Now for the next stop on our African Adventure, the Etosha National Park in Namibia for a night safari.
We crossed the border from Botswana into Namibia. Again having to dip our shoes in the muddy water to prevent the foot and mouth disease from spreading.
At the border crossing the security guard gets on board the truck to make sure all the shoes have been dipped into the muddy solution. Someone left a spare pair of shoes on board and the security saw them. So we all had to get our bags off the truck and empty all our belongings in front of them. Then they could check that all the shoes had been dipped in the muddy chemicals.
We packed up our bags, got back into the truck and were on the road again. Finally on our way to Etosha National Park!
We stopped for a toilet break on the side of the road. And I saw this tombstone….
Maybe the tribes in Namibia had already predicted the future of bitcoin, buried it and laid it to rest on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere.
I paid my respects and wished for a bitcoin resurrection and bull run to the moon, where everyone gets lambos in their choice of colour.
Next stop Etosha National Park!
About 600m into the park our tour guide yells “STOP THE TRUCK!!” We passed a water hole behind some bushes and he spotted something. We reversed the truck up and we all stare out the windows to try and work out what he saw…
Then an object started to move in the distance behind some bushes. It finally came out and there it was in all its glory. The mighty white rhinoceros!!
It was so amazing to see one of these in the wild and within 10 minutes of entering Etosha National Park! We all knew we would be in for a treat the next two nights.
We arrived at the camping grounds and organised our night safari. Then when we were getting out of the truck, one of the ladies slipped on the top stair and fell out of the truck. Straight to the ground. DAMN the poor women dislocated her shoulder. We called the camp grounds supervisor to get an ambulance out to the site to take her to hospital to put her shoulder back in. The only problem was, the closest town to where we were, was about a two hour drive.
Eventually the ambulance arrived and took her to get her shoulder put back into place.
Once I finished setting up our tent, this crew of mongoose just ran up to our tent and started digging around looking for bugs.
They were so cool to watch and they didn’t even care about us being there.
One of them must have had an itchy bum and started to scratch it like a dog does. With his legs in the air dragging it along the grass ha ha. It was so funny to watch.
We had some dinner, then our 4X4 arrived for the night safari so it was adventure time!
The weather was getting cold and there was light rain coming and going. So we all put on some ponchos to keep warm and dry.
We drove along in the park and saw lots of zebra, wildebeest and springbok.
As the sun started to set a herd of giraffes appeared. It was so magical to watch the giraffes walk by as the sun was setting. It was a moment I will keep with me forever.
Now the sun had fully set and night had fallen upon the park. We had a red light to keep a look out for wildlife as all the predators are more active at night time.
The red light is used so it doesn’t blind the animals and doesn’t affect their vision in any way.
We came across a lioness with three cubs with her. We stopped the ute 2m from them, they were right there in front of me! It was so crazy to see these wild animals so close.
They didn’t seem to mind us being there at all. Watched them for awhile then they disappeared into the bushes.
We drove a bit further and we could hear the King of Africa let out a very loud roar. The driver stopped the car to try and work out how far away and which direction the lion was.
Our guide was telling us that when you are close to the lion and they roar, it is so loud that it rattles your chest.
Further up the road we stopped and there he was. This huge lion just slowly walk along the road.
He was marking his scent by rubbing his mane on the bushes to mark his territory.
It was so crazy to see this wild lion just walking next to our car as we followed him for about 600m down the road.
He couldn’t care less about our car. They apparently see the cars as one big object. So unless you hang outside of the vehicle, that’s the only way they can distinguish that there are people inside the car.
So keep all arms and limbs inside the vehicle at all times. As I will explain in the next post ha ha. Going on the night safari in Etosha was a highlight of the trip. There is nothing quite like stalking a lion at night.. and him not giving a shit!
Once again thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more African Adventure blogs coming soon.
In the meantime check out my other posts from this adventure 😊