Great White Place

Friday, September 02, 2016
Etosha National Park, Namibia

The Etosha National Park, founded in 1907, covers an area of 22 270 km2 and means 'Great White Place' because the entire area is made up of fine white sand and the salt pans which total 4590 km2 stretch across the northern section for hundreds of kilometers . Permanent springs are plentiful in the south fed by the water reserves in the porous bedrock which permeate out onto the impermeable clay floor of the pan. The Big Four can be seen in this park which is half the size of Switzerland. The missing one is Buffalo - just not enough water or grazing for them to survive in the arid landscape of Etosha. 

3 things you can be assured of as a camper when visiting Etosha in the dry season: you are always thirsty, breathing, eating and sleeping with dust and getting woken up at 5am by the tour groups in their big overland camper trucks, with scant regard for other campers who are not on 'one night' stop overs and don't have to rush out every bloody morning as the gates open!! 
 
Camping is on a first come first serve basis in Etosha so campsite 58 was the pick of the day and as the day progressed, it filled up rapidly with overnight campers in their rented 4x4 vehicles kitted out with roof top tents, a ladder, a fridge and not much else .
During our 3 days in a very dry and slightly windy Etosha, besides our game drives to the various waterholes dotted around Halali where we saw very healthy plains game, including 2 Lions, Kudu, Elephants,, Black Rhino, Wildebeest and Giraffe, our other pastime was observing the motley bunch of visitors who regaled us with their quirky behavior, be it at the campsites, around the pool or at our Halali waterhole view site!  

Picture Crocodile Dundee at a waterhole with his full camouflage outfit including his camo shoes and his sheathed knife strapped to his back and armed with a bazooka camera plus a "Brooke Shields" look-a-like on his arm! He looked as if he was on a film shoot but sadly he was just the tour guide for the Italian group and we never saw him point his Bazooka at any time or even take one picture!

Then came the Italian women groupies on tour, dressed up to the nines, all with cell phones and go-pros, hopping like Duracell bunnies over the rocks at the 'be silent' waterhole . In particular was one belle who as Carol mentioned, had dental protrusions that would enable her to eat an apple through a picket fence. She pushed in next to a professional wildlife fundi named Pierre Bassani with his cameras delicately balanced on tripods, one false move from this bugs bunny and the 3 very expensive cameras would have fallen down the rock face. All this to get a snap of the lone elephant drinking with a gorgeous sunset on the horizon. Forget it !!! It was all about her trying to get a selfie shot with her great big gap toothed smile! Carol, Peter and I were in hysterics. She was totally oblivious to anyone else around her. 

The added attraction of the swimming pool at Halali was a Godsend in the searing heat of the day and it drew just about every camper into the cool waters after enduring temps of 32-35 degrees and layers of dust now covering you from head to toe!All shapes and sizes came out on parade, be it in a bikini, speedo or spandex shorts and age as of no consequence when it came to apparel - anything goes in the bush!! Smooth tiles layered with fine white sand and wet feet was a disaster waiting to happen . One hour's free entertainment and light relief from looking through binoculars all day!

Returning from our final evening sojourn and entertainment at the waterhole, we noticed 2x rented 4x4's parked on the narrow road directly in front of our campsite. Did their German parents not teach them about spatial perception. Why did they not ask a neighbour or us for that matter, if they could not find their campsite boundary parking ! Regardless of the disbelief on our faces to this intrusion of our private space, they carried on unpacking and preparing their fire some 8 mtrs from their cars!! I could not help but get a picture of this and we made sure that our fireside chatter and laughter that night was louder with every G&T and glasses of wine we consumed.
A Pearl Spotted Owlet heralded the start of a new day and Terry scrambled for his camera when he saw it perched on a branch above our heads and as the smallest owl, he was very fortunate to get the most amazing picture .

We derived great pleasure when we packed up our trailers at 6am and gave the inconsiderate Germans, who were a little more than 4 meters from Peter's trailer, a taste of their own medicine - don't mess with the oldies! 

Being marooned in Etosha would not have been on Peter or Carols bucket list so when he realized that his car and trailer were in lock down mode for the journey to Erindi with his car keys still in his trailer from the night before., there was sheer panic all over his face! Carol ran for cover behind our car to put us in the picture! The spare car keys were in Carols handbag locked in the car ! Maybe the youngsters would have the last laugh after all! Peter would have to break into his own trailer ! But hey he was also a McGyver remembering past episodes in the bush, so what plan was he conjuring up? Voila the light came on and he retrieved the spare trailer key hidden in a secret spot!! A few tense moments then we all giggled hysterically but sorry Peter, you just earned the 'Mampara' trophy for this leg of our bush jol! 

We all concur that Sanparks are streets ahead of Namibian Wildlife Resorts in most aspects of administration and their management of the curio and provisions shops i.e. Ice Cream freezers - empty ; shelves of provisions - dismal ; smiling faces - non existent. NWR management would do well to visit Satara or Letaba in the Kruger Park to see how a popular tourist venue is run with an efficient and friendly service! Surely the objective is to capitalize on this lucrative International tourist market? 

Comments

Lilian East
2016-09-09

Quite a while since the last post - thought you were MIA. Keep the blogs coming. xxx

Cliff Kelly
2016-09-09

Thanks Lizzy. Superb reading. Not forgetting the Germans and Italians were our adversaries a while back! :) Great photos Brother, especially the owl. Between passports/ travellers cheques and vehicle keys and fishing rods, who is looking at the Mampara Vote on the homewood bound stretch? Guys you'll have conjure up something to foil the girls to wrap up the trip on an equal footing! Much love from us both.

Jenny Seaman
2016-09-12

Never a dull moment between the four of you! The beautiful animals, the stunning sunsets and clear blue skies must make up for 'eating dust'! Stunning photos TK :-)

2025-02-12

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