Etosha By Night

After game driving all day and seeing hyena cubs sleeping in a cave, a huge giraffe skeleton, elephants ambling through the bush, and myriad other iconic African animals going about their daily duties, we made it back to our campsite and it was even more glamorous than the night before. I was very jealous of the gorgeous bungalows in the compound that overlooked the famous wateringhole. And while the beautiful wateringhole itself did not disappoint it unfortunately had no animals around it.

In light of this, and since we'd had no luck the night before I thought I'd better not risk it and paid USD$100 for a night game drive. We rugged up in the oversized waterproof snuggies we were given, cracked opened a cider, and hoped for the best.

Success! We were barely out the gate and we intercepted the path of a wandering male lion. A bit further on and we startled an enormous porcupine that then shot up it's huge quills and dashed into the bushes. Just incredible! We then came across a herd of springbok and lived the cliche "like a dear in the headlights". One of the springbok got a bit disoriented when we pulled up and proceeded to erratically bounce it's way up the road towards our truck till it literally took one sideways leap right into it! Hilarious.

After a while of seeing nothing and contending with a broken spotters light we were getting a bit bored and cold, till finally I spotted my first rhino in Africa. Notoriously elusive it is quite exciting to see one of these endangered beasts in the wild, and while it was a long way off in the distance it was still incredible to make out that single horn in the spotlight. When we saw another one we squealed like schoolgirls. As they wandered off we recommenced our drive, all rather satisfied that the trip had paid for itself already.

Then we came across a big pack of hyena. It's very rare to see so many all together and, as the driver thought they looked en route to a nearby wateringhole we headed in that direction. Sure enough more of the group we already drinking there right next to... 3 beautiful big rhino! As we sat there and watched these rhino slowly slink off into the cover of nearby bushes, as nearby hyena scuffled with jackals and drank in unison... I knew I was living the dream. My eyes were seeing things you had to cross oceans to see and I was so proud of myself for making it happen. This... Is... Africa!

We went back to camp so happy with ourselves and thankful we'd paid the high price to finally see rhino in Africa. We swung by the wateringhole for a sneak peek before we went to bed. And what do we come across? Rhino fight each other barely 20metres away!

A quick enquiry with our friends who stayed behind had us reeling. In the last three hours they had watched these rhino fighting each other to the point of bloodshed. They had chased off a huge mother elephant who stood her ground to protect her calf, and all the while we'd been off chasing a scene just like the one unraveling on our doorstep!

As the rhino were still fighting I settled in and enjoyed the show and the strength and power of these beasts was incredible! The sheer crack that echoed in the air when their heads met was astounding. They'd stumble back, regroup, drink, and get back to it. At one stage they faced off in the water! A herd of zebra came down to drink, and giraffe lingered by, respecting the pecking order, and waiting for their turn at the water's edge.

It was the small hours of the morning so we decided to dash back to our tents, grab our sleeping bags and make a night of it. Of course, by the time we'd bunkered down and got cosy on a bench it started to rain. So, content with the visual feast our eyes had devoured that day, we trudged off to bed for a wonderful nights sleep in Etosha National Park, Namibia.

Namibia just keeps getting better. There's still one animal that reigns supreme in my world though... Harvey bear!

Xxx