We weren’t too upset about leaving Etosha National Park since we had planned two days of game viewing at private game reserves on our route back to Windhoek. And we treated ourselves by booking lodges for our final two nights on the road. Lodges with breakfast and dinner included, so no more cooking by ourselves over BBQ or gas cylinder. And both the game viewing and the lodges were amazing.
Our first night was spent at the Onguma Tented Camp reached by decent roads immediately after exiting the Von Lindequist Gate at the east side of Etosha. When we reached Onguma we were almost in shock. Our “tented camp” was a huge affair featuring a king sized bed, two showers and two baths (inside and out), minibar, bathrobes, and more. This was a fully luxury hotel room under canvas! But even better was the stunning view of the unfenced watering hole only ~30m in front of our enormous deck. And each of Onguma’s seven tents had trees and plants between the neighbouring sites so that it felt like our private viewing area for all the animals taking their turn to come and drink. We have to admit that we didn’t get any further than our front deck or the outdoor dining room (also facing the watering hole) for the whole afternoon and evening. The sundowners, delicious meal, campfire, and steady parade of animals made for a relaxing time.
The next morning, we did (somewhat reluctantly) climb out from under the moquito netting for a 6:00 am bush walk. An entertaining and informative tour of the flora and fauna of the reserve. Mostly flora since there weren’t any animals to be seen on the walk, only on the short drive to and from the walking trail. That did mean that our guide had no need to use the rather large gun that he conspicuously loaded with rounds large enough to stop an elephant when we began our walk. We’re still not sure if that was just showmanship or if they ever need to blast away at wildlife chasing down their guests! After the walk, and a huge breakfast, we had to check out and head for our final stop of our Namibia road trip.
Another shock as we drove to the Okonjima Nature Reserve; back to paved roads, something we hadn’t seen much of for nearly two weeks. When we checked in to the lodge we were extremely pleased to see yet another watering hole right in front of the main dining area. This watering hole was also unfenced, so that our check-in briefing came with dire warnings to not leave anything out that the jackals could grab and take away. Apparently shoes, wallets, and even cell phones in a chewable leather cover were all fair game. And as we walked to our lodge unit we did in fact see jackals checking us out and one buried the tail of an antelope beside the wall of the unit next to ours. Warning noted!
Another lazy afternoon and evening of waiting for the game to come to us while we enjoyed a fine dinner. Also, an early bedtime since we’d booked another 6:00 am start for an exciting activity for our last day, a leopard spotting drive. The Okonjima Nature Reserve is home to the Africat Foundation, an organization devoted to the conservation, rehabilitation, and study of big cats including cheetahs and leopards. While the cheetahs that couldn’t be returned to the wild were contained in a relatively small area, the leopards, being much more adaptable, were released into a huge area to roam and hunt almost freely. “Almost” since about half of the leopards in the reserve were collared with tracking devices so that the naturalists could track the range, population, and habits of the elusive cats. The tracking was by no means a sure thing. In the early morning darkness there were 3 game drive vehicles that set out in various directions, each equipped with a handheld antenna about 0.5m wide hooked up to an acoustic squealer that would give a general idea of the direction of each leopard’s location. With only a 3 km range, and the need for the leopards to be somewhat close to the road (or at least near driveable offroad areas), spotting them wasn’t guaranteed by any means. However, on our drive we were extremely lucky. only about 30 minutes into our drive we picked up the signal of one of the males, and as slipped in and out of view we could see that he was being followed by a smaller female friend. Our guide was very excited, saying that baby leopards could be coming soon! All of our attempts to follow them were fruitless, so we decided to give them some privacy and headed off to the range of another female leopard. We were fortunate enough to spot her and one of her two cubs after another 30 minutes or so of fine tuning with the antenna emitting incomprehensible (to us) clicks and squeals. We tried to track them by going offroad, but ended up stucka nd had to crash our way back to the road. Fortunately, a wide loop on another road we picked up her signal again and were actually able to take a couple of pictures. Not great shots since these animals are pretty shy and always on the move, but we were content just to have the chance to see them.
After the game drive it was time to have breakfast, check out, and hit the highway back to Windhoek. By mid-afternoon we were back to the city to drop off our camper and stay the night out by the airport. No animals to be seen there other than an overfed house cat, but we did spot a couple of baboons while on our way to the airport the next morning. And that was the end of our wildlife spotting in Namibia.
See images on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/100countries/albums/72177720316113759
