July 25th, 2016

Day 116: Otjitotongwe Cheetah Farm

We slept so well in Terrace Bay – the howling wind and the crashing surf made our tiny little dorm super cozy. After breakfast in our private restaurant, we headed back on the road. We had a long day of driving ahead of us, as it would take us about 6 hours to reach the Otjitotongwe Cheetah Farm. However, we’re finding we don’t mind long driving days, as the Namibian landscape is so breathtaking. Our route through the Grootberg Pass was so full of “eye-candy” – it did not disappoint!

A huge breakfast spread, just for us! The reward for being the only visitors to Terrace Bay.

Igor trying to make friends with a jackal

Farewell to the Skeleton Coast – it’s been fun!

OMG! Our first giraffes! Pull over!!!!

A group of four giraffes just walking through a fenced corridor by the side of the road

Each new animal sighting in Africa is thrilling – after a good 20 minutes of following these guys down the road, we finally say goodbye to the giraffes

A lone Oryx running across our path

As we get nearer the Grootberg Pass through the mountains, the landscape is stunning

Heading up into the mountains

Just another roadtrip in Namibia

Signs warning us to be wary of elephants crossing the road on the Grootberg Pass! We kept an eye out for elephants but didn’t see any…or so we thought

Can you spot the elephants in the background? We totally missed them! It wasn’t until we were downloading our photos at the end of the day that we realized to saw one of the Big Five!

Elephants aside, Igor had a great day chasing the wildlife that we did see.

Descending from the mountain pass

When we reached the Otjitotongwe Cheetah Farm, we met a family from Belgium, who would also be staying overnight in the farm’s cabins. We nicked named the mother, “Belgian Barbara” because she and her family reminded us so much of the Nordqiusts – friendly, outgoing and determined to make friends with us whether we wanted to be social or not! The Belgians’ itinerary was very similar to ours, except they were doing it in reverse: starting in Botswana and ending in Namibia. They told us they wished they had gone in the opposite direction, as their best wildlife encounters were in Botswana – they said in comparison, Etosha and the rest of Namibia were a bit of a let-down. The Belgians were so excited for us, as the direction we were headed was only going to get more and more spectacular every day!

At 3PM, the farmer drove over to the cabins and picked us all up in his truck and drove us to the main farmhouse. The Otjitotongwe Farm started out as a regular livestock farm, that accidentally fell into the tourist industry when they found a mother cheetah with three cubs on their property. As cheetahs often attacked their livestock, they considered her more of a nuisance…until people kept showing up at their door asking if they could see the kittens. When the mother cheetah started eating her own cubs, the farmers ended up taking the kittens away and hand-reared them as pets. Over time, farmers in the area started calling them anytime they had a cheetah problem on their property. Instead of shooting the cheetahs, the Otjitotongwe Farm set-up a 200+ acre enclosure to relocate the wild cats, so at least they would get to live out the rest of their lives in as near a natural habitat as possible. As of now, they have 13 cheetahs: 4 tame females which tourists can actually pet, 7 “wild” adults and a pair of cubs (who unfortauntely didn’t make an appearance for us). During the tour, the farmers first brought us to the farmhouse where were we got to meet and pet three of the tame cheetahs, then took us to the wild enclosure to feed the rest of the cats.

Checking into our cottage at the Cheetah Farm and hanging some damp laundry out to dry

Time for the Cheetah Experience! We hop into the back of the farmer’s pick-up to meet the cats

Absolutely surreal! We actually got to *pet* a cheetah!

These cheetahs are so tame – the entire Belgian Family was showering her with attention. When we headed back behind the farmhouse, they calmly walked with the group

Kwaaitjie – the youngest of the house-cheetahs – rolled around in the yard, showing off her home to the guests

No chasing needed! Igor can get up-close and personal with the cheetahs

She’s just a great big cat – playing with the farmer’s hat

Such a cute kitty!

Dinnertime! Each cheetah gets a chunk of raw meat once a day

The cheetahs are very protective of their meal – but that doesn’t stop the dog from sneaking a small leftover

The 220+ acre enclosure for the “wild” cheetahs

The wild cheetahs – they started following us and salivating when we entered their enclosure – they were hungry! And they didn’t look that patient…

The farmer threw a big chunk of meat to each of the cheetahs – hand-feeding them keeps them out of trouble as they no longer hunt the livestock

We returned to the cabins, where we had a delicous dinner of eland meat pie – at least, Igor and Lindsay thought it was tasty! It paired well with our South African Shiraz! Hoever, the Belgian Family was convinced we were eating goat instead. After dinner, we all headed outside to admire the stars – it was the brightest sky we have yet seen in our travels! Unwilling to call it an early night, Belgian Barbara built a raging fire (as soon as the farmer and his wife left for the night) where we all sat around to enjoy a beautiful African evening.