I was quite nervous about going on our first holiday in
Africa. It didn't matter how many people
told me how much they enjoyed traveling in Namibia, I am from the Show Me
State, and therefore generally have to see for myself before I truly believe it
will all be ok. But of course it was all
ok, more than ok, it was a fabulous holiday!
The adventure started even before we got to Namibia. We flew on not one but two different airlines
to get there, via Kenya and South Africa.
I will say that Kenya Airways and Air Namibia were great, top notch...so
check that off the "see it to believe it" list. Because we had to change airlines we only
took carry on luggage, which these days seems to get smaller and smaller. But we did it, 14 days with only carry on luggage! (I did do some washing along the way.) This is travel with my dear husband. :)
I can't be too upset with him though because he planned
everything and it turned out great! I
had to veto the tent on top of the car camping idea because I thought it would be
a step too far for me. However, we saw
lots of travelers with the tents on top of the 4x4 they had rented. Maybe next time I will be more adventurous in
that regard. But for now just getting
there was enough adventure for me.
We rented a 4x4 truck and drove ourselves. Or rather Joe and his friend Steve who joined
us on the trip, drove me around Namibia.
Namibia drives according to the UK system...steering wheel on the right
and drive on the left side of the road.
Once we were out of Windhoek, the capital city, it was mostly open road
with little traffic. Some roads were
paved, most were gravel but all well maintained.
Our first day in Windhoek we stocked up on water and lunch supplies for
the road.
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| Lunch on the roadside |
We headed north to Etosha National Park. The photos at the park tell the story. The animals were fantastic! And we could do our own driving safari around
the park which was really nice. We did
go on a night safari which was interesting.
We were not allowed to drive around the park after dark so this was a
way to see the wildlife at night. Our
guide was amazing! He drove the vehicle
and used a red spotlight to look for animals.
Another great thing about Etosha is the watering hole at the Okaukuejo Camp. The watering hole has been there for many years
and the animals are quite comfortable with it even though people are close by
watching. One night we saw 2 black
rhinos around 10pm. Joe went back at
midnight and saw 4 more of them.
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| Giraffe! - I took loads of photos of these guys...one of my favorites. |
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| Joe & Steve at the Okaukueji Camp watering hole |
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| Black rhino at night |
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| Burchell's Zebra |
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| Spotted hyena - on our night safari we saw one of these guys eating a baby springbok...:( |
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| African Elephant & Warthogs |
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| Jackals at dusk |
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| Elephant near Dolomite Camp |
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| Blue Cranes - Etosha is the only place outside of South Africa where the blue cranes are known to breed. |
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| Springbok |
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| Damara dik-dik...the littlest antelope |
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| These zebras like most animals in the park weren't too fussed about vehicles driving around. |
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| Steve & Joe at the Etosha Pan |
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| The prettiest watering hole we saw. |
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| I love the giraffe sitting under the tree. |
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| Blue Wildebeest |
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| Ostriches aka Camel Birds |
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| Oryx! Another one of my favorite animals! |
After two nights at Okaukuejo Camp we drove west across the
park to Dolomite Camp. The number of
animals were less as we drove west but it was in the western part that we saw
our first elephant! Dolomite Camp was
fantastic! Built into the hills lovely with lovely tent-like accommodation with a view for miles.
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| Our room with a view! |
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| The pool was great after a long day of driving... |
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| Cocktails before dinner at sunset |
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| At Dolomite Camp |
