Etosha Game Park

We have just returned from 4 days’ camping at Etosha game park. It was our first family camping trip and our first holiday in a long time.
Etosha was declared a National Park in 1907 and covering an area of 22 270 square km, it is home to 114 mammal species, 340 bird species, 110 reptile species, 16 amphibian species and, surprisingly, one species of fish.
Etosha, meaning "Great White Place", is dominated by a massive mineral pan. a large dusty depression of salt and dusty clay which fills only if the rains are heavy and even then only holds water for a short time. A San legend about the formation of the Etosha Pan tells of how a village was raided and everyone but the women slaughtered. One woman was so upset about the death of her family she cried until her tears formed a massive lake. When the lake dried up nothing was left apart from a huge white pan.
It was VERY hot during the day and very cold at night. The camp site was a dust bowl and the wind kept us all gritty. The pic of us at the salt pan edge shows us squinting against the sun and the dust in the windy air! It was over 30 degrees out there and ZERO shade.
But the animals we saw were well worth it. I am only posting a few pix on the blog; not artistic ones, but ones designed to give you an idea of what the animal looks like as many may be unfamiliar. The kudu one shows a springbok, too, for comparison (though how many of you know how big a springbok is?). Kudus are HUGE and are responsible for many of the fatal car accidents between here and Windhoek. (Caris says the plural of springbok must surely be springboxes!)
We saw lion, rhino, elephant, jackal, zebra, hyena, giraffe, buck, and wildebeest. Sadly, we did not see more than an obscure glimpse of a leopard (ongwe), though others said they saw one when they were driving around. And no sighting of a cheetah. (Maybe next time! Wanna come?)
The hornbill is eating some of David’s (somewhat solid) damper bread and you can see him in the act of tossing a piece into his beak/bill (?).
There is a watering hole nearby the camp at which we stayed which was floodlit at night and that is when we saw hyena and rhino.
There is one picture of the road with a layer of springbok, then of zebra and then of wildebeest (gnu) which met us as we came in. Unfortunately, the photo is too small to do it justice. It was like the parting of a sea of animals as we edged through them.
At least the camp had warm water for showers (one of the few camping places in Namibia that DOES!) … I have been waiting all day for our water here in Ongwediva to be reconnected – a pipe problem, I think. The electricity is pretty reliable, and the water only goes off once or twice a fortnight. (But I really want a shower … can you smell me?!) PLUS, the people in Owamboland who have running water INSIDE their house are a tiny minority. Townships have outside taps with a lock on that certain people have the key to. If you live outside of a town then you get your water from the tap for your village (which may be some walk away) or from an oshana (sort of ditch) that may have some water still in it from the rains in March (I will post relevant pics anon). However, oshanas are shared with pigs, fowl and cattle. So, going without a shower for simply a few hours is still a luxury!
We are enjoying having Ben Staunton here at the moment (from Armidale!!). After a ministry stint in SA, he is visiting friends in Southern Africa. Great fun to talk to an Australian … and to teach him “Settlers of Catan’! The day he leaves we collect Steve Pivetta from Ondangwa airport. Steve is giving us a pastoral CMS visit.
When are YOU coming to visit?