Etosha National Park

Back on the tar road and north to Etosha . This really was the highlight of the trip, at least in terms of animal viewing. One benefit of that last lodge was that it was close to the park entrance so we arrived around 10:00. Since check in time wasn't until 12:00 we went for a drive, didn't really see much but got acquainted with the area. The main feature is a large (most) dry lake bed and the area around it. Sort of like Salt Lake city with elephants. We were booked to stay two nights at Okaukuejo, the park headquarters and main lodge.

The main attraction is the watering hole, floodlit at night, right in front of your room, that is if you book a "premier waterhole chalet" (see web site for details). We had number 33W and it was a real treat. From the upstairs balcony you can see all the action or even laying in bed, well, you do have to sit up a bit. Or, if you need to be a few feet closer you can walk out to the sit on one of the benches. The picture is of my daughter sitting on the bench with an elephant behind. The animals were doing something interesting all day and night. Sometimes, like in the picture there was a lone elephant contemplating his existence and whether to have a mud or dust bath. Other times a whole heard of elephants with babies stirring up a huge cloud of dust. It was sort of like the SuperBowl where you didn't dare not watch every second from fear of missing something.

It is amazing how the animals didn't care about us humans at all. Even after dark with flashes going off they didn't seem to notice or care. And it wasn't just elephants, there were zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, springbok, impala, oryx et.al. With a pair of jackals hanging around just for atmosphere. At one point in the afternoon, I could see a whole line up of different groups of animals working their way towards the water. They took their turns just like on National Geographic.

Later in the night the lions came. Too bad I had fallen asleep, but their roars were incorporated into my dreams.

The next day we were able to go out for a drive earlier than the first day so we spotted quite a few more animals. My favorite was the diminutive dik-dik, an antelope about the size of a large house cat. Saw some lions lazying around in the shade, a big male elephant near the road and several giraffe. That night again we were treated to an unforgettable show.

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