Waterberg

It is unbelievable, but there are permanent lakes in Namibia. In the Tsumeb area are 2 very deep craters in the limestone, collapsed caves. We went to see one of them. The lake was about 40m in diameter and the walls leading steeply down to the water surface, 20m below our viewpoint. It was a shame really, there was no way to go swimming in the clear, fresh water. The lake is said to be bottomless which is probably not true, but it comes quite close.

Next we visited a crocodile ranch where they have 50 adult animals for breeding, huge beasts, all caught in the Kunene/Caprivi area. The offspring is used when they are 3-6 years old: for shoes, handbags and meat. We had a look in the nursery and were surprised how small the 4 year olds are, maybe a meter in length. Our guide held one of them and we were allowed to touch it: the skin is very smooth and soft, not as it looks like. Afterwards we had crocodile steak which was very tasty, but somehow it felt the wrong way round: we should be eaten by crocodile instead of vice versa.

On the farm Gaub we took a guided tour into their famous bat cave. It was very interesting to explore the cave, not with built ways and staircases as I knew it from Europe. We only saw 3 bats, but very close and they did not move away. We took camp on another farm where there was a sign for camping, a note with the prices and a box to put the money in at the gate, several campsites with fire places, a simple toilet and shower for which you could make hot water by lighting a fire under the boiler. We were all on our own and enjoyed it.

Despite warnings that it is not worth it we went to the Hoba meteorite. I found it quite impressive: an iron lump 3m x 2m and 1m high. Yes, there is not much to see about it, but when you imagine when and where it comes from …

At Waterberg we went on a guided walk onto the plateau with a Herero who explained a lot about the plants, the animals and Herero tradition. It was interesting to listen to him. The other reason why we went with a guide was that there are buffalo and black rhino on the plateau which can become quite aggressive. However, we did not meet any. The other days we walked around in the plain on our own. The landscape is phantastic, red sandstone towering maybe 50m above the plain! There are permanent springs and it was lovely to walk along the water, you do not get this chance very often here.

Etosha

Our next stop was on the farm Otjihaenamaparero to see 219 million years old dinosaur footprints. There were very well visible, over 20m long tracks, deeply imprinted into the sandstone, surprisingly impressive. The landscape was wonderful with mount Etjo towering above the plains. We stayed on the small, simple camp site there, all on our own, it was so quiet.

Next day we took our time, topped up our stock in Outjo, and carried on to Etosha Safari camp 10km south of Anderson Gate. That evening we started our first attempt of cooking a meal on the open fire and it worked! To our surprise nothing was burnt. We got very excited to enter the highlight of Namibia, Etosha Park. And it did not disappoint us. Already at the first waterhole we stopped for a long time, amazed that the animals did not run away as usual. They are so used to cars here. There were zebras and springbok and fresh elephant shit. The view of the pan itself was just unbearable, so wide and endless, you could see the animals kilometres away. It was still muddy in places. We drove around all day and it never became boring. I took lots of photos of beautifully patterned zebras, secretary bird and the cute little ground squirrels. We returned to our camp and next day we set off to cross half of Etosha and camp in the middle, at a place called Halali (regards from the German hunters). We added elephants, rhino, impala, kudu and oryx to our list and laughed at drinking giraffes. The camp had its own floodlit waterhole were we watched a herd of about 20 elephant at night, 2 black rhinos with a calf drinking, and a spotted hyena. On our last day in Etosha, early in the morning, with the sun blending me through a dusty windscreen and the bushes throwing striped shadows on the road, I slowed down as I saw an animal on the road. I was busy working out which big antelope that would be when I realized that it was a lion! In fact, there were two. We watched them slowly disappearing into the bush, marking them on the way. Wow, what a start of the day! We drove through an area of interesting landscape with hills, smaller pans and palm trees. There were even large areas with water and pelicans. Again, we saw a lot, but we had stopped counting except for the 3 lions and 4 black rhinos. Not long before sunset we left the park and took camp nearby. We were looking forward to a day of rest, walking around a bit, without driving. This is the big disadvantage of Etosha that you are not allowed (for good reasons) to leave the car. Even the toilets are fenced in.

Africat

My next trip started with a visit at Africat Foundation, a place that cares about big cats that are not suitable for living in the wild. They have a posh lodge (at posh prices) and show visitors the animals and explain the rehabilitation projects. We started with leopard tracking in a car. The leopards there are actually not part of the project, but had been fenced in by accident as they are living there. However, some of them had been marked with a collar with a sender, so that the animals could be located. They also got used to the cars and are thus not as shy as wild leopards normally would be. It took a while to find one of them and on the way we already spotted Eland antelope, Kudu, Oryx and Zebra. Kudus make a barking sound when disturbed and when we first heard the leopard we thought it was a Kudu, such a strange noise it made. Then we saw the leopard between the bushes, a beautiful animal. We followed it for about half an hour and it did not seem to mind. It took a sand bath, walked around, and shit on the way. It was interesting to learn that it carried its tail high to signalize the nearby Kudus that it is not hunting. Although the whole activity had a little bit artificial feeling it still was a great experience. In the evening we went to a hide and watched porcupines which came for the kitchen waste.

Next morning we got up early, before 6 o’clock, to watch the three lions in their large enclosure on their morning walk. They had been rescued from cages as small as a car, but were too used to humans to be released into the wild. Then we went to see the wild dogs which had been rescued as cubs after a farmer had buried them alive in a plastic bag to get rid of them. They are an endangered species with unpleasant characteristics: they hunt their prey in packs and eat pieces out of it while it is still running! The next stop was for feeding the cheetahs that could not go back to the wild. They came really close to the car, chirping and purring, yes, almost singing! It was a joy to watch these elegant cats jumping for their piece of meat. We also learned a lot about their properties, habits and life stile. After a good break and a proper brunch we went on a little walk on our own, in an area without big cats. To our surprise we discovered quite a few tiny flowers despite the dry and cold season.

On the afternoon programme was cheetah tracking on foot. The animal was used to humans, but lived wild, i.e. it was not fed. It also had a radio collar so that we could locate it. The tension grew when we knew it was close and we left the car to follow it. Firstly, it moved fast and then not anymore. When we found it it had just killed a Dikdik, one of the smallest antelopes. We watched it eating for a while from of distance of only about 5m. On our way to a wonderful sundowner place we saw a troop of baboons and dassies in a tree.

On our last morning we went on a “Bushman trail”. They explained to us how they live, showed how they make ropes, bags and bows, how to catch animals in a trap and how to make fire. The ropes were made of sansiveria and were very strong. This demonstration was full of interesting stories about their culture. I really like their attitude not to take more than they need and to use the resources of nature so that they can recover.