Bush Fires

The game viewing in the area was a little disappointing, with many waterholes producing little but a few Zebra and Springbok. It may be this was the norm or a possible result of the huge bush fires that had devastated many areas nearby. However, the Okaukuejo waterhole that produced consistently throughout the day and provided a few pleasant surprises after dark as well.

What caused the bush fires ?

We moved onto Namutoni after two nights and this stop faired a little better with game viewing around the waterholes in the vicinity, however Namutoni’s own waterhole was only frequented by a few water birds and one elephant.

The accommodation here was clean, spacious and very modern, although the chalet’s outside space was a bit closed in. The food here varied in quality with a very good ‘table d'hote’ the first night and a not so good buffet our second night. The game viewing was patchy with only three of the local waterholes producing the goods (Tsumor, Chudop and Kalkheuwel) the others were void of game. Again part of this area had been affected by the recent fires, the burnt cinders covered vast areas of land.

Our next port of call was Halali and again we were there for two nights, the accommodation was individual chalet bungalows, which although spacious were a little well worn at the edges. The food was a typical buffet although adequate it was now becoming a little uninspiring. This rest camp also had it’s own waterhole, I saw a few animal visitors here but not many. Out of all the rest camps in the eastern part, I think Halali was the one most affected by fires, on our travels around the various waterholes we saw huge areas damages by fire. The camp manager said there was an estimated 5% of the wildlife killed by the fire with the smaller animals and reptiles mostly affected but also included lions and sadly 25 Rhino which must be a devastating number for the species. Also he thought that many more had moved away from this area to areas of safety. The rains will regenerate the fauna quickly but the wildlife will take a lot longer.

So our game viewing in this area was not particularly successful with the exception of the Rienfontein waterhole, twice this waterhole produced a large 60 plus herd of elephants and their very young, who provided wonderful entertainment for over an hour. Frolicking in the mud, splashing in the water and dusting in the dirt, all the things an elephant must love to do, they seemed to enjoy every moment taking no notice of the human spectators jostling for the best viewing places in the car park.

Final Days

Our journey was nearing it’s end with one more overnight stop back at Okaukuejo, where we endeavoured to remove some of the dust collected over the past weeks from the Toyota Corolla in an attempt to restore it to its original state. After our efforts it did look a bit better but not as good as Clarence managed to do at Grootberg.

As the sun crept lower in the sky we could hear a big commotion over at the waterhole. It was yet another herd of excited elephants all enjoying the waterhole at Okaukuejo. They splashed and frolicked as the sun went down, perhaps as a final farewell to our stay in Etosha.

The next day we drove the 5 hours back to Windhoek, a boring drive when compared to our previous journeys over the past few weeks of travelling through Namibia but at least this time it was on a tarmac road and dust free all the way back. In Windhoek the Jacaranda trees had lost their bluebell colour and were past their best, the mopane trees were amazingly green and the sky was overcast with dark clouds, a sure sign the wet season was about to start.

We over nighted in the centre of Windhoek and had our last meal of our trip in ‘Joes Bar’. The next day as I climbed the stairs to the aircraft at Windhoek International Airport I realised I was leaving Africa once more, was it for the last time? The memories of the last three weeks quickly flashed past, the vivid blue of the Jacaranda trees in Windhoek, the continuous cloud in Swakopmund, walking amongst the fur seals at Cape Cross, the first lodge night under the Brandenberg mountain, transversing the riverbed on route to Grootberg, the amazing vista from our chalet at Grootberg, my shinny Toyota also at Grootberg, entering the Galton Gate into Etosha, the nervousness of the game in western Etosha, the whole experience at Dolomite Camp, the roar of the night lion at Dolomite, the travelling dust that got into everything, the bountiful waterhole at Okaukuejo, the destruction fire had done in eastern Etosha, the gregarious elephants at Reinfontein and not to forget how reliable the Toyota had been. These were just some of the memories of Namibia but were they enough to bring me back again?

Silly question !