Nearing the final destination now...

I came across this quote on someone’s Facebook profile recently, and I absolutely have to share it:

“Reminds me of the time I went to Africa, someone forgot the corkscrew and we had to live on food and water for days.” - W.C. Fields.  

Having left the coast behind us we headed onwards to Hobatere Lodge. Liz was asked to compile an environmental assessment of a new lodge site on the concession there as part of our volunteering for Islands in Africa.

What a treat it was. Hobatere is a fantastic concession nestled in amongst hills and open plains in a semiarid habitat. Steve and Louise Braine have run Hobatere for almost 19 years and it was a privilege to spend time in their company. Their son Sean and his wife Benita now manage the lodge and Sean is also a well respected guide. This was a real opportunity to learn from some exceptional people.

We spent two nights in a guest room and were treated to all the bells and whistles which included excellent food! A real change from our camping style cooking! We then spent a further two nights in the Tree House which is at the proposed site of the new lodge. This tree house lifts you up over a plain which was always full of game thanks to an artificial water hole on the edge of the plain. It was to be an exciting two nights; as we arrived on the first evening a lioness had just brought down a Zebra no more than 80m from the tree. She was in the company of a young adult lion. They didn’t seem interested in the Zebra just then. We settled in, ate our packed dinner and went to sleep. At around 3am we were awoken by the male lion that had begun calling incessantly from what sounded like the ladder to the tree house. Very little sleep followed. 

The calling went on until around 6am when, under the cover of darkness, the lioness brought down a young eland about 50m from the tree. Finally at around 7am a second lioness and 4 sub-adult males appeared on the scene and began to devour the young eland kill. By 8am when we were picked up to return to the lodge for breakfast there was little left of the eland, and the pride was now tucking into the Zebra. There were no fewer than 8 black-backed jackal all trying their cunning best to sneak a nibble off of either carcass. 

We returned to the tree house late that afternoon for the second night and a little wary, I have to say, at the prospects of sharing a campsite with 7 lion and knowing full well that lions can and will climb trees. But there they were, all 7 lion lazing around, strewn across the area in the shade of the bushes – no threat at all, not with a fully belly at least. Behind them, countless head of Zebra, Impala, Giraffe and Eland all waiting patiently to approach the water hole, none were brave enough and so these animals had to go without water until these lion moved off. In the middle of the night however we were awakened by Elephants trumpeting, they were unhappy about the Lions hogging the water hole and decided to make the Lions well aware of their selfishness! We got up early to observe what the Lion were up to and shortly after we awoke they moved off in the direction of the lodge.

Having thoroughly enjoyed 4 nights at Hobatere we headed off towards the Etosha National Park. We had made no reservations for Etosha and planned to spend 3 nights in the park. Being the “off season” we were able to arrive and book without any hassle. The day we left Hobatere there was an ominous build up of rain clouds, Steve had said this could be the start of the rains and I was inclined to trust 19 years of wisdom. We entered the park at Anderson gate which is in the south-west and proceed onto Halali Rest Camp which is the “middle” of the three public campsites in the park. We were astonished at the amount of general game as well as Elephants and a chance sighting of a lioness near a waterhole. 

There were very many babies of all the species around; tiny impala whose leg joints didn’t seem to work properly, small Zebra foals diligently following their mothers at close quarter and young giraffe who were clumsily learning to browse the shorter acacia trees. We spent a lovely day exploring the thick Mopane of the southern areas and the sheer openness of the pan. We arrived at Halali which is a lovely rest camp with what seemed like hundreds of demarcated camp sites. We setup camp, all the while keeping an eye on the increasing build of clouds.

Steve could not have been more correct on his weather prediction. The afternoon of our first night in Etosha brought the first rains of the season, something that was an absolute wonder to witness. The next morning the white powdery dust that we had spent all day the previous day in was now slushy toothpaste like consistency that caked itself nicely into every nook and cranny on the exterior of the vehicle. The Etosha pan itself transformed from dusty white nothingness, a seemingly endless void of a mirage, to a damp oasis whose ancient algae colonies had bloomed into a fantastic hue of green.

