Where the Wild Things Are
After we recovered from an evening at the cheetah park bar (Tina had set
us up with tabs, this was a bad thing for most involved), we drove to Etasha
national park. For the next three days are lives revolved around seeing
wildlife. If we weren't eating or sleeping, we were driving around looking
for game, or sitting at a watering hole waiting for game.
A wildebeest checking out our truck.
The landscape is just like you see in the discovery channel specials, wide
open expanses of grasslands. It is the dry season, so the vegetation is quite
sparse, making it easy to spot the animals. There sure must be a lot of grass
in the wet season to support the number of big mammals we saw.
An onyx.
In short order, we had seen some of the more common animals: zebras,
giraffes, onyxes, jackals, and springboks. It was great fun, Neil and I were
heavily armed optically. I had the equivalent of a 400mm lens and Neil was
out to 300mm. We would drive around, scanning the landscape in all
directions, ready to buzz the driver when we saw anything good and wanted
to stop. After a time, you learned how to differentiate the different animals
at
long distance from a bumpy
Two Kudus, my favorite antelope because of their curly horns.
The park is like a reverse zoo, after sundown, all the humans have to return to
their fenced in campsite "cage". The campsites all have a lighted
watering hole on
their perimeters. It seems a bit contrived, sitting on park benches watching
animals under the incandescent glow of streetlights, but it is better than a
zoo. The
animals come and go as they please, there is no schedule and there are
certainly no
guarantees about what you'll see.
A lone elephant was at the watering hole when we first arrived. He drank and
gave himself a little trunk-assisted shower. He then wandered over to near the
campsite wall and started munching on a tree. He just stripped the tree
branches
clean off with his powerful trunk and gobbled them in gigantic crunchy bites.
Our next visitors were six black rhinos. Wow, what an animal, to see them on TV
is one thing, but to see them in person was amazing. There were several young
rhinos, it was amusing to watch one try and suckle his mother without jabbing
her
with his pointy horn.
The best part was one a new elephant came to drink. A momma rhino and her
baby headed the elephant off. The elephant let out a trumpet, but the rhinos
held
their ground. Eventually another elephant ambled in and the rhinos decided it
would
be prudent to share the hole.
We drove around the park in the morning and again in the afternoon the next day.
Saw plenty of animals, mostly the same things we'd seen already, save for
a group
of wildebeests. The real excitement came that night at the watering hole.
There was a springbok with a broken front leg at the hole. He was a real sad
sight,
hobbling from spot to spot, lying down to munch grass. There was the usual
traffic
at the hole, other springboks, zebras, and a herd of elephants (17 in all,
quite the
sight!). Eventually a pack of four black-backed jackals decided to go after the
wounded springbok. The springbok mounted about a hundred-yard run before it
was too tired to continue. The springbok was still strong enough to stand and
defend itself. The jackals took turns distracting it from the front while
another nipped
at the springbok's hind legs.
A springbok, or less affectionately JAFS.
The jackals kept on the springbok for about a half-an-hour. Then very suddenly,
we heard a muffled roar and saw a shadow flash near the springbok. It was over
before it started. In place of the springbok was now a snacking juvenile lion.
Awesome! Not many people get to see the drama of a lion kill unfold from start
to
finish.
We camped out on the park benches that night, but we had no hope of topping what
we'd already witnessed. It was still a memorable night, waking up
periodically on the
uncomfortable bench, opening your eyes to the sight of elephants, giraffe and
rhino
drinking. Not your typical nights sleep, magical.
In the morning, we got a good look at the lion as it crossed the watering hole
on its
way out. The annoyed jackals could finally get to "their" springbok.
There is no fair
play here, the weak die, the strong kill, the others wait for scraps.
Two warthogs zipping around the land.
We packed up camp and took a game drive across the park. We stopped at another
campsite for lunch, spending our free time at the watering hole in the baking
sun.
Almost nothing was about, too hot that time of day. We did get to see a warthog
come zipping in for a drink. There was a zebra also drinking, both were
skittish,
neither could figure out who was suppose to be scared of who.
The watering hole at our new campsite was a bit disappointing. Almost nothing
showed up during the hours after sundown. I was the only die-hard to spend the
night
out at the hole. It was as comfortable spot to sleep as any, so I figured what
the heck.
I was treated to absolutely nothing, not even any JAFS (just another fricking
springbok).
Lioness with an onyx looking on with interest.
On our last day in the park, we took a long game drive out of the park. We
spotted
several lions lounging out in the grass. It was great to see them in the
daylight,
hopefully the photos of them will turn out. We also saw a few warthogs waddling
about. It was a good ending to a great three day safari.
Sunset at the watering hole.
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