Etosha, November 2010 - from the driver's seat

On our November trip to Etosha, the professor’s new telephoto lens was finally working correctly so I did most of the driving, allowing him to maneuver into position to take great photos.

(See the results at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/bob_and_lynn/)

Because you cannot get out of your car in Etosha, my photographic vantage point was constantly obscured by the professor and his new lens.

I entertained myself by photographing other things.

I am always amused by the Africa-specific hazard warning signs on the road to Etosha.

 

We can personally attest to the hazard warthogs can be while playing chicken with a speeding car. And equally scary, from seemingly nowhere, kudu and oryx can dart in front of your car at any time.
 
Etosha was still very dry on this trip.

 
The mopane trees – obviously highly adapted to drought – were leafed out in bright green foliage,

but the animals remain stressed as water is still only available at waterholes. Water levels appeared to be lower than they were a month ago. There were cool days on this trip with welcome cloud cover and rain showers in the afternoons.

At first, I just found small things to photograph.

This amazingly colored masked weaver was busy alternately flashing his mating display and gathering just the right pieces of grass for the new nest he was building.

This ground squirrel could have been straight out of central casting for the Disney Channel.

Father ostriches were herding “chicklets” into easier to defend clusters.

A secretary bird in the middle of a rain shower was intently looking down, surveying for lizards.

I decided it would be fun to do a series of views from my side mirrors. Here’s a mirror reflection I will never get to see in Albuquerque!

We later happened upon a giraffe munching on thorn bushes no more than 20 feet from us. Here he’s noshing on a bush just outside the passenger window.

He saw us but it didn’t faze him. He just kept filling his cheeks with thorns, the very tiny leaves from the bushes, and twiggy branches.

We could see a group of three bull elephants in the distance so decided to wait to see the path they would take on the way to a waterhole. They passed right between a group of cars that pulled off to watch them. The photos don’t do this sight justice. These are huge animals.

I found this group of springbok taking a break in the shade of a thorny acacia tree.
 

A couple of them were practicing their mirror image trick.

But then it all went horribly wrong.

They should have paid closer attention to these impala who have perfected the art!

Animals with a sense of humor – I’m always on the look-out for them.


At the end of our first day, the clouds lifted from the horizon enough to yield yet again, an unbelievable sunset.

This going to Etosha thing could become addictive.

Etosha - the last day

After two pretty full days at Etosha, we thought we would kick back a little and take it easy on our final day, maybe just hanging around the waterhole all day at Okaukeujo. We took our time over breakfast and arrived at the waterhole about mid-morning. A maternal elephant group was already drinking when we arrived.

 They were crowded around the inlet where the fresh water emerges, drinking to their heart’s content.

Thrilling for me, they had a baby with them.

I’m no judge of elephant ages, but this little one didn’t look more than a year old. Baby elephants are a favorite of a good friend of mine as they are for my daughter and me, so I took lots of baby photos to satisfy all three of us!

 It was clear this was a beloved baby to her/his family.

The elephants drank their fill and when what appeared to be the mom or grandmother started to leave the waterhole, the baby dutifully followed  immediately right behind her. The baby’s older siblings lingered at the waterhole for a good while longer.

As it turns out, the professor, with what is downright freakish hearing capability, seems to be able to hear some of the elephants’ low frequency communication (at least that’s his story). Once the mom disappeared from sight, the professor said he could hear the communication coming back from her to the group of three youngsters still hanging out at the watering hole. It certainly appeared that was the case because just as he said that, the two eldest of three adolescents started to the bush to follow mom. They turned back and saw the youngest sib still drinking and blowing bubbles so they trotted back to get their sibling in what clearly had to be a “you’d better get moving –you’re going to catch from Mom if you’re not out of here now!’ moment. One more slurp for good measure and all three hightailed it back to the brush to catch up with mom and baby. Recalcitrance in teenagers seems to be universal throughout the animal kingdom.
 
The waterhole was busy that morning with lots of bok and zebras.

The gemsbok (oryx) enjoy this waterhole because the water is plentiful and the area big

And deep enough to wade in up to your shoulders.

The giant weaver bird nest next to the watering hole pulsed constantly with rapid fire arrivals and departures. A few of the weavers got sidetracked by a discarded cookie they found on the sidewalk.

Carbohydrate loading must be necessary for building those high rises of theirs.  It’s amazing animal engineering.

A single Red billed quelea just watched from a nearby rock.

Once the elephants left and things quieted at the waterhole, we decided to drive out to other nearby waterholes to see what might be there. Turns out it was a quiet day while we were there with not much happening – just some peaceful secretary birds joining a springbok for a drink.

We drove much of the afternoon not really wanting to give up on this vacation.

Watching giraffes approach from far away draws attention to the movement of their necks necessary to balance their gait.

They look pretty small on the horizon but when they finally arrive, they are huge!

If it’s not a great animal watching day, it’s always a good birding day with some 360+ bird varieties known to frequent Etosha. Even I, who has no real talent for seeing birds in their environment, was able to spot some real beauties.

Kalahari robin

Kori bustard

White browed scrub robin

Chestnut backed sparrowlarks

Lilac breasted roller

We circled back to Okaukeujo but found the waterhole empty

 
except for a single Blacksmith plover edging in for a drink.

As we departed a final waterhole just before the gate, the sun was going down and the ubiquitous haze turned it into a postcard African sunset.

On the way back to the Lodge we saw this gorgeous steenbok at the side of the road. Generous with its time, it posed for any and all who stopped to look at him.

It was deep twilight when we made it back to the Lodge. Our little cabin beckoned us in

and after a quick rest, it was off to our final dinner and entertainment evening.

The next morning, we walked down the path to our last sunny breakfast on the patio.

 We hated to leave but Polytechnic classes were beginning again in two days and the professor had notes to write.

Reluctantly, we turned onto the highway back to Windhoek, stopping only briefly for fuel and a quick photo of the too numerous to count termite mounds that dot the landscape from Windhoek almost all the way to Etosha.

On our arrival home, the guards at the gates greeted us with big smiles and said they hadn’t seen us in a while but now realized we had been to Etosha.

There was no hiding the evidence.