Overnight the park had simply changed. Staff at the rest camps were elated with the coming of the rains, one lady was seen running around in her underwear, in the rain. Signs of relief filled the eyes of the animals as they could now with confidence begin to nurture and raise their newly born offspring.

The next two days and nights just melded into one. We moved over to Namutoni Rest Camp at the eastern side of Etosha for our last night. That afternoon we came across a Zebra who had died giving birth and her dead foal not far from her body. Nature had already begun its process. 15 white-backed vultures, 2 lappet-faced vultures and a pair of Tawny Eagles were already on the scene – roosting in trees and making occasional forays down to the carcass. 

Two black-backed jackals were making quick work at pieces of flesh exposed by the vultures. Jackals rely on other animals or birds to create openings in the skin of a kill in order to themselves be able to get a meal. On our way out of the park the next morning we drove passed the site again and now it was a totally different scene. The carcass of the Zebra and that of its foal were nowhere to be seen. Instead it had been replaced with 13 Spotted Hyena who had obviously made quick work of the bones and remaining flesh. 

Some were still dragging around masticated remains, while others took refuge from the morning heat by lying up in the shallow water and mud of the pan. An amazing sight! There were more black-backed Jackal now too, 11 we counted, and trying to scavenge off what little remained. Fascinating to see how quickly the whole clean-up operation had taken.

On we went, heading towards our final destination at the eastern end of the Caprivi. We had a fair distance to travel to get to our first stop: Susuwe Island Lodge. 

We broke the journey by stopping for one night at a lovely little lodge just outside of Grootfontein called Roy’s Camp. An excellent campsite and popular stop off for overland trucks and holiday makers alike, it has an excellent restaurant and bar which adds to its popularity. There were also some lovely nature walks in the farm on which it is located and we had a lovely afternoon walk there trying to spot the Eland and other antelope which frequented the campsite at night.

From Roy’s Camp we continued north-east towards the Caprivi with a quick stop in the border town of Rundu which stands on the Zambezi between Angola and Namibia. Up to this point, Namibia has been characterised by dry, arid to semi-arid countryside which is sparsely populated. This changed dramatically on the way up to Rundu. We crossed a veterinary control point not far from Rundu and Namibia transformed into stereotypical sub-tropical Africa; palm trees, Baobabs, one continuous stream of human settlement along the road with the requisite numbers of goats, donkeys and cattle wandering around on and alongside the road. We were back in the real Africa. Rundu is not too noteworthy apart from being a typical African frontier town; very bustling. It has some good supermarkets and fuel which we have been topping up regularly as we do not completely fill our long range tank any more since the accident.

We headed east then from Rundu and into the Caprivi Strip and stopped for the night at Ngepi Camp which is situated along the banks of the Okavango River. What a spectacular setting, well worth a visit! Ngepi is extremely well setup. It caters to overlanders, campers and has chalets as well as tree houses – and they manage to keep all these parties well separated so that there isn’t much interference from the stereotypically boisterous overland truck groups (not that I am not boisterous myself at times). We enjoyed one night there and ate from the restaurant and watered ourselves at the bar, it is a fantastic spot which I will definitely return too perhaps next time to travel down the Okavango.

Finally then we were on the stretch to Susuwe which is nestled in amongst massive Jackal-berry and Knob-wood Trees along the banks of a channel of the Kwando River. This is where I must leave you, Liz will blog the remainder of the trip soon!

I wish you all well over the coming holiday period, if you travel please be safe and I hope you return refreshed and energized for the new year! If I can recommend a new year’s resolution: travel, go and see a place you would never otherwise have thought to visit here in Southern Africa – go to Zimbabwe or Malawi, these are the true gems of our region. If you ask me nicely I will come along and show you some awesome things!