Etosha National Park 4 high-beams

There was no way that I was going to fall asleep, as it quickly became apparent that drivers here play little games to keep themselves awake. What I watched was a game of reaction time and pride, heightened by the thought of a car crash.
The game? A ritual exchange of high-beams with every oncoming car or overloaded semi. Deviations from the pattern are grounds for revenge.

It was clear that Nelson took it as a personal attack if someone left their high-beams on too long. Rightly so, for you can't see where you're going, eyes having only adjusted to moonlight. But his pride won't let it go.

The pattern: both cars have their high-beams on. Someone will eventually decide that it's time to drop them, even if they are still a kilometer apart (the weaker driver). The other driver has only a couple seconds to drop theirs before the first driver will take offence. A flash of the high-beams should wake up the other driver, but reaction times can be a bit slow. Eventually, both drivers will dim their lights, but this is where the revenge comes in...

Calvin & Sharon

(to be continued)

Etosha 3 Lions don't attack people in cars

 It was hard to resist the urge to roll up my window, for it seemed an easy matter for one of these predators to jump in beside me. Apparently, lions don't attack people in cars as they only see you as prey once you've stepped out. Getting out to fix a flat tire can be an unsettling experience.

With the lions having departed for the trees, we drove off, along with four other cars who also witnessed the morning show. Just like clockwork, a volkswagen camper van with an elderly couple raced towards the waterhole, excited to see so many cars -- an obvious sign of something exciting. We didn't have the heart to tell them what they missed.

Night Games

You're not supposed to drive at night...

But daylight fell hours ago and we're still hurtling along the dark highway, Nelson at the wheel, chewing on biltong. Apparently this stretch is notorious for accidents. We're trying to cover another hundred kilometers or so, and the boredom of long distances begins to set in.

There was no way that I was going to fall asleep, as it quickly became apparent that drivers here play little games to keep themselves awake. What I watched was a game of reaction time and pride, heightened by the thought of a car crash.

Calvin & Sharon

(to be continued) 

Etosha National Park Goas waterhole

It quickly became apparent that we would not feel "successful" in our wildlife search unless we walked away with having seen a lion. Looking through the sightings book we could see a number of entries over the past few days of others who boasted seeing 2, 5 or even 10 lions. Frantically searching every shady tree and waterhole, we were always on the lookout for some lion cubs taking cover from the midday sun. Over time we learnt that the lions are very hard to spot during the daytime (taking cover from the heat) and that morning would make for better chances.

Early this morning we set out to the Goas waterhole in time for sunrise and were rewarded with 16 lions lounging in the crisp cool air. While a few of the olders lions sat peacefully, the younger cubs were tumbling over one another, play-fighting with their long fangs bared for all to fear. Half an hour later, the lions slowly picked up and started strolling towards the gravel road. Driving ahead to place ourselves in their path, we stopped and waited. With our windows down, we froze as they proudly walked around our car, looking up at us as they passed by.

Calvin & Sharon

(to be continued)

Etosha National Park

The sheer size of Etosha (23,000 square km) is overwhelming. Gravel roads pass through vast open expanses with little more than grass and low shrubs, to regions of dense trees and huge salt pans. Many of the eastern regions were crawling with wildlife.

Looking at the map of Etosha, one is faced with a wide selection of water holes (natural and man-made) to choose from. Distances are great, and getting from one campsite to the next can be 150km of gravel roads. Little white concrete pyramids mark the start of each road leading to another vista or waterhole, and remind in red, "Stay in Your Car". In the winter months, Etosha sees very little rain, and thus the land has dried up leaving only a few small waterholes for the animals to choose from. As many of the animals need to feed at the waterhole every day, the natural muddy ponds serve as great concentrators for wildlife.

At first we stopped for every springbok, zebra, blue wildebeast or gemsbok, but over time we became desensitized to these beautiful creatures, instead focusing our sights on some of the harder-to-see varieties. Unlike other parks, Etosha has a strict stay in-your-car rule. There are roughly 100 lions scattered throughout the 23,000 square kilometers that make up the park.

Calvin & Sharon

(to be continued) 

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)