Grant and Susan in Etosha National Park

September 4-8, 1997

Etosha was fabulous for game, much of it right on the main east-west access road which goes for 140 km through the park. Also, since this is the end of the dry season, lots of game were at the waterholes, some natural and some man-made (with solar-powered water pumps)

Kudus debating right of way in Etosha N.P.

The zebras were really "in your face", thousands of them right on the roads, not shy at all, just barely deigning to get off the road for a vehicle, then standing by the side of the road looking at you curiously.

Etosha also had heaps of antelopes, mostly springboks (cute medium sized antelopes), but also kudus, (big grey antelopes with long curly horns) gemsboks (big antelopes with clown faces and long straight horns), dik diks (little bitty antelopes with incredibly cute faces) and hartebeests (medium sized reddish antelopes). I can now identify all of the above and have multo pictures of same.

So nice to be on your own instead of on a tour, as we could set our own schedule. One day we spent several hours at just one waterhole, watching the parade of game coming down to drink. We saw elephants and warthogs and jackals, and lots of giraffes, including a baby giraffe.

Giraffes drinking at waterhole in Etosha National Park, Namibia

Springboks resting in the tall grass, Etosha

We didn't see any lions in Etosha, but we did see a couple of leopards heading off on their evening hunt. A highlight was the black rhino family (dad, mum and junior) drinking at the floodlit waterhole near the Halali camp. Not sure how the pics will turn out, as it was fairly dark, but it was magical!

Rhino nursing baby, Etosha National Park, Namibia