not seen the children, Liarissa and Jan Jakobus, since we left Namibia two years ago. They were now three and a half and two, racing around the lodge, making the most of a carefree childhood. But they didn’t remember us and were very shy for a long time.
The owner of the lodge had recently bought an enormous telescope and we spent an evening looking through it at the moon. It was amazing, I have never seen it so close up. These photographs were taken through the telescope itself, they are not mine
The operations manager was in charge of the telescope and he moved it across the sky to see Saturn. It wasn’t quite as impressive as the moon but seeing the rings was fascinating
The next morning the telescope had been fitted with special protective filters and pointed at the sun – I never knew it was possible to see the sun like this
Every morning and evening Kobus generously took us out on a game drive around the 30,000 hectare reserve
There were a lot of giraffe
We also saw impala
Oryx
And a lot of wildebeest
Along with the huge but amusing secretary bird and smaller, more common kori bustard
There were also a few jackal
And a number of birds of prey including this lovely pale chanting goshawk
On the second day we found a herd of waterbuck
And a klipspringer posed beautifully in the sunlight on the rocks
On one of our afternoon drives, Liana’s husband and kids came with us. At first the children sat wide-eyed watching the animals but eventually Jan Jakobus decided that practising his driving was more fun
Whilst Liarissa fell asleep in her father’s arms
In the mornings the resident ostrich stalked around the lodge
And in the evenings herds of eland came to drink at the waterhole
One evening just as we were heading back from our game drive a herd of kudu came into site on the side of the road. They are rapidly becoming one of my favourite non-feline animals but despite most people thinking that the big males are the most impressive
I actually prefer the females. They are so adorable with those pretty faces and huge ears
But by far the most exciting moment was when Kobus and I went out for a night drive to try and find the aardwolf that can often be seen by the airstrip. At first it was very quiet, the flood light showing just empty plains. After a while we came across a small herd of oryx, looking almost ghostly in the light
And then, just as we were about to give up and go back to the lodge, I saw movement on the side of the road. I squinted but couldn’t make out what it was. I pointed it out to Kobus who shone the light on it but I still couldn’t work out what I was seeing.
‘Jennifer’ Kobus grinned at me ‘that is an aardvark!’
I have spent hours and hours, days, even weeks of my life on game drives in Africa over the last 27 years and never seen an aardvark. Nocturnal, shy and uncommon, they are a very rare site.
I couldn’t believe it, my very first aardvark and it appeared when I wasn’t even looking for it
It moved very fast and was partially hidden in the long grass but my eyes could see it well enough. Sadly, my camera could not pick it up in the dark but you will have to believe me that the white blob in this photo is a real life aardvark.
On our last day I went out with one of the professional guides, Mettalus. The plan was to drive out to find something interesting like eland, kudu or hyena and then stalk them on foot.
Unfortunately the animals on this game reserve are not as habituated as they are in national parks and many other game reserves. This makes it feel much more wild and untamed but it also means that finding animals that will hang around long enough to let you walk up to them is a challenge.
We eventually found a herd of kudu in the distance
We jumped out of the truck and slowly and quietly walked towards them, using the trees and bushes as cover and staying downwind at all times.
But it was not to be, before we were close enough to even take a photo the kudu sensed our presence and bolted
I satisfied myself with watching a family of warthog – mum, dad and three kids
Not exactly kudu or hyena but very sweet.
We were loving our stay here but it was coming to an end all too soon. When we first arrived in Namibia we had booked our Etosha campsites in Swakopmund at the same time as our permits for the Namib-Naukluft Park and Messum Crater. Even booking nearly a month ahead, finding space in Etosha had been a challenge. The Okaukuejo campsite was the biggest problem, with just one pitch available on one night in the whole of July. We had booked it and built our itinerary around that date. Sadly, that meant we only had three nights at the lodge before we had to head off.
It was a shame to be leaving our friends so soon but we couldn’t wait to see Etosha again. This time we had decided to start our trip on the western side of the park, a side we had never seen before. It is said to be much wilder than the eastern side, with fewer tourists. And there are lions.
We had a two hour drive to the western gate of the park and were grinning like cheshire cats when we passed through and signed in
It was nearly 4pm by the time we had finished all the paperwork and paid our park fees. The strict park rules meant that we had to be inside the campsite gates before sunset at 6:20pm – on pain of a large fine, ejection from the park and possibly the country as well. We had 65km to drive which could take us only 1.5 hours but that would mean rushing and not stopping at any waterholes or taking any detours to explore. It would have to be a careful balancing act between enjoying our first afternoon’s game drive and not getting ourselves into trouble.
In the end we needn’t have worried. Most of the waterholes were dry and there were few detours to choose from so we could do everything there was to do without going too far off the beaten track.
We saw plenty of animals, including the ubiquitous but still beautiful springbok
The more elusive red hartebeest
Huge numbers of vultures
And a zebra enjoying a dust bath
It had been a busy afternoon but we still arrived in plenty of time before the campsite gates closed.
