A Series of Inspired Follies: NAMIBIA - Getting there & Etosha National Park

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.

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.

Giraffe! - I took loads of photos of these guys...one of my favorites.

Joe & Steve at the Okaukueji Camp watering hole

Black rhino at night

Burchell's Zebra

Spotted hyena - on our night safari we saw one of these guys eating a baby springbok...:(

African Elephant & Warthogs

Jackals at dusk

Elephant near Dolomite Camp

Blue Cranes - Etosha is the only place outside of South Africa where the blue cranes are known to breed.

Springbok

Damara dik-dik...the littlest antelope

These zebras like most animals in the park weren't too fussed about vehicles driving around.

Steve & Joe at the Etosha Pan

The prettiest watering hole we saw.

I love the giraffe sitting under the tree.

Blue Wildebeest

Ostriches aka Camel Birds

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.