Back in Nam
Trip Start
Mar 20, 2012
1
19
30
Trip End
Oct 16, 2013
Etosha National Park, Namibia
Friday, June 22, 2012
We rose excited about the Etosha National Park, but first on the agenda was to check out the world’s largest meteorite; given the name Hoba after the owners of the farm it was discovered on. Hoba was discovered in 1920 when a farmer ploughed over it. Still in its original landing spot, now weighing an estimated 60ton, after significant erosion due to Oxidation; Estimated to be 80,000 years since it tore into our atmosphere and found its resting place. It has been tested to be made up of 84% iron and 16% nickel. The scene around it is quite peaceful, among the trees and cool breeze of the Namibian morning; almost airy. We all piled onto the meteor, which is a lot harder and unladylike to mount than you would think; Except for Ryan who took the superhero approach and leapt from the side. Though I knew it was made of metal, I was still taken back by how cold and hard the meteor was. After a lot of pictures we hit the road again.
Etosha was another world from the other game parks we had encountered; the rest/camp areas offered a bar, pool, shops, restaurant and a waterhole to sit and watch animals that may pass through. During the day we would drive around, seeking out interesting sights ensuring to be back at camp by sunset as they shut the gates and distribute fines for those not back. With the park being so dry we found most animals congregating around the waterholes. All the different parks we have visited, even each waterhole, offered a different experiences. (Here’s a link to a video from Etosha; check out the giraffes in the background
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCTvorxDWoc ). After dinner we would take our blanket and head to the side of the campsite to have a nosey at what animals would grace the floodlit waterhole; elephant, hyena, black rhino, giraffe and jackal. You could probably see just about all the animals you wanted to if you stayed watching all night. Now and again Ryan would tell me of school trips made here as a child. Etosha is such a large game park; originally created at 99,536 sq km to preserve wildlife, its boarders diminished and by 1970 it lay at 23,175 sq km which is a huge drop, but is still 8412 sq km bigger than the Serengeti National Park. Its many beauties surpassed my expectations, from the Etosha pan that stretches to the horizon to the enchanting sunsets.
We embarked on our last game drive, spotting a pride of 17 lion out in the pan on our way to exit Etosha and made our way to "Cheetah Park". There are so many cheetah in Namibia it is legal to shoot them if they make a nuisance of themselves i.e. killing livestock. In this case the farmer shot one of these cats only to find she had 3 cubs, further deciding to bring them up as pets. After a while many farmers heard of this and would instead of shooting, simply catch the trouble making cheetah and take them to this farm leaving them now with 14 wild cheetahs roaming a giant enclosure. We relaxed at camp until the owner collected us. We had seen a cheetah inspecting the fence line next to our camp which excited us incredibly. Once collected we were taken to the main house to interact with the 3 domesticated cheetahs. With their sand paper tongues they licked us and enjoyed a pat along with their fellow jack russell (whom I’m pretty sure thinks he is a cheetah as well). They were fed some bloody chunks of meat that we watched them rip apart and then it was time to feed the wild ones. We mounted a trailer that felt like a chariot as it bounced along the gravel road that took us to the enormous enclosure, where 4 hungry cheetahs patrolled the gate. We drove through the enclosure watching more and more cheetah join in the hunt for the food distribution. Eventually we had 13 cheetahs around us. After a while the owner got out and began throwing pieces of meat out with the cheetahs leaping at it, with one victorious cheetah sprinting off to devour it. Once all of them were fed he drove us out back toward our camp. He stopped at the final enclosure next to our site to feed the separated cheetah. We asked as he entered the enclosure why she was separated and he simply said she was unwell. As he returned to the gate he had something rolled in his shirt; my first thought was gross he’s put the meat in his shirt to entice the cheetah to come to the gate to see us. He walked out and placed a 10day old cheetah cub on the ground; we all melted, especially us girls. We snapped away and had photos with it before returning it to the mother. Conversations for the rest of the evening consisted of how lucky we were, how cute it was and how could we steal one to take with us.
Unfortunately without our cheetah cub we exited the farm down the road to visit a Himba Village. As we pulled up there was another overland truck parked, causing my expectation of commercialism. We met our guide who took us to the entrance, explaining they originated in Angola migrating into north west Namibia, with some moving to this village as one woman got sick so the farmer bought her south for western medicine. We walked around the circle of huts greeting in their language and playing with the children, puppy and kids that resided there. Our guide informed us that the woman have extensions and clay put in their hair every 3 months or so as a sign of beauty and wealth and male teens have their front two teeth knocked out for beauty reasons. I was very impressed with the authenticity of this village. As we wondered we saw cows being hand milked and kids eating Ugali, were shown a demonstration of how the woman wash while the chief sat outside watching over his people. A man can have as many wives as tickles his fancy by paying 5 goats to her father. They are allowed to divorce but the second husband must pay the previous husband 8 goats. It was a much more interesting and enjoyable experience than the Massai village.
As we ticked up bunches of kilometers along the straight dusty roads without passing as much as a small village we realised how vast this county is. Namibia’s population is a whopping 2 million and its boarders give it an area 3 times bigger than New Zealand, making it the second least populated country in the world. After a day of driving, some giant rocks began to protrude from the horizon. These mountain sized rocks was where we set up camp, a place called Spitzkoppe. With time to spare we set off on a climb to the top of one of these humungous stones. These towering rocks that are a pastel orange colour under the Namibia sun are a sharp contrast to the flat brown plains that stretch out around them. We watched as the sun started tip toeing out of the sky, showing off its glowing brilliance as it disappeared. It was a cold night so we huddled around the fire, under thousands of bright, twinkling stars that graced the sky.
Half a day of driving put the coast line in our sights. We drove parallel to the sea along what is called The Skeleton Coast. It was given this name because of the many boats that became victims of this ragged stretch of coast over the years. Survivors of the ship wrecks then found themselves in a harsh desert with no help for miles around so would end up succumbing to the unforgiving elements. As we neared the middle of nowhere our truck decided to overheat putting us in a similar predicament to the sailors. Luckily by donating our drinking water we managed to get the truck driving again. Up the coast a bit we arrived at Cape Cross, a seal colony that is home to over 1 million black seals. The sound coming from the beach sounds like a noisy baaing flock of sheep. These furry fish lovers are scattered all over the beach and over each other. They also give the sea a choc chip ocean look as they show off their love for swimming. I had heard many stories of the unpleasant smell that accompanies this type of colony, but this didn’t seem to be the case for us. The wind must have been blowing in the right direction. Thousands of seals are killed each year and turned into house hold products, but the main reason being to keep the fish numbers up for the local fishing industry. We said goodbye to the chaotic scenes of the beach and headed south to Swakopmund.
