Africa Travel Journal 7- A springbok and six jackals

A lonely springbok tiptoes to the pond, only to find itself inside a circling mass of six jackals. The springbok desperately tries to keep facing the jackal in front, only to have the jackals behind snap at his hind legs. Immediately, he spins around, facing the latest bite, only to be bitten again from another direction. Each time the springbok turns, the jackal in front backs off cowardly. For the next hour he jumps and turns, constantly being tormented by jackals with eyes glowing a yellow-green. I find myself disappointed with the jackals' progress in time for a line of silent elephants to walk through the scene, temporarily breaking up the routine.

The elephants took long pulls of the water, dumping the contents of their trunk into their mouths. The baby elephant, not more than four feet tall, tried to mimic its mother, but without full understanding how to get effective sips. The large bull of the herd stood silently, keeping a careful watch.

In the distant dark, the unmistakable shape of six giraffes patiently waiting. Unfortunately for the shy giraffe, it seems that they will have to wait all night...

Africa Travel Journal 6 - waterhole

With the golden splinters of dawn slowly creeping across the barren landscape, a solitary white rhino drinks away, occasionally lifting its head to check for unannounced visitors. Having finished its fill, the rhino runs across the stones toward the distant trees, scattering a still herd of Zebra in the process. Each group getting its five or ten minutes share of the water, I leave after having watched the dainty springbok, zebra, guinea fowl, jittery jackals, elephants and gemsbok all take their turn.

Last night this hole was alive with activity. The sun falls bringing a gold-to-blue gradient to the sky. The thin crescent moon and a nearby bright star also make their way to the darkening horizon. Elephants call out in the distance. Jackals join in with an eery laughing howl. The brim of the waterhole is teeming with the silhouettes of little black birds collectively issuing a bubbly chirp. The first visitor to the edge of the pond is a skitterish jackal, drinking for only a couple seconds before snapping its head up to look left and right, then back down again, repeating its nervous drinking manner for a few minutes before running off.

Calvin & Sharon

(to be continued)

Africa Travel Journal 5 Keetmanshoop

After covering roughly 3,000 km of mainly dirt roads throughout Namibia, we are now going to be taking an overnight train towards the southern border of Namibia with South Africa (Keetmanshoop). We still haven't met our friends with the Land Rover as they have had endless troubles with their vehicle. However, it sounds looks like the end of the repairs might be in sight. Hopefully they'll be able to drive up part-way to meet us when we arrive in a couple days!

As I write this my fingers are numb from the freezing cold. I have been sitting fifty feet from this waterhole since 5:30AM, which is when I first heard the roar of a lion somewhere near my tent. Although the male never showed up, two small cubs could be seen quietly stepping over the stones on their way to the water.

While sitting at a waterhole, one is treated to a procession of animals, usually one group drinking while the next is patiently waiting.

Calvin & Sharon

(to be continued)