May 1

Etosha NP, day 3

Another amazing morning of bird and animal viewing.  Irene was up first (as usual).  It was just before 6 am and a good time to head over to the water hole.  Dawn and dusk don't last long at this latitude and the best time to see some of the wildlife - and take photos in magical light - is at dawn and dusk. There were signs that elephants had been at the water hole during the night.  Other campers told of two lions stalking an antelope, and two wildebeasts fighting.  But in the breaking dawn the only action was an army of guinea fowl marching across the barren landscape to the pond.  It takes patience to wait and watch.  Obviously we should have stayed up later the night before when the nocturnal animals were active.

After a wonderful breakfast of delicious crepes (thanks, Charlotte) we headed down a gravel track to a look-out spot on the edge of the pan.  Of course  we saw water in the distance, and islands reflected in that sea of blue.  Dry salt on the 'beach' glimmered fresh white in the morning sun.  But of course there  was no water in the distance; the blue sea was just a mirage caused by the heat.  Etosha NP is 20,000 square km and the pan is 5,000 square km.  Distances are hard to judge in such a flat and barren landscape, and we could easily imagine being disoriented beyond the sign-posted gravel tracks provided for visitors.  

 

As we drove along -  visitors are not allowed to get out of their vehicles except at designated,"safe" places - we observed 3 elephants browsing among the bushes at the edge of our track, several species of antelopes grazing on scrub grasses, and giraffes standing here and there.

We returned to a waterhole we had visited the day before and found a similar variety of springboks, zebras, and wildebeests.  

Our next stop was at a water hole known to be frequented by elephants, and we were not disappointed.  About a dozen elephants were hovering around the water hole,  and a few others were standing nearby.  At the water hole the elephants were drinking, splashing water over themselves, and tossing water at each other.  

We stayed over an hour, maybe two?  The elephants were active and interesting to watch.  Some started  kicking up muddy water, then some began 'nuzzling' each other, first by laying their trunks on each other's backs and then by twisting trunks around trunks.  We noticed two males interacting, and their sexual excitement....Young stayed close to parents, then sometimes separated.  We didn't understand the dynamics.  After an hour a group of about six more elephants arrived, and mingled.  There were some signs of aggression too, when a large male pushed another away. This happens numerous times.

A lion wandered past, and lay down in the shade of a small bush.  She seemed relaxed and lazy, yet ever alert.  A giraffe walked over, circumnavigated the pond, stopped and looked for over half an hour, then finally walked off into the brush.  Some warthogs came by and the lion got up to chase them, but then gave up and returned to the shade of the bush.  The warthog young scurried away, but the parents came back.  They lion gazed lazily, and seemed disinterested in them. 

We finally decided it was time for lunch and drove a short distance to the safe picnic zone, a shady area behind a wire fence.  After our picnic we returned to the waterhole to see the elephants once more.  The lion had left.  

We drove along gravel roads to the park gate, then to our next camp.  It was warm and sunny so we rested in the shade of a single tree, too hot to exert ourselves.  Another amazing day ended with a delicious dinner at our private table, complete with a candle and tablecloth, and lovely Cape wine.