The Hidden Gems of Africa (part 5)

Our luck turned again at Hobatere Lodge, next to Etosha National Park! 

In a single evening we spotted our first African elephants, the bachelor party of a whole pride of male lions, zebras, hornbills, and tons of different antelopes. And perhaps even two cheetahs, but we cannot be sure as it was in the evening, it was dark and they were next to the waterhole - quite far away from the lodge. 

We were so excited by all these animals that we almost thought we had already seen most of what Namibia had to offer! We could not be further from the truth! The following two days in Etosha National Park were nothing less than a dream come true! 

The park is a wildlife utopia and one of the best places on the planet for watching wild animals! 

You can drive on your own across the park, stopping at the waterholes dispersed among the bush and grassland surrounding the Etosha pan, and the animals will come to you in hundreds…

Each of the waterholes attracts enormous congregations of animals and you will not know where to look… 

It feels like you have inadvertently come across a few versions of Noah’s Ark… 

If we had had more time, we would have stayed for hours at each hole... 

The western part of the park, which has opened only recently to everyone, is more secluded and has much more animals, so if you are short on time, choose to spend it there! Buy one of the maps at the park entrance - they are very useful and contain animal checklists which are great. 

Finally, bear in mind that the park is huge - it covers more than 20,000 km2 - and be prepared to drive long distances on bumpy gravel roads! It is worth it though! 

We spent two full days in the park itself and it was definitely not enough! 

There were way too many waterholes, way too many animals and way too little time to properly see all of them… 

If you intend to take a picture of a herd of elephants bathing in a waterhole, whether you want it or not, the elephants will not be the only ones in the photo. Ostriches, zebras, impalas, springboks, gemsboks, and who knows what else, will photobomb your picture, without you even noticing it. Our excitement was at its peak when, literally next to the road, we came across a pride of lions taking their afternoon nap under the trees. They were so close to us that it felt unreal… 

They looked so beautiful and majestic! After all, lions are just cute big cats!

Each waterhole brought more discoveries! We saw jackals, elephants, plains zebras, ostriches, blue wildebeests, giraffes, and tons of antelopes - common elands, springboks, red hartebeests, greater kudus, steenboks, damara dik-dik, black-faced impalas, gemsboks, and common duikers! 

At one point, we started calling all the antelopes we spotted - and there were thousands of them everywhere - "sausages"... Besides being the food of the predators we were now looking for, they were also the food served at the end of the day in the lodges and restaurants to those who were not vegetarians and could bear with the thought of eating the animals they had admired running around during the day…! 

At the waterhole of Okaukuejo Camp in Etosha National Park where we stayed overnight, we also saw rhinos, elephants, giraffes and so much more. 

From the afternoon until late at night, we enjoyed observing all these beautiful animals coming to drink from the waterhole, with the mindblowing sunset as the icing on the cake!

We could have stayed there forever… We even skipped dinner - nothing, let alone food, could make us move away from this magical place! 

The hole was obviously a speed dating place for rhinos as we witnessed many of them courting each other and even trying to make baby rhinos, it was mesmerizing… 

Each animal had something interesting on offer! When the giraffes were drinking, they were adopting a funny pose which made them look like the Eiffel Tower! 

The zebras looked like striped donkeys and made similar noises…  

When our eyes got tired and every shadow in the dark started taking the shape of an animal we wanted to see, we went to sleep in our rooftop tent under the stars…

The following day we made an early start after getting up with a beautiful sunrise - there was still so much to see in Etosha! 

The central and eastern parts of the park we visited that day were slightly disappointing as they were more touristic and home to less animals than the western part. 

Also, some of the waterholes, indicated as active on the map, were completely dry and empty. 

But we still came across dozens of elephants, lions, giraffes, blue wildebeests, zebras, and, of course, tons of "sausages"!

We met a lovely Spanish-German couple on the road who were our wine-drinking buddies at the Okaukuejo waterhole. They told us that during their first days in Africa they were amazed by everything and stopped the car every time they spotted a zebra or a giraffe, but then what they described as "the arrogance" kicked off and when they saw people stopping for the same thing, they just rolled their eyes and thought with a flout "Oh, seriously? These guys are stopping for a zebra?! Is this their first safari in Africa?!".

Well, back then we thought that this sounded rather strange and, surely, impossible, until the day it happened to us as well! Our first zebra, giraffe, elephant or rhino was a WOW, and then the arrogance kicked off and our reaction changed to "Oh, just another zebra… Oh, just another giraffe… Oh, just another rhino… Oh, it has been 48 hours without seeing any elephants, help!!!", and we did not stop the car anymore!

Our expectations reached new levels as we were now looking only for animals which we had not seen before and were more difficult to spot! Our new goal was the big cats, other than the many lions we had already seen in the park…

At the end of our second day in Etosha, we exited the park and, after the regulatory check of our fridge (I guess there must be people who actually stock giraffes, lions or springboks in their car fridge after all), we drove to our next stop literally next door to the park - Onguma Bush Camp. 

It was nice to sleep in a bed and have our own bathroom after a couple of nights in the tent using communal toilets/bathrooms! We went for a bush walk in the morning and the sunrise was stunning! 

Even though we did not see many animals other than the usual zebras and antelopes, we learnt a lot about animal tracks and local plants, including the baobab trees and the African aloe. Our knowledgeable guide (who carried a rifle as there were chances we come across some rhinos on the way…) also told us more about the enigmatic termites and their fascinating gigantic mounds that you will see everywhere in Namibia, in particular along the roads. 

We also understood better the relationship between some animals. For example, if an elephant and a rhino come to drink at the waterhole at the same time, they will usually avoid any confrontation as they both share similar brute force and stamina. Also, the only predator that scares a lion is another lion, while leopards and cheetahs fear lions because the latter actively seek to eliminate them as they are competition for food and might be a danger to lion cubs.

At Onguma Bush Camp where we stayed two nights, we also went for a sunset safari and saw a pride of nine lions drinking from one of the waterholes in the evening!

It was a sight out of this world! 

The lions were so majestic and elegant, and they were so close! 

We also spotted the usual warthogs and antelopes, and even the carapace of a leopard tortoise that might have been the meal of the predators we were looking for. Remember the most important rule in wildlife watching - follow the food chain!

Back in the lodge, we spent some time next to the beautiful and romantic bonfire, and then received the visit of a few gentle guests while we were having our dinner next to the waterhole! 

A couple of elephants came eating so close to the veranda that we would have been able to touch them…

In the mornings while we were having our breakfast or in the evenings during dinner time, we felt like we were sitting in front of a giant screen with a National Geographic documentary on it. 

One after the other, giraffes, hyenas, jackals, greater kudus, impalas, elephants and various birds were coming to drink from the waterhole…

I think that sometimes we even forgot to eat - the excitement was just another level and it was impossible to think about such trivial things as food!

We left Etosha with many animals still remaining on our bucket list, but also loads of hope! 

Our discovery of Namibia’s and Botswana’s wildlife gems was just starting...