Day 117: Etosha National Park – Day 1
So, Africa is known as a great honeymoon destination, as we can totally see why: the scenery is stunning and the accommodations are actually far more luxurious than we expected. Considering the amount of time and money one must spend to visit Africa, it makes sense that many Americans would only be able to justify the trip for a special occasion like a honeymoon. We’ve run into many honeymooners on our trip, and most people we meet assume they we are on our honeymoon as well.
Which leads us to one aspect of African lodging that continually confuses us. About 90% of the lodges we’ve stayed at in Namibia have given us two twin beds, even though we are travelling as a married couple. The first time it happened, we just assumed they were out of double/queen beds and didn’t think much of it. But after a week in Namibia we’ve realized it’s a thing. Even though we could push the beds together in some places, the bed covers only fit one bed, so we are still sleeping separately. Not much snuggling in Namibia, but you know what? We are getting *really* good night’s sleep…
Lindsay catching a few z’s in her twin bed, before a Hornbill starts knocking on the window, looking for breakfast
A beautiful Hornbill looking for food, and a lonely cheetah looking for attention
The fourth tame cheetah is an old girl at 17, and is a bit too grumpy most days to entertain hordes of tourists at the main farmhouse, so she has a private enclosure near the cabins. We are allowed to pet her through the fence as long as she is willing.
After breakfast, we make our way to Etosha – Namibia’s biggest national park, home to 4 of the Big 5. We will be staying here for four days and three nights, exploring the park via self-drive.
Bit of a warning to anyone who plans to visit Etosha – the process to enter the park is incredibly inefficient and frustrating. When we drove up to the gate, two separate people ask us to fill out registration forms with exactly the same info: one for the park, and one for the local police. Then, we were required to drive 30min into the park, bypassing several waterholes, directly to one of two headquarters in order to pay our entrance fee *immediately*. Since we were planning to visit the park for four days, we tried to pay for all four days at once so we wouldn’t have to go through the process again each day, but because we were staying inside the park on the third night, we were only allowed to pay for two days. When we asked if we could pre-pay that final two days, the answer was, “No.”
Driving into Etosha National Park
Like the rest of Namibia, Etosha has very little water, especially now during the dry season. The big draws in Etosha are the various waterholes (both natural and manmade) where the animals go to drink up. So we would drive to each waterhole, park our car, and basically have a stake-out, waiting for the animals to arrive. The previous renter of our CRV had left a detailed map of Etosha in the glove compartment, pointing out which holes are known for certain animals, so we drove off in search of cool stuff: lions, elephants and leopards!
Lots of Blue Wildebeest on our way to the first waterhole
A lonely Springbok!
LION! OMG IT’S A LION! IT’S A HUGE LION, TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES, WOW!
We got incredibly lucky, and spotted a lion almost immediately at the first waterhole we visited. Not that we are especially talented at finding wildlife, but when there are seven other cars all pulled over on the side of the road, you figure something interesting is there. Sure enough, that’s how we found our lion.
Unfortunately, we hit the highlight of our day early, and the rest of the day was full of lots and lots of antelope.
Even if the waterhole looks empty, if you wait long enough in Etosha, something will turn up.
A herd of zebras coming in for a drink
A lonely female ostrich
Kudu!
Hey, it’s the lion again! This time he’s on the move, and looking at Lindsay with a very menacing look, as she sticks her camera out the window. Instead of attacking her, he goes to hang out with his lady. We join about 15 others cars watching them, but instead of doing something cool – like hunting and killing an antelope – they just lay down and take a nap. You know, lions are kinda boring.
Since the park gate closes strictly at 5:30, we had to head out of the park well before sunset – just when the action was about to happen! We saw a Kori Bustard and a giraffe on the way out. Not a bad day.
Checking into our fancy digs at the Etosha Taleni Village Lodge, just outside the park, and toasting a great day at dinner
The dinner buffet was AMAZING! The chef has a selection of meats – including African game like Kudu, Wildebeest, Eland and Zebra – for you to choose from! Gee, we didn’t realize the game drive in the park was our menu…
Well Bo snores so you know why, we get a two-bedroom villa so we can get a *really* good night’s sleep…!!! OMG you were able to pet the cheetah what a memory. The animal wildlife so incredible and “water” is so crucial to survival—amazing photos. Love your fancy digs at the Etosha Taleni Village Lodge.