Our wakeup call that morning was generously provided by a peacock that happened to be wandering our campsite. After
some quick showers and tent dismantling, we headed into town to do some grocery shopping
before our trip to Etosha. Namibia was originally a German colony before it gained
independence, and in Windhoek there was still a lot of German influence in street names and some of the architecture.
I also saw lots of guards on every shop: petty crime is still a serious
problem. I'm pretty sure I was trailed by a pickpocket for a little while: for a couple of
blocks, I noticed a guy behind me who would enter a shop at the same time I did: if I
exited immediately, he exited immediately, etc. Fortunately I ran into some others from
the tour group and he seemed to lose interest.
While in town, I took the opportunity to exchange some money and check out the prices
of various stuff: since we would have a chance to shop at the end of the trip, I wanted to
make some price comparisons in case I saw something else good. Prices were amazingly
cheap: I decided to hold off until after I got back to Windhoek. As it turned out, I
didn't wait that long.
On the way to Etosha we stopped of at the Okabanja
(sp.?) market, which is a set of open stalls where local craftsmen trade their wares,
which ranged from tiny carvings to 8-foot totem poles. Everything is paid by cash, and the
sellers will negotiate prices. It was kind of hard to stop them, in fact: as soon as you
are spotted about 50 guys come up to you to sell stuff! They write the prices on their
arms using a small stick (making scratches). I ultimately broke down and got a few pieces,
wiping out my cash reserves! I like the pieces, but I had to carry them in my bag for the
rest of the trip, and they were heavy!
As we traveled north to Etosha (the name means "Great White Place", the
significance of which will become apparent later), the climate was getting drier and more
desolate: we saw lots of dust devils as we drove by. We ate lunch on the way up to save
some time and get some viewing time in. We were not disappointed!
Our campsite (Okaukuejo) was well within the bounds of the reserve, so we had a little
time to sightsee as we drove to the camp. We spotted our first giraffes of the tour: a juvenile was watching us warily
with its mother. They were grazing on the dry leaves
in the trees as we drove by. Later we got some really close shots of a herd of zebra running by: there are a couple of different
sub-species of zebra in Etosha, and the type we spotted (called Burchell's zebra) has
brown stripes in between the black ones. As we got nearer to the campsite, we also spotted
some more springbok, and a couple of kudu. Even a wildebeest
made an appearance: the first we'd see on the trip.
Okaukuejo is the main administrative camp in Etosha and sports a large tower where
people can watch the sunset, and presumably take shelter from elephant herds or something.
:-) After a quick shower most of us headed to the waterhole to watch the animals come to
drink at sunset.
Surrounding the waterhole is a low stone fence, and inside that is a smaller wood and
net fence, with stakes pointed out towards the waterhole to discourage animals from
entering the camp. It doesn't always work, though: apparently at least once there was a
battle between a lion and a rhino that nearly spilled into the crowd! A determined
elephant could easily scale the walls, too, but fortunately they seemed disinclined to
try.
It was nearing sunset, and there were many springbok and kudu drinking the water (which was
*stinking*, by the way: every time the wind shifted you could get a good whiff: I don't
know how the animals stood it). It was interesting how there seemed to be a pecking order
among the different species: first springbok would drink for a while, then the larger,
stronger kudu chased them away. When the kudu were done the giraffes slowly made their way to the waterhole (stopping
often, presumably watching out for predators).
After a quick dinner at our camp, (and a warning from Susanna to beware of black
scorpions and jackals, which wander the camp at night) I headed back to the waterhole. Jan
said that there were a couple of elephants that had come by, but they'd already left.
However, late that evening there were three or four black rhinos that came to drink and
wallow in the mud! There were lights on around the waterhole so everyone could see, but a)
my flash wasn't good enough to actually get a good shot, and b) they attracted bugs (and
bats!) like nobody's business! Thank goodness for DEET!
Once again, (you guessed it), I joined Martina and Katja for drinks at the local bar:
Antonio and Christina also joined us. There were a group of Germans having a great time at
the pool while we were there: one guy got dunked or thrown in (I wasn't sure which) while
fully clothed! Some insects also appeared to have a lot of fun: there was a huge praying
mantis flying about that seemed particularly attracted to me: it landed on my back a few
times and kept buzzing our table.
I got to examine Antonio's video camera, and immediately determined that I had to have
one! Tiny, light, digital, and with a huge number of features (including infrared, which
came in VERY handy at the waterhole!), it was positively a geek dream.
Getting late! We'll be getting up early for our drive around Etosha: time for a nap!