We were staying at Olifantrus campsite and we had never been before. We had expected it to be rustic and basic but were pleasantly surprised at how beautiful it was. There was a large hide stretching out into the plains with a viewing platform
We went up as soon as we arrived and I went up again after dark but sadly there was nothing around. So instead we settled ourselves in for an early night ready to be up before dawn the next morning on our lion hunt.
I was up and training at 5:30am and we were driving out of the gates the moment they opened at 7:30am. In the summer they open at 6am so this seemed very late to us – surely all the lions would be fast asleep by now?
Well, in fact the answer to that question was a resounding yes for almost our entire three day stay in Etosha which was very disappointing. And they seemed to have taken all the leopards with them as well. But, much as I crave cat sightings in any national park, if they don’ play the game there are always plenty of other exciting things to see.
Within a few minutes of leaving the campsite we were thrilled to find another of my favourite non-feline animals – the gorgeous bat-eared fox
There were four of them. They stood for a moment watching us then dashed off into the grass
We were pleased with the start to our day but even more pleased when we pulled up at our first waterhole and saw another two foxes hunting in the long grass
Bat eared foxes mainly eat insects with the occasional lizard, bird’s egg or truffle making it onto the menu in emergencies. So they are generally tolerated by locals outside of national parks, unlike other predators such as jackals. But they are still a fairly rare site so this was a real treat
There is really only one road through the western side of the park and most of the waterholes along it were dry. We saw a few of the usual suspects
And also this little one who we didn’t recognise but after inspection of our animal guide decided was probably a cape fox but if anyone knows different we’d love to hear it. He was running too fast for a good photo but you get the idea!
We didn’t see much more until we reached the Okondeka waterhole and found a large number of other vehicles lined up watching something. This tourist behaviour normally means lions but we couldn’t see anything even with our binoculars.
Just as we were about to drive away someone in one of the other trucks leaned out of their windows and called out to us ‘do you see the lions’? We were very surprised but followed the direction he was pointing in and eventually saw a mane appear above the grasses
A few minutes later a female stood up
This was our only lion sighting of the trip and they were a long way off so it didn’t seem very satisfying. But we stayed for a while to allow me my lion fix only to find we got more than we bargained for!
The female ambled towards the male with her tail high and cuddled up to him
Normal behaviour for lions within a pride, they are very family-oriented and affectionate with each other. But then her tail started twitching and her intentions became clear – to us and to the male lion
He was very interested indeed and didn’t need much persuading…
Our first time watching lions making little lions!
Afterwards she wandered back to the other females, who we could now see hunkered low in the grass a few meters away, and the male looked on wistfully
Time was ticking on and we needed to be at Okaukuejo before sunset. It took about half an hour to get there but the drive was full of yet more fabulous sightings
Some of the birds were beautiful including a pair of brown-necked ravens
The elegant grey heron
And an impressive bateleur eagle
But the most exciting moment was a traffic jam caused by a black rhino that decided to simply amble across the road right in front of us!
White rhinos are an exciting find, black rhino are astonishing – especially when one just walks out right in front of you.
At our last waterhole of the day, just as the sun was sinking, an elephant stood drinking in a picture perfect African scene
We arrived at the campsite gates in plenty of time but James always does all the driving in national parks to allow me to take my photos so he was exhausted
We cooked a lovely chicken katsu curry for dinner then I left him relaxing with his audio book whilst I went up to the Okaukuejo waterhole – one of the best in Etosha.
And that evening I was not disappointed. When I arrived it was full of elephants – I counted at least 36
The floodlights gave them a ghostly glow
The only sounds I could hear were the gentle splashing of water as the elephants played, the soft crunching of the grass as they walked and the occasional rumble of greetings between them
The little ones were cute and playful
But it wasn’t until they started filing away from the water and disappearing into the darkness one by one that those of us watching realised that there was one animal who was not an elephant after all
As he came out from behind the elephants and into the light a small gasp went around the crowd – another rhino, this time a white rhino
How long he had been there and when he snuck in no-one knew but it was a lovely sight
We were up early again the next morning and were not the only ones keen to get started
Henry dutifully joined the queue waiting for the gates to open, everyone pacing around watching the clock. Fortunately Etosha is well run – the gates creaked open on the dot and we were off.
Okaukuejo is lion country and the waterholes around there are famous for lion sightings early in the morning.
We headed straight for the closest, Gemsbokvlakte and arrived within15 minutes. Sadly no lions or leopard but we still had a fabulous encounter
Six spotted hyena
They dashed in for a drink, had a quick scout around and then dashed off into the bush
Our timing had been perfect – another great start to our day.
However, our optimism sank a little when we discovered that the main road between the Okaukuejo and Halali campsites was closed whilst they rebuilt it in tar. A temporary route through this part of the national park had been created but it missed out all the main lion waterholes.
It was a beautiful drive through plains of yellow grasses but there were few animals. Close to Halali we popped out at the striking Salvadora and Sueda waterholes – right on the edge of the massive salt pan that defines Etosha
There are often cheetah and lion here but not today. We had to content ourselves with looking out over the glimmering pan where hardy wildebeest made their way in the heat and dust
At the Charitsaub waterhole we found two male impala having a fight
I’m not sure how serious they were though, the rest of the family didn’t seem too concerned.
