3 out of 5 ain't bad
Trip Start
Nov 13, 2005
1
8
17
Trip End
Dec 22, 2006
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Etosha National Park, Namibia
Friday, December 2, 2005
On the drive into Etosha we saw giraffe, springbok, warthog, gemsbok and kudu. Kudu look quite beautiful and we've eaten kudu steak along the way! It was wonderful to see the animals along the side of the road, just like we'd see cattle or sheep grazing back home.
Stayed in the Okaukuejo and Namutoni campsites located in the park itself. The facilities were excellent and possibly the best camping grounds we've seen around the world with running water, hot showers, shops, bars and swimming pools. Met a girl Lynn from Carlow who is a guide for another overland company. Turns out she knows our college buddy Keith... 'it's a small, small world'.
Fair play to Grant who came running back from the watering hole to inform us that an elephant had wandered in for some refreshment. He was accompanied by some springbok, warthogs and zebras. You can sit (yes benches are provided) about 15 metres away from the watering hole which gives you a great view without getting too near the animals. 'Nelly' was amazing, could have watched her for hours. So formed our first 'Big 5' sighting.
Our afternoon game drive in our own truck produced number 2. A male lion sitting under a tree. Fantastic to be so close to these animals in their natural habitat. Number 3 was spotted after dinner. Back at the watering hole a mother and daughter rhino. Just before bed they had moved on and were replaced by the Daddy rhino.
Our second early morning drive allowed us to see hartebeest, steenbok, hyena, bat earred fox and various bird species. Our driver Laurence is brilliant at spotting animals and with 6 years experience he knows where to go. We met numerous groups who had seen nothing in Etosha.
After lunch we got a chance to sit in the sunshine and cool off in the pool. Bolloc ball was even played in the pool... don't ask! We made our way across the park to our second campsite while spotting impalas, damaras dik dik, secretary birds and bustards. Liam in true 'David Attenborough' style was pretty good at spotting the animals. We had some wonderful up close moments as elephants crossed in front of our truck and giraffes ran alongside. This was how we'd imagined Africa...
