Day in Etosha National Park and beyond

Day in Etosha national Park and beyond

Day 4 & 5: 20 - 21 December

The 'pan' of Etosha

Right after breakfast we left for Etosha National Park. Just a short drive of about 20km. Right at the entrance to the Etosha National Park we saw a lion couple lazily lying under a tree. As we spent 2 days in Etosha - I have listed the many animals we saw (for both days) on day 2.
We returned at 17:00, and had just enough time for a walk at the lodge, freshening up and meeting again for dinner and talks about the sightings for the day at 19:00.
The chef outdid himself again and we were served with a vegetable quiche (starter), folllowed by Oryx steak, sweet beans, Springbok meatballs, grilled chicken, pepper sauce, penne, spiced rice, and a variety of salads.

Lion couple

For our second day in Etosha we got up at 4:30, packed our suitcases, packed the bus, had breakfast at 6:00, and left the Etosha Safari lodge at 6:30. 
We entered Etosha at the same gate as the day before and around the next corner the lion couple from the previous day had headed to the nearest watering hole 'Ombika' where 3 more lions joined, and we spent plenty of time just observing & photographing. 

Springbok @ the watering hole

We continued to Okaukuejo and drove along the dry pans to Namutoni where we bought some snacks for lunch. 

At the next watering hole 'Klein Namutoni' we had a picnic lunch in the vehicle whilst watching a herd of giraffe, an African fish eagle, red billed ducks and some jackal. From there on we continued to and exited at the 'von Lindquist' gate.

Blackbacked jackal tacking a sip

The animals we saw along the way through our Etosha drive were: 5x lions at Ombika, Burchell's zebras, Springbok, Blackfaced impala, Steenbok, Blue wildebeest, Red hartebeest, Giraffe, Ground squirrel, Spotted hyena, Warthog, Banded mongoose, Blackbacked jackal, Ostrich, Kori bustard, Northern black korhaan, Grey hornbill, Southern yellow billed hornbill, Burchell's sandgrouse, Pied crow, Cape crow, Grey go-away-bird, Secretary bird, African fish eagle, Tawny eagle, Greater flamingo, Red billed teal, Southern pale chanting goshawk, Lilac breasted roller, Southern masked weaver. 
The full list of birds viewed is on www.birdscontour.blogspot.com

African fish eagle

Tawny eagle

Greater flamingo 

Leaving Etosha we then passed Tsumeb, a mining town, and Grootfontein and reached a wonderfully green pasture and inviting guest & cattle & agricultural farm Ghaub. They have lovely little chalets in the green pasture, huge shade trees, horses grazing in the field, absolute calm and peace.

Panoramic view from the Ghaub mountain

On Ghaub we did a hike up the mountain, what a beautiful view! We saw the clouds move in, but weren't aware, that they were so close and inevitably got cought in the rain. Actually it was really refreshing, but I was concerned about my camera and could only hide it under my T-shirt, as we sought shelter under a tree, to safeguard us against the worst of the shower, and waited until the rain subsided. Fortunately the shower did not last longer than 10 minutes.
Immediately nature seemed to have revived and all birds started to sing, chirp, call. Little warthogs grazed in the thicket. A Red-billed hornbill posed for me - sitting on the branch after the rain.

Red-billed hornbill after the rain

Playful Tree squirrel

Returning to the chalets I took a hot shower, warming me from my raindrenched clothes. We met for dinner and had butternut soup, Kudu roulades, green bean fritters, roast potatoes in pepper sauce, and for dessert light pear cake with custard sauce.

After dinner it started to rain again, and we returned after a very eventful day for a good nights rest.