We made it to Halali just before lunchtime and headed straight for its beautiful waterhole. The viewing platform is built on rocks rising above the water and we settled in to relax for a while and watch the animals peacefully doing their thing
In fact, the peace and quiet of this beautiful place lulled James into such a state of relaxation that he fell asleep and his gentle snoring joined the quiet chomping and slurping of the springbok.
We were aiming for the Namutoni campsite on the far western side of the park for our last night. As we slowly made our way in that direction we found a huge number of elephant at Springbokfontein waterhole
As well as these cuties – striped mongoose, right in the middle of the road
We then backtracked a little to get to the Etosha pan lookout point, a place so otherworldly you could almost be on the moon
The vast salt pans stretch out to the horizon in all directions
We stopped at a picnic spot to make bacon sandwiches
And then set off on the final leg to Namutoni. The waterholes in this part of the national park are beautiful and always very busy with every type of animal. These elephants were so photogenic
And the baby zebra were adorable
These kudu did not want their photos taking though and refused to come out from behind the bushes
We made it to Namutoni at 5:20pm after another very long day
We were looking forward to an early dinner and a rest. I jumped out of Henry and went to check-in but there was another guest in front of me in the queue who was taking forever. Whilst I waited I idly looked at our booking invoice and suddenly went cold. We had booked Halali campsite tonight, not Namutoni. It all came flooding back, Namutoni had been fully booked so we had had to make a compromise and stay at Halali in the middle of the park instead.
We were 70km from Halali with less than an hour before the gates closed. I dashed up to the counter to speak to the park official, waving our booking paper at her with fear in my eyes and explained that ‘we have made a terrible mistake’.
When she understood what had happened she pointed at the door and said ‘just go, now, quickly, just drive’. I ran back to James, jumped in the passenger seat and started to set the sat nav for Halali whilst trying to tell him what we had done. When the sat nav said 70km James looked at me and said ‘forget the time problem, we don’t have enough fuel’!
Etosha National Park covers an area of 22,000 sqkm. There are a total of 1,240km of roads and just to drive in a straight line from west to east is 350km. And there is no fuel anywhere in the park. You have to plan carefully and make sure you enter the park with enough fuel to go where you want to go and still get to the nearest fuel station outside the gate you decide to exit from. We had done all our planning and should have been fine – but we could not drive 140km to Halali and back.
I ran back into the office and the park official’s eyes opened wide as she saw me. She gestured to say what are you doing? I went up and told her we didn’t have the fuel to go back to Halali, only enough to get from Namutoni out to the next fuel station. I apologised for our mistake, and asked for her help. She looked at me, sizing me up, then consulted the computer. She scratched her head and made a few tutting noises. If she couldn’t do anything for us we would have to leave the park there and then and try to find somewhere else to stay – and that would not be easy this close to Etosha in peak season when you could be sure every campsite within a 100 km radius would be fully booked.
Eventually she looked up with a frown and asked whether we needed electricity. I confirmed that we did not and she said in that case she would squeeze us in to the corner of the campsite. The breath I didn’t realise I had been holding blew out in a mass of relief and I almost kissed her. We had to pay another £50 with no possibility of claiming our original booking back but I didn’t care, we had a home for the night.
We enjoyed our night at Namutoni more than any other so far – the relief made us appreciate it more than ever!
The waterholes around Namutoni are often visited by leopard early in the morning but, in keeping with the rest of this Etosha trip, we didn’t see any the next day.
We did spot a broad-winged hawk sitting in a tree
And these two oryx were very feisty as the sun came up
We decided they had the same thing on their minds as the lions we had seen the previous day, it must have been the season!
Further on we found another bird of prey, this time the beautiful tawny eagle
I waited with my camera focussed on him for a while and eventually he obliged my patience by opening his wings and flying high in the sky
There was more excitement to come as a yet another white rhino appeared right next to us
And another large family of kudu were hanging around at the Klein Namutoni waterhole
Along with a thirsty elephant
Back at Namutoni itself, we decided that we would visit the Namutoni Fort for the first time ever – it was definitely a trip for firsts. It was built in 1896 as a veterinary control post and is one of the most recognisable structures in Etosha
The views from the top were lovely
The carefully maintained grass within the campsite boundaries standing out against the harsh, barren plains of the park itself in the distance.
It was now time to slowly make our way to the exit gate but not before we visited three of the most beautiful waterholes in the whole park on the way. These are north of Namutoni which would take us to a gate 2 hours further north than we needed to be, but it was worth it to squeeze out as much as we could from our visit.
These are large waterholes which are always crowded with animals
I have never seen such a lot of ostrich together
All of them were females and it made me smile to think that they were standing around gossiping
The old joke also made me smile… zebra crossing!
But we couldn’t find any more excuses to stay and our park entry tickets were about to run out. So with heavy hearts and more than a little wistfulness we headed for the King Nehale gate and sped away from our beloved Etosha once more.