Swakopmund to Etosha National Park

Saturday February 4 – Swakopmund to Spitzkoppe, Cape Cross

We enjoyed our last breakfast at the Village Restaurant; our favorite eating spot and were on the bus by 9:30 heading towards our destination 240 km away. There we witnessed the sight, sound and smell of thousands of olive-coloured seals on the shores of Cape Cross. The cape is a breeding ground for Cape Fur Seals; now with about 200,000 of them. It was pretty raw, but we stayed for half an hour photographing and videotaping their antics. By 3:00 we were settling into the bush camp at Spitzkoppe. Beautiful and HOT!!!! We set up our tents and sat in the shade created by our precious truck. Once the cool breeze started we ventured off on a hike to check out the rock paintings left by some very early dwellers. The landscpe was very much like the landscape around Ayer's Rock in Australia, so you can imagine the beautiful hues reflected off the rock at sunset.  These ancient landscapes are known as the Matterhorn of Namibia.

                                                            Sunset at Skitzkoppe

Sunday February 5 – Almost Etosha National Park

We started off at dawn, taking down camp and packing up so that we could be at Etosha National Park by 2:00 The drives are long and often on dirt roads. This particular ride was a bit of a challenge. Something made a CLUNK as we scrambled over washboard roads. The truck made it to the next small town where our driver reported we needed to replace a bearing. He predicted about an hour delay so we made lunch, ate, cleaned up, slapped on a third layer of sunscreen and sat on the steps to bake. Two hours later, there seemed to be another problem discovered. Fortunately our driver is also a mechanic which is apparently another prerequisite of the job description. We started to explore the town to see if anything was open. Yessssssss; an internet cafe and refreshment stand. We talked and talked and checked our mail and talked some more. On request the kitchen staff even came out and danced for us. Only in Africa!!! Six hours later, Chris, our guide came with the report and a decision to be made. We ended up staying at a campsite/resort in town and opted to get up early enough to get to Etosha National Park by the time the gates open. We were the only tourists in town so I asked what the price of a room upgrade would be. For $30. we had a roof over our heads and an ensuite shower. Everybody decided to do the same; give the tents a rest. Shower, clean clothes and a delicious restaurant meal. Heaven!!!!!

Monday February 6 – Etosha National Park

We were up at the crack of dawn and packed up by 7:00 breakfast. Ed took the packs out to the truck and wellllll, I thought he was coming back to help me with the last load. Instead he was distracted by the smell of coffee brewing in the campsite. Kioko had breakfast all ready. I waited and waited and no Ed. No tourists, except me, no staff, no sounds....... panic. Did they leave without me? Finally I found somebody who could help. I guess I missed the direction about meeting for breakfast at the campsite. Onward!

We arrived in Etosha National Park shortly after the gates opened and spent the rest of the day on three different game drives, with an hour break between each. We sited giraffe, wildabeast, jackel, zebra, springbok, oryx and one lone rhino. At camp, we seem to be co-existing with jackels that weave in an out of the campsite hoping for a handout. As I write this message I am sitting in our tent. It's 3:30 a.m and I am wide awake. Hmmmm, is it the chorus of snoring within our campsite mixed with the musical notes created from pork and beans eaten at dinner, or the stinky shoes in our tent that causes this inability to sleep (we were told to put our shoes in the tent if we wanted to use them again in the morning since jackels like to take shoes). No, I reckon the insomnia is caused by the blood curdling lion roar I can hear repeatedly. There must be a lion close to the gates because it sounds like its wandering the campground. Again, LA fear factor; add African Lion in campsite to the list right up there with the bear in Algonquin Park attracted to a lake trout campfire meal Ed is sound asleep beside me here. He is pretty tired for another reason. He disappeared this afternoon for quite some time. It is clear he doesn't have the ostrich stomack he thought he had. He was told by our guide today, “No more meal prep., dish washing or dish flapping (drying)for you Ed.” “AAndddddd, 24 hours of rice only if the bug isn't gone by morning.” Oh joy, oh bliss; Ed will be an humbrey hombrey. I'm getting the feeling that we are headed into some territory that may call for adaptation. I just follow whatever our guide tells us to do; right now the advice is to cover up at dusk. We are taking our malaria tablets and have used our mosquito net already. Bug juice is now in the day pack right next to the battery chargers.