Etosha National Park

There is an ancient myth among the peoples of Namibia that tells the story of a great war between tribes.  One tribe lost all its men to the battle.  When the women mourned their loss, their tears formed “The great white place”, or Etosha in native tongue.

Etosha National Park covers more than 20,000 sq km around a flat, bright white piece of salt desert known as the Etosha pan. The pan was at some point a lake but these days it fills up with water only after especially heavy rains a few days per year. The landscape is barren.  One is mystified looking out across the pan as mirages readily form, giving the illusion of plentiful water sources in the distant heat.  In fact, Phineas and Eilir believed the whole time that we were heading towards the beach.   To add to the sense of displacement, Etosha has a very unique look thanks to the white dust from the pan that covers most of the trees and shrubs, as well as tinges the hides of elephants after a dust bath. Despite the dry, harsh conditions, Etosha is home to 114 mammal species, 340 bird species, 16 reptile and amphibian species, and one type of fish. Although not quite as impressive as the Serengeti, Etosha is a really cool place. It is incredibly family friendly as it is very convenient to watch wildlife from one’s own vehicle, thanks to a large number of waterholes, some natural, some man-made. For most of the year the waterholes are the only places with any water so the animals don’t have much choice if they are thirsty. All you have to do is hang out next to a waterhole and wait for the animals to show up, and they show up in droves, allowing one to watch a theater of animals, each taking their place on the stage.

We stayed one night at Okaukuejo lodge, which is one of the biggest and oldest lodges. What it lacked in charm  it more than made up for in abundance of animals at the lodge’s own waterhole. After dinner, we walked down to the waterhole and took a seat at one of the benches to enjoy the show. Within a span of a couple of hours, we saw 5 black rhinoceros, 3 large elephants, tens of giraffes, gemsbok (Namibia’s national animal, aka Oryx), and jackals as the sun was setting behind the waterhole. It was quite an amazing experience. We stayed in the area for another 3 days and did a number of drives across the park, spotting animals and snapping pictures while the kids were checking them off on self-made safari lists.

Our first black Rhino!

The Etosha pan

The Springbok go marching two by two hurrah, hurrah

Still life with antelope

Waterhole mixer

The Blackfaced impala is unique to Namibia

Spotted hyena

you looking at me?

Three Kudus

Three Ostriches

Three Giraffes

Three Elephants

Blackbacked jackal

Sunset over the waterhole at Okaukuejo lodge

Nightcaps

A rather pale Black rhino across the hole from his buddies

Rhinos are actually solitary animals

This is how I feel

Zebraing around

Gigantic giraffe in front of volcano. OK, its a termite mound.

A Rock kestrel, or something similar…

Blue wildebeest

We were told that this is Namibia’s national flower, but a web search tells us that we might have been misinformed.

We spent three nights at the child friendly Mushara Bush Camp. Highly recommended!

Our tent at Mushara

The playground at Mushara bush camp

Dining area at Mushara

French press coffee and child minders… heaven, indeed

Outside our tent were two adult chairs and two kid’s chairs. Perfect for afternoon snacks and early morning coffee.

We keep telling them that when they grow up, they’ll be BFFs

The bar at Mushara lodge

Minion elephant

Zebra snack

Phines and Eilir found everything on their lists!

Eilir did not like these guys: she was charged by one on the hotel grounds. Scary.