Then there was a rhino, Namibia
Timed to perfection
We set off around 8am, to see if we could catch some of the early game around the watering holes (A useful tip picked up from the evening before with our guide).
Then not too far from the camp we could see a grey mound in the distance. We pulled over and got the binoculars out and to our amazement it was a large rhino.
We sat there for a few minutes and slowly it came closer and closer. All this time we were the only ones there, no one else had come along the road. It didn’t seem too worried that the truck was there but the wind was blowing in our direction so he couldn’t smell us.
It came within about 50 feet of us, we could have got closer but we were being very cautious. Although you may feel slightly safe in the truck, we had heard that they can burst your car radiator if it charges and it did have some pretty big horns on it.
The rhino then just continued to walk along the road in front of us for another for 100 yards, then just strolled off into the bush (how lucky were we to see that).
A helpful guide
If you're considering a road trip through Namibia, then your in for a holiday of a lifetime. I always find it incredibly useful to plan our trips with the help of a guide book.
Take a look at this informative Bradt guide, it will give you great tips and advice.
Wildlife in abundance
Stunned after the unexpected sighting we drive on further around the park and the waterholes, coming across so much more of Africa's finest creatures.
We headed on to our new lodgings for the night Halali Camp, we had pre booked an afternoon game drive which set off at 3pm.
Once again there was only the 2 of us on the drive so it was quite personal. It does appear that a lot of the organized drives are quiet, but you can gain a huge amount of local knowledge and they are not too expensive.
We had just seen our first rain in nearly 3 weeks, but it was only temporary.
Why not?
Start creating your own adventure, and discover the amazing scenery & African wildlife of Namibia for yourself.
We chose British Airways, and it was all done with a few clicks, a brief stopover in Johannesburg, and our luggage was there for our arrival in Windhoek.
Now cheetah, does this get any better
Whilst on the drive another guide said that a cheetah sighting had been made not far from us, so we set off in search. Cheetahs are quite rare around here, apparently there are only 2 prides within the area.
Because the rain had cooled the air, more animals were coming out, the guide drove to where they were last seen and after a few minutes he spotted them across the plain at about 300 yards away.
It was a female with 4 cubs of about 4 months old, it was great to see, the guide said that they would now be hungry so they were after some prey (springbok). We watched the cheetah for a while whilst she was hunting and how she had trained the cubs to lie down when she gave the sign.
Fortunately for the herd of springbok, one of them must have spotted the cheetah, so she decided to back off, but for how long we are not sure, I think it was just a matter of time.
Lenny & Leo
If all that wasn’t enough on the way back to the lodge we revisited a watering hole from earlier and two male lions were on the other side, with not a care in the world.
This was goodbye to Etosha as we were heading back to Windhoek via Waterberg the following morning.
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