The alarm went off at 4.15am.... so early!!
I don't think we'll ever get used to it, at least it wasn't as cold as yesterday.
We say goodbye to 9 people today after breakfast. The 6 Spanish women, the couple from the UK & 1 Canadian girl called Jenny. I'll be sad to see Jenny go, she was so lovely & helpful. We really wont miss the Spanish girls though, they were quite lazy & at times rude.
We've gained 4 people, a mother & son who sound like they have an Afrikaan's accent, a Chinese lady & an Italian man.
Were yet to speak to them or learn their names.
With the decrease of 5 people, the truck is much more comfortable.
After leaving the campsite, with the help of Tom's GPS, We stopped at a grocery store for a big restock.
While Joseph & Jurumba were shopping, Tom & I brought some wine, a pinotage with notes of strawberry & red cherry, aged for 5 months in oak, we've brought this exact wine 4 times now.
We also got another one with pure notes of chocolate that has won awards. Then we decided to spice it up & also got a white Chenin Blanc, which boasts flavors of passionfruit, apples & melon. The Chenin Blanc was from the Meerkat range & if it is as good as the Meerkat Pinotage I drunk last night, it promises to be good!
We are loving the South African wine & plan to collect them back at home!
After the water hole, We saw a pair of black backed jackel & our guide told us they mate for life & if one dies, the other one will live out its life alone & not find another mate. He also said they commonly contract & transmit the rabies virus.
There was 1 large bull elephant sleeping, we disturbed him with our noise & when he woke up he pushed down a near by tree & kicked it. It was very cute, like he was having a tantrum.
At a smaller waterhole we saw another elephant sleeping & another rhino.
Shortly after this we saw another rhino super close that walked across the road right in front of the jeep! Our game drive luck continues! We've seen 3 rhinos in 1 hour.
We seen a mixed herd of springbok lying on the ground close to the road. We actually managed to take some photos of them. The photography tonight is a nightmare! The guide is using a special red light so as not to disturb the animals, which is great for them but in conjunction with the lights from the car & the camera flash's, it just doesn't work!
A few hundred meters away we saw 3 spotted hyenas & a heavily pregnant female one that crossed the road straight in front of the car. Our guide said generally the first litter of hyena pups will only be small, averaging at 2, from then she can have litters from 2 to 6 pups.
After the pregnant hyena crossed the road we saw a blue weelderbeast.
I don't think we'll ever get used to it, at least it wasn't as cold as yesterday.
We say goodbye to 9 people today after breakfast. The 6 Spanish women, the couple from the UK & 1 Canadian girl called Jenny. I'll be sad to see Jenny go, she was so lovely & helpful. We really wont miss the Spanish girls though, they were quite lazy & at times rude.
We've gained 4 people, a mother & son who sound like they have an Afrikaan's accent, a Chinese lady & an Italian man.
Were yet to speak to them or learn their names.
With the decrease of 5 people, the truck is much more comfortable.
After leaving the campsite, with the help of Tom's GPS, We stopped at a grocery store for a big restock.
While Joseph & Jurumba were shopping, Tom & I brought some wine, a pinotage with notes of strawberry & red cherry, aged for 5 months in oak, we've brought this exact wine 4 times now.
We also got another one with pure notes of chocolate that has won awards. Then we decided to spice it up & also got a white Chenin Blanc, which boasts flavors of passionfruit, apples & melon. The Chenin Blanc was from the Meerkat range & if it is as good as the Meerkat Pinotage I drunk last night, it promises to be good!
We are loving the South African wine & plan to collect them back at home!
After the grocery shopping we hit the road with 500km's to cover before dark so we can enter & camp in the National Park. We're really excited about Etosha & really want to see cheetahs & a rhino that is close enough for the naked eye to see. Etosha & Namibia is well known for the highest concentrations of cheetah & it's where I had my up close cheetah encounter last time.
Driving through Namibia today has been interesting enough. We've stopped a few times to buy diesel & coffee from coffee machines! We've driven past a few gold & diamond minds & given a brief history of Namibias mineral resources. There hasn't been any wild animal sightings driving to the park.
We have been pulled over twice by police, both times for not having big enough headlights. The legal requirements of each country are different & quite frustrating for Steven our driver, the giant headlights that Namibia wants to see on the truck are illegal in Kenya. I don't think he was fined on either occasion.
To pass the time I have been sorting photos into folders on my laptop & Tom has smashed the book he only started yesterday. By 3.30pm he has finished the 393rd page, which also happens to be the last page.
At 5:29pm we reached the gate for Etosha National Park!
On the right to the gate there was a brown antelope with a white face, white bottom & long slightly curved horns. We identified it in a book as being a bontebok, a rare antelope nearly hunted to extinction in the 20th century. They are only found in Nimibia & most are in private parks.
Jurumba said he had never seen one before! It's very cool that we spotted it, although the photos of it were blurry. 2 minutes into the park we saw a herd of impala crossing the road, Etosha is looking like a great place to find antelope.
Driving through Namibia today has been interesting enough. We've stopped a few times to buy diesel & coffee from coffee machines! We've driven past a few gold & diamond minds & given a brief history of Namibias mineral resources. There hasn't been any wild animal sightings driving to the park.
