More New Animals for Us - Spoiler Alert, Rhinos
Etosha National Park, Namibia
November 27, 2013We had a lovely, relaxing last half day at Doro Nawas. I lounged by the human watering hole and Bill worked on photos at the lodge.After lunch we boarded a 4 seater Cessna and flew 55 minutes north to Etosha. We were greeted on the landing strip by Leon and he drove us the 25 minutes to the Ongava Tented Camp.
At the camp we were greeted by Rosolia and Festus, as well as the Rock Dassies who look like large guinea pigs, but are actually related to elephants! While checking in we could see a small herd of water bucks chilling by the watering hole. A short time later we saw several Hartman's Mountain Zebra (new for us) and Kudu. I think this is a good sign!
We dropped our bags in our room; we are lucky to be next to the lodge and the watering hole! Our spacious and well appointed room is actually a tent because the walls and roof are made of canvas Fuelling the Plane. Then, we headed back to the lodge for afternoon drive.
Our guide is Abram, he grew up in Etosha, one of the last people to do so since the tribe has been relocated outside of the park. Our small group was completed by two American ladies from Pittsburgh and Washington.
Abram pointed out several new animals for us, mostly antelopes. One was the Red Hartebeest, which is very large and has heart shaped antlers. In the plain area, we also saw another new antelope, the Black Faced Impala. It is almost completely tan and has black markings on it's face.
Another really interesting animal was the Blue Wildebeest which is very dark in colour and has a bluish tinge in the sunlight. The males have a completely black face and the females have a black face with a brown forehead. Abram's colleague confirmed that the White Rhino was visible, so we headed over Baby Zebra.
We were very lucky to see a male, female and a one year old baby rhino. Since it has been a severe drought here, they have put out some grass and they were feasting upon it. The female rhino is well known because she has a one meter long straight horn (normally they curve up). It was very interesting to watch the three of them, especially when long horn was shooing the male rhino away!
We saw some familiar faces on the drive too - Steenbok, Helmeted Guinea Fowl, Black Backed Jackal and the Common Plover. Abram showed us a couple new birds - Swanson Spurfowl or Francolin and Crimson Breasted Shrike.
It was a great evening and we enjoyed a lovely meal with all of the other guests. We had a great conversation with a French Danish couple that really enjoyed their trip to Canada a few years ago.
Pictures & VideosOur "Tent"Baby RhinoMommyWildebeast