We have been pulled over twice by police, both times for not having big enough headlights. The legal requirements of each country are different & quite frustrating for Steven our driver, the giant headlights that Namibia wants to see on the truck are illegal in Kenya. I don't think he was fined on either occasion.
To pass the time I have been sorting photos into folders on my laptop & Tom has smashed the book he only started yesterday. By 3.30pm he has finished the 393rd page, which also happens to be the last page.
At 5:29pm we reached the gate for Etosha National Park!
On the right to the gate there was a brown antelope with a white face, white bottom & long slightly curved horns. We identified it in a book as being a bontebok, a rare antelope nearly hunted to extinction in the 20th century. They are only found in Nimibia & most are in private parks.
Jurumba said he had never seen one before! It's very cool that we spotted it, although the photos of it were blurry. 2 minutes into the park we saw a herd of impala crossing the road, Etosha is looking like a great place to find antelope.
Tom &, I as well as 6 other people on our tour have elected to do an optional night time game drive through Etosha. After making payment at reception we have 40 minutes to put up our tent, organize our sleeping arrangements and be back at the reception.
As we were getting ready to leave the camp we could hear lions roaring from very close to the fence line...... exciting!
The first few minutes out of the camping ground gates we saw 2 large bull elephants very close to the road. One of them was not happy by us & was flapping his ears & stomping his feet on the road. Shortly after this we saw one small spotted hyena walking through the bush.
At the waterhole there was a large herd of elephants with babies hogging the water. There was approximately 7 giraffes standing back & a black rhino that emerged from the bush's. There was another spotted hyena & approximately 4 black backed jackel. A small bachelor herd of impala & more black backed jackel. The impala are the black face impala, only found in Namibia. They are missing the black M shaped marking on their bum & tail that we normally see, instead they have a black stripe on their face.
The first few minutes out of the camping ground gates we saw 2 large bull elephants very close to the road. One of them was not happy by us & was flapping his ears & stomping his feet on the road. Shortly after this we saw one small spotted hyena walking through the bush.
At the waterhole there was a large herd of elephants with babies hogging the water. There was approximately 7 giraffes standing back & a black rhino that emerged from the bush's. There was another spotted hyena & approximately 4 black backed jackel. A small bachelor herd of impala & more black backed jackel. The impala are the black face impala, only found in Namibia. They are missing the black M shaped marking on their bum & tail that we normally see, instead they have a black stripe on their face.
After the water hole, We saw a pair of black backed jackel & our guide told us they mate for life & if one dies, the other one will live out its life alone & not find another mate. He also said they commonly contract & transmit the rabies virus.
There was 1 large bull elephant sleeping, we disturbed him with our noise & when he woke up he pushed down a near by tree & kicked it. It was very cute, like he was having a tantrum.
At a smaller waterhole we saw another elephant sleeping & another rhino.
Shortly after this we saw another rhino super close that walked across the road right in front of the jeep! Our game drive luck continues! We've seen 3 rhinos in 1 hour.
We seen a mixed herd of springbok lying on the ground close to the road. We actually managed to take some photos of them. The photography tonight is a nightmare! The guide is using a special red light so as not to disturb the animals, which is great for them but in conjunction with the lights from the car & the camera flash's, it just doesn't work!
A few hundred meters away we saw 3 spotted hyenas & a heavily pregnant female one that crossed the road straight in front of the car. Our guide said generally the first litter of hyena pups will only be small, averaging at 2, from then she can have litters from 2 to 6 pups.
After the pregnant hyena crossed the road we saw a blue weelderbeast.
At 9.15pm we saw our 4th rhino lying down near a waterhole, there was heaps of spotted hyenas walking close by the jeep. We were sitting by the waterhole watching the rhino & the hyenas when another, smaller rhino also appears near the waterhole.
We stay and watch for a short while, the rhinos keep their distance, occasionally mock charging a hyena that got too close.
It was close to 10pm when we left the waterhole to drive back & it was freezing!!
Our driver is desperately trying to find some lions, we're all now desperately wishing for our warm sleeping bags. We see our 6th rhino walking behind some bushes just as we turn onto the main road back to the camping site & that's also the last animal sighting of the night. It's at this point the driver looks back & realises were shivering, loudly apologises & hands back thick material ponchos. The last 10 minutes is a lot more enjoyable, though we all wish that he had remembered them sooner. It's such a relief to finally get back to the campsite, we are so cold & tired that we don't even bother eating the dinner that's been put away for us & instead go straight to sleep.
- Alli
It was close to 10pm when we left the waterhole to drive back & it was freezing!!
Our driver is desperately trying to find some lions, we're all now desperately wishing for our warm sleeping bags. We see our 6th rhino walking behind some bushes just as we turn onto the main road back to the camping site & that's also the last animal sighting of the night. It's at this point the driver looks back & realises were shivering, loudly apologises & hands back thick material ponchos. The last 10 minutes is a lot more enjoyable, though we all wish that he had remembered them sooner. It's such a relief to finally get back to the campsite, we are so cold & tired that we don't even bother eating the dinner that's been put away for us & instead go straight to sleep.
- Alli